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Communications: 0812713408
Web Site: www.steinitzchessclub.co.za
Communications: 0812713408
Web Site: www.steinitzchessclub.co.za
Communications: 0812713408
Web Site: www.steinitzchessclub.co.za
Steinitz Captains Report 2019 by Dr Lyndon Bouah
Dear Steinitz President, exco and members
1. I herewith present the Captains report for Steinitz for the year 2019.
2. The year 2018 ended off on a high note when Steinitz won the 2018 CWP league as well as the
2018 Western Cape Chess Club championships.
Cape Town Chess Classic
3. Our first activity as a chess club was the Cape Town Chess Classic which took place in March
2019.
4. The event had two sections. It had a Blitz as we as Rapid section.
5. In the Blitz section Steinitz A ended first after nine rounds of play. The event was very
competitive with teams ranging from MRL, African Chess Lounge, Cape Town and others.
6. MRL won the Rapid section after the Steinitz A team lost to the Steinitz B team. Congratulations
to the B team on that victory.
7. The A team players were in board order
Michael James
Lyndon Bouah
Craig Willenberg
Kenny Willenberg who made his comeback for Steinitz.
The B team was:
Ethan Samuels
Mark Lewis
Denise Bouah
Glenn Willenberg
8. The team ended in second position with CM Lyndon Bouah winning the board prize for board
two.
9. The final results were as follows:
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Blitz
Rapid
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Steinitz Open 2019
10. The Steinitz Open organised to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of the club ended in a great
victory for IM Watu Kobese. The event had four sections and was well contested.
Let's have a look at the different sections. The U8 section was won by Jean Maritz.
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In the C Section there were 93 players who finished the event with several other players finishing
with less games. The C section female prizes were contested by 8 players and the players finished:
In the C Section a chess puzzle book was awarded to Callum Lau. The book was presented to him by
the author the late Leonard Rietstein. Mr. Rietstein was the SA Olympiad team captain 1966 in Cuba.
He also presented a book to Themba Thompson.
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In the main draw of Section C Andre Rhode scored 6/6. Rhode has not played for many years and has
now re-joined Kraaifontein chess club. I remember him from a few decades back. So well done
Andre. Oliver Hufton was second with 5.5/6. He too was on full score going into the last round. He
drew with Murray Steenkamp who scored five and was adjudged third on tiebreak.
Full Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr426488.aspx?lan=1&art=4&turdet=YES
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In the B section WCM Natasha Joubert scored 3/6. This young lady won the SA Under 8 girls a few
years ago and is continuing with her fine showing. 8 females competed in this section with five
players scoring 2.
In the main draw published author and chess coach Edwin November showed a clean pair of heels to
score 6/6. He too is from Kraaifontein chess club and I am sure his experience showed on the day. In
second position from Blackjacks was Leatin Booys who scored 5.5/6. Leatin is making a comeback
and has been competing in many an event. There were five players on five and on tiebreak these
players were Shaun Willenberg from Steinitz, Tezihano Mnyasta from Crossroads, Dr. Omar Esau
from Manyanani, Luvuyo Nkosana and Sandiso Kedama from Crossroads. Well done to these players.
Edwin November won R2000 with Leatin Booys winning R1000 and the others all winning R250 each.
Full Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr426486.aspx?lan=1&art=1&turdet=YES
In the Main section we had four females competing for the three female prizes. The games were
hard fought. There was an unexpected winner in that Robyn Van Niekerk beat Kenny Willenberg in
the final round to win the R700 first prize. Well done Robyn. In second position was WIM Dr. Denise
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Bouah who beat WIM Jesse February in the final round to win R500. Sharing third was WIM Jesse
February and WCM- elect Rebecca Selkirk. In the final round Selkirk lost to Glenn Willenberg who
showed that his experience accumulated over the years can lead to a good showing on the board.
February and Bouah was a wild game and had the spectators on the edge of their seats. At some
stage both players were winning, and the complications were unfathomable but when the dust
cleared Bouah found herself up two pieces.
