The South African Open is a chess tournament played in South Africa. It was first held in 1962.
First held in 1962, the SA Open was held every two years until 1995, after which it has been held annually. It was not held in 1992 due to the unification of the various sports bodies after apartheid. [1]
Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk is a Russian and Swiss chess grandmaster who was the Women's World Chess Champion from 2008 to 2010 and Women's World Rapid Chess Champion in 2021. She was European women's champion in 2004 and a two-time Russian Women's Chess Champion. Kosteniuk won the team gold medal playing for Russia at the Women's Chess Olympiads of 2010, 2012 and 2014; the Women's World Team Chess Championship of 2017; and the Women's European Team Chess Championships of 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017; and the Women's Chess World Cup 2021. In 2022, due to sanctions imposed on Russian players after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she switched federations, and as of March 2023 she represents Switzerland.
Crime in South Africa includes all violent and non-violent crimes that take place in the country of South Africa, or otherwise within its jurisdiction. When compared to other countries South Africa has notably high rates of violent crime and has a reputation for consistently having one of the highest murder rates in the world. The country also experiences high rates of organised crime relative to other countries.
The Czech National Chess Championship is the chess competition held to determine the best chess player from the Czech Republic.
Wesley Barbossa So is a Filipino and American chess grandmaster and three-time U.S. Chess Champion. He is also a three-time Philippine Chess Champion. On the March 2017 FIDE rating list, he was ranked number two in the world and had an Elo rating of 2822, making him the fifth-highest-rated player in history.
Srinath Narayanan is an Indian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in August 2017.
The Slovenian Chess Championship is the national chess championship held in Slovenia. The championship has been played since the 1950s, first as a regional championship in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and after the independence of Slovenia as a national championship. Before 1991, the championship was usually played as a qualifier for the Yugoslav Chess Championship in which not always the best players participated. This is because the best Slovenian players were often automatically qualified for the championship based on rating or performance in other tournaments.
Darcy Gustavo Machado Vieira Lima is a Brazilian chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1989 and the Grandmaster title in 1997. Also a chess official, Lima was granted the titles of FIDE Trainer in 2010 and FIDE International Organizer in 2013. He was the president of the Brazilian Chess Confederation from 1999 - 2004 and then from 2013 - 2020.
Yu Yangyi is a Chinese chess grandmaster. He qualified for the Grandmaster title at 14 years, 11 months and 23 days old in 2009. He is a three-time Chinese Chess Champion and the 2014 Asian Chess Champion.
Vladimir Vasilyevich Fedoseev is a Russian chess grandmaster playing for Slovenia. He competed in the Chess World Cup in 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2023.
Vladislav Mikhailovich Artemiev is a Russian chess grandmaster and former chess prodigy. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2014. Artemiev is the 2019 European Chess Champion. He won the individual board performance gold medal as well as team gold medal at World Team Chess Championship 2019. He participated in Chess World Cup 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 where he was knocked out in the round of 16 by Sergey Karjakin.
Nino Batsiashvili is a Georgian chess grandmaster and 4-time and the current Georgian women's chess champion.
Stanley Chumfwa is a Zambian chess player. He is an international master (IM). Chumfwa studied mathematics at the University of Zambia.
Denise Bouah, formerly known as Denise Frick, is a South African chess player who holds the title of Woman International Master.
Jesse February is a South African chess player who holds the title of Woman International Master. She is a two-time South African women's chess champion and has also won the African women's chess championship twice, in 2021 and 2024.
Arman Mikaelyan is an Armenian chess Grandmaster (2017).
Daniel Barrish is a South African chess player who holds the title of FIDE Master.
Justin Tan is an Australian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2018, becoming the 8th Australian to achieve the title. He was formerly British Blitz Champion and was British Under-21 Champion twice.
The African Junior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament open to players in Africa who are under 20 years of age. The tournament was first held in 1980, and since its second edition in 1989, has been held annually with the exception of 2010. Beginning in 2002, a separate championship for girls has been held concurrently with the open championship.
Nilufar Muradovna Yakubbaeva is an Uzbekistani chess player. She was awarded the title of Woman International Master in 2020 and Woman Grandmaster in 2022.
Charlize van Zyl is a South African chess player who holds the title of Woman International Master, which she earned in 2013 at the age of 13, becoming the youngest South African to do so.