2026 Buffalo City Chess Trials #1 (U20 and Open)
Open SwissStandard
15 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 07 Feb 2026 in East London, South Africa. Top 10 Elo average was 813, and top seed was Kulasande Mafanya (🇿🇦 RSA, 1808).
Dane Kevin Pearson (🇿🇦 RSA, 1572) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Storm Scheepers (4.5) and Ethan Pearson (3.5). Pearson shared the lead from round 1, winning on tie-break.
Location
🇿🇦East London, South Africa
Dates
07 Feb 2026
Time control
Standard: 60 minutes for game
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Avg top 10
813
Participants
15
Federations · 1 represented
🇿🇦South Africa×8
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R5; 2 players tied at 4.5/5, decided on Buchholz. Title race narrowed from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 2 at the finish.
Co-leaders
5
3
2
2
2
R5 · TIEBREAK CLUSTER
2 players finish on 4.5/5. Pearson takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (11.5).
R5 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Storm Scheepers drew with Dane Kevin Pearson (White).
WIN STREAKS · 2 top finishers
Storm Scheepers 4 wins (R1–R4)Dane Kevin Pearson 4 wins (R1–R4)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Storm Scheepers | * | ½ | 1 | — |
| 2Dane Kevin Pearson | ½ | * | — | 1 |
| 3Ethan Pearson | 0 | — | * | — |
| 4Cuwin Philander | — | 0 | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearson, Dane Kevin | 1572 | RSA | +4B | +7N | +6B | +8N | =2N | 4.5 | 11.5 | 13.5 | 11.25 | 1730 | +12.8 |
| 2 | Scheepers, Storm | 1623 | RSA | +13B | +6N | +12B | +3N | =1B | 4.5 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 9.75 | 1849 | +31.2 |
| 3 | Pearson, Ethan | 1698 | RSA | +10N | +11B | =5N | −2B | +9N | 3.5 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 6.25 | 1496 | -19.6 |
| 4 | Philander, Cuwin | 0 | RSA | −1N | −5B | +?N | +?B | +11N | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.00 | 1523 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Mqweba, Elam | 1801 | RSA | F | +4N | =3B | +12N | −?B | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 5.75 | 1685 | -3.2 |
| 6 | Mpitikezi, Thembelani | 1440 | RSA | +14N | −2B | −1N | +15B | −10N | 2.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 1.00 | 819 | -21.2 |
| 7 | FIDE 534021400 | 0 | — | F | −1B | +9N | +11B | −8B | 2.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 3.00 | 804 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Mandita, Vuyo | 0 | RSA | F | F | +?B | −1B | +7N | 2.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 2.00 | 804 | 0.0 |
| 9 | FIDE 534021485 | 0 | — | +15B | −?N | −7B | +14N | −3B | 2.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1.00 | 885 | 0.0 |
| 10 | FIDE 534022627 | 0 | — | −3B | +15N | F | −?N | +6B | 2.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 2.00 | 1563 | 0.0 |
| 11 | FIDE 534022562 | 0 | — | F | −3N | +14B | −7N | −4B | 1.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.00 | 885 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Jikijela, Anisha | 0 | RSA | F | F | −2N | −5B | +13N | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.00 | 889 | 0.0 |
| 13 | FIDE 534042342 | 0 | — | −2N | F | −?B | +?N | −12B | 1.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.00 | 834 | 0.0 |
| 14 | FIDE 534019464 | 0 | — | −6B | F | −11N | −9B | +?N | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.00 | 640 | 0.0 |
| 15 | FIDE 14376105 | 0 | — | −9N | −10B | F | −6N | F | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.00 | 640 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Scheepers, StormRSA+31.24.5 pts · #1
- 2Pearson, Dane KevinRSA+12.84.5 pts · #2
- 3Jikijela, AnishaRSA0.01.0 pts · #14
Top rating losers
- 1Mpitikezi, ThembelaniRSA-21.22.0 pts · #8
- 2Pearson, EthanRSA-19.63.5 pts · #6
- 3Mqweba, ElamRSA-3.22.5 pts · #5