2026 Silver Lakes Chess Club Open (A)
Open SwissStandard
15 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 07 Mar 2026 in Pretoria, South Africa. 2 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1717, and top seed was Banele Mhango (🇿🇦 RSA, FM, 2228).
Neil Byneveldt (🇿🇦 RSA, 1704) won with 3.0/5, ahead of Neo Kekana (3.0) and Boipelo Mkotong (3.0).
The biggest upset came in round 4: Dirk Cornelis Uys Conradie (1801) beat Banele Mhango (FM, 2228), a +427-point gap.
Location
🇿🇦Pretoria, South Africa
Dates
07 Mar 2026
Time control
Standard: 50 minutes with 10 seconds increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Avg top 10
1,717
Participants
15
Federations · 2 represented
🇿🇦South Africa×14
🇳🇿New Zealand×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R5; 3 players tied at 3.0/5, decided on Buchholz.
Co-leaders
13
4
1
1
1
R5 · LEADER CHANGE07 Mar
Dmitar S. Ristovich takes the sole lead (4.5/5).
R5 · TIEBREAK CLUSTER
3 players finish on 3.0/5. Byneveldt takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (8.5).
R3–R5 · WIN STREAK
Boipelo Mkotong won 3 in a row (R3–R5).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Neil Byneveldt | * | — | ½ | — |
| 2Boipelo Mkotong | — | * | — | — |
| 3Neo Kekana | ½ | — | * | 1 |
| 4Ronald Hamalala | — | — | 0 | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Byneveldt, Neil | 1704 | RSA | −?N | +12B | =6N | +5B | =2N | 3.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 6.00 | 1917 | +44.4 |
| 2 | Kekana, Neo | 1669 | RSA | =?B | −?N | +4B | +?N | =1B | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.00 | 1891 | +23.2 |
| 3 | Mkotong, Boipelo | 1698 | RSA | −?B | −9N | +10B | +7B | +?N | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 3.50 | 1792 | +7.4 |
| 4 | Hamalala, Ronald | 1691 | NZL | −?N | =5B | −2N | +14B | +11N | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 3.00 | 1762 | +7.4 |
| 5 | Mabala, Tumelo | 1700 | RSA | −?B | =4N | +11B | −1N | =10B | 2.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 3.50 | 1685 | -2.8 |
| 6 | Magagula, Raymond | 1782 | RSA | =?B | −?N | =1B | +8B | −?N | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.50 | 1853 | +3.4 |
| 7 | Botha, Chris | 1573 | RSA | −?B | +15N | −?B | −3N | +13B | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.00 | 1789 | +34.8 |
| 8 | Rishworth, Justin James | 1616 | RSA | −?B | +10N | −?B | −6N | +?B | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.50 | 1716 | +5.4 |
| 9 | Malaba, Ushindi | 1777 | RSA | −?N | +3B | +?N | −?N | −?B | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.00 | 2498 | +7.8 |
| 10 | Mashishi, Thato | 1649 | RSA | −?N | −8B | −3N | +15B | =5N | 1.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 1.00 | 1563 | -9.8 |
| 11 | Magagula, Immanuel | 1697 | RSA | =?N | −?B | −5N | +12B | −4B | 1.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.50 | 1587 | -8.8 |
| 12 | Manale, Remy | 1748 | RSA | −?B | −1N | =14B | −11N | +15N | 1.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.25 | 1561 | -41.2 |
| 13 | Msimango, Msimango Moremi | 1705 | RSA | −?B | +14N | −?B | −?B | −7N | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.50 | 1588 | -12.8 |
| 14 | Boshoff, Reinhardt | 1604 | RSA | −?N | −13B | =12N | −4N | F | 0.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.75 | 1441 | -22.0 |
| 15 | Khumalo, Siyabonga Samuel Khutso | 1579 | RSA | −?N | −7B | −?N | −10N | −12B | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.00 | 857 | -49.2 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Byneveldt, NeilRSA+44.43.0 pts · #1
- 2Botha, ChrisRSA+34.82.0 pts · #5
- 3Kekana, NeoRSA+23.23.0 pts · #6
Top rating losers
- 1Khumalo, Siyabonga Samuel KhutsoRSA-49.20.0 pts · #15
- 2Manale, RemyRSA-41.21.5 pts · #7
- 3Boshoff, ReinhardtRSA-22.00.5 pts · #14
Biggest upsets
- R4+427 Elo gap
- R5+373 Elo gap
- R2+270 Elo gap