Ehlanzeni Chess boasts with international stars
Ehlanzeni chess player from Lihawu High School's Banele Mhango (16) will soon internationally represent his country after winning the u/16 open category at the South African Junior Closed Chess Championships last week in Benoni.
A 2017 African Youth Chess Championships (AYCC) bronze medallist, Banele now qualifies to compete at the World Youth (WY), World Youth u/16 Olympiad (WYO) and Commonwealth Games (CWG) set to take place in July in India.
He will also, later this year, get the chance to play for the gold medal at the AYCC.
Teammate, Arjun Sopanam-Prabha qualified for the WY, AYCC as well as the CWG. The 10-year-old got a bronze medal in the u/10 open section category.
Suné du Preez (u/14) and Mieke Pauer (u/8) placed fifth in their respective categories and will also travel to the Commonwealth Games in India.
EJ Singwane High’s Lindokuhle Bhila and Adolph Nkosi narrowly missed out in a place under the top 10.
“It is worth noting that since Banele received his title of candidate master in December 2017, he has not lost a single game of chess. We are immensely proud of all the players that held Ehlanzeni Chess’ name high,” said Lizelle Douglass of the Ehlanzeni Chess Union.
Penryn College is set to host the next chess tournament on Saturday April 21. Before the first round commences, a celebration in the above-mentioned players’ names will be held.