In the main draw IM Watu Kobese reeled off five straight wins and in the last round took the draw
against Aguirre. I didn't see the game, but Aguirre felt he was better but Kobese felt he had
everything under control. Watu took home R4000 for first prize. In his victory speech he thanked the
organisers and praised the competitors for their fighting spirit and noted the rise of young talent in
this event. Sharing second to fourth was PM Bryan Aguirre, FM Paul Gluckman, and former SA
Closed Co- Champion FM Calvin Klaasen. Paul Gluckman beat SA over fifty champion Mark Lewis in
the last round in a bruising encounter. FM Klaasen beat Micheal James who was throwing everything
but the kitchen zinc into the attack. Klaasen had everything under control and in the mutual time
trouble triumphed at the end. Each of the three players took home R1660 each.
Other notable players include FM Dr. Shabier Bhawoodien who scored 4.5. He blitzed WIM Bouah in
the morning round even though the game was probably objectively a draw. In the second game he
took the full point off Johann Schnabel who was having a fantastic event having beaten Micheal
James and WIM Jesse February. In sixth position was CM Dr. Lyndon Bouah on 4 who saved a half
point when he miscalculated against Ethan Samuels. I then set up a blockade to prevent Samuels
from also taking my scalp. In recent weeks Ethan has been taking the scalp of many a top player and
I soon predict that he will be edging very fast to 2000 given his play. FM Charles De Villiers also
ended on 4 after tactically outplaying Alexander Van Der Merwe. It was a game for the ages with the
seven-time SA Champion playing the diminutive Van Der Merwe who has already beaten GM
Nakamura in a simul. The game was an Accelerated Dragon and although De Villiers won an early
pawn Van Der Merwe kept creating small threats. It went down to the wire. Craig Willenberg and his
sister in law Robyn Van Niekerk ended on four after Robyn beat Craig's brother Kenny!
I had a few words with Gerrit Meiboom who informed me that his older brother Kees was cross at
him for not mentioning the event earlier. The Meibooms are an old chess family with Kees having
played in many a SA Closed. It was good to see Deon Pick who travelled in from Worcester. Dr
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Andrew Southey, Commonwealth Senior champion travelled in from Hermanus. Thanks WIM
February who flew in from Nelson Mandela Bay to support the event. The event indeed felt like a
mini SA Open with nine players over 2000 in the field. There were no easy games.
It is important that these events are hosted on an annual basis because it allows players an
opportunity to compete against their fellow players on an equal basis. Sixty sixty with ten second
increment is a great leveller. Roland Willenberg calls it old man's blitz. Thanks to arbiters Leon De
Jager, Andrew Talmarkes, Alfreda Louw and Anito Petersen for making this event pleasant to play in.
280 players who competed in the event Steinitz. Thanks to them club chess is thriving.
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Full Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr426485.aspx?lan=1&art=4&turdet=YES&flag=30
The 2019 Chess Western Province League
11. Steinitz Premier team won the 2019 in a fine display of team chess. The Steinitz A team played
11 matches as the event is contested as a twelve team round robin. The Premier team won 10
matches and drew one with 2017 CWP league champions MRL. This was an excellent showing by
the Premier team.
12. In the last two years Steinitz A has not lost a single classical team match in the WP league.
They have played 22 matches in the WP league and have the following statistics:
Played -- 22
Drawn – 4 (MRL 2019, Blackjacks, ACL, Stellenbosch in 2018)
Won -- 18
Lost -- 0
13. Board prizes were won by two sets of brothers! The Willenberg brothers and the De Jager
brothers scored well and won board prizes for Steinitz.
Craig Willenberg scored well with a score 9/11 scoring 81.8%
Kenny Willenberg scored 9.5 /11 and a percentage score of 86.6%
Andreas De Jager scored 8/9 and a percentage score of 88.9%
Luan De Jager scored 7/8 with percentage score of 87.5
Honourable mentions must be made of PM Mark Lewis who scored 6/7 with a percentage
score of 85.7 and CM Lyndon Bouah who scored 7.5/10 with a percentage score of 76%.
Mark has been unbeaten for the last two.
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14. The full Premier team that played in the Chess WP league 2019 consisted of
Board 1 - Michael James
Board 2 - Craig Willenberg
Board 3 - Lyndon Bouah
Board 4 - Ethan Samuels
Board 5 - Kenny Willenberg
Board 6 - Mark Lewis
Board 7 - Andreas De Jager
Board 8 - Luan De Jager
Board 9 - Denise Bouah
Board 10 - Glenn Willenberg
15. For the record I herewith include the final list of board winners to compare the standings of all
the Steinitz players as given in the official record:
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16. I was pleased that a large percentage of our players played nearly seventy percent of the
matches. Michael James and Lyndon Bouah played 10, Craig, Ethan and Kenny played 11, while
the others played 8 or more games. The consistency was good to see.
