Picture: Johan Steenkamp – facing the camera.
Note: Centurion is near Pretoria, about 10-15 min drive from Pretoria on your way to Jo’burg. (Johannesburg). Centurion is this year 100 years old!
Chess players about to make their move
LISA DEWBERRY
Februarie 2008
The Centurion Chess Club will soon be presenting one of the biggest chess tournaments of its kind in Gauteng and the only South African tournament listed on the international Fidé Calendar.
The 16th Annual Centurion Chess Open Tournament will be presented at the Kleinkaap Conference Centre in Clubview from 30 April to 4 May.
Johan Steenkamp, of the Centurion Chess Club, says the various sections of the event will open doors for all chess players regardless of their playing strength.
The section for players of 13 years and younger will be played on 1 and 2 May only, while the more experienced players can participate in either an A or B section from 1 until 4 May.
“Seven rounds will be played during the tournament and players can compete in four divisions including an elite division which displays the ability of some of the best players in Southern Africa,” says Steenkamp.
According to him, this tournament attracts more than 250 players each year and boasts as being the tournament with the most prize money in Gauteng.
“For the first time ever, the club will present an internationally recognised section to start on 30 April.
“Some grandmaster and international master players from countries as far as the Ukraine have already indicated they wish to participate,” says Steenkamp.
He says that he and other members of the Centurion Chess Club are planning to take part in the tournament and says that the Centurion Chess Club is arguably the best chess club in South Africa.
“The club prides itself on developing high calibre chess players through rigorous competitive programmes. Last year for the seventh time in a row, the Centurion Chess Club’s A-team won the Gauteng Premier League,” says Steenkamp.
He says that this is a record number of wins and a record number of consecutive wins since the start of the league in the Seventies.The club has also won the South African inter-club tournament and been host to the prestigious BIS Open Chess Tournament.
The Annual Centurion Chess Open Tournament is open to all chess players. For more information visit http://www.centurionchessclub. co.za.
Read the news article in it’s original form HERE …
Read HERE what I’ve said this morning about Elise Steenkamp- in the comments…
Click HERE to see a map of Centurion.
Need a place to stay?
Image: Centurion Lake Hotel…Click HERE for details and more places.
Image: Stefan Du Toit, Grade 7, the new SA o/14 Chess Champion. He’s from Tygerpoort Primary School, Pretoria.
Chessalee 