# South African Chess Championship

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 1897Cape TownEdward Roberts 1899DurbanAbraham Michael 1903JohannesburgFrancis Joseph Lee 1906Cape TownBruno Edgar Siegheim 1910Cape TownHarry Duhan 1912JohannesburgBruno Edgar Siegheim 1920Cape TownA.J.A. Cameron Alexander Chavkin 1924DurbanAlexander Chavkin 1926JohannesburgMax Blieden 1928Cape TownMax Blieden 1935JohannesburgJohn C. Archer jr 1937Cape TownKurt Dreyer 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 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 Denise Frick 2015Cape TownDaniel Cawdery Denise Frick 2017Cape TownJohannes Mabusela, Calvin Klaasen Jesse February 2019Cape TownDaniel Barrish Jesse February 2022Cape TownDaniel Cawdery Chloe Badenhorst

## Winners of the South African Title

* 1897 Edward Roberts (defeated Arthur Cameron in challenge)
* 1898 Edward Roberts (defeated P.G. Van Breda in challenge)
* 1910 Max Blieden (defeated Bruno Edgar Siegheim in challenge)
* 1911 Bruno Edgar Siegheim (defeated Harry Duhan in challenge)
* 1912 Bruno Edgar Siegheim (defeated Henk Meihuizen in challenge)