Chess and Charlize

Charlize in 2019 at the South African Closed Chess Championship

Charlize in Batumi, Georgia, in 2018

Credit: Reint Dykema and Chess dot com

When there is an opportunity, I do like to blog about chess players from Africa as they don’t get the exposure they should get. Even more so if it is a high profile player and a female! I was quite surprised to find this article about Charlize on Chess.com and was quite excited to know there are more young female players, from South Africa, in this great game! I didn’t copy the complete interview on my blog and you can follow the link to read more about her and to view more other photos of this talented young player.

Quick Bio: Chalize van Zyl age 20

Occupation:                                      Student (BA Media, Communications and Culture)

Rating:                                              1686 (FIDE) / 1801 (CHESSA)

SA rank:                                             9^th (FIDE) / 7^th (CHESSA)

Title:                                                  Woman International Master (WIM)

Number of Olympiads played:           1 (2018)

An interview conducted by WCM beccrajoy

At what age did you start playing chess, and who introduced you to it?

My Dad taught my sister and me when I was about 7 – he tried earlier, but we just weren’t into it. I started playing tournaments at 8, and when I was 9, I went overseas.

What’s your earliest chess memory?

My memory’s not that good, but I remember in one of my first tournaments, the only point I got was against my sister. We had both lost all our games, so we played in the last round. No one was watching us, and we ended up playing with just our kings until someone came and told us it was a draw!

How did you prepare for the South African Closed Chess Championships?

I did a lot of tactics in the days leading up to the closed. I did a bit on the opening, because I wanted to experiment a bit and change my lines, but not much. So, it was mainly hours and hours of tactics, and Puzzle Rush too. I’m addicted to Puzzle Rush – I don’t know if it was really training, but I couldn’t stop playing!

What is the highlight of your chess career?

When I was 13 I won the African Zonals, which is when I won my WIM title. And I broke a record for being the youngest South African to get the title.

Please click HERE to read the complete article.