Open Section
The winner of the Open section was Daniel Barrish.
Daniel is 19, born in 2000, from Cape Town and is a Matie currently studying actuarial science at the University of Stellenbosch. Daniel follows in the footsteps of fellow Matie graduate Mohammed Henry Steel who won the event as a 17-year-old matriculant and then again as a Matie student in 2011. Daniel informs me that he will be playing four events in Europe in January before the academic year begins. He will play in Montebelluna in Italy two events, then one in Seville and he ends off with Gibraltar.
He has one international master norm and will work this year to obtain the other two norms. He of course will also have the opportunities at the Zonals, African Individuals and the Olympiad to play for these norms. At the Olympiad one norm is equivalent to a double norm so he has a lot to play for later in the year. He learnt the moves from watching his father and grandfather play at the age of four and played his first chess tournament at 6. In October 2019 Stellenbosch University also awarded full colours to Daniel Barrish at their annual sport awards. Daniel has indicated that the following two games were his favourites.
(4) Barrish,D (2363) – Gluckman,P (1943)
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Durbanville, South Africa (9.1), 15.12.2019
1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.g3 0–0 6.Bg2 d5 7.0–0 c6 8.b3 Ne4 9.Qc2 a5 10.Nd1 Bd7 11.Nb2 Be8 12.Nd3 Nd6 13.Ba3 g5 14.Nfe5 Nd7 15.f4 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Nc8 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.c5 Kh8 19.e3 Rg8 20.Ne1 Bh5 21.Rf2 Qc7 22.Qc3 Na7 23.Bf1 Nb5 24.Qd2 gxf4 25.exf4 b6 26.Rc1 bxc5 27.Rxc5 Qb6 28.Qc1 Na7 29.Qc3 Qb4 30.Nc2 Qxc3
31.Rxc3 a4 32.b4 Rab8 33.a3 Be8 34.Nd4 Bd7 35.Rc5 Rgc8 36.Rfc2 Kg8 37.Ba6 Rd8 38.Ra5 Kf8 39.Rcc5 Nb5 40.Bxb5 cxb5 41.Ra7 Ke8
XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-tr-mk-+(
7tR-+l+-+p’
6-+-+p+-+&
5+ptRpzPp+-%
4pzP-sN-zP-+$
3zP-+-+-zP-#
2-+-+-+-zP”
1+-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
42.Rac7 Rb6 43.Kf2 Rdb8 44.Kg2 R6b7 45.Kh3 Rxc7 46.Rxc7 Kd8 47.Rc5 Ke7 48.Kh4 h5 49.Rc7 Kd8 50.Rc2 Ke7
51.Kh3 Kd8 52.Kg2 Rb6 53.Kf2 Ke7 54.Ke3 Kd8 55.Nf3 Rb7 56.Ng5 Rb8 57.Nh7 Be8 58.Nf6 Bf7 59.Rc6 Rb7 60.Kd4 Ke7 61.Rc8 Bg6 62.Kc5 Kf7 63.Kc6 Ra7 64.Kxb5 d4 65.Kc4 1–0
What I enjoyed about the game was the positional aspect to it. The technique used here was very good. Barrish kept control of the c file and exchanged pieces to allow him to penetrate the position. The next game Barrish nominated was the one against Roland Bezuidenhout. He felt that it was a clean win. Pressure on the d pawn and again just technique!
(4) Bezuidenhout,R (2200) – Barrish,D (2363) [A00]
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Curro Durbanville, Durbanville (4.4), 10.12.2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.0–0 0–0 6.h3 a6 7.Re1 d6 8.c3 Bd7 9.Bb3 h6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Nf1 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Nxe3 d5 15.Qc2 Qd7 16.Rad1 Rd8 17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Nxd5 Qxd5 19.Qb3 Qxb3 20.axb3 f6 21.d4 Red6 22.Rc1 exd4 23.cxd4 Kf7 24.g4 R8d7 25.Re4 Rd5 26.Kg2 Na7 27.Rf4 g5 28.Re4 Nb5 29.h4 c6 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.Rh1 Kg6 32.Rh8 Nxd4 33.Rg8+ Kh7 34.Rf8 Kg7 35.Ree8 Nxf3 0–1
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+RtR-+(
7+p+r+-mk-‘
6p+p+-zp-+&
5+-+r+-zp-%
4-+-+-+P+$
3+P+-+n+-#
2-zP-+-zPK+”
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
So let’s look at some tactical finishes from Barrish:
XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-trk+(
7+l+nvl-zp-‘
6pwq-sNp+-zp&
5+p+-zPp+-%
4-+-zp-wQ-+$
3+P+-+NzP-#
2-+-+-zP-zP”
1tR-tR-+LmK-!
