Ballito’s Jorah Soojay is a chess machine in the making, recently claiming a continental silver medal.

The 15-year-old Ashton International College Ballito pupil has been a rising star in the chess world for the past few years and now finds himself among Africa’s best junior players.

In May, he was crowned South African U16 champion and just returned from the African Youth Chess Championships, held in Ekurhuleni from June 16-23.

There he faced off against the highest rated age group players in Africa, beating competitors from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya and Tunisia, while earning draws against those from Egypt and Botswana.

He earned 6.5 points out of a possible 9, claiming five wins, three draws and losing just once in his allotted nine games.

Tournament chess at this level means players each had an hour and a half in which to make their moves.

Jorah’s highlight of the tournament was a hard-fought draw against the number one seed, Ahmed Kandil – a candidate master from Egypt.

It was the only game that Kandil, the eventual gold medalist, did not win during the event.

That showed Jorah’s ability to hang with some of the top players in Africa and he has now earned the right to take on the world’s best at the World Youth Chess Championships in Brazil in October.

“I want to thank my parents Rajan and Joanne for their constant support, and above all, I want to thank God,” said Jorah.

Aside from upcoming tournaments, Jorah’s next goal is to earn the candidate master title.

The title is given to players who reach a classical chess rating of 2 200 or above, although there are also other ways to earn the title via competition results.

According to his chess.com profile, Jorah is currently rated 1 960 in classical, 1 732 in rapid and 1 730 in blitz, the latter two of which are shortened versions of the game.

You can find a full breakdown of Jorah’s games at the African Championships at chess.com/events/2024-african-youth-chess-championship-open-u16/results.

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