Cape Town Masters Day 1: It's just the beginning

Western Province Chess is hosting its second annual Cape Town Masters event which has kicