Bojanala Closed Chess Championships 2026 (U18)
Open SwissStandard
9 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 1394, and top seed was Kganya Sehularo (🇿🇦 RSA, 1894).
Lebogang Difotso (🇿🇦 RSA, 1784) won with 4.0/5, ahead of Lwazi Nkabinde (3.5) and Leroux Byliefeldt (3.5). Difotso won solo starting round 4.
The biggest upset came in round 1: Junaid Badenhorst (1473) beat Adrian Tafara Changara (1604), a +131-point gap.
Location
🇿🇦Rustenburg, South Africa
Dates
13 Feb 2026 → 15 Feb 2026
Time control
Standard: 45 minutes with 30 seconds increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Avg top 10
1,394
Participants
9
Federations · 1 represented
🇿🇦South Africa×9
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsLebogang Difotso led from R4; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.
Co-leaders
5
4
2
1
1
R4–R5 · LEAD HELD
Lebogang Difotso held the sole lead from R4 through R5 without losing it.
R5 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Lebogang Difotso drew with Lwazi Nkabinde (White).
R2–R4 · WIN STREAK
Lwazi Nkabinde won 3 in a row (R2–R4).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lebogang Difotso | * | ½ | 1 | — |
| 2Lwazi Nkabinde | ½ | * | — | 1 |
| 3Leroux Byliefeldt | 0 | — | * | — |
| 4Adrian Tafara Changara | — | 0 | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Difotso, Lebogang | 1784 | RSA | +6B | =7N | +?B | +3N | =2B | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 8.50 | 1733 | -8.0 |
| 2 | Nkabinde, Lwazi | 1524 | RSA | −?B | +5N | +4N | +7B | =1N | 3.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 9.00 | 1933 | +74.4 |
| 3 | Byliefeldt, Leroux | 1640 | RSA | +9N | =?N | +7B | −1B | +8B | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 2.50 | 1737 | +15.2 |
| 4 | Changara, Adrian Tafara | 1604 | RSA | −5B | +9N | −2B | +8N | +7N | 3.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 2.50 | 1512 | -20.4 |
| 5 | Badenhorst, Junaid | 1473 | RSA | +4N | −2B | =6B | −?N | +9N | 2.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 4.25 | 1625 | +32.4 |
| 6 | Sera, Galaletsang | 1466 | RSA | −1N | +8B | =5N | +9B | −?B | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 2.25 | 1593 | +18.4 |
| 7 | Mostert, Gideon | 1527 | RSA | +8N | =1B | −3N | −2N | −4B | 1.5 | 14.0 | 15.0 | 3.00 | 1316 | -36.8 |
| 8 | Van Wyk, Ruan | 0 | RSA | −7B | −6N | +9B | −4B | −3N | 1.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 0.00 | 1312 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Pedersen, Jeffrey-James | 1524 | RSA | −3B | −4B | −8N | −6N | −5B | 0.0 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 0.00 | 746 | -75.2 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Nkabinde, LwaziRSA+74.43.5 pts · #1
- 2Badenhorst, JunaidRSA+32.42.5 pts · #3
- 3Sera, GalaletsangRSA+18.42.5 pts · #6
Top rating losers
- 1Pedersen, Jeffrey-JamesRSA-75.20.0 pts · #9
- 2Mostert, GideonRSA-36.81.5 pts · #8
- 3Changara, Adrian TafaraRSA-20.43.0 pts · #4
Biggest upsets
- R1+131 Elo gap
- R3+110 Elo gap