xabcdefghy
Roberto De Abreu ended third at the SA Closed and had just played Nd6. What did Barrish now play
to end the game? ………..
20. Bxf3 21. Qxf3 and after 21. Nxe5 De Abreu loses the knight on d6.
In round three Barrish played against the co-defending champion Calvin Klaasen. A tight game was played. Can you find the winning move for Barrish in this position?
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-mk(
7+p+-+-sNp’
6-+-+-+lvl&
5+-+P+-+-%
4-zP-wQrzPqzP$
3+-+-+-zP-#
2-+-+p+K+”
1vL-+-tR-+-!
xabcdefghy
Barrish played 35. Nh5+ as it allows 35. Rxd4 36. Bxd4+ Kg8 37. Nf6+ winning the queen on g4.
Barrish played the strong Ben Hercules who threw everything at him! What did Barrish patiently play after Nf6?
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-tr-vl-mk(
7zpR+l+-zp-‘
6-+-+psNQzp&
5+-+q+p+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3zP-+-zP-+P#
2-zP-+-zPPmK”
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
Queen e5 + ends the game immediately! A master class performance from Barrish. Barrish has been a strength in WP chess for practically the last decade. Always a talented junior he was regularly playing in the Premier section of the league and learning from all the top players. A humble champion by nature we wish him well with his upcoming events.
Ending second was grandmaster Kenny Solomon.
This was GM Kenny’s first event in South Africa since 2015 when he played in the SA Open in Cape Town and the Millionaires Open in Johannesburg. Many of the opponents he had never met. In the first round he drew with Matt Pon. He also drew to Roland Bezuidenhout and Keith Kuhmalo and
lost to Micheal James. The half point he saved against Mohammed Bhawoodien was decisive in the final result as Bhawoodien was clearly winning the game, but the resistance of GM Solomon proved important. As an aside it is also the fifth anniversary of the grandmaster title being awarded to former Mitchells Plain resident Kenny Solomon after winning the African championship in Namibia in 2014. Kenny has played 10 Olympiads and will now be playing his eleventh Olympiad. He won the SA Open on numerous occasions and won the SA Closed in 2003. Let’s look at a few of his games. How did GM Solomon finish the game against De Abreu?
XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-+r+k+(
7+-+-+p+-‘
6p+-tR-+nzp&
5+-+P+-zp-%
4-zPQ+P+-+$
3+-+-+P+-#
2-+-+-wqPzP”
1+R+-+L+K!
xabcdefghy
How did GM Solomon finish the game? 34. Rxg6+ fg 35. d6 + Kf8 36. Qc3 Rec8 37. Qf6+
GM Kenny indicated that his best game was against the eventual winner Barrish. He had prepared at home a king move that castled in a sense and kept the rook on the h file. Enjoy the game which has loads of tactics!
(5) Barrish,D (2363) – Solomon,K (2373)
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Durbanville, South Africa (10.6)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 e6 4.e4 c5 5.d5 d6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nge2 exd5 8.cxd5 a6 9.a4 Nbd7 10.Ng3 h5 11.Be2 h4 12.Nf1 Kf8
13.Bg5 Kg8 14.Ne3 Rh5 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Nc4 Rb8 17.f4 Rh8 18.0–0 Qe7 19.e5 dxe5 20.d6 Qe6 21.Nd5 exf4 22.Kh1 h3
23.Nxf4 hxg2+ 24.Kxg2 Qe4+ 25.Rf3 Nf6 26.Bd3 Qd4 27.h3 b5 28.axb5 axb5 29.Na3 Bb7 30.Nxb5 Qxf4 31.Be2 Bxf3+
32.Bxf3 Rxb5 0–1
XABCDEFGHY
8r+lwqk+-tr(
7+p+n+pvl-‘
6p+-zp-snp+&
5+-zpP+-+-%
4P+-+P+-zp$
3+-sN-+P+-#
2-zP-+L+PzP”
1tR-vLQmKN+R!
xabcdefghy
In this position GM Kenny as Black after 12. Nf1 Kf8 13. Bg5 Kg8 14. Ne3 Rh5. An interesting idea that he developed as home preparation!
