2026 NMBCU Trials 2 (U18)
30 players participated in this 6-round tournament, held from 06 Mar 2026 to 07 Mar 2026 in Uitenhage, South Africa. Top 10 Elo average was 1640, and top seed was Carlson M Dzunzi (🇿🇦 RSA, 1726).
Jade Schultz (🇿🇦 RSA, 1613) won with 5.5/6, ahead of Ababalwe Mathebe (5.5) and Sarah Moller (4.5). Schultz shared the lead from round 2, winning on tie-break.
The biggest upset came in round 5: Shaunwin Cona (1408) beat Vukile Lindi (1533), a +125-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 6 roundsTight race until R6; 2 players tied at 5.5/6, decided on Buchholz. Title race narrowed from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 2 at the finish.
2 players finish on 5.5/6. Schultz takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (21.5).
Ababalwe Mathebe drew with Jade Schultz (White).
Ababalwe Mathebe 4 wins (R1–R4)Jade Schultz 4 wins (R1–R4)Sarah Moller 3 wins (R4–R6)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ababalwe Mathebe | * | ½ | — | 1 |
| 2Jade Schultz | ½ | * | 1 | 1 |
| 3Sarah Moller | — | 0 | * | — |
| 4Sandiso Jiki | 0 | 0 | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schultz, Jade | 1613 | RSA | +30B | +3N | +8B | +5N | =2N | +4B | 5.5 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 18.75 | 1975 | +66.0 |
| 2 | Mathebe, Ababalwe | 1704 | RSA | +16B | +13N | +7B | +18N | =1B | +5N | 5.5 | 19.0 | 21.0 | 18.25 | 1985 | +62.8 |
| 3 | Moller, Sarah | 1596 | RSA | +21N | −1B | =17N | +8N | +13B | +9B | 4.5 | 18.0 | 20.0 | 13.25 | 1715 | +32.0 |
| 4 | Kwarteng, Kelvin | 0 | RSA | −8B | +23N | +27B | +15N | +10B | −1N | 4.0 | 17.0 | 18.0 | 9.00 | 1565 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Jiki, Sandiso | 1597 | RSA | +28N | +24B | +25N | −1B | +18N | −2B | 4.0 | 15.5 | 16.0 | 5.00 | 1575 | -4.0 |
| 6 | Fogarty, Simon | 1668 | RSA | F | +19B | +30N | +25B | +7N | −12N | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 6.50 | 1582 | -9.6 |
| 7 | Bothma, Jaculene | 1583 | RSA | +11B | +14N | −2N | +17B | −6B | =10N | 3.5 | 19.5 | 22.0 | 10.75 | 1490 | -21.2 |
| 8 | Blandy, Levi | 1662 | RSA | +4N | =17B | −1N | −3B | +22N | +24B | 3.5 | 18.0 | 19.5 | 8.25 | 1534 | -33.2 |
| 9 | Dugmore, Deacon | 1666 | RSA | +15B | +26N | −18B | +11N | =12B | −3N | 3.5 | 16.5 | 17.5 | 9.25 | 1456 | -44.0 |
| 10 | Murray, Jaydon | 1456 | RSA | F | +28B | +14N | +13B | −4N | =7B | 3.5 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 8.25 | 1696 | +25.2 |
| 11 | Jakavula, Linoyolo | 0 | RSA | −7N | +20B | +22N | −9B | =26N | +17N | 3.5 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 6.50 | 1540 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Mbelekane, Hloma | 1581 | RSA | F | F | +28N | +24B | =9N | +6B | 3.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 7.75 | 1855 | +40.4 |
| 13 | Hall, Joshua | 1424 | RSA | +29N | −2B | +26B | −10N | −3N | +25B | 3.0 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 2.00 | 1353 | -15.2 |
| 14 | Menjenjalo, Luthando | 0 | RSA | +22N | −7B | −10B | +27N | +16N | −18B | 3.0 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 5.50 | 1570 | 0.0 |
| 15 | FIDE 534043209 | 0 | — | −9N | =22B | +20N | −4B | +25N | =26B | 3.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 4.25 | 1514 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Dzunzi, Carlson M | 1726 | RSA | −2N | F | +23B | +29N | −14B | +19N | 3.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 3.50 | 903 | -21.2 |
| 17 | Sonti, Kamvalethu | 1479 | RSA | +23B | =8N | =3B | −7N | =24N | −11B | 2.5 | 16.5 | 18.0 | 6.25 | 1478 | -1.6 |
| 18 | Ndayi, Siyolise | 1563 | RSA | F | F | +9N | −2B | −5B | +14N | 2.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 6.50 | 1527 | -5.6 |
| 19 | Van Wyk, Keagen | 0 | RSA | F | −6N | +21B | −22B | +23N | −16B | 2.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 3.50 | 852 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Cona, Shaunwin | 1408 | RSA | −25B | −11N | −15B | −23N | +27B | +29N | 2.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 1.00 | 2333 | +26.8 |
| 21 | FIDE 534043195 | 0 | — | −3B | −27N | −19N | +28B | +29B | F | 2.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0.50 | 765 | 0.0 |
| 22 | Swart, Ruan | 1563 | RSA | −14B | =15N | −11B | +19N | −8B | F | 1.5 | 15.0 | 17.0 | 3.50 | 860 | -14.8 |
| 23 | FIDE 14390949 | 0 | — | −17N | −4B | −16N | +20B | −19B | =28N | 1.5 | 13.5 | 14.0 | 2.25 | 1412 | 0.0 |
| 24 | FREEMAN, Nicole | 1421 | RSA | F | −5N | +29B | −12N | =17B | −8N | 1.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 1.25 | 1257 | -27.2 |
| 25 | FIDE 534043160 | 0 | — | +20N | F | −5B | −6N | −15B | −13N | 1.0 | 17.5 | 19.5 | 2.00 | 1331 | 0.0 |
| 26 | Boggenpoel, Cole | 1430 | RSA | F | −9B | −13N | F | =11B | =15N | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 3.25 | 740 | -28.8 |
| 27 | Lindi, Vukile | 1533 | RSA | F | +21B | −4N | −14B | −20N | F | 1.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 2.00 | 608 | -26.8 |
| 28 | FIDE 534045309 | 0 | — | −5B | −10N | −12B | −21N | F | =23B | 0.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 0.75 | 744 | 0.0 |
| 29 | FIDE 14370220 | 0 | — | −13B | F | −24N | −16B | −21N | −20B | 0.0 | 13.0 | 14.5 | 0.00 | 694 | 0.0 |
| 30 | FIDE 14390655 | 0 | — | −1N | F | −6B | F | F | F | 0.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 0.00 | 840 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Schultz, JadeRSA+66.05.5 pts · #2
- 2Mathebe, AbabalweRSA+62.85.5 pts · #1
- 3Mbelekane, HlomaRSA+40.43.5 pts · #7
- 1Dugmore, DeaconRSA-44.03.5 pts · #14
- 2Blandy, LeviRSA-33.23.5 pts · #6
- 3Boggenpoel, ColeRSA-28.81.0 pts · #26
- R5+125 Elo gap
- R3+103 Elo gap