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17. The B team ended 4th in the B section but I know they can challenge for medals and this year we
perhaps need to ensure that we plan to compete for the top three positions. A good showing by
the B team. We have a core of experienced players and young players coming through that we
need to nurture.
18. For the record I show the final standings:
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19. In the C section our young team didn’t do so well but we are proud of the fact that this young
team pitched and played. Consisting mostly of young girls I do believe that they will quickly jump
back from the D division as we give them the necessary support.
20. The Steinitz D team ended last in this division. Consisting largely of parents we must strengthen
this team in the 2020 league.
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21. Steinitz Chess Club must continue to nurture our junior players and our parents as it is important
that the parents and youngsters get an opportunity to participate in the league.
22. The following winners have won the WP league since unification
1992 – UCT
1993 – Steinitz
1994- Cape Town
1995- Manyanani
1996 – Mitchells Plain
1997- Claremont
1998 – Steinitz
1999- Claremont
2000- Cape Town
2001 Steinitz
2002 Steinitz
2003 Claremont
2004 – Mitchells Plain
2005- Mitchells Plain
2006 Steinitz
2007 Stellenbosch
2008 Stellenbosch
2009 Steinitz
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2010 UCT
2011 Steinitz
2012 Chesscube
2013 Steinitz
2014 Steinitz
2015 African Chess Lounge
2016 African Chess Lounge
2017 MRL
2018 Steinitz
2019 Steinitz
Western Cape Club Championships 2019
23. The 2019 edition of the popular Western Cape Club Championship took place in October 2019 in
Caledon. The event consisted of three sections. Each section had teams of six competing to be
the best chess Club in the Western Cape.
24. Steinitz Chess Club fielded one team that consisted of
Board 1 - Kenny Willenberg
Board 2 - Lyndon Bouah
Board 3 - Mark Lewis
Board 4 - Luan De Jager
Board 5 - Glenn Willenberg
Board 6 - Ashley Schuller
Board 7 - Jacques Frick
25. The team won all its matches and claimed the crown again.
26. Board prizes were awarded to:
Kenny Willenberg 5/6 (unbeaten)
Lyndon Bouah 6/6
Luan De Jager 4/4
Glenn Willenberg 4.5/5
Jacques Frick 4/4
27. Steinitz has won all its matches played at the Western Cape Club Championships over the last
few years.
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28. This event is an important tournament on the Western Cape Calendar and must be supported
every year. Perhaps next year we should send more teams as well.
29. We played against Riversdal, Manyanani, Blackjacks, Hermanus, Oudtshoorn and George.
30. Steinitz scored 33/36 (one loss and four draws) Blackjacks second with 24.5 and Manyanani on
21.
31. Steinitz has won the event in the following years:
2012- Steinitz
2013- Steinitz
2014- Steinitz
2015- Steinitz
2016- Steinitz
2017- Steinitz
2018- Steinitz
2019- Steinitz
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SA Club Chess Championship
32. The SA Chess Club Championship took place in Cape Town in September 2019.
33. In the A section twenty teams competed to dethrone Manyanani as the national champions.
34. After some good chess, Steinitz A emerged as the winners after winning all their matches. They
were followed by MRL, Steinitz B, Steinitz C and African Chess Lounge.
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35. The event billed MRL as the top seed with Steinitz seeded second. Steinitz succeeded in
defeating MRL A and B on the second day of the event to go into the lead.
36. Steinitz B and C played exceptionally well to also get into the prizes and medals. Some good
victories were obtained by especially the younger B team players like Luan and Andreas De
Jager.
37. The final standings for the A with board prizes are enclosed herewith as well:
Board 1 : FM Shabier Bhawoodien from Manyanani who scored an emphatic 5.5/6
Board 2 : CM Maxwell Solomon from MRL scored 5/6
Board 3 : John Laurie scored 5.5/6
Board 4 : Kenny Willenberg scored 6/6
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38. In the B section Elsies River won with Steinitz D winning second position. Well done to them.