Coming third in the event was Roberto De Abreu. He was playing in his first ever SA Closed and had some good victories. He completed his honours in actuarial studies at Wits and his favourite players are Caruana and Aronian. He is from the Johannesburg Metro and his hobbies are tennis, running and football. (I noted he supports Newcastle although I thought the top was Juventus!). He had some good victories over Kobese and Paul Gluckman.
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7+-+-+-vlp’
6p+Lzp-+-+&
5+-+P+-+-%
4-zPP+q+-+$
3+-+-tr-zP-#
2P+-+-zpQ+”
1+R+-+R+K!
xabcdefghy
How did De Abreu as Black finish here?
He played 34 Qxb1 and after 35 Rxb1 Black played Re1+. I enjoyed his game against Hercules in which his positional and tactical understanding came to the fore.
(6) Hercules,B (2209) – de Abreu,R (2126)
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Durbanville, South Africa (10.3)
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 d6 6.0–0 a6 7.e3 Rb8 8.d4 cxd4 9.exd4 Bg4 10.Be3 Nh6 11.Qd2 Nf5 12.Ne2 0–0 13.Rac1 Qb6 14.Rfd1 Nxe3 15.fxe3 Bh6 16.Nf4 e6 17.Rf1 Bxf3 18.Rxf3 g5 19.Nh5 f5 20.Rf2 Rbd8 21.Rcf1 g4 22.Nf4 Bxf4 23.Rxf4 Ne7 24.Kh1 e5 25.R4f2 e4 26.Rc1 d5 27.Qe1 Rc8 28.Bf1 h5 29.h4 f4 30.exf4 Nf5 31.Rd2 e3 32.Rdd1 Qxb2 33.Bg2 e2 34.Bxd5+ Kh8 35.Rd3 Rce8 36.Rcc3 Nxd4 37.Kg2 Nc2 38.Rxc2 Qxc2 39.Rb3 Re7 40.Rb6 Kh7 41.Kf2 Rd8 42.a4 a5 43.Rb5 Rd6 44.Rxa5 Rb6 45.Rb5 Rxb5 46.axb5 b6 47.Kg2 Qd1 48.Kf2 Qd4+ 49.Kg2 Re3 50.Qb1+ Kh6 51.Qe1 Rd3 52.Qb4 Rxg3+ 53.Kxg3 Qg1+ 0–1
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+rtr-mk(
7+p+-+-+-‘
6p+-+-+-+&
5+-+L+n+p%
4-+PzP-zPpzP$
3+-tRR+-zP-#
2Pwq-+p+-+”
1+-+-wQ-+K!
xabcdefghy
In this position De Abreu captured the pawn on d4 as the white queen was overloaded as she is serving as a blockader which is not her traditional role! The final round game against Mohammmed Bhawoodien was quite possibly a first for a SA Closed. There were four queens on the board in the opening.! Let’s have a look at this game and position:
(6) de Abreu,R (2126) – Bhawoodien,M (2129)
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Durbanville, South Africa (11.4), 17.12.2019
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.Be2 b4 7.e5 bxc3 8.exf6 cxb2 9.fxg7 bxa1Q 10.gxh8Q Qa5+ 11.Kf1 Q5xa2 12.Ng5 Bf5 13.g4 Bg6 14.Bf3 Qb3 15.Qd2 h6 16.Ne6 fxe6 17.Qf4 Nd7 18.Qg8 Qd3+ 19.Kg2 0–0–0 20.Qxe6 Qa6 21.Bb2 c3 22.Ra1 cxb2 23.Rxa6 Qxa6 24.Qxg6 e5 25.Qfe4 Nb8 26.d5 Rxd5 27.Qef5+ Rd7 28.Qxf8+ Kc7 29.Qff5 Qb5
30.Qb1 Rd2 31.Qxh6 Qb4 32.Qg7+ Nd7 33.Qgg6 Qc5 34.Qe1 Rd6 35.Qgb1 Qa3 36.Qe2 Qc5 37.Qbxb2 Rf6 38.Qec2 Qf8 39.Qbc3 Nb8 40.Qxe5+ Kc8 41.Qce4 1–0
XABCDEFGHY
8rsnlwqkvl-wQ(
7zp-+-zpp+p’
6-+p+-+-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+pzP-+-+$
3+-+-+N+-#
2P+-+LzPPzP”
1wq-vLQmK-+R!
