The South African Junior Closed Chess Championships (SAJCCC) 2026 was recently held in Rustenburg and several participants from Tshwane Chess finished in the top ten in their age groups.

However, two players carried the Tshwane team’s flag high by winning their divisions and returning home with gold medals. One of these players is 17-year-old Museera Meeran from Centurion.  

Meeran won the u.18 girls division during this championship. She participated as Tshwane Chess’ top-ranked u.18 girl, while she was ranked third at national level before the championship.

This achievement suddenly created many opportunities for Meeran to show her mettle behind the chess board at continental and international levels.

As national u.18 champion she has been invited to compete in the African Youth Championship in Uganda next month, while she also has the option to compete in the 2026 Commonwealth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka over the same period. She has also qualified for the 2026 FIDE World Youth Championships, which will be held in Montesilvano, Italy from 14-27 June.

Meeran decided to participate in the African Youth Championship in Uganda, as she and her parents believe that it will be the best next step to develop her exciting journey as a chess player. They are therefore hard at work making arrangements, as well as trying to recruit sponsors to help with travel costs.

Meeran’s development as a chess champion is an interesting story and began ten years ago when she was seven years old. Although her parents were not chess players themselves, she discovered the game online and basically taught herself to play. Then her mother realized she had potential and so her path crossed with a skilled coach. He began teaching her the finer arts of chess and also encouraged her to enter tournaments. The rest is history, because Meeran’s development as a chess player was so good that medals and titles soon became part of her chess CV.

She later decided to also pursue alternative opportunities as a chess player and so she became involved in the Blue Frontier Path Chess Tournament hosted by SPUR. Last year, Meeran was crowned the first permanent Queen of Blue Frontier Path, after winning three tournaments in a row.

2025 was in fact a breakthrough year for Meeran, as she first represented the Tshwane team at the Gauteng Inter-Region tournament in Vanderbijl Park and was then also selected as a member of the Gauteng team for the 2025 Mzansi Inter Provincial Team Championships in Port Elizabeth, where her team walked away with the gold medal.

These days, Meeran is coached by current SA Open chess champion, national master, James Dinham. According to her, Dinham has taught her more than just how to think behind the board to improve her game.

“He has given me a lot of insight into the game, but also inspired me to adopt a life philosophy away from the game of never giving up, even when I think all hope is lost,” she explained.

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