KNYSNA NEWS - A total of 39 chess players from across South Africa gathered in Knysna on Saturday, July 15 for the Oyster Rapid Chess Tournament held at Knysna Primary School.
According to the organiser and captain of play of the George chess club, Terry Quirk, players came from the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape as well as Kwa-Zulu Natal to take part in the tournament.
“All the players take part in all six rounds. If a player wins their match in a round, they are pitted against a stronger player in the next round, and eventually we have a winner,” said Quirk.
What makes this a "rapid" chess tournament is the addition of a timer. Each player is given 25 minutes in each game to make their moves. The time counts down the longer they take.
“You even get ‘time junkies’ who in a way waste time on purpose. As their time gets less they seem to thrive on the pressure,” Quirk added.
During the Knysna-Plett Herald's visit to the tournament’s second round, the young Wiaan Erasmus from Knysna was battling it out with Pravin Meyer, captain of play of the Pacaltsdorp chess club.
Erasmus has qualified to play the SA juniors tournament at the end of the year but was outplayed by Meyer.
In another match, which ended in quite an upset according to Quirk, the 11-year-old Kea Holroyd from Port Elizabeth surprised the higher-seeded Rauen le Grange from Kwa-Zulu Natal, who was much older than Holroyd.
Holroyd, who had a rating of 803 points, won her match with fewer pieces on the board than Le Grange had, who had a rating of 1 256 points at that stage.
Quirk explained that the more points you have, the higher you are ranked.
“That is why Kea’s match caused such an upset. Usually, when there is a difference of more than 200 points between players, it is almost guaranteed that the player with the higher points will win. It was not the case with her, though. It shows chess can be quite an exciting sport, not to mention that it is the only time I ever see young children sit still and concentrate for such a long period of time,” said Quirk.
“It felt good beating Rauen, but it doesn’t matter that much to me. As long as I’ve tried my best I am happy,” said Holroyd.
Quirk said he was pleased with the attendance of the tournament as it proved the sport is growing. “I was very happy with the friendly yet competitive spirit of the players, and we were supported quite well by people in the area. I also want to thank Knysna Primary School for the venue.”
The top three at the end of the tournament were Pravin Meyer and Jayson Pryse from Pacaltsdorp chess club in first and second place respectively, and Timothy Nevin from Port Elizabeth in third.
Holroyd ended in sixth place overall.
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