2026 Intervarsity Chess Championship
20 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 09 Mar 2026 to 10 Mar 2026 in Maseru, Lesotho. 2 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1140, and top seed was Masuku Vukani (🇸🇿 SWZ, 1765).
Tumelo Putsoa (🇱🇸 LES, 1689) won with 6.5/7, ahead of Ngwenya Kwanele Mangaliso (5.5) and Sekhonyana Relebohile (4.5). Putsoa won solo starting round 3.
The biggest upset came in round 7: Lipholo Rorisang (1462) beat Masuku Vukani (1765), a +303-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 7 roundsTumelo Putsoa led from R3; +1.0-point edge over the runner-up.
Tumelo Putsoa never relinquished the lead after R3; final gap +1.0 over the runner-up.
Tumelo Putsoa beat Ngwenya Kwanele Mangaliso (Black).
Tumelo Putsoa 5 wins (R1–R5)Ngwenya Kwanele Mangaliso 3 wins (R2–R4)Sekhonyana Relebohile 4 wins (R2–R5)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Tumelo Putsoa | * | 1 | ½ | 1 |
| 2Ngwenya Kwanele Mangaliso | 0 | * | 1 | — |
| 3Sekhonyana Relebohile | ½ | 0 | * | — |
| 4Marake Kabelo | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tumelo Putsoa | 1689 | LES | +7N | +17B | +8N | +4B | +2N | =3B | +5N | 6.5 | 25.5 | 27.5 | 25.25 | 2456 | +34.0 |
| 2 | Ngwenya Kwanele Mangaliso | 1710 | SWZ | =18B | +5N | +9B | +14N | −1B | +7N | +3N | 5.5 | 24.5 | 25.5 | 18.50 | 1771 | +5.4 |
| 3 | Sekhonyana Relebohile | 0 | LES | −10N | +16B | +17N | +6B | +14N | =1N | −2B | 4.5 | 24.5 | 26.5 | 14.25 | 1671 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Marake Kabelo | 1601 | LES | +11N | +15B | =14B | −1N | +9B | −5N | +7B | 4.5 | 23.5 | 26.0 | 14.25 | 1646 | +7.2 |
| 5 | Dlamini Bandiswa | 0 | SWZ | −8N | −2B | +20N | +19B | +10N | +4B | −1B | 4.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 8.50 | 1635 | 0.0 |
| 6 | Thabang Nate | 1651 | LES | +20B | −9N | +11B | −3N | −12B | +19N | +15N | 4.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | 6.50 | 662 | -30.0 |
| 7 | Katleho Earnest Borotho | 0 | LES | −1B | +19N | =15N | +10B | +8N | −2B | −4N | 3.5 | 26.0 | 26.5 | 8.75 | 1442 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Tumisang Sepipi | 0 | LES | +5B | +18N | −1B | =9N | −7B | +11N | −12B | 3.5 | 24.5 | 25.5 | 10.25 | 1395 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Lipholo Rorisang | 1462 | LES | +12N | +6B | −2N | =8B | −4N | −15B | +14N | 3.5 | 23.5 | 26.0 | 11.75 | 1682 | +44.0 |
| 10 | Pontso Makhebesela | 1524 | LES | +3B | −14N | +12B | −7N | −5B | +13N | =11B | 3.5 | 22.0 | 24.5 | 12.75 | 964 | -3.8 |
| 11 | Mochela Mphuthi | 0 | LES | −4B | +20N | −6N | +15B | +17N | −8B | =10N | 3.5 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 6.25 | 1316 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Thabang Serero | 0 | LES | −9B | F | −10N | =16B | +6N | +14B | +8N | 3.5 | 19.5 | 19.5 | 11.25 | 1598 | 0.0 |
| 13 | FIDE 21304050 | 0 | — | F | F | F | +?B | +18N | −10B | +17N | 3.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 3.00 | 716 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Masuku Vukani | 1765 | SWZ | +16N | +10B | =4N | −2B | −3B | −12N | −9B | 2.5 | 25.0 | 27.5 | 8.25 | 1485 | -58.4 |
| 15 | FIDE 20703953 | 0 | — | F | −4N | =7B | −11N | +16B | +9N | −6B | 2.5 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 7.75 | 1446 | 0.0 |
| 16 | FIDE 20703929 | 0 | — | −14B | −3N | +18B | =12N | −15N | +17B | −?N | 2.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 4.75 | 964 | 0.0 |
| 17 | FIDE 20703945 | 0 | — | +19B | −1N | −3B | +18N | −11B | −16N | −13B | 2.0 | 21.0 | 21.5 | 1.50 | 913 | 0.0 |
| 18 | FIDE 21304475 | 0 | — | =2N | −8B | −16N | −17B | −13B | −?N | =19B | 1.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 3.00 | 1710 | 0.0 |
| 19 | FIDE 21305161 | 0 | — | −17N | −7B | F | −5N | F | −6B | =18N | 0.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 0.50 | 851 | 0.0 |
| 20 | FIDE 20703937 | 0 | — | −6N | −11B | −5B | F | F | F | F | 0.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.00 | 851 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Lipholo RorisangLES+44.03.5 pts · #2
- 2Tumelo PutsoaLES+34.06.5 pts · #3
- 3Marake KabeloLES+7.24.5 pts · #7
- 1Masuku VukaniSWZ-58.42.5 pts · #8
- 2Thabang NateLES-30.04.0 pts · #15
- 3Pontso MakhebeselaLES-3.83.5 pts · #18
- R7+303 Elo gap
- R2+189 Elo gap