2026 AHS Open Chess Tournament (A)
20 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 28 Feb 2026 in Pretoria, South Africa. 2 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1696, and top seed was Erikson Roberto Mauricio Soares (🇦🇴 ANG, IM, 2130).
Zander Nicolaas Slabbert (🇿🇦 RSA, 1676) won with 3.0/5, ahead of Johann Terblanche (3.0) and Lesedi Mmakou (3.0).
The biggest upset came in round 3: Nathan Marais (1545) beat Anton Schultz (1683), a +138-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R5; 5 players tied at 3.0/5, decided on Buchholz. Title race narrowed from 3 co-leaders at R4 to 2 at the finish.
5 players finish on 3.0/5. Slabbert takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (8.0).
Johann Terblanche was #17 at R3, climbed to #1 over the final stretch.
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Johann Terblanche | * | — | — | — |
| 2Michael Bain | — | * | — | — |
| 3Zander Nicolaas Slabbert | — | — | * | 0 |
| 4Lesedi Mmakou | — | — | 1 | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slabbert, Zander Nicolaas | 1676 | RSA | +18N | −?B | −3N | +13B | +11N | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 5.00 | 1731 | +7.2 |
| 2 | Terblanche, Johann | 1663 | RSA | −?N | +13B | −11N | +17B | +14N | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.00 | 1846 | +35.2 |
| 3 | Mmakou, Lesedi | 1635 | RSA | −?B | +20N | +1B | +6B | −?N | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.50 | 2517 | +49.2 |
| 4 | Rautenbach, Helen Christine | 1701 | RSA | +20B | =?N | −?B | =7N | +12B | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.25 | 1786 | +10.4 |
| 5 | Bain, Michael | 1676 | RSA | =?B | =19N | +15B | +12N | −?B | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.75 | 1892 | +31.6 |
| 6 | Severin, Martin | 1756 | RSA | +13N | −?B | +8B | −3N | =7B | 2.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 5.75 | 1733 | -2.0 |
| 7 | Mcphail, Ryan | 1699 | RSA | −?N | +16B | =9N | =4B | =6N | 2.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 5.50 | 1772 | +31.6 |
| 8 | Mkotong, Boipelo | 1698 | RSA | +16N | =?B | −6N | −9B | +17N | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 2.50 | 1674 | -2.6 |
| 9 | Schutte, Rico | 1692 | RSA | +12B | −?N | =7B | +8N | −?B | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.75 | 1901 | +15.0 |
| 10 | Smit, Yoshua | 1720 | RSA | −11B | −?N | +16B | +15N | =?B | 2.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.00 | 1722 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Grobler, Johannes Theodo | 1588 | RSA | +10N | −14B | +2B | −?N | −1B | 2.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 5.50 | 1709 | +13.0 |
| 12 | Marais, Nathan | 1545 | RSA | −9N | +17B | +19N | −5B | −4N | 2.0 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 1.50 | 1606 | +11.2 |
| 13 | Van der Westhuizen, Lihan | 1606 | RSA | −6B | −2N | +20B | −1N | +18B | 2.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.00 | 902 | -43.2 |
| 14 | Gondwe Prosper | 1643 | ZAM | +15B | +11N | −?B | −?N | −2B | 2.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 3.50 | 1750 | -0.8 |
| 15 | Rishworth, Justin James | 1616 | RSA | −14N | +18B | −5N | −10B | =16N | 1.5 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 1.75 | 1362 | -22.6 |
| 16 | Khumalo, Siyabonga Samuel Khutso | 1579 | RSA | −8B | −7N | −10N | +19B | =15B | 1.5 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 1.25 | 1519 | -18.0 |
| 17 | Boshoff, Reinhardt | 1604 | RSA | −?B | −12N | +18B | −2N | −8B | 1.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.00 | 845 | -63.6 |
| 18 | FIDE 534000054 | 0 | — | −1B | −15N | −17N | +20B | −13N | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.00 | 842 | 0.0 |
| 19 | Schultz, Anton | 1683 | RSA | −?N | =5B | −12B | −16N | F | 0.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1.50 | 1334 | -52.4 |
| 20 | Janse Van Rensburg, Josh | 0 | RSA | −4N | −3B | −13N | −18N | F | 0.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.00 | 837 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Mmakou, LesediRSA+49.23.0 pts · #12
- 2Terblanche, JohannRSA+35.23.0 pts · #1
- 3Mcphail, RyanRSA+31.62.5 pts · #5
- 1Boshoff, ReinhardtRSA-63.61.0 pts · #19
- 2Schultz, AntonRSA-52.40.5 pts · #15
- 3Van der Westhuizen, LihanRSA-43.22.0 pts · #18
- R3+138 Elo gap
- R1+132 Elo gap
- R4+128 Elo gap