2026 MCA Welcome Tshwane (B)
17 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 24 Jan 2026 in Centurion, South Africa. 2 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1565, and top seed was Gabin Tshibangu Kabuya (🇿🇦 RSA, 1639).
Shaylen Marimuthu (🇿🇦 RSA, 1478) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Gunther Mittermaier (4.5) and NCUBE BRENDON (3.5). Marimuthu shared the lead from round 3, winning on tie-break.
The biggest upset came in round 2: Shaylen Marimuthu (1478) beat Zac Gemmell (1632), a +154-point gap.
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R5; 2 players tied at 4.5/5, decided on Buchholz. Title race narrowed from 4 co-leaders at R4 to 2 at the finish.
2 players finish on 4.5/5. Marimuthu takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (14.0).
Gunther Mittermaier drew with Shaylen Marimuthu (Black).
Gunther Mittermaier 3 wins (R1–R3)Shaylen Marimuthu 3 wins (R1–R3)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Gunther Mittermaier | * | ½ | 1 | — |
| 2Shaylen Marimuthu | ½ | * | — | 1 |
| 3NCUBE BRENDON | 0 | — | * | ½ |
| 4Tumelo Mabala | — | 0 | ½ | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marimuthu, Shaylen | 1478 | RSA | +10N | +6B | +7N | =2B | +4N | 4.5 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 13.75 | 1882 | +75.2 |
| 2 | Mittermaier, Gunther | 1501 | RSA | +13B | +11N | +5B | =1N | +3B | 4.5 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 11.75 | 1925 | +78.4 |
| 3 | NCUBE BRENDON | 1621 | ZIM | +12N | +14B | =4N | +6B | −2N | 3.5 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 7.25 | 1741 | +24.0 |
| 4 | Mabala, Tumelo | 0 | RSA | +9B | +15N | =3B | +10N | −1B | 3.5 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 7.25 | 1541 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Kabuya, Gabin Tshibangu | 1639 | RSA | +8N | +7B | −2N | +9B | −6N | 3.0 | 13.5 | 16.0 | 8.50 | 1421 | -34.8 |
| 6 | Gemmell, Zac | 1632 | RSA | +15B | −1N | +11B | −3N | +5B | 3.0 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 6.00 | 1632 | 0.0 |
| 7 | Meeran, Museera | 1503 | RSA | +17B | −5N | −1B | +11N | +10B | 3.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 4.00 | 1570 | +15.6 |
| 8 | Bogatsu, Oarabile | 1542 | RSA | −5B | =9N | =12B | +17N | +14B | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 3.00 | 1564 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Ngwangwa, Nonhlanhla | 0 | RSA | −4N | =8B | +16N | −5N | +12B | 2.5 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 4.00 | 1555 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Thakur, Yuv | 1545 | RSA | −1B | +13N | +14N | −4B | −7N | 2.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 2.00 | 1375 | -27.6 |
| 11 | Rust, Christoph | 1608 | RSA | +16N | −2B | −6N | −7B | +13N | 2.0 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 2.00 | 1327 | -62.0 |
| 12 | Ramonyai, Maribe | 1529 | RSA | −3B | F | =8N | +13B | −9N | 1.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.50 | 821 | -14.8 |
| 13 | Erasmus, Mateo | 0 | RSA | −2N | −10B | +15B | −12N | −11B | 1.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 1.00 | 1287 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Buchner, Emil | 1528 | RSA | F | −3N | −10B | +16B | −8N | 1.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.00 | 1410 | -18.4 |
| 15 | Radia, Diya | 1443 | RSA | −6N | −4B | −13N | F | +17B | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.00 | 837 | -10.0 |
| 16 | Jonker, Tertius | 1465 | RSA | −11B | +17N | −9B | −14N | F | 1.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.00 | 773 | -25.6 |
| 17 | FIDE 534024123 | 0 | — | −7N | −16B | F | −8B | −15N | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 661 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Mittermaier, GuntherRSA+78.44.5 pts · #1
- 2Marimuthu, ShaylenRSA+75.24.5 pts · #2
- 3NCUBE BRENDONZIM+24.03.5 pts · #3
- 1Rust, ChristophRSA-62.02.0 pts · #12
- 2Kabuya, Gabin TshibanguRSA-34.83.0 pts · #9
- 3Thakur, YuvRSA-27.62.0 pts · #10
- R2+154 Elo gap
- R3+138 Elo gap
- R5+120 Elo gap