Steinitz Chess Festival 2020 (43rd Anniversary)

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Web Site: www.steinitzchessclub.co.za

Communications: 0812713408

Web Site: www.steinitzchessclub.co.za

Steinitz Captains Report 2019 by Dr Lyndon Bouah

Dear Steinitz President, exco and members

1. I herewith present the Captains report for Steinitz for the year 2019.

• The year 2018 ended off on a high note when Steinitz won the 2018 CWP league as well as the 2018 Western Cape Chess Club championships.

Cape Town Chess Classic

• Our first activity as a chess club was the Cape Town Chess Classic which took place in March 2019.

• The event had two sections. It had a Blitz as we as Rapid section.

• In the Blitz section Steinitz A ended first after nine rounds of play. The event was very competitive with teams ranging from MRL, African Chess Lounge, Cape Town and others.

• MRL won the Rapid section after the Steinitz A team lost to the Steinitz B team. Congratulations to the B team on that victory.

• The A team players were in board order

Michael James

Lyndon Bouah

Craig Willenberg

Kenny Willenberg who made his comeback for Steinitz.

The B team was:

Ethan Samuels

Mark Lewis

Denise Bouah

Glenn Willenberg

• The team ended in second position with CM Lyndon Bouah winning the board prize for board two.

• The final results were as follows:

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Blitz

Rapid

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Steinitz Open 2019

1. The Steinitz Open organised to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of the club ended in a great victory for IM Watu Kobese. The event had four sections and was well contested.

Let’s have a look at the different sections. The U8 section was won by Jean Maritz.

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In the C Section there were 93 players who finished the event with several other players finishing with less games. The C section female prizes were contested by 8 players and the players finished:

In the C Section a chess puzzle book was awarded to Callum Lau. The book was presented to him by the author the late Leonard Rietstein. Mr. Rietstein was the SA Olympiad team captain 1966 in Cuba. He also presented a book to Themba Thompson.

In the main draw of Section C Andre Rhode scored 6/6. Rhode has not played for many years and has now re-joined Kraaifontein chess club. I remember him from a few decades back. So well done Andre. Oliver Hufton was second with 5.5/6. He too was on full score going into the last round. He drew with Murray Steenkamp who scored five and was adjudged third on tiebreak.

Full Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr426488.aspx?lan=1&art=4&turdet=YES

In the B section WCM Natasha Joubert scored 3/6. This young lady won the SA Under 8 girls a few years ago and is continuing with her fine showing. 8 females competed in this section with five players scoring 2.

In the main draw published author and chess coach Edwin November showed a clean pair of heels to score 6/6. He too is from Kraaifontein chess club and I am sure his experience showed on the day. In second position from Blackjacks was Leatin Booys who scored 5.5/6. Leatin is making a comeback and has been competing in many an event. There were five players on five and on tiebreak these players were Shaun Willenberg from Steinitz, Tezihano Mnyasta from Crossroads, Dr. Omar Esau from Manyanani, Luvuyo Nkosana and Sandiso Kedama from Crossroads. Well done to these players. Edwin November won R2000 with Leatin Booys winning R1000 and the others all winning R250 each.

Full Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr426486.aspx?lan=1&art=1&turdet=YES

In the Main section we had four females competing for the three female prizes. The games were hard fought. There was an unexpected winner in that Robyn Van Niekerk beat Kenny Willenberg in the final round to win the R700 first prize. Well done Robyn. In second position was WIM Dr. Denise

Bouah who beat WIM Jesse February in the final round to win R500. Sharing third was WIM Jesse February and WCM- elect Rebecca Selkirk. In the final round Selkirk lost to Glenn Willenberg who showed that his experience accumulated over the years can lead to a good showing on the board. February and Bouah was a wild game and had the spectators on the edge of their seats. At some stage both players were winning, and the complications were unfathomable but when the dust cleared Bouah found herself up two pieces.

In the main draw IM Watu Kobese reeled off five straight wins and in the last round took the draw against Aguirre. I didn’t see the game, but Aguirre felt he was better but Kobese felt he had everything under control. Watu took home R4000 for first prize. In his victory speech he thanked the organisers and praised the competitors for their fighting spirit and noted the rise of young talent in this event. Sharing second to fourth was PM Bryan Aguirre, FM Paul Gluckman, and former SA Closed Co- Champion FM Calvin Klaasen. Paul Gluckman beat SA over fifty champion Mark Lewis in the last round in a bruising encounter. FM Klaasen beat Micheal James who was throwing everything but the kitchen zinc into the attack. Klaasen had everything under control and in the mutual time trouble triumphed at the end. Each of the three players took home R1660 each.

Other notable players include FM Dr. Shabier Bhawoodien who scored 4.5. He blitzed WIM Bouah in the morning round even though the game was probably objectively a draw. In the second game he took the full point off Johann Schnabel who was having a fantastic event having beaten Micheal James and WIM Jesse February. In sixth position was CM Dr. Lyndon Bouah on 4 who saved a half point when he miscalculated against Ethan Samuels. I then set up a blockade to prevent Samuels from also taking my scalp. In recent weeks Ethan has been taking the scalp of many a top player and I soon predict that he will be edging very fast to 2000 given his play. FM Charles De Villiers also ended on 4 after tactically outplaying Alexander Van Der Merwe. It was a game for the ages with the seven-time SA Champion playing the diminutive Van Der Merwe who has already beaten GM Nakamura in a simul. The game was an Accelerated Dragon and although De Villiers won an early pawn Van Der Merwe kept creating small threats. It went down to the wire. Craig Willenberg and his sister in law Robyn Van Niekerk ended on four after Robyn beat Craig’s brother Kenny!

I had a few words with Gerrit Meiboom who informed me that his older brother Kees was cross at him for not mentioning the event earlier. The Meibooms are an old chess family with Kees having played in many a SA Closed. It was good to see Deon Pick who travelled in from Worcester. Dr

Andrew Southey, Commonwealth Senior champion travelled in from Hermanus. Thanks WIM February who flew in from Nelson Mandela Bay to support the event. The event indeed felt like a mini SA Open with nine players over 2000 in the field. There were no easy games.

It is important that these events are hosted on an annual basis because it allows players an opportunity to compete against their fellow players on an equal basis. Sixty sixty with ten second increment is a great leveller. Roland Willenberg calls it old man’s blitz. Thanks to arbiters Leon De Jager, Andrew Talmarkes, Alfreda Louw and Anito Petersen for making this event pleasant to play in. 280 players who competed in the event Steinitz. Thanks to them club chess is thriving.

Full Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr426485.aspx?lan=1&art=4&turdet=YES&flag=30

The 2019 Chess Western Province League

1. Steinitz Premier team won the 2019 in a fine display of team chess. The Steinitz A team played 11 matches as the event is contested as a twelve team round robin. The Premier team won 10 matches and drew one with 2017 CWP league champions MRL. This was an excellent showing by the Premier team.

1. In the last two years Steinitz A has not lost a single classical team match in the WP league.

They have played 22 matches in the WP league and have the following statistics:

Played — 22

Drawn – 4 (MRL 2019, Blackjacks, ACL, Stellenbosch in 2018)

Won — 18

Lost —  0

1. Board prizes were won by two sets of brothers! The Willenberg brothers and the De Jager brothers scored well and won board prizes for Steinitz.

Craig Willenberg scored well with a score 9/11 scoring 81.8% Kenny Willenberg scored 9.5 /11 and a percentage score of 86.6% Andreas De Jager scored 8/9 and a percentage score of 88.9% Luan De Jager scored 7/8 with percentage score of 87.5

Honourable mentions must be made of PM Mark Lewis who scored 6/7 with a percentage score of 85.7 and CM Lyndon Bouah who scored 7.5/10 with a percentage score of 76%. Mark has been unbeaten for the last two.

1. The full Premier team that played in the Chess WP league 2019 consisted of Board 1 – Michael James

Board 2 – Craig Willenberg Board 3 – Lyndon Bouah Board 4 – Ethan Samuels Board 5 – Kenny Willenberg Board 6 – Mark Lewis Board 7 – Andreas De Jager Board 8 – Luan De Jager Board 9 – Denise Bouah Board 10 – Glenn Willenberg

1. For the record I herewith include the final list of board winners to compare the standings of all the Steinitz players as given in the official record:

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1. I was pleased that a large percentage of our players played nearly seventy percent of the matches. Michael James and Lyndon Bouah played 10, Craig, Ethan and Kenny played 11, while the others played 8 or more games. The consistency was good to see.

