Ballito chess master Jorah Soojay (17) claimed a silver medal at the South African Junior Closed Chess Championships in Rustenburg last week.

The tournament, hosted from March 28 to April 2, brought together the country’s top junior players to compete in age-group categories from under-8 to under-20.

Soojay, a matric pupil at Ashton International College Ballito, tied for first place on points in the U18 division after winning seven of his nine matches, but was awarded second on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

The silver medal follows an exceptional 2025 season, where he won the African Schools Individual Chess Championship U17 title with a perfect 9/9 score, earning his provisional FIDE Master (FM) title in the process.

Jorah said the SAJCCC was fun but challenging, explaining that one costly mistake was the difference between the gold and silver medals.

“The tournament was great, I really enjoyed myself, especially playing against my friends,” he said.

“I had a good run in the beginning, but I made a mistake in a crucial game due to time running out, which cost me.”

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The tournament followed the Individual Swiss format, with games played over nine rounds using a time control of 90 minutes per player with 30-second increments per move.

Several members of the North Coast Chess Club (NCCC) also impressed, including Jorah’s younger brother, Josiah (10), who was the club’s highest-placed competitor.

The Grade 6 Ashton pupil competed in the boys’ U12 section, tying for third place on points but finishing seventh overall with a score of 6.5/9.

“It was a really good tournament – saying I had lots of fun is an understatement,” said Josiah, who is among the youngest players to earn SA colours.

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Elsewhere, Reddam House Ballito’s Neha Bisram finished eighth in the girls’ U14 section, Umhlali Preparatory School’s Matthew Viriah finished 10th in the boys’ U10 division, and Zinkwazi’s Asher Ellender placed 12th in the boys’ U12 category.

The top 10 finishes by the Soojay brothers, Viriah and Bisram earned them selection to represent South Africa at the Chess Commonwealth Games in Sri Lanka later this year.

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The NCCC meets every Wednesday evening at Ballito Hills Estate’s Bean There Restaurant. For more information, contact info@northcoastchessclub.org or Zoe Ellender on 082 455 3098.