The South African Chess Championship was first organised in 1892 by the Cape Town Chess Club. It is now organised by Chess South Africa (CHESSA), the governing body of chess in South Africa. The tournament is normally held every two years. It is restricted to chess players resident in South Africa (although exceptions have been made on occasion) and participation is by invitation only.

CHESSA was formed in 1992, after unification talks between various chess bodies that commenced the previous year. The 1995 event, the first organised by CHESSA, included titled players from Angola and Zimbabwe and was run on the Swiss system. Since that date, the tournament has been held on a round-robin basis. The winner of the tournament holds the title of South African Closed Chess Champion until the next tournament is held.

Historically, the tournament was usually held on a round-robin or double round-robin basis. In case of a tie for first place, a playoff match was usually conducted. In the early days, the title holder could also be challenged to a title match, and these matches are tabled below.

Winners of the national championship

YearCityWinner Black Closed WinnerWomen's Winner
1892Cape TownArthur Rivett
Edward Roberts[1]
1897Cape TownEdward Roberts
1899DurbanAbraham Michael
1903JohannesburgFrancis Joseph Lee
1906Cape TownBruno Edgar Siegheim
1910Cape TownHarry Duhan
1912JohannesburgBruno Edgar Siegheim[2]
1920Cape TownA.J.A. Cameron
Alexander Chavkin
1924DurbanAlexander Chavkin
1926JohannesburgMax Blieden
1928Cape TownMax Blieden
1935JohannesburgJohn C. Archer jr
1937Cape TownKurt Dreyer[3]
1939DurbanWolfgang Heidenfeld
1945JohannesburgWolfgang Heidenfeld
John Holford
1947Cape TownWolfgang Heidenfeld
Kurt Dreyer
1949DurbanWolfgang Heidenfeld
1951East LondonWolfgang Heidenfeld
1953JohannesburgJohn E. Eriksen
1955Cape TownWolfgang Heidenfeld
1957DurbanWolfgang Heidenfeld
1959JohannesburgWolfgang Heidenfeld
Kenneth Kirby
1961Cape TownWoolf Gerber
1963PretoriaKenneth Kirby
Kees van der Meyden
1965SalisburyPiet Kroon
1967JohannesburgDavid Friedgood
1969PretoriaPiet Kroon
1971JohannesburgDavid Friedgood
1973Cape TownDavid Friedgood
1975East LondonPiet Kroon
Charles de Villiers
1977PretoriaDavid A. Walker
Charles de Villiers
1979JohannesburgFrank Korostenski
1981Cape TownCharles de Villiers
1983PretoriaDonald Macfarlane
1985JohannesburgClyde Wolpe
Charles de Villiers
1986 Shabier Bhawoodien (Durban)
1987PretoriaCharles de Villiers[4] Deon Pick (Worcester)
1988 Maxwell Solomon (East London)
1989SecundaCharles de Villiers Deon Solomon (Bellville South)
1991 Deon Solomon(CPUT Campus)
1993 Cape Town George Michelakis
1994 CPUT Campus Deon Solomon
1995Cape TownDavid Gluckman
1998Bruma LakeMark Rubery
Watu Kobese
2000Port ElizabethNicholas van der Nat Michelle Minnaar
2001 Watu Kobese Cecile van der Merwe
2002 Mignon Pretorius
2003Kempton ParkWatu Kobese
Kenny Solomon		 Mignon Pretorius
2004 Carmen de Jager
2005Cape TownNicholas van der Nat Denise Frick
2007Cape TownHenry Robert Steel ?
2008 Carmen de Jager
2009Cape TownNicholas van der Nat no event held
2011Cape TownHenry Robert Steel
Watu Kobese		 no event held
2013 Cape Town Donovan van den Heever[5] Denise Frick
2015Cape TownDaniel Cawdery[6] Denise Frick
2017Cape TownJohannes Mabusela, Calvin Klaasen[7] Jesse February[8]
2019Cape TownDaniel Barrish[9] Jesse February[10]
2022Cape TownDaniel Cawdery[11] Chloe Badenhorst[12]

Winners of the South African Title

References

  1. ↑ The title being shared after a drawn playoff match.
  2. ↑ Bruno Edgar Siegheim defeated Max Blieden in a playoff match.
  3. ↑ Kurt Dreyer who defeated Jack Wolpert in a playoff match.
  4. ↑ The tournament was actually won by the visiting Argentinian Grandmaster Miguel Quinteros, who was not eligible for the national title
  5. ↑ Mark Crowther (13 January 2014). "THE WEEK IN CHESS 1001". TWIC. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Mark Crowther (29 December 2015). "THE WEEK IN CHESS 1103". TWIC. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  7. ↑ Mubayiwa, Bruce (19 December 2017). "KZN's International Master (IM) Johannes Mabusela and WP's FM Calvin Klaasen co-champions at 2017 South African Closed Chess Championships Open". africachess.net.
  8. ↑ "2017 South African Closed Chess Championships Women". chess-results.com.
  9. ↑ "2019 South African Closed Chess Championships Open". chess-results.com.
  10. ↑ "2019 South African Closed Chess Championships Women". chess-results.com.
  11. ↑ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 2022 SACCC". chess-results.com. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "February, Jesse Nikki vs. Badenhorst, Chloe - South African Women's Championship 2022". chess24.com. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  • A History of Chess in Southern Africa, by Leonard Reitstein (2003), ISBN 978-0-620-29829-2. This covers the period from 1892 until 1945.
  • South African Chessplayer, edited by Leonard Reitstein, published from 1953 to 1986.
  • Guinness Chess: The Records, by Ken Whyld (1986), page 114. This list covers the period from 1892 until 1986.
  • Chess In The RSA, edited by Charles van der Westhuizen and others, published from 1987 to 1990.
  • Chess in Southern Africa, edited by Mark Levitt and others, published from 1991 to 1995.
  • The Week In Chess (TWIC) by Mark Crowther. Refer to TWIC187 for 1998, TWIC286 for 2000, TWIC451 for 2003, TWIC548 for 2005, TWIC685 for 2007, TWIC791 for 2009, TWIC892 for 2011.
  • On the 1924 championships:
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