1. The B team ended 4^th in the B section but I know they can challenge for medals and this year we perhaps need to ensure that we plan to compete for the top three positions. A good showing by the B team. We have a core of experienced players and young players coming through that we need to nurture.

1. For the record I show the final standings:

1. In the C section our young team didn’t do so well but we are proud of the fact that this young team pitched and played. Consisting mostly of young girls I do believe that they will quickly jump back from the D division as we give them the necessary support.

• The Steinitz D team ended last in this division. Consisting largely of parents we must strengthen this team in the 2020 league.

• Steinitz Chess Club must continue to nurture our junior players and our parents as it is important that the parents and youngsters get an opportunity to participate in the league.

• The following winners have won the WP league since unification 1992 – UCT

1993 – Steinitz

1994- Cape Town

1995- Manyanani

1996 – Mitchells Plain

1997- Claremont

1998 – Steinitz

1999- Claremont

2000- Cape Town

2001 Steinitz

2002 Steinitz

2003 Claremont

2004 – Mitchells Plain

2005- Mitchells Plain

2006 Steinitz

2007 Stellenbosch

2008 Stellenbosch

2009 Steinitz

2010 UCT

2011 Steinitz

2012 Chesscube

2013 Steinitz

2014 Steinitz

2015 African Chess Lounge

2016 African Chess Lounge

2017 MRL

2018 Steinitz

2019 Steinitz

Western Cape Club Championships 2019

• The 2019 edition of the popular Western Cape Club Championship took place in October 2019 in Caledon. The event consisted of three sections. Each section had teams of six competing to be the best chess Club in the Western Cape.

• Steinitz Chess Club fielded one team that consisted of

Board 1 – Kenny Willenberg

Board 2 – Lyndon Bouah

Board 3 – Mark Lewis

Board 4 – Luan De Jager

Board 5 – Glenn Willenberg

Board 6 – Ashley Schuller

Board 7 – Jacques Frick

• The team won all its matches and claimed the crown again.

• Board prizes were awarded to:

Kenny Willenberg 5/6 (unbeaten)

Lyndon Bouah 6/6

Luan De Jager 4/4

Glenn Willenberg 4.5/5

Jacques Frick 4/4

• Steinitz has won all its matches played at the Western Cape Club Championships over the last few years.

• This event is an important tournament on the Western Cape Calendar and must be supported every year. Perhaps next year we should send more teams as well.

• We played against Riversdal, Manyanani, Blackjacks, Hermanus, Oudtshoorn and George.

• Steinitz scored 33/36 (one loss and four draws) Blackjacks second with 24.5 and Manyanani on 21.

• Steinitz has won the event in the following years:

2012- Steinitz

2013- Steinitz

2014- Steinitz

2015- Steinitz

2016- Steinitz

2017- Steinitz

2018- Steinitz

2019- Steinitz

SA Club Chess Championship

• The SA Chess Club Championship took place in Cape Town in September 2019.

• In the A section twenty teams competed to dethrone Manyanani as the national champions.

• After some good chess, Steinitz A emerged as the winners after winning all their matches. They were followed by MRL, Steinitz B, Steinitz C and African Chess Lounge.

• The event billed MRL as the top seed with Steinitz seeded second. Steinitz succeeded in defeating MRL A and B on the second day of the event to go into the lead.

• Steinitz B and C played exceptionally well to also get into the prizes and medals. Some good victories were obtained by especially the younger B team players like Luan and Andreas De Jager.

• The final standings for the A with board prizes are enclosed herewith as well:

Board 1 : FM Shabier Bhawoodien from Manyanani who scored an emphatic 5.5/6

Board 2 : CM Maxwell Solomon from MRL scored 5/6

Board 3 : John Laurie scored 5.5/6

Board 4 : Kenny Willenberg scored 6/6

• In the B section Elsies River won with Steinitz D winning second position. Well done to them.

• Steinitz won one board prize with Kenny Willenberg winning on board four with 6/6.

