The first-ever North Coast Chess Club tournament drew 62 players from across KZN to Umhlali Prep for a full day of competition.

On Saturday, competitors in four categories played from 8.15am until just before 6pm in the inaugural standard 60/60 Chess SA-rated tournament, where each player had an hour to make their moves. The event was organised by chess enthusiast Zoe Ellender from Zinkwazi.

Zoe aimed to unite players from across the province at a competitive tournament on the North Coast, where such events are rare.

“It’s an entire underground movement,” she said. Her nine-year-old son, Asher, is about to earn his national colours and will soon travel to Kazakhstan for two weeks.

Umhlali Prep celebrated three wins on the day, with Matthew Viriah taking first place in the junior primary division, and Victoria and Amber Power winning Best Female in their respective junior and senior primary categories.

Julian Thorpe from Ballito won the Adult/Open division, beating Luke Fisher in the final. Westville’s Tharshey Govender claimed the senior primary title and Connor Taljaard from UCT Online High School topped the high school section.

“It’s bizarre how big chess is in the country, never mind in Eastern Europe and Asia. I never knew it existed until my son began playing,” said Zoe.

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