Format
NB
Ncethelo, Bongolethu
🇿🇦FIDE 14353091· Male· South Africa· Born in 2006
Follow Bongolethu NcetheloTrack his monthly FIDE ratings, games, tournaments and more.
Bongolethu Ncethelo, a 20-year-old South African player, is rated 1869. He is on a steady climb with +25 Elo over the past 12 months. 52 rated games in the past year (≈45/year long-term). Recent standard appearances include Commonwealth Chess Championship 2026, 2026 South African Junior Closed (U20 Boys), and Kraaifontein Open Chess Championships 2025 (Championship). Also played 3 rapid (including Hermanus Chess Club Open 2026 (Championship)) and 3 blitz events (including COMMONWEALTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 - Blitz Open Event) recently. His peak of 1917 was reached at age 18 (Jun 2024, South African #69 at the time).
At junior level, he reached #11, #4 and #1 nationally in U20, U18 and U16.
Current rating
1869
Standard
Rpd1867·Blz1906
All-time high
1917
−48 pts below
Jun 2024 · age 18
Jun 2024 · age 18
Activity
47
games / yr avg. · ≈4/mo
52 past 12 mo · ≈4/mo
classical only
Active
classical only
Active
Signature stat
#56,100
#56,100 · players worldwide · of 218,279
Career timeline
12 entries2025
11th South African U20 player
at age 19 · rated 1876
Dec 2025
Re-crossed 1800
at age 19
Feb 2025
K-factor lowered to 20
at age 19
Jan 2025
2024
100 career games
at age 18
Jul 2024
Peak South African rank: #69
at age 18 · rated 1917
Jun 2024
4th South African U18 player
at age 18 · rated 1917
Jun 2024
Standard rating history
Peak
FIDE title
Threshold
First rated
FIDE recal.
Activity & highlights
Top opponent
Evolution
+25
1844 → 1869
Tournaments
6
52 games
Score
28/ 5253.8%
21W14D17L
Top 3 wins
Top 3 losses
Last 12 months — tournaments
6 events| Event | Date | Score | Rank | Perf | Δ Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open Swiss | May 2026 | 4.5/9 | #48 | 2012 | +22.0 |
Open Swiss | Apr 2026 | 5/9 | #35 | 1746 | -33.0 |
Open Swiss | Mar 2026 | 6/9 | #2 | 1824 | -12.2 |
Swiss | Dec 2025 | 3.5/5 | #6 | 1993 | +15.6 |
Open Swiss | Nov 2025 | 4.5/9 | #45 | 1940 | +10.2 |
Team | Jul 2025 | 4.5/11 | #40 | 1932 | +21.8 |
Most-Played Opponents
vsReegan PalmerCM
🇿🇦RSA·2090
+2 −6 =0
8 games·last met Dec 2025
View head-to-head →
vsJiraan Braaf
🇿🇦RSA·1889
+2 −6 =0
8 games·last met Nov 2025
View head-to-head →
vsTimofey Rogov
🇷🇺RUS·1983
+5 −2 =0
7 games·last met Apr 2026
View head-to-head →
vsCharlton Mnyasta
🇿🇦RSA·2206
+1 −5 =1
7 games·last met Dec 2025
View head-to-head →
Rankings
/
South Africa
#138
out of 1,876 players
Africa
#1,732
in continent
World
#56,099
out of 400,000+
National ranking
Europe & World
Europe
World
South Africa
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World
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