The brightest movers and shakers in local chess

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KNYSNA NEWS - A record number of participants took part in the Knysna Oyster Festival Rapid Chess Tournament on Saturday 2 July, with exciting matches being played in the Knysna High School Hall.

A total of 76 players turned up for the tournament, markedly more than the 48 who took part in 2019.

There were 36 players with a rating of 1 100 and above, who played in the A-section, while the remaining 40 played in the B-section.

PHOTO GALLERY: Knysna Oyster Festival Rapid Chess Tournament

The hall was packed full when the tournament got underway at 10:00 and several rounds were played to determine the "kings and queens" of the day.

In a slightly surprising turn of events, the A-section was won by sixth-seed Claude van Heerden from Port Elizabeth with 4½ points out of five - this means he defended his title from 2019.

Ruwaldo Claassen moves his queen.

Four players finished on four points and a tie-break determined their final positions. Pravin Meyer from Pacaltsdorp won silver while first-seed George Swart from George won bronze. Sharna Prince from George won the prize for the best girl in the A-section.

The B-section saw Charles Nortjie score a full house of five points to win the division.

Samora Adams from Johannesburg won silver and Gretha Conradie from Heidelberg won bronze - both scored 4½ points. Salima Fielies won the Best Girl prize in the section.

One of the organisers of the event thanked those who helped make the event possible. "Thanks go to our sponsors: [Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport] who provided much-needed chess clocks plus transport, and the Eden Chess Union," he said. "We are also very grateful to Knysna High School for the use of their hall and we would also like to thank the Knysna Oyster Festival organisers for the advertising they did as we seemed to reach a number of players outside of the Eden Chess Union which we have not previously noticed."

Reuben Daniels making a move.