Results: Kraaifontein Open 2020

9 December 2020

On Saturday 05 December 2020, Kraaifontein Chess Club proudly hosted their 4th annual Kraaifontein Open on the Lichess.org platform.  The event attracted some of the top local chess talent as well as international players including GM Adham Fawzy.

Kraaifontein Chairperson, Burton Van Staaden, said “As the flagship tournament of the club it was important that we continued to host the 2020 tournament. Although we were all a bit disappointed that we could not host an over the board tournament under the current challenging circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and continuing national lockdown.”

The management committee of Kraaifontein Chess Club would like to thank everyone that worked hard behind the scenes to make this event a success. Specifically we thank our tournament sponsors, the tournament arbiter Ricardo Minnaar, Jan-Meyer Verhoef (SouthAfricanOstrich) for the professional game analysis, the local organising committee and all the participating players.

The Kraaifontein Open comprised two 7-round Swiss Rapid tournaments with a time control of 10 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move.

Open Section

The Open Section was close affair with only 1 point between the top 12 players. The final standings needed to be decided on tie-breaks, with the top four players finishing on 5.5 points out of 7.

First Place – FM Banele Mhango (South Africa)

In the end the Open Section was won by South African FM Banele Mhango who was one of three unbeaten players.     Banele is a rising star and highlights his 3rd place at 2017 African Youth in Egypt and coming tied first in the 2018 African youth in Kenya where he earned his Fide Master title.  

Commenting after the tournament Banele said “The tournament was tough and interesting, my game against GM Adham Fawzy was interesting because I think it’s the game that was going to determine the winner of the tournament. But all in all thanks to the players who participated, it was a good tournament and I enjoyed.

Banele’s performance included the following wonderful victory over GM Adham Fawzy in the fourth round. Watch the game analysis by Jan-Meyer Verhoef (aka SouthAfricanOstrich).

Kraaifontein Open 2020 – Open Section – GM Adham Fawzy vs FM Banele Mhango (Rnd 4)
Match link: https://lichess.org/Z9Q5ZAkS

See more game analysis by Jan-Meyer at the bottom of the article. Please remember to follow this awesome YouTube channel for top quality chess content.

Second Place – Kartavya Anadkat (India)

Second place was taken by 16-year old Kartavya Anadkat from India when he also finished on 5.5 points.   

Kartavya’s most recent achievements in 2019  include winning the National Amateur Championship in India and winning silver in the Rapid  event at the 15th Asian Schools Chess Championship in Uzbekistan.

Third Place – Kahill Dhevcharran (South Africa)

Local high school learner from Curro Durbanville, Kahill Dhevcharran, claimed the third place after a great victory of GM Fawzy in the sixth round.  Watch the game analysis by Jan-Meyer Verhoef (aka SouthAfricanOstrich) below.

When asked about his performance, Kahill commented “It was amazing playing against some of the strongest players in South Africa, especially a grandmaster. The tournament was very well organized, and everyone showed great sportsmanship.”  

Kraaifontein Open 2020 – Open Section – Kahill Dhevcharran vs GM Adham Fawzy (Rnd 6)
Match link: https://lichess.org/AUS8e2pm

Fourth Place

Minenhle Junior Mncwabe
(South Africa)
Fifth Place

IM Providence Oatlhotse
(Botswana)

Tournament Link:  https://lichess.org/swiss/5ys25ncv

2020 Kraaifontein Open – Open Section – Final Standings:

  1. FM Banele Mhango (Banelevich)                               R1,000
  2. Kartavya Anadkat (Kartavya_Anadkat)                       R   800
  3. Kahill Dhevcharran (kahill13)                                     R   600
  4. Minenhle Junior Mncwabe (minmj)                           R   400
  5. IM Providence Oatlhotse (Hephzibah_Beulah)          R   200
  6. GM Adham Fawzy (gmadham)                                  R  200
  7. Vusimuzi Mlahleki (VuskyM)                                      R  200
  8. Tyler Nevin (tylnev)                                                    R   200
  9. Simphiwe Buthelezi (simza19)                                   R  200
  10. Tshediso Mpya (Yvade)                                              R  200

Development section

The development section was for players with a Lichess rating of less than 1600 and the Top 10 players received free entry to the upcoming South African Chess Hub Junior Chess Holiday Programme from 17 to 23 December 2020.

First Place – Ruhan Somai (South Africa)

The Development section was won on tie-break by local Grade 5 learner from Curro Century City, Ruhan Somai when he finished on 6 points after 7 rounds.  

When asked who inspires him, Ruhan explained that “It all started with Mr Marais at Milnerton Primary who gave a grade 2 the opportunity to play in the school senior team. I have never looked back since then.  Also big thanks to my past coach (Stanely F Mpinganjira) and current coach (Roland Willenberg) who always push me to give my best.”

Ruhan’s advice to chess beginners is “Keep doing chess puzzles and games daily also read as many recommended chess books as possible.”  

Second Place – Taja Levstik (Slovenia)

Second place went to 10 year-old, Taja Levstik from Slovenia who also ended on 6 points out of 7 rounds.  In 2020 Taja become the U10 state champion in Slovenia and recently she competed for her country in the under 10 European qualifiers for the Youth World Online Championships.

Third Place – Reginald Greeff (South Africa)

Third place went to Reginald Greeff from Kraaifontein Chess Club when he finished on 5 points after 7 rounds.

Tournament Link:  https://lichess.org/swiss/IwtgZdfj

2020 Kraaifontein Open – Development Section – Final Standings:

  1. Ruhan Somai (rsomai)
  2. Taja Levstik (talev)
  3. Reggie Greeff (Reggie_Noble13)
  4. Vincenciua Lehmann (Sharkboy01)
  5. Ethan van Heerden (Drizzlestorm1)
  6. Paul Wilson (GrayOldWizard)
  7. Hannah van Heerden (Unicorncoffee)
  8. Emlyn Wilson (BabyTjoklits)
  9. Ashley van Heerden (Rook431)
  10. Cornell Leibbrandt (Rooikrans)

More game analysis from the Kraaifontein Open by Jan-Meyer Verhoef (aka SouthAfricanOstrich)

Click here to follow SouthAfricanOstrich on YouTube for more top quality chess content:

Kraaifontein Open 2020 – Open Section – Vusimuzi Mlahleki vs Dr Shabier Bhawoodien (Round 7)
Match link: https://lichess.org/WOsI4Tyt