39. Steinitz won one board prize with Kenny Willenberg winning on board four with 6/6.
40. The South African Club Championship is an important event. The winners for the past few years
have been:
2003 Centurion
2004 Steinitz
2005 Steinitz
2006 Brooklyn
2007 no event held
2008 Steinitz
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2009 Steinitz
2010 Steinitz
2011 Randburg
2012 Steinitz
2013 Steinitz
2014 Steinitz
2015 Hyenas
2016 Chess Excellence
2017 Manyanani.
2018 no event held
2019 Steinitz
41. One of the interesting aspects to note is the following:
After the first two rounds in the league when Kenny scored 0.5/2 he scored 9 consecutive
victories. He then followed this up with 6 consecutive victories in a row at the SA Clubs and
at the Western Cape Club championship he scored an unbeaten 5/6. This makes a
remarkable 21 consecutive games with an unbeaten score of 20/21.
42. In April 2019 Lyndon Bouah lost to Mark Lewis in round four of the Steinitz Open. Since then he
was unbeaten in the final three rounds of that event, and he followed this up with undefeated
scores in the WP league 7.5/10, 5/6 in the SA Clubs undefeated and 6/6 at the Western Cape
Clubs. An unbeaten run of 24 games against reasonable opposition!
43. Let’s look at the Steinitz Premier team victories over the last two years:
The 2017 Western Cape Club championship was played in March 2018. Steinitz won 6/6
The 2018 CWP league had 11 matches of which three were drawn and 8 won.
The 2018 Western Cape club championship – Steinitz scored 6/6
In the 2019 CWP league the Steinitz team played 11 matches (drew one and won 10)
In the 2019 Western Cape club championship Steinitz played 6 and won 6
In the 2019 SA Club Championship Steinitz played 6 and won 6.
44. So, the stats for the last two years of classical time control adding the 2017 Western Cape Club
Championship is:
Played 46 matches
Drawn – 4 matches
Won 42 matches
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45. On the individual level the following Steinitz players deserve a mention
• Reegan Palmer came 2nd place U12 at African Youth championships in Namibia
• Ethan Samuels represented South Africa in India at the World U-20 Junior
championships.
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• Andreas De Jager and Carlo Louw represented South Africa in Turkey in November at the
World under 16 Olympiad
46. At Western Cape level Mark Lewis won the first ever Western Cape Closed with Anzel Laubscher
being announced as the Women’s Western Cape Champion. Andrew Talmarkes was the runner
up on tiebreak after ending joint first in the Western Cape Senior Closed.
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47. At school level:
• 2019 SA Schools Winter Games
o U18 Boys – Ethan Samuels – Silver
o U15 Boys – Andreas de Jager – Gold
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• 2019 Western Cape Schools Closed
o U18 Boys – Ethan Samuels – Gold
o U18 Girls – Ane Pienaar - Gold
o U15 Boys – Andreas de Jager – Gold
o U15 Girls – Ameera Yacoob - Bronze
48. At WP youth level most of Steinitz junior players represented WP at the junior nationals.
49. Congratulations to Roland Willenberg whose Under12 team won gold at the nationals.
50. Steinitz also had the most players at the SA Closed Championships. These players were:
1. Michael James who played in the Open section and beat the top three finishers, Daniel
Barrish, Grandmaster Kenny Solomon and Roberto De Abreu,
2. Anzel Laubscher who played in the Women’s section
3. Roland Willenberg – Senior section
4. Glenn Willenberg - Senior Section
5. Andrew Talmarkes – Senior Section
6. Mark Lewis – Senior section
7. Kenny Willenberg – B section
8. Andreas De Jager – Under 20
9. Luan De Jager – Under 20
10. Ethan Samuels – Under 20
11. Kaitlyn Olkers - SA women’s B
12. Ameera Yacoob - SA Closed B
51. Congratulations to Kenny Willenberg who won the B section and now qualifies for the senior
section in 2021 and to Mark Lewis who ended runner up in the Senior section.
52. Congratulations are also in order to our arbiters Leon De Jager and Andrew Talmarkes who did
duty at various events throughout the Western Cape and South Africa.
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53. I also take the opportunity to congratulate Dr. Denise Bouah who published her first book in
2019. It is called Sport Psychology for Children.
54. Steinitz players competed in all the WP events and were always in the prizes and medals.
Congrats to all.
55. I thank you for the honour and privilege of captaining this team in 2019.
Regards
Dr Lyndon Bouah
Captain of Steinitz Chess Club
Champion Chess Club of Western Province, Western Cape and South Africa in 2019