xabcdefghy
This is a unique position. The Semi Slav according to books and websites I looked at says the variation is unique and full of rich complex play. I shall leave it to the theoreticians to figure out who is better in this position!
Women’s section
In the women section WIM Jesse February captured her second SA Closed title. Jesse send me a note:
“My name is Jesse February. I’m 22 years old. currently studying English. I have dreams of becoming a journalist or writer of some sort. would be a pleasure to combine my two passions of writing and chess. I have had several opportunities to write about chess; such as being a columnist in a local newspaper. my column was called ‘checkmate with Jesse February’ published on a monthly basis. I wrote about local events and some facts about chess. I also recently had the privilege of working alongside Judit Polgar, publicizing her festival: chess connects us GCF. I was writing and editing her articles for the website revolving around the history of chess and different activities that were happening in October.
the Bright Minds Chess Academy has been a slow-moving venture that I launched recently. I converted the garage into a studio where I give group chess lessons. sessions are divided by strength of player. I provide booklets, activities and the opportunity to have tournament practice. Hopefully it will grow into something beautiful and successful. I hope to raise some little champions one day.
At some point I’d like to host my own tournaments. I am now an RA, so I’ll be able to rate the tournaments to allow more school or club players to be Chessa rated.”
Let’s look at a few highlights. Jesse nominated two games she felt were good games.
(6) Du Plessis,A (1576) – February,J (1897) [A00]
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Curro Durbanville, Durbanville (4.6), 10.12.2019
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.e3 Rb8 10.Ne2 b5 11.Bd2 Bb7 12.Rfd1 Nb4 13.Bxb4 Bxb4 14.a4 Be4 15.Qc1 Qd5 16.Nf4 Qb7 17.Ne5 Bxg2 18.Nxg2 c5 19.axb5 axb5 20.dxc5 Bxc5 21.Qd2 Ra8 22.Rac1 Ra2 23.Nf4 Qe4 24.Qc3 Bb6 25.Nd7 Nxd7 26.Rxd7 Ba5 27.Qc2 Qxc2 28.Rxc2 c3 29.Nd3 b4 30.Rb7 Rd8 31.Nxb4 Rxb2 32.Rxb2 cxb2 33.Nc6 Rd1+ 34.Kg2 b1Q 35.Rxb1 Rxb1 36.Nxa5 Kf8 37.Nc6 Rc1 38.Ne5 Ke7 39.Kf3 f6
40.Nd3 Rc3 41.Nf4 Ra3 42.h4 e5 43.Ne2 Ke6 44.g4 g6 45.Ng3 f5 46.h5 e4+ 47.Kf4 Ra2 48.Nh1 Kf6 49.hxg6 hxg6
50.gxf5 gxf5 51.Kg3 Kg5 52.Kg2 f4 53.Kg1 fxe3 54.fxe3 Kg4 55.Nf2+ Kf3 0–1
XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-+-trk+(
7+q+-+pzpp’
6-+-+psn-+&
5+pzp-sN-+-%
4-vlpzP-+-+$
3+-+-zP-zP-#
2-zP-+-zPNzP”
1tR-wQR+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
This was one of those typical games where Black kept the c pawn and introduced strong pressure on the queenside. Her conversion with rook versus knight was instructive!
