NMBCU Trials 1 2026 (U18)

Open SwissStandard

25 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 1598, and top seed was Onako Nonjakazi (🇿🇦 RSA, 1653).

Deacon Dugmore (🇿🇦 RSA, 1632) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Levi Blandy (4.5) and Carlson M Dzunzi (4.0). Dugmore shared the lead from round 1, winning on tie-break.

Location

🇿🇦Gqeberha, South Africa

Dates

20 Feb 2026 → 21 Feb 2026

Time control

Standard: 60 minutes for game

System

Swiss · 5 rounds

Top seed

🇿🇦Onako Nonjakazi1653

Avg top 10

1,598

Participants

Federations · 1 represented

🇿🇦South Africa×19

Top 3

🥇
Deacon Dugmore
🇿🇦RSA·1632
4.5pts·1845perf+36.0
🥈
Levi Blandy
🇿🇦RSA·1576
4.5pts·1960perf+85.6
🥉
Carlson M Dzunzi
🇿🇦RSA
4.0pts·1597perf0.0

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

Blandy4.5Dugmore4.5Dzunzi4Nonjakazi3.5Amachukwu3.5Jiki3.5

R5 · TIEBREAK CLUSTER

2 players finish on 4.5/5. Dugmore takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (14.0).

R4 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND

Levi Blandy drew with Deacon Dugmore (White).

WIN STREAKS · 2 top finishers

Levi Blandy 3 wins (R1–R3)Deacon Dugmore 3 wins (R1–R3)

Key matchups · top 4

Head-to-head between the four finishers

Player	1	2	3	4
1Levi Blandy	*	½	—	—
2Deacon Dugmore	½	*	1	—
3Carlson M Dzunzi	—	0	*	—
4Onako Nonjakazi	—	—	—	*

Grille américaine

#	Player	Elo	Fed	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts	Bu C1	Bu	SB	Perf	Δ
1	Dugmore, Deacon	1632	RSA	+12B	+8N	+3B	=2N	+10B	4.5	14.0	16.5	14.25	1845	+36.0
2	Blandy, Levi	1576	RSA	+15N	+14B	+7N	=1B	+6N	4.5	13.0	15.0	12.75	1960	+85.6
3	Dzunzi, Carlson M	0	RSA	+23N	+4B	−1N	+14B	+9N	4.0	13.0	14.0	9.50	1597	0.0
4	Jiki, Sandiso	1570	RSA	=5B	−3N	+21B	+16N	+11B	3.5	12.0	13.0	7.25	1825	+26.8
5	Nonjakazi, Onako	1653	RSA	=4N	+15B	=11B	+20N	=8B	3.5	11.0	12.0	7.50	1691	+11.6
6	Amachukwu, Joseph	1561	RSA	+24N	+20B	=10B	+11N	−2B	3.5	10.5	11.0	5.25	1658	+20.8
7	Swart, Ruan	1592	RSA	+17B	+9N	−2B	−10N	+22N	3.0	12.0	13.0	6.00	1409	-29.6
8	Sonti, Kamvalethu	1462	RSA	+21N	−1B	+19N	=12B	=5N	3.0	12.0	13.0	5.50	1541	+16.0
9	FREEMAN, Nicole	1433	RSA	+25N	−7B	+23B	+17N	−3B	3.0	10.0	10.0	3.00	793	-11.6
10	Ackerdien, Saud	1592	RSA	+16B	F	=6N	+7B	−1N	2.5	13.0	13.0	6.75	1592	-0.4
11	Bothma, Jaculene	1613	RSA	+22N	+19B	=5N	−6B	−4N	2.5	12.0	13.0	4.25	1480	-30.0
12	Gie, Luca	1407	RSA	−1N	+22B	F	=8N	+20B	2.5	9.5	9.5	3.50	1519	+18.0
13	Menjenjalo, Luthando	0	RSA	F	+?B	−20N	+15B	=19N	2.5	6.0	6.0	2.75	1517	0.0
14	Mbelekane, Hloma	1603	RSA	F	−2N	+16B	−3N	+17B	2.0	12.5	12.5	4.00	774	-21.6
15	Plaatjies, Christopher	1592	RSA	−2B	−5N	+18B	−13N	+25B	2.0	12.5	12.5	2.00	813	-37.6
16	FIDE 534043209	0	—	−10N	+18B	−14N	−4B	+21N	2.0	10.0	11.0	3.00	789	0.0
17	Tobias, Chad	0	RSA	−7N	+25B	+24N	−9B	−14N	2.0	8.5	8.5	0.50	743	0.0
18	FIDE 14370220	0	—	−?B	−16N	−15N	+24B	+?B	2.0	4.5	4.5	0.50	723	0.0
19	Hammond, Anees	1487	RSA	F	−11N	−8B	+25N	=13B	1.5	10.5	10.5	1.25	738	-34.4
20	Hall, Joshua	1474	RSA	F	−6N	+13B	−5B	−12N	1.0	12.0	12.0	2.50	739	-49.6
21	FIDE 14390655	0	—	−8B	=24B	−4N	=?N	−16B	1.0	9.0	9.0	0.25	717	0.0
22	FIDE 14390949	0	—	−11B	−12N	+?N	F	−7B	1.0	9.0	9.0	0.00	737	0.0
23	Zhuang, Xuyang	0	RSA	−3B	F	−9N	F	+24B	1.0	8.5	8.5	0.50	633	0.0
24	FIDE 534043187	0	—	−6B	=21N	−17B	−18N	−23N	0.5	8.5	9.5	0.50	761	0.0
25	FIDE 534043160	0	—	−9B	−17N	F	−19B	−15N	0.0	8.5	8.5	0.00	703	0.0

Key insights

Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.

Top rating gainers

1Blandy, LeviRSA
+85.6
4.5 pts · #1
2Dugmore, DeaconRSA
+36.0
4.5 pts · #2
3Jiki, SandisoRSA
+26.8
3.5 pts · #8

Top rating losers

1Hall, JoshuaRSA
-49.6
1.0 pts · #23
2Plaatjies, ChristopherRSA
-37.6
2.0 pts · #21
3Hammond, AneesRSA
-34.4
1.5 pts · #14