The National Open, Women’s and Senior Chess Championships of South Africa took place from 7-14 May in Cape Town. The Open and Seniors events were played in 9 round robin rounds, while the Women’s event had 8 players who battled it out through 7 round robin rounds.
IM Daniel Cawdery and FM Banele Mhango tied for the top of the Open section scoring 6 points each, but the tiebreaks criteria were in favor of Daniel Cawdery who claimed the South Africa Championship for the second time in his career (2015, 2022). Banele Mhango clinched silver while GM Kenny Solomon, the only grandmaster in the tournament, won bronze medal.
15-year-old Chloe Badenhorst triumphed the Women’s section with the final score of 5 points. Badenhorst was one of the lowest rated participants, but surprised with great performance winning 117 rating points. WIM Jesse Nikki February was defending the National Champion title, but claimed silver scoring 4.5 points. WIM Charlize Van Zyl was third with 4 points.
Mark Lewis convincingly won the Seniors Championship with 7.5 points. He had a full point advantage over Hans Steyn and Cecil Ohlson who tied for the second place scoring 6.5 points.
The South African National Chess Championships 2022 were qualifying events for the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai. The players with the best results and performance will be in the composition of the South African National team, and the exact compositions of the Open and Women’s teams will be disclosed soon. Follow the 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 news here.
Read more: Kyrgyzstan crowns National Chess Champions 2022
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Final rankings – South African Open Chess Championship 2022:
| Rk. | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | IM | Cawdery Daniel | RSA | 2419 | 6 | 1 | 22.3 | 4 | 2.5 |
| 2 | FM | Mhango Banele | RSA | 2206 | 6 | 0 | 18.5 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | GM | Solomon Kenny | RSA | 2356 | 5.5 | 0 | 18.8 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | FM | Barrish Daniel | RSA | 2281 | 5 | 0 | 17.8 | 3 | 2.5 |
| 5 | IM | Kobese Watu | RSA | 2324 | 4 | 0 | 13.8 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | FM | Klaasen Calvin John | RSA | 2245 | 3.5 | 0 | 9.75 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | FM | Bhawoodien Shabir Hussain | RSA | 2033 | 3 | 0 | 7.25 | 2 | 0.5 |
| 8 | CM | Mazibuko Khanya | RSA | 1917 | 2 | 0 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Willenberg Kenneth Sean | RSA | 1935 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
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Final ratings – South African Women’s Chess Championship 2022:
| Rk. | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | Badenhorst Chloe | RSA | 1585 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 1.5 | |
| 2 | WIM | February Jesse Nikki | RSA | 1890 | 4.5 | 0 | 11.3 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | WIM | Van Zyl Charlize | RSA | 1682 | 4 | 0 | 8.5 | 3 | 0.5 |
| 4 | WIM | Laubscher Anzel | RSA | 1720 | 2.5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0.5 |
| 5 | WCM | Selkirk Rebecca | RSA | 1781 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Grobbelaar Jacqui | RSA | 1517 | 1.5 | 1 | 3.75 | 1 | 0.5 | |
| 7 | Klaasen Robyn Julian | RSA | 1666 | 1.5 | 0 | 4.5 | 1 | 0.5 |
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Final rankings – South African Seniors Chess Championship 2022:
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
| 1 | Lewis Mark | 1875 | 7.5 | 0 | 28.3 | 6 | 5,5 … |
| 2 | Steyn Hans | 1840 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 26.3 | 5 | 4,5 … |
| 3 | Ohlson Cecil | 1620 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 21.8 | 6 | 4,5 … |
| 4 | Southey Andrew | 1756 | 6 | 1 | 21.5 | 5 | 4,5 … |
| 5 | Galleid Stephen | 1578 | 6 | 0 | 22.5 | 5 | 4,5 … |
| 6 | Van Schaik Michael | 1578 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 7.25 | 2 | 1,5 … |
| 7 | Esau Omar | 1521 | 3.5 | 1 | 8.75 | 2 | 1,5 … |
| 8 | Goosen Pierre | 1427 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 10.3 | 2 | 1,5 … |
| 9 | Gabriels Zaid | 1357 | 1.5 | 0 | 3.5 | 1 | 0,5 … |
| 10 | Baker Gregory | 1044 | 0.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0,5 … |
