A battle of strategic minds

Two Maragon Ruimsig pupils hope their love for chess spreads to the whole school with their promising results in the Johannesburg North West (JNW)  Maragon Open Chess Tournament.

The tournament, held over the weekend of 29 and 30 July, saw Sheldon Naicker and Hudson McCullum play against chess players of all ages. From pre-school pupils to adults, all were invited to participate and were sorted into five categories from novice category E to category A.

Naicker competed in the B category and won three out of his six games. “The competition was really tough,” Naicker exclaimed. McCullum competed in the D category and won four out of his six games. Hudson enjoyed the tournament and shared how wonderful it would be if more of the Maragon Ruimsig chess players would play in this competition in the future.

Andrew Horn, development officer for JNW Chess Club, explained the open tournaments are avenues for chess players to grow and better their chess game. The tournaments are held at schools to try and promote the game to children.

Open tournaments are held throughout the year where players earn performance points. The top-rated players go on to play nationals for the Johannesburg City Metro. From there players can end up playing for South Africa and are awarded Springbok colours in chess.

Horn added that players who wish to continue with chess at a competitive level need to participate in a tournament on a monthly basis and think of becoming part of a chess club and get coaching.

Details: Maragon Ruimsig, 011 958 0707.