CChessStats

NMBCU Trials 1 2026 (U16)

Open SwissStandard

28 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 20 Feb 2026 to 21 Feb 2026 in Gqeberha, South Africa. Top 10 Elo average was 1585, and top seed was Sebastian Kapp (🇿🇦 RSA, 1697).

Sibonelo Mangala (🇿🇦 RSA, 1642) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Benjamin Banda (4.5) and Vukile Pakade (4.0). Mangala shared the lead from round 1, winning on tie-break.

The biggest upset came in round 3: Aishwarya Ranjith (1564) beat Sebastian Kapp (1697), a +133-point gap.

Location
🇿🇦Gqeberha, South Africa
Dates
20 Feb 2026 → 21 Feb 2026
Time control
Standard: 60 minutes for game
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Top seed
🇿🇦Sebastian Kapp1697
Avg top 10
1,585
Participants
28
Federations · 1 represented
🇿🇦South Africa×20
Top 3

How it unfolded

Top 6 · 5 rounds

Tight race until R5; 2 players tied at 4.5/5, decided on Buchholz. Title race narrowed from 3 co-leaders at R4 to 2 at the finish.

Co-leaders
12
7
3
3
2
1.52.545R1R2R3R4R5
Banda4.5Mangala4.5Step4Pakade4Ranjith3.5TWIGG3.5
R5 · TIEBREAK CLUSTER

2 players finish on 4.5/5. Mangala takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (15.5).

R4 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND

Benjamin Banda drew with Sibonelo Mangala (White).

WIN STREAKS · 2 top finishers

Benjamin Banda 3 wins (R1–R3)Sibonelo Mangala 3 wins (R1–R3)

Key matchups · top 4

Head-to-head between the four finishers
Player1234
1Benjamin Banda*
½
——
2Sibonelo Mangala
½
*
1
1
3Nicholas Step—
0
*—
4Vukile Pakade—
0
—*

Grille américaine

#PlayerEloFedR1R2R3R4R5PtsBu C1BuSBPerfΔ
1Mangala, Sibonelo1642RSA+3B+17N+4B=2N+7B4.515.517.515.251921+48.8
2Banda, Benjamin1675RSA+11B+10N+8B=1B+5N4.514.016.514.251896+40.4
3Pakade, Vukile0RSA−1N+19B+14N+12B+9B4.012.514.510.0015930.0
4Step, Nicholas1538RSA+20N+12B−1N+18B+8N4.012.014.09.501760+46.4
5Ranjith, Aishwarya1564RSA+16B+18N+7B=9N−2B3.512.514.58.501680+24.4
6TWIGG, Garen1538RSAF+22B=9N+15B+11N3.510.010.58.501638+9.6
7Kapp, Sebastian1697RSA+13N+14B−5N+10B−1N3.013.516.08.001615-20.8
8George, Panashe1521RSA+19N+23B−2N+13B−4B3.013.014.56.001555+7.6
9Coetzee, Schalk1484RSA+24B+25N=6B=5B−3N3.012.513.05.501551+7.6
10Arries, Jayde1513RSA+27N−2B+20N−7N+16B3.011.511.54.00891-21.6
11Norris, Nathan1404RSA−2N+21B=12N+23B−6B2.512.514.04.751492+15.2
12Arries, Keaton1627RSA+26B−4N=11B−3N+25B2.511.011.01.751279-36.0
13Heneke, Ruan1533RSA−7B+28N+17B−8N=14N2.510.510.53.251438-22.0
14Magwa, Sanele1461RSA+28B−7N−3B+25N=13B2.510.010.01.751423-4.0
15Louw, Kaden0RSAF=16N+28B−6N+23B2.57.07.02.5015030.0
16Koj, Prince0RSA−5N=15B=19N+21B−10N2.011.013.04.257400.0
17De Jager, Jaeden1423RSA+21N−1B−13N=24B=19N2.011.012.53.75788-22.8
18Smile, Osakhe1478RSAF−5B+24N−4N+20B2.011.011.03.50751-32.0
19Gcwabe, Aventhandwa0RSA−8B−3N=16B+26N=17B2.011.011.02.0012790.0
20FIDE 143700500—−4B+26N−10B+22N−18N2.011.011.02.007100.0
21FIDE 143764400—−17B−11N+27B−16N+24B2.08.08.01.506150.0
22FIDE 5340431440—−23N−6N+26B−20B+27N2.07.07.00.007030.0
23Prinsloo, Liam1468RSA+22B−8N=25B−11N−15N1.510.010.52.25663-40.8
24FIDE 5340431100—−9N+27B−18B=17N−21N1.59.09.01.0011880.0
25FIDE 5340349860—F−9B=23N−14B−12N0.511.513.00.7511880.0
26FIDE 5340430800—−12N−20B−22N−19BF0.08.58.50.008270.0
27FIDE 5340431360—−10B−24N−21NF−22B0.08.58.50.007150.0
28FIDE 5340430980—−14N−13B−15NFF0.07.57.50.006970.0

Key insights

Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.

Top rating gainers
Top rating losers
Biggest upsets