• The South African Club Championship is an important event. The winners for the past few years have been:

2003 Centurion

2004 Steinitz

2005 Steinitz

2006 Brooklyn

2007 no event held

2008 Steinitz

2009 Steinitz

2010 Steinitz

2011 Randburg

2012 Steinitz

2013 Steinitz

2014 Steinitz

2015 Hyenas

2016 Chess Excellence

2017 Manyanani.

2018 no event held

2019 Steinitz

41. One of the interesting aspects to note is the following:

After the first two rounds in the league when Kenny scored 0.5/2 he scored 9 consecutive victories. He then followed this up with 6 consecutive victories in a row at the SA Clubs and at the Western Cape Club championship he scored an unbeaten 5/6. This makes a remarkable 21 consecutive games with an unbeaten score of 20/21.

• In April 2019 Lyndon Bouah lost to Mark Lewis in round four of the Steinitz Open. Since then he was unbeaten in the final three rounds of that event, and he followed this up with undefeated scores in the WP league 7.5/10, 5/6 in the SA Clubs undefeated and 6/6 at the Western Cape Clubs. An unbeaten run of 24 games against reasonable opposition!

• Let’s look at the Steinitz Premier team victories over the last two years:

The 2017 Western Cape Club championship was played in March 2018. Steinitz won 6/6 The 2018 CWP league had 11 matches of which three were drawn and 8 won.

The 2018 Western Cape club championship – Steinitz scored 6/6

In the 2019 CWP league the Steinitz team played 11 matches (drew one and won 10) In the 2019 Western Cape club championship Steinitz played 6 and won 6

In the 2019 SA Club Championship Steinitz played 6 and won 6.

• So, the stats for the last two years of classical time control adding the 2017 Western Cape Club Championship is:

Played 46 matches Drawn – 4 matches Won 42 matches

• On the individual level the following Steinitz players deserve a mention

• Reegan Palmer came 2nd place U12 at African Youth championships in Namibia

• Ethan Samuels represented South Africa in India at the World U-20 Junior championships.

• Andreas De Jager and Carlo Louw represented South Africa in Turkey in November at the World under 16 Olympiad

• At Western Cape level Mark Lewis won the first ever Western Cape Closed with Anzel Laubscher being announced as the Women’s Western Cape Champion. Andrew Talmarkes was the runner up on tiebreak after ending joint first in the Western Cape Senior Closed.

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• At school level:

•  2019 SA Schools Winter Games

• U18 Boys – Ethan Samuels – Silver

• U15 Boys – Andreas de Jager – Gold

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Web Site: www.steinitzchessclub.co.za

• 2019 Western Cape Schools Closed

• U18 Boys – Ethan Samuels – Gold o U18 Girls – Ane Pienaar – Gold

o U15 Boys – Andreas de Jager – Gold o U15 Girls – Ameera Yacoob – Bronze

• At WP youth level most of Steinitz junior players represented WP at the junior nationals.

• Congratulations to Roland Willenberg whose Under12 team won gold at the nationals.

• Steinitz also had the most players at the SA Closed Championships. These players were:

1. Michael James who played in the Open section and beat the top three finishers, Daniel Barrish, Grandmaster Kenny Solomon and Roberto De Abreu,

• Anzel Laubscher who played in the Women’s section

• Roland Willenberg – Senior section

• Glenn Willenberg – Senior Section

• Andrew Talmarkes – Senior Section

• Mark Lewis – Senior section

• Kenny Willenberg – B section

• Andreas De Jager – Under 20

• Luan De Jager – Under 20

1. Ethan Samuels – Under 20

1. Kaitlyn Olkers – SA women’s B

1. Ameera Yacoob – SA Closed B

• Congratulations to Kenny Willenberg who won the B section and now qualifies for the senior section in 2021 and to Mark Lewis who ended runner up in the Senior section.

• Congratulations are also in order to our arbiters Leon De Jager and Andrew Talmarkes who did duty at various events throughout the Western Cape and South Africa.

• I also take the opportunity to congratulate Dr. Denise Bouah who published her first book in 2019. It is called Sport Psychology for Children.

• Steinitz players competed in all the WP events and were always in the prizes and medals. Congrats to all.

• I thank you for the honour and privilege of captaining this team in 2019.

Regards

Dr Lyndon Bouah

Captain of Steinitz Chess Club

Champion Chess Club of Western Province, Western Cape and South Africa in 2019

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Web Site: www.steinitzchessclub.co.za