Nine-year-old chess star Raegan Morgan from The King’s School West Rand is preparing to represent South Africa on both national and international stages after recently being crowned the country’s U10 Girls Chess Champion.

The Grade Four learner won the U10 Girls SA Close 2026, South Africa’s top invitation-only chess tournament. Her victory earned her a place at the Africa Youth Chess Championship in Uganda from May 14 to 23 and the World Youth Chess Championship in Georgia from June 15 to 28.

Raegan, who has only been playing chess for three years, said her love for the game started after watching her cousin play.

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“I saw my cousin playing the game, and I was like, ‘What is this?’. Then he taught me and told me they offered it at school,” she said. She joined the school’s chess extracurricular the next day and quickly stood out.

“My coach was like, ‘Hey, you can play’, and then he moved me up to Grade Two and Three chess while I was still in Grade One,” she explained. Raegan said she enjoys the game because it challenges her to think and improve.

“When I lose, it’s not a loss, I call it a lesson, because you learn from the game what to do and what not to do,” she said.

Ahead of the upcoming tournaments, she plans to keep practising and stay focused. “I want to be confident, but not too confident, and to just keep on practising every day,” she said.

Her father, Reagan, said the family is proud of how far she has come in such a short time.

“We thought it was just an extracurricular activity when she started because her friends were doing it, but over time we realised that this is actually a gift,” he said. He explained that Raegan progressed through school, club, inter-regional and inter-provincial competitions before qualifying for the SA Close tournament.

“We were just happy for her to be there, but she ended up winning her category and becoming national champion under-10 girls,” he said. Raegan also earned the title of Junior Master.

The family has now launched a BackaBuddy campaign to help raise funds for the international tournaments. According to Reagan, competitive chess becomes expensive as players move to higher levels.

“When you play casually, it’s affordable, but once you become competitive, the costs become very high. There are flights, accommodations, registrations and many other expenses,” he said.

The family hopes to raise R180 000 to cover costs for the two international tournaments.

Community members who would like to support Raegan’s journey can donate through the family’s crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/help-a-young-champion-rise-raegans-journey.