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 1880. He is on a steady climb with +36 Elo over the past 12 months. 34 rated games in the past year (≈42/year long-term). Recent standard appearances include 2026 South African Junior Closed (U20 Boys), Kraaifontein Open Chess Championships 2025 (Championship), and COMMONWEALTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 - Open Event. Also played 3 rapid (including Hermanus Chess Club Open 2026 (Championship)) and 2 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
1880
Standard
Rpd1867·Blz1877
All-time high
1917
−37 pts below
Jun 2024 · age 18
Jun 2024 · age 18
Activity
41
games / yr avg. · ≈3/mo
34 past 12 mo · ≈3/mo
classical only
Active
classical only
Active
Signature stat
#53,220
#53,220 · players worldwide · of 216,808
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
Activity & highlights
Top opponent
Evolution
+36
1844 → 1880
Tournaments
4
43 games
Score
18.5/ 4343.0%
17W13D13L
Top 3 wins
Top 3 losses
Last 12 months — tournaments
4 events| Event | Date | Score | Rank | Perf | Δ Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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·2048
+2 −6 =0
8 games·last met Dec 2025
View head-to-head →
vsJiraan Braaf
🇿🇦RSA·1902
+2 −6 =0
8 games·last met Nov 2025
View head-to-head →
vsTimofey Rogov
🇷🇺RUS·1976
+5 −2 =0
7 games·last met Apr 2026
View head-to-head →
vsCharlton Mnyasta
🇿🇦RSA·2195
+1 −5 =1
7 games·last met Dec 2025
View head-to-head →
Rankings
/
South Africa
#135
out of 1,842 players
Africa
#1,615
in continent
World
#53,220
out of 400,000+
National ranking
Europe & World
Europe
World
South Africa
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| 135 | 1,880 | |
Africa
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| 1615 | 1,880 | |
World
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| 53220 | 1,880 | |