(12) February,J (1897) – Fisher,M (1721)
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Durbanville, South Africa (6.12), 12.12.2019
| 1.e4 1…c5 | 2.Nf3 2…Nc6 3.d4 3…cxd4 | 4.Nxd4 4…e5 5.Nb5 5…a6 6.N5c3 6…Nf6 | 7.Bg5 7 | …Bb4 8.a3 |
| 8…h6 9.axb4 | 9…hxg5 10.b5 Nd4 11.Bd3 11 | …d6 12.Nd2 g4 13.Ne2 Ne6 14.Nc4 Nf4 15.Nxf4 | 15…exf4 | 16.bxa6 g3 |
17.fxg3 17…fxg3 18.Qf3 Rxh2 19.Rf1 d5 20.e5 dxc4 21.exf6 gxf6 22.Bxc4 Qe7+ 23.Kd1 Qd6+ 24.Kc1 Rh4 25.Bb5+ Kf8 26.Ra3 26…Rxa6 27.Bxa6 bxa6 28.Rd1 Qc7 29.Rc3 29…Rc4 30.Rxc4 30…Qxc4 31.Qxf6 31…Ke8 1–0
The game against Michelle Fisher was an exciting one. The game started off with an early e5 on move 4 by Black in the Sicilian.
XABCDEFGHY
8r+lwqk+-tr(
7+p+-+pzp-‘
6P+-zp-sn-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+N+Pzp-+$
3+-+L+-zp-#
2-zPP+-zPPzP”
1tR-+QmK-+R!
xabcdefghy
Surely an interesting position! Both players are making use of their advanced pawns. The pawn on g3 is of course the black h pawn (sometimes called Harry) and the white pawn on a6 is of course the youngster that started off at a2 and then proceeded via b4, b5 to a6! Enjoy the game!
Robyn Van Niekerk ended second in the event. Robyn sent me this note:
“I am currently an Honours student in political science at the university of Stellenbosch. I come from a chess family where my dad, Lourenzo, my two sisters WFM lauren and WIM (elect) Megan van Niekerk are active chess players and of course my mom knows a thing or two. I played my first SA closed in 2013 where I came 2nd and qualified to play in the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Norway, Tromso. I competed in the 2016 and 2018 SA closed but did not have a good streak. This year, 2019, I told myself it’s my turn to make the team again. However, this time was different, I got my inspiration from FM Calvin Klaasen. I felt my game play change, I was playing more attacking. What really helped me in preparation was chess tactics! Everyday my dad would say; “Robby, tactics is key”. And I couldn’t agree more. “
Robyn nominated two games that she enjoyed.
(1) Selkirk,R (1819) – Van Niekerk,R (1648) [A00]
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Curro Durbanville, Durbanville (1.1), 07.12.2019
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 Ng8 9.f4 f6 10.Bd4 Qa5 11.Qd2 c5 12.Be3 fxe5 13.fxe5 Bxe5 14.Bc4 Nf6 15.0–0 e6 16.Rae1 0–0 17.Bg5 Bd4+ 18.Kh1 Qb4 19.Bb3 Ba6 20.Rf4 Nh5 21.Rh4 Rf2 22.Rxd4 Qxd4 23.Qxd4 cxd4 24.Ne4 Re2 25.Rxe2 Bxe2 26.Be7 Ng7 27.Bc5 d5 28.Nf6+ Kf7 29.Bxd4 Bc4 30.Nxh7 Bxb3 31.Ng5+ Ke7 32.axb3 Nf5 33.Bc5+ Kf6 34.Nf3 e5 35.g4 Ng7 36.c3 Ne6 37.Bd6 e4
38.Be5+ Ke7 39.Nd4 Nxd4 40.Bxd4 a5 41.Kg2 a4 42.b4 Ke6 43.h4 a3 44.bxa3 Rxa3 45.Kg3 Rb3 46.Kf4 Rb1
47.Kg5 Kf7 48.h5 gxh5 49.gxh5 Re1 50.Kf4 Rh1 51.Kg4 Re1 52.h6 Kg6 53.Bg7 Rf1 54.Bd4 Kxh6 55.b5 Kg6
56.b6 Rf7 57.Be5 e3 58.Bc7 e2 59.b7 e1Q 60.b8Q Qe4+ 61.Bf4 Qg2+ 62.Bg3 Qf3+ 0–1
XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-+k+(
7zp-+p+-+p’
6l+-+p+p+&
5+-zp-+-vLn%
4-wq-vl-+-tR$
3+LsN-+-+-#
2PzPPwQ-trPzP”
1+-+-tR-+K!
xabcdefghy
Selkirk sacrificed the exchange here with Rxd4 but after queen takes d4 she didn’t have enough compensation. The game went into an endgame with the following position:
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+r+-‘
6-zP-+-+k+&
5+-+pvL-+-%
4-+-+p+K+$
3+-zP-+-+-#
2-+-+-+-+”
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
The game ended with e3 58.Bc7 e2 59.b7 e1Q 60.b8Q Qe4+ 61.Bf4 Qg2+ 62.Bg3 Qf3+ 0–1
(1) Du Plessis,A (1576) – Van Niekerk,R (1648) [A00]
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Curro Durbanville, Durbanville (3.1), 09.12.2019
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be2 Bxf3 7.gxf3 Nc6 8.axb4 Nxb4 9.Na3 Rc8 10.Bb2 Nf6 11.Bc3
e6 12.Bb5+ Nd7 13.Qe2 a6 14.Ba4 b5 15.Bb3 Qc6 16.Bxb4 Bxb4 17.Qe4 Qd6 18.Nb1 Nc5 19.Qe3 Nxb3 20.Qxb3 Qe5+
21.Kd1 Qxa1 22.Qxb4 Rc4 23.Qb3 0–0 24.Ke1 Qe5+ 25.Kf1 Rfc8 26.Nc3 b4 27.Ne4 Rxc2 28.Qxb4 Qf4 29.Qa3 f5
30.Ng3 Qxd2 0–1
XABCDEFGHY 8rsnlwqkvlntr( 7zpp+pzppzpp’ 6-+-+-+-+& 5+-zp-+-+-% 4-zP-+P+-+$ 3+-+-+-+-#
2P+PzP-zPPzP” 1tRNvLQmKLsNR! xabcdefghy
When last was there a Wing Gambit at the SA Closed?
XABCDEFGHY
8-+r+k+-tr(
7+-+-+pzpp’
6p+-wqp+-+&
5+psn-+-+-%
4-vl-+-+-+$
3+L+-wQP+-#
2-+PzP-zP-zP”
1tRN+-mK-+R!
xabcdefghy
How did van Niekerk finish the game? 19. .. Nxb3 20. Qxb3 20. Qe5+ wins the exchange.
Senior section
In the Senior Section of the SA Closed CM Maxwell Solomon dominated.
He sent me a bio and he is also the first person to win the SA Closed Senior Section after having originally won the event under Capsa in 1988.
- multiple M Plain CC Champion,
- multiple WP Chess Champion,
- multiple board prizes (WP & Chessa)
- multiple SA Interprovincial Champion,
- brd 1 player for M Plain, Bellville-South, Manyanani, Bellville, Timberwolves and MRL Chess Clubs,
- WP and CAPSA chess player of the year awards (1987),
- SA Open (1987) & SA Closed (1988) Champion,
- SA Olympiad player (Manila 1992, Moscow 1994, Istanbul 2000).
- Taught chess (& first coach) by my eldest brother Aubrey Solomon, and for brief intermittent periods (1983 – 1985) also coached by CAPSA legend Faseeg Marnie.
- SACOS Sports Person of the Year Award (nominee) 1987
Maxwell has nominated one game from the event.
(2) Solomon,M (1999) – Meiboom,G (1720) [A00]
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Curro Durbanville, Durbanville (2.2), 08.12.2019
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Nc3 g6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Bxc4 0–0 7.0–0 c6 8.h3 b5 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.Be3 a6 11.a3 e6 12.Rc1 Nbd7 13.Qd2 Ne8 14.Bb1 Nb6 15.Ba2 Nd6 16.Bg5 Qc7 17.Qf4 Rae8 18.e5 Ndc4 19.Ne4 f5 20.Nd6 Nxd6 21.exd6 Qb8 22.Rfe1 Nd5 23.Bxd5 exd5 24.Be7 Rxe7 25.Rxe7 Bf6 26.Rce1 Bxe7 27.Rxe7 Rf7 28.Qe5 1–0 A smooth positional game by Solomon who is also the older brother of GM Kenny.
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-wQ-+(
7tR-+-+-zpk’
6-+r+-+qzp&
5+-zp-+p+-%
4-+-zPlzP-+$
3+-zP-zP-zP-#
2-+-+LmK-zP”
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
What did CM Solomon play here against Deon Pick? …….
Bh5! Followed by Qf6 and the Rf7 winning
How did CM Solomon finish the next game against Glenn Willenberg?
XABCDEFGHY
8-+ktr-+-+(
7zppzp-+qzp-‘
6-+nzp-zp-+&
5+-+-zpP+-%
4-+P+P+n+$
3+PzPQ+-zPr#
2P+-vLNtR-+”
1tR-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
Rh1+ wins the house!
Mark Lewis came second behind Solomon. I enjoyed his instructive ending against Andre Schutte.
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+k+-‘
6-+-sn-+-+&
5+-+-+-mK-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+L+-zPP#
2-+-+-+-+”
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
The idea for Black is to capture the g pawn and then White has the wrong Bishop as the white squared bishop cannot control the queening square.
(2) Lewis,M (1966) – Schutte,A (1859) [A00]
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Curro Durbanville, Durbanville (7.2), 13.12.2019
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Nc2 Bg7 7.Bg2 0–0 8.0–0 d6 9.Nc3 a6 10.Rb1 Bd7 11.Bg5 h6
12.Bd2 Rb8 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.cxd5 Ne5 15.Bc3 Ng4 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Qd4+ Nf6 18.Rbc1 Qa5 19.Nb4 Rfc8 20.a3 Rxc1
21.Rxc1 Rc8 22.Rxc8 Bxc8 23.e4 Qc7 24.h3 Qc5 25.Qxc5 dxc5 26.Nd3 b6 27.Kf1 Ne8 28.e5 Bd7 29.Ke1 f6 30.f4 fxe5
31.fxe5 g5 32.Kd2 Bb5 33.Nf2 Nc7 34.Ng4 Be8 35.Ne3 Bg6 36.d6 exd6 37.exd6 Ne6 38.Nd5 Kf7 39.Nxb6 Ke8 40.Bf1 a5 41.Nc4 Be4 42.Ke3 Bd5 43.Ne5 Nd4 44.Bd3 Kd8 45.b4 axb4 46.axb4 Nb3 47.b5 Na5 48.Be4 Bb7 49.Nc6+ Bxc6 50.bxc6 Nc4+ 51.Kf3 Nxd6 52.Bd5 Ne8 53.Ke4 Ke7 54.Ke5 Nd6 55.Be6 c4 56.c7 c3 57.Bf5 c2 58.Bxc2 Kd7 59.Kf6 Kxc7 60.Kg6 Kd7 61.Kxh6 Ke7 62.Kxg5 Kf7 63.Bd3 Kg7 64.h4 Nf7+ 65.Kg4 Nh6+ 66.Kg5 Nf7+ 67.Kf4 Nh6 68.h5 Kf6 69.Bg6 Kg7 70.Kg5 Ng8 71.Bf5 Ne7 72.Be6 Nc6 73.h6+ Kh7 74.Bf5+ Kh8 75.Kf6 Nd8 76.Bg6 Nc6 77.Be4 Nd4 78.Ke5 Ne2 79.g4 Ng3 80.g5 Ne2 81.g6 Ng3 1–0
The game ended (2) Lewis,M (1966) – Schutte,A (1859) [A00]
2019 South African Closed Chess Champion Curro Durbanville, Durbanville (7.2), 13.12.2019
63.Bd3 Kg7 64.h4 Nf7+ 65.Kg4 Nh6+ 66.Kg5 Nf7+ 67.Kf4 Nh6 68.h5 Kf6 69.Bg6 Kg7 70.Kg5 Ng8
71.Bf5 Ne7 72.Be6 Nc6 73.h6+ Kh7 74.Bf5+ Kh8 75.Kf6 Nd8 76.Bg6 Nc6 77.Be4 Nd4 78.Ke5 Ne2
79.g4 Ng3 80.g5 Ne2 81.g6 Ng3 1–0
One of the junior players watching the game asked me why Black was playing on. I explained to him that Black was trying to draw the game and it is important to know which positions are possibly drawn even when you are material down!
Enjoy the games.
Regards
Dr Lyndon Bouah
