All Hail the Hyenas Chess Club National Club Championship!
The
2015 National Club Champions are the Hyenas Chess club from Gauteng. In a three
way race between the Hyenas, Port Elizabeth and Steinitz chess clubs, the Hyenas
triumphed by half a point. The final standings were Hyenas - 21, PE and
Steinitz chess clubs 20.5. Steinitz and the eventual champions drew 2.2 in a
tough and bruising encounter, whilst PE beat Steinitz and lost to the Hyenas.
Steinitz Juniors won the B section in a close encounter.
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| Glenwood High Honors Board |
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| Steinitz's Ivan Fortune gives the thumbs up to Glenwood High's outdoor chess set, in the background is the Putt Putt course. |
Whilst
seated in the dining room I noticed a table tennis board in the courtyard. It
was made of cement and was an all weather item.
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| All Weather Table Tennis |
Next
to the table tennis board was a trampoline which the water polo youngsters staying
at the residence enjoyed. The school hosted about four separate groups of
sporting codes whilst we were there. The facilities all round were really a
sight to behold. The school is on the corner of Ester Roberts and Alan Paton of
Cry the Beloved Country.
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| 2015 National Club Championship underway at Glenwood Preparatory School |
We
played at Glenwood Preparatory school. Another fantastic school which prides
itself on its academic and sport prowess. It features heavily in aquatics,
netball and cricket. The facilities at the school was at a high level and I
understand perfectly why so many top sportsmen and women emanate from Kwazulu
Natal. They love their sport at school level and they have the facilities to practice.
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| IM Daniel Bwalya was the top scorer on board 1 |
The
event was an interesting one for me personally. This year I have not played
much chess as I focused on my studies. This was my fourth event for the year
and my rustiness showed a bit. I played as expected. I scored 4.5 out of seven.
I lost to International Masters Gillan Bwalya and Daniel Cawdrey who are rated 2288 and 2408
respectively. Cawdrey simply crushed me, whilst I had a
good game against Bwalya. In our analysis Bwalya showed me a few ideas which
could've given me chances. Bwalya beat Daniel and scored 6.5 out of seven to
secure the board prize. Cawdrey scored 5.5 out of seven to finish second.
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| IM Daniel Cawdery |
I
was hugely impressed with the play and demeanor of Daniel Cawdrey. He played
fast and accurately and seemed to enjoy the banter in the analysis room when he
went over his games. He did not hesitate
to offer suggestions when approached by other players. Bwalya I met for the
first time at the event. He won the Zone 4.3 championship last year and is
indeed a strong player. I never really
saw him fazed at anything his opponents threw at him.
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| Joseph Mwale deep in thought |
My
astute captain Mark Lewis managed our team with some aplomb. I am normally the
captain but Mark assumed the captaincy as I am on my sabbatical year from
active leadership. This allowed me to concentrate on my game solely. It is
obvious that when you play board one you must prepare well. Lack of preparation is soon exposed at this
level. I held my own and my favourite game was against Joseph Mwale 2088 whom I
defeated in a brilliancy.
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| Hyena’s gentle giant Stephen Skosana |
The
Hyenas Chess Team was completed by Kgaugelo Mosethlele whom I have known for a
long time. He played board two and was their captain. He received his Protea
colours in 2008 when SA won the zone 4.3 championship in Mozambique by one
point. He proudly recounted the fact that he has now won the South African club
championships three times with three different chess clubs i.e Brooklyn chess
club, Steinitz chess club and now the Hyenas chess club.
The
board three Stephen Skosana is a gentle giant. He plays a hard game and often
compliments other teams for their strong brand of chess. It is people like him
that we need to promote and boost South African chess. Earlier this year the
New Age carried an article in which they interviewed him and he was quoted as
saying they are the best club in the country. I then called him to gently
chastise him that according to the record books Steinitz was still the national
club champions. He laughed and said that
the Hyenas were amongst the best chess clubs. Stephen your premonition has now
come true. Well done and congrats again.
The
fourth board Ntando Zwakala was not known to me. At 2034 in rating I should know him but I have not seen
him play yet at a SA open or SA closed. A player to watch for the future, he
just needs to watch the late night analysis sessions with Bacchus which can
tire out players I'm told.
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| Glenwood Chess Club Exco Sayen Naidu and Divesh Sookdeo next to arbiters Michael Bornheim and Nadean Gopaulsingh |
On
Saturday morning we had a bit of an incident when one of the players in the
event was a bit tired from the previous nights all night analysis. He played
ten moves and fell asleep at the board for 80 minutes. He lost on time as the
arbiters didn't allow anyone to wake him!
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| Ewan Kromhout |
The
PE team spearheaded by Cawdrey had one of the grand old men of SA chess, Ewan
Kromhout on board two. Ewan held his own on board two and genuinely felt bad
that he beat Craig Willenberg who had a better position in the game. The next
day he told Mark and myself that he Outwillenberged Craig! Well done Ewan it's
good to see you still playing with the fire of old when you won seventeen EP
Open titles. We look forward seeing you play at the over fifties SA Closed in
December!
On
board three Alex Kromhout played very well and very actively. The son of Ewan
had just came off a good second place from the previous weeks FIDE event in
Nelson Mandela Bay. A smooth operator he was a stalwart for the team. Dropping only one game in the event to Durban Chess Club's Desmond Rooplal.
On
board four Jack Van Zyl Rudd played some good chess and comfortably held his
board. I like the spunk of the young man
and he is not shy to play good moves and then take a leisurely stroll around
the room looking at other games like a seasoned pro. Jack seems to be enjoying
his game which augurs well for his chess future.
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| Steinitz A vs Glenwood B |
In
the Steinitz team Craig Willenberg played board two. He is having a resurgence
in his chess life and takes his games very seriously. He was very upset with
himself when he lost to Ewan, took a round off and came back strong. I hope to
one day see him in the SA Closed which is one of the few things he has not
accomplished in his chess career. In the game against Mosethle he was down to
two minutes with Mosethle still having fifteen. That didn't faze him. He simply
went on to beat him.
Mark
Lewis on board four played like the senior player he is. He knew when to draw
and when to go for the win. It is not
easy captaining and managing this team but he handled everything efficiently
and expertly.
Glenn
Willenberg was our board five. He played three games and was happy with his
play. It was also his maiden flight so all of us were happy for Glenn.
I
now must end as it is 18:05 and we about to commence our descent. I will continue in the next edition of on my
other reflections of the event.
Regards
Lyndon
Bouah
Reporting live from
flight JE 361 somewhere over the Western Cape.