Format
WC
Willenberg, Craig Glen
🇿🇦FIDE 14300532· Male· South Africa· Born in 1987
Follow Craig Glen WillenbergTrack his monthly FIDE ratings, games, tournaments and more.
Craig Glen Willenberg, a 39-year-old South African player, is rated 2047 and ranked 36th among South African players, and in the top 10% worldwide. He has held steady between 2000 and 2050 for 2 years. 15 rated games in the past year (≈9/year long-term). Recent appearances: Kraaifontein Open Chess Championships 2025 (Championship) and Cape Town Chess Federation Club League 2025 (A). Also played 1 rapid event (including Cape Winelands Open Rapid 2026 (Championship)) recently. He had 6 career breaks: 17 months (2002–2003), 17 months (2004–2006), 29 months (2006–2008), 23 months (2009–2011), 12 months (2014–2015) and 26 months (2019–2022, COVID-19 included). His peak of 2154 was reached at age 15 (Jan 2002); he also reached South African #10 in Jul 2002.
At junior level, he reached #1, #1 and #1 nationally in U20, U18 and U16.
Current rating
2047
Standard
Rpd1963·Blz2030
All-time high
2154
−107 pts below
Jan 2002 · age 15
Jan 2002 · age 15
Activity
20
games / yr avg. · ≈2/mo
15 past 12 mo · ≈1/mo
classical only
Moderately active
classical only
Moderately active
Signature stat
#36
#36 · South African players · of 1,804
Career timeline
18 entries2019
Best 12-month gain (+41 Elo)
2001 → 2042
Nov 2019
Inactive for 26 months
paused at 2042 → returned at 2054
Nov 2019
2017
Re-crossed 2000
at age 30
Dec 2017
100 career games
at age 30
Oct 2017
2014
Inactive for 12 months
paused at 2021 → returned at 2011
Jul 2014
2009
Inactive for 23 months
paused at 2072 → returned at 2045
Sep 2009
Standard rating history
Peak
FIDE title
Threshold
First rated
Inactive period
COVID-19
Activity & highlights
Top opponent
Evolution
+15
2032 → 2047
Tournaments
2
15 games
Score
9.5/ 1563.3%
8W3D4L
Top 3 wins
Top 3 losses
Last 12 months — tournaments
2 events| Event | Date | Score | Rank | Perf | Δ Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Swiss | Dec 2025 | 3.5/5 | #7 | 2085 | +7.2 |
Team | Jul 2025 | 6/10 | #19 | 2057 | +8.2 |
Most-Played Opponents
vsWatu KobeseIM
🇿🇦RSA·2237
+0 −6 =3
9 games·last met Aug 2024
View head-to-head →
vsCalvin John KlaasenFM
🇿🇦RSA·2171
+0 −4 =3
7 games·last met Aug 2023
View head-to-head →
vsCharles De VilliersFM
🇿🇦RSA·1989
+1 −5 =0
6 games·last met Jan 2024
View head-to-head →
vsLuan De Jager
🇿🇦RSA·1921
+3 −0 =3
6 games·last met Sep 2019
View head-to-head →
vsShabir Hussain BhawoodienFM
🇿🇦RSA·2020
+3 −0 =2
5 games·last met Jan 2025
View head-to-head →
Rankings
/
South Africa
#36
out of 1,876 players
Africa
#434
in continent
World
#21,147
out of 400,000+
National ranking
Europe & World
Europe
World
South Africa
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| ... | ||
| 36 | 2,047 | |
Africa
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| ... | ||
| 434 | 2,047 | |
World
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| ... | ||
| 21147 | 2,047 | |