2026 Blou Bul Open Chess Tournament (A)
Open SwissStandard
14 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 21 Feb 2026 in Centurion, South Africa. 2 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1699, and top seed was Providence Oatlhotse (🇧🇼 BOT, IM, 2255).
Lesedi Mmakou (🇿🇦 RSA, 1635) won with 3.0/5, ahead of Rico Schutte (3.0) and Gondwe Prosper (2.5).
The biggest upset came in round 1: Lesedi Mmakou (1635) beat Divine Songo (1872), a +237-point gap.
Location
🇿🇦Centurion, South Africa
Dates
21 Feb 2026
Time control
Standard: 50 minutes with 10 seconds increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Avg top 10
1,699
Participants
14
Federations · 2 represented
🇿🇦South Africa×13
🇿🇲Zambia×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R5; 2 players tied at 3.0/5, decided on Buchholz.
Co-leaders
9
4
3
1
1
R5 · TIEBREAK CLUSTER
2 players finish on 3.0/5. Mmakou takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (4.5).
R3–R5 · WIN STREAK
Rico Schutte won 3 in a row (R3–R5).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lesedi Mmakou | * | — | — | 1 |
| 2Rico Schutte | — | * | — | — |
| 3Kutlwano Khalo | — | — | * | — |
| 4Gondwe Prosper | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mmakou, Lesedi | 1635 | RSA | +?N | −?B | +7N | +3B | −?N | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.50 | 2563 | +54.0 |
| 2 | Schutte, Rico | 1690 | RSA | −?N | −10B | +13N | +14B | +?B | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.50 | 1706 | +1.2 |
| 3 | Gondwe Prosper | 1759 | ZAM | +9B | −?N | +14B | −1N | =5B | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 2.75 | 1646 | -21.2 |
| 4 | Khalo, Kutlwano | 1732 | RSA | −?N | +13B | =9N | −7B | +10N | 2.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 2.75 | 1711 | -3.2 |
| 5 | Khumalo, Siyabonga Samuel Khutso | 1579 | RSA | +7N | −?B | −?N | +13B | =3N | 2.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.75 | 1990 | +60.0 |
| 6 | Kenny, Surprise | 1768 | RSA | +14N | −?B | =10N | +9B | −?N | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.25 | 1802 | +4.8 |
| 7 | Buys, Bernard R. | 1769 | RSA | −5B | +11N | −1B | +4N | −8B | 2.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 3.50 | 1586 | -48.8 |
| 8 | Pillay, Nico | 1726 | RSA | F | +?N | −?B | −?B | +7N | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.00 | 2568 | +22.4 |
| 9 | Pretorius, Sarel | 1468 | RSA | −3N | +12B | =4B | −6N | −11N | 1.5 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 2.25 | 1558 | +18.4 |
| 10 | Lodi, Khotso | 1603 | RSA | −?B | +2N | =6B | −?N | −4B | 1.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 4.25 | 1730 | +10.2 |
| 11 | Rishworth, Justin James | 1616 | RSA | −?N | −7B | F | −?N | +9B | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.50 | 1618 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Jones, Edward | 1663 | RSA | −?B | −9N | −?B | F | +14N | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.00 | 1492 | -18.0 |
| 13 | Baloyi, Boikanyo | 1630 | RSA | =?B | −4N | −2B | −5N | F | 0.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 870 | -52.8 |
| 14 | Barkhuizen, Simon Jurgens | 1522 | RSA | −6B | F | −3N | −2N | −12B | 0.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.00 | 919 | -38.4 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Khumalo, Siyabonga Samuel KhutsoRSA+60.02.5 pts · #4
- 2Mmakou, LesediRSA+54.03.0 pts · #6
- 3Pillay, NicoRSA+22.42.0 pts · #12
Top rating losers
- 1Baloyi, BoikanyoRSA-52.80.5 pts · #14
- 2Buys, Bernard R.RSA-48.82.0 pts · #5
- 3Barkhuizen, Simon JurgensRSA-38.40.0 pts · #13
Biggest upsets
- R1+237 Elo gap
- R2+195 Elo gap
- R1+190 Elo gap