Bojanala Closed Chess Championships 2026 (U12)
10 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 13 Feb 2026 to 15 Feb 2026 in Rustenburg, South Africa. Top 10 Elo average was 459, and top seed was Gian Labuschagne (🇿🇦 RSA, 1651).
Emilio Goncalves (🇿🇦 RSA, 1468) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Neelo Motau (4.5) and Kgosietsile Bok Talane (3.0). Goncalves shared the lead from round 1, winning on tie-break.
The biggest upset came in round 2: Emilio Goncalves (1468) beat Gian Labuschagne (1651), a +183-point gap.
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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.
2 players finish on 4.5/5. Goncalves takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (13.5).
Neelo Motau drew with Emilio Goncalves (Black).
Neelo Motau went unbeaten across 5 games (R1–R5).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Neelo Motau | * | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 2Emilio Goncalves | ½ | * | 1 | — |
| 3Gian Labuschagne | 0 | 0 | * | — |
| 4FIDE 534007164 | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goncalves, Emilio | 1468 | RSA | +7B | +4N | =2B | +5N | +3B | 4.5 | 13.5 | 16.0 | 13.75 | 1761 | +30.8 |
| 2 | Motau, Neelo | 1471 | RSA | +8N | +3B | =1N | +6B | +4N | 4.5 | 13.5 | 15.5 | 13.25 | 1752 | +27.6 |
| 3 | Talane, Kgosietsile Bok | 0 | RSA | +5B | −2N | +?B | +9N | −1N | 3.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 5.00 | 675 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Labuschagne, Gian | 1651 | RSA | +10N | −1B | +9N | +8B | −2B | 3.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 | 6.00 | 675 | -58.4 |
| 5 | FIDE 14371936 | 0 | — | −3N | +6B | +?N | −1B | +8N | 3.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 5.00 | 666 | 0.0 |
| 6 | FIDE 534007164 | 0 | — | +?B | −5N | +7B | −2N | +?B | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.50 | 684 | 0.0 |
| 7 | FIDE 14371928 | 0 | — | −1N | +10B | −6N | +?B | =9B | 2.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 3.00 | 666 | 0.0 |
| 8 | FIDE 14396858 | 0 | — | −2B | +?N | +?B | −4N | −5B | 2.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 0.00 | 768 | 0.0 |
| 9 | FIDE 14371499 | 0 | — | +?B | =?N | −4B | −3B | =7N | 2.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.25 | 851 | 0.0 |
| 10 | FIDE 14396793 | 0 | — | −4B | −7N | +?B | −?N | +?B | 2.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.00 | 851 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Goncalves, EmilioRSA+30.84.5 pts · #2
- 2Motau, NeeloRSA+27.64.5 pts · #1
- 3FIDE 143719280.02.5 pts · #8
- 1Labuschagne, GianRSA-58.43.0 pts · #3
- 2FIDE 143719280.02.5 pts · #8
- 3FIDE 143714990.02.0 pts · #7
- R2+183 Elo gap
- R5+180 Elo gap