2025 JMCA Open Chess Tournament (A)
Open SwissStandard
16 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 07 Jun 2025 in Pretoria, South Africa. 2 titled players from 2 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 1905, and top seed was Banele Mhango (🇿🇦 RSA, FM, 2236).
Keith Khumalo (🇿🇦 RSA, CM, 2171) won with 5.0/5, ahead of Lwazi Selepe (4.5) and Gomolemo Molobi (3.0). Khumalo won solo starting round 4.
The biggest upset came in round 2: Nkhumbuleni Lukhwareni (1714) beat Ashley Urombo (1825), a +111-point gap.
Location
🇿🇦Pretoria, South Africa
Dates
07 Jun 2025
Time control
Standard: All Moves in 55 Min. Incr. 5 Sec. / /
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Titled players · 2
FM×1
CM×1
Federations · 2 represented
🇿🇦South Africa×15
🇳🇿New Zealand×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsCM Keith Khumalo led from R4; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.
Co-leaders
5
4
2
1
1
R4–R5 · LEAD HELD
CM Keith Khumalo held the sole lead from R4 through R5 without losing it.
WIN STREAKS · 3 top finishers
CM Keith Khumalo 5 wins (R1–R5)Lwazi Selepe 3 wins (R1–R3)Ashley Urombo 3 wins (R3–R5)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1CMKeith Khumalo | * | — | — | 1 |
| 2Lwazi Selepe | — | * | — | — |
| 3Ashley Urombo | — | — | * | — |
| 4James Dinham | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khumalo, KeithCM | 2171 | RSA | +12B | +15N | +3B | +4N | +6B | 5.0 | 10.0 | 10.5 | 10.50 | 2721 | +22.6 |
| 2 | Selepe, Lwazi | 2029 | RSA | +7B | +16N | +9B | =6N | +3B | 4.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 9.25 | 2208 | +18.8 |
| 3 | Molobi, Gomolemo | 1850 | RSA | +15N | +14B | −1N | +10B | −2N | 3.0 | 13.5 | 14.0 | 4.50 | 1931 | +9.8 |
| 4 | Dinham, James | 1975 | RSA | +11N | +13B | −6N | −1B | +7N | 3.0 | 12.0 | 13.5 | 6.00 | 1970 | +1.2 |
| 5 | Urombo, Ashley | 1825 | RSA | F | −9N | +15B | +16N | +8B | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 3.00 | 1899 | +14.4 |
| 6 | Mhango, BaneleFM | 2236 | RSA | F | +8N | +4B | =2B | −1N | 2.5 | 15.5 | 18.0 | 7.75 | 2098 | -12.0 |
| 7 | Malaba, Ushindi | 1736 | RSA | −2N | +11B | +14N | =8N | −4B | 2.5 | 12.0 | 13.5 | 4.75 | 1832 | +11.6 |
| 8 | Combrink, Juan-Louis | 1775 | RSA | +10N | −6B | +13N | =7B | −5N | 2.5 | 10.5 | 12.0 | 5.25 | 1827 | +9.6 |
| 9 | Lukhwareni, Nkhumbuleni | 1714 | RSA | =14N | +5B | −2N | −13B | +12B | 2.5 | 10.5 | 12.0 | 5.25 | 1801 | +10.4 |
| 10 | Hamalala, Ronald | 1692 | NZL | −8B | +12N | +16B | −3N | =13N | 2.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 2.25 | 1741 | +13.2 |
| 11 | Naidoo, Kajol | 1638 | RSA | −4B | −7N | =12B | =15N | +16B | 2.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 1.00 | 1677 | +7.2 |
| 12 | Mkotong, Boipelo | 1700 | RSA | −1N | −10B | =11N | +14B | −9N | 1.5 | 12.0 | 13.5 | 2.50 | 1628 | -12.0 |
| 13 | Carlinsky, Ruan | 1707 | RSA | F | −4N | −8B | +9N | =10B | 1.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 3.75 | 1702 | -3.6 |
| 14 | Makatwane, Lethabo | 1743 | RSA | =9B | −3N | −7B | −12N | +15B | 1.5 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 1.75 | 1583 | -21.6 |
| 15 | Mashishi, Thato | 1658 | RSA | −3B | −1B | −5N | =11B | −14N | 0.5 | 13.0 | 14.5 | 1.00 | 1457 | -20.4 |
| 16 | Molefe, Tsholofelo | 1675 | RSA | F | −2B | −10N | −5B | −11N | 0.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.00 | 996 | -57.6 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Khumalo, KeithCMRSA+22.65.0 pts · #1
- 2Selepe, LwaziRSA+18.84.5 pts · #2
- 3Urombo, AshleyRSA+14.43.0 pts · #3
Top rating losers
- 1Molefe, TsholofeloRSA-57.60.0 pts · #16
- 2Makatwane, LethaboRSA-21.61.5 pts · #13
- 3Mashishi, ThatoRSA-20.40.5 pts · #15
Biggest upsets
- R2+111 Elo gap