2026 Buffalo City Chess Trials 2 (U18 Boys)
Open SwissStandard
22 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 28 Feb 2026 in East London, South Africa. Top 10 Elo average was 783, and top seed was Onako Bambela (🇿🇦 RSA, 1646).
Tatenda Mbewe (🇿🇦 RSA, 1565) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Takunda Maipo (4.5). Mbewe shared the lead from round 1, winning on tie-break.
Location
🇿🇦East London, South Africa
Dates
28 Feb 2026
Time control
Standard: 50 minutes with 10 seconds increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Federations · 1 represented
🇿🇦South Africa×13
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R5; 2 players tied at 4.5/5, decided on Buchholz.
Co-leaders
13
7
3
1
2
R5 · TIEBREAK CLUSTER
2 players finish on 4.5/5. Mbewe takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (13.5).
WIN STREAKS · 3 top finishers
Takunda Maipo 3 wins (R1–R3)Tatenda Mbewe 4 wins (R1–R4)Sandile Magobiyane 3 wins (R3–R5)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Takunda Maipo | * | — | — | — |
| 2Tatenda Mbewe | — | * | — | 1 |
| 3Sandile Magobiyane | — | — | * | — |
| 4FIDE 534010319 | — | 0 | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mbewe, Tatenda | 1565 | RSA | +11N | +6B | +3N | +10B | =9N | 4.5 | 13.5 | 16.5 | 15.00 | 1779 | +22.4 |
| 2 | Maipo, Takunda | 0 | RSA | +?N | +?B | +5N | =9B | +10N | 4.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 8.00 | 1877 | +58.4 |
| 3 | FIDE 534010319 | 0 | — | +?B | +?N | −1B | +16N | +11B | 4.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 5.00 | 764 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Magobiyane, Sandile | 0 | RSA | +?B | −16N | +?B | +13N | +8B | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 6.00 | 1483 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Botha, Tyler | 1631 | RSA | +19B | +8N | −2B | +17N | =6B | 3.5 | 13.0 | 15.0 | 8.75 | 2263 | +10.8 |
| 6 | Gola, Cwenga | 0 | RSA | +?B | −1N | +?B | +?N | =5N | 3.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.75 | 1410 | 0.0 |
| 7 | Brown, Christopher | 0 | RSA | =?N | +?B | +?B | −8N | +21N | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1.50 | 1497 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Mayo, Esinaye | 1463 | RSA | +12N | −5B | +18N | +7B | −4N | 3.0 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 8.50 | 841 | -10.8 |
| 9 | Bambela, Onako | 1646 | RSA | F | +17N | +13B | =2N | =1B | 3.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 9.50 | 1564 | -4.4 |
| 10 | Cressey, Ryelee Jordan | 1525 | RSA | +14B | +21N | +16B | −1N | −2B | 3.0 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 6.00 | 764 | -18.0 |
| 11 | FIDE 534021191 | 0 | — | −1B | +?N | +?B | +?N | −3N | 3.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.00 | 1548 | 0.0 |
| 12 | FIDE 534042300 | 0 | — | −8B | +?N | =21B | =15B | +?N | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 2.00 | 663 | 0.0 |
| 13 | FIDE 534032410 | 0 | — | +?N | +?B | −9N | −4B | +?N | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.00 | 847 | 0.0 |
| 14 | FIDE 534032436 | 0 | — | −10N | −15B | +?N | +18B | =?N | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 2.00 | 725 | 0.0 |
| 15 | Ngqiyana, Mbasa | 0 | RSA | −21B | +14N | +?B | =12N | −?B | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 4.00 | 731 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Hutu, Likho | 0 | RSA | F | +4B | −10N | −3B | +17N | 2.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 6.00 | 725 | 0.0 |
| 17 | Slater, James | 0 | RSA | +?N | −9B | +22N | −5B | −16B | 2.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.00 | 844 | -27.6 |
| 18 | FIDE 534045198 | 0 | — | F | +19N | −8B | −14N | +?B | 2.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 2.00 | 663 | 0.0 |
| 19 | FIDE 534042199 | 0 | — | −5N | −18B | −?N | +?B | +?N | 2.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.00 | 841 | 0.0 |
| 20 | FIDE 534045180 | 0 | — | −?B | −?N | +?B | −?N | +?B | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 731 | 0.0 |
| 21 | Mazinyo, Lelam | 0 | RSA | +15N | −10B | =12N | F | −7B | 1.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 4.00 | 725 | 0.0 |
| 22 | FIDE 534045163 | 0 | — | F | −?N | −17B | +?N | F | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.00 | 731 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Maipo, TakundaRSA+58.44.5 pts · #1
- 2Mbewe, TatendaRSA+22.44.5 pts · #2
- 3Botha, TylerRSA+10.83.5 pts · #3
Top rating losers
- 1Slater, JamesRSA-27.62.0 pts · #19
- 2Cressey, Ryelee JordanRSA-18.03.0 pts · #17
- 3Mayo, EsinayeRSA-10.83.0 pts · #9