Masterful performances see chess supremo achieve UFH double
Candidate master Keith Khumalo toppled all comers to achieve a historic victory at the seventh annual Heritage Open chess tournament recently.
Khumalo, who was crowned UFH Open champion earlier this year, became the first player to win both events in the same year.
Held at Fort Hare’s East London campus in late September, the Heritage Open further entrenched the institution’s reputation as the standard-setter in the Eastern Cape.
Coach and organiser Xhanti Mafongosi was delighted that it had attracted even more players from the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg than it did in 2023.
The Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces were also well represented.
Mafongosi paid tribute to the late Brighton Mthunzi for his role in ensuring that South Africa’s star players entered UFH tournaments in their droves.
The former champion withdrew from this year’s UFH Open shortly before it started due to illness and tragically passed away in Johannesburg on the weekend of the event.
Khumalo lived up to his number one billing by winning the A-section at the Heritage Open after seven rounds of intense competition.
Eastern Cape champion Kulasande Mafanya and Muzi Mkhwanazi placed second and third, respectively.
Despite having a good outing, defending champion and Buffalo City Chess president Ashley Vermaak could only muster an eighth-place finish.
He did, however, best KwaZulu-Natal champion Minenhle Ngcongo to leapfrog him in the overall standings.
The top three in the B-section were Tyler Botha, Onako Bambela and Kungawo Makanandi.
Fort Hare student Vuyelwa Dladla put in a notable performance in the C-section.
Aside from winning the best-female award in her section, she placed fourth overall in a group consisting mainly of men.
“The tournament went very well; we had a bucket load of people entering at the last minute,” Mafongosi said.
Unfortunately, candidate master Khanya Mazibuko was a no-show as he had committed to take part in a national schools event at the same time.
“But we still had big names there,” the coach emphasised.
Khumalo had surely developed a soft spot for Fort Hare after pulling off the double and pocketing the sizeable prize purses, Mafongosi chirped.
On a more serious note, he said decent prize-money had been one of the reasons that more and more of the country’s top players entered their events.
Attracting these players benefited Fort Hare’s players no end as it gave them regular opportunities to compete against the best in the business.
Putting on these tournaments also helped with recruitment, Mafongosi added.
“It’s becoming easier for me to encourage chess players in Grades 11 and 12 to study at Fort Hare because their entry fees are covered. This is not the case at all universities.
“Chess is very strong at the U14 and U16 levels. If we can get them to Fort Hare, the sky is the limit for the university.”