FM Kenny Solomon and IM Watu Kobese shared 1st place at the South African Closed tournament with 8-3 scores. Solomon was the only player in the tournament with an undefeated score and was declared the winner of tiebreaks.  IM David Gluckman placed second with 7½-3½ after drawing his last two rounds. There was an interesting scenario brewing as Kobese and Solomon prepared to face to each other in the last round.

Gluckman could've made things quite tense with a win over Yury Aronov in the penultimate 10th round. After Gluckman-Aronov resulted in a draw, Kobese-Solomon only needed to draw to clinch a tie for 1st… which is exactly what happened.  Finishing in the top three positions, Solomon, Kobese and Gluckman win the right to represent South Africa in the 2004 Olympiad in Spain.

At 23, Solomon combines tenacity with fighting spirit and hopes to get more international exposure in the coming years. Solomon impressed players at the Wilbert Paige tournament with his endurance averaging… 62 moves in nine games! The newly-crowned champion will represent South Africa in the African Championships in August.

Round 1

Solomon (½-½) Bhawoodien
van Tonder (1-0) Kobese
van den Heever (0-1) Aronov
Cawdery (½-½) Bouah
Gluckman (1-0) Willenberg
de Villiers (1-0) Michelakis

Round 2

Bhawoodien (0-1) Michelakis
Willenberg (0-1) de Villiers
Bouah (0-1) Gluckman
Aronov (1-0) Cawdery
Kobese (1-0) van den Heever
Solomon (1-0) van Tonder

Round 3

van Tonder (1-0) Bhawoodien
van den Heever (0-1) Solomon
Cawdery (0-1) Kobese
Gluckman (½-½) Aronov
de Villiers (1-0) Bouah
Michelakis (½-½) Willenberg

Round 4

Bhawoodien (1-0) Willenberg
Bouah (1-0) Michelakis
Aronov(1-0) de Villiers
Kobese (1-0) Gluckman
Solomon (½-½) Cawdery
van Tonder (1-0) van den Heever

Round 5

van den Heever (1-0) Bhawoodien
Cawdery (1-0) van Tonder
Gluckman (½-½) Solomon
de Villiers (0-1) Kobese
Michelakis (1-0) Aronov
Willenberg (½-½) Bouah

Round 6

Bhawoodien (½-½) Bouah
Aronov (1-0) Willenberg
Kobese (1-0) Michelakis
Solomon (½-½) de Villers
van Tonder (0-1) Gluckman
van den Heever (0-1) Cawdery

Round 7

Cawdery (1-0) Bhawoodien
Gluckman (½-½) van den Heever
de Villiers (1-0) van Tonder
Michelakis (½-½) Solomon
Willenberg (½-½) Kobese
Bouah (1-0) Aronov

Round 8

Bhawoodien (1-0) Aronov
Kobese (1-0) Bouah
Solomon (1-0) Willenberg
van Tonder (½ - ½) Michelakis
van den Heever (1-0) de Villiers Cawdery (0-1) Gluckman

Round 9

Gluckman (½ - ½) Bhawoodien
de Villiers (0-1) Cawdery
Michelakis (0-1) van den Heever
Willenberg (1-0) van Tonder
Bouah (0-1) Solomon
Aronov (1-0) Kobese

Round 10

Bhawoodien (0-1) Kobese
Solomon (1-0) Aronov
van Tonder (½-½) Bouah
van den Heever (0-1) Willenberg
Cawdery (0-1) Michelakis
Gluckman (½-½) de Villiers

Round 11

de Villiers (1-0) Bhawoodien
Michelakis (½-½) Gluckman
Willenberg (½-½) Cawdery
Bouah (0-1) van den Heever
Aronov (1-0) van Tonder
Kobese (½-½) Solomon

Links

Chess South Africa (CHESSA) website (photos, charts, games)

Game Download (PGN format)

Posted by The Chess Drum: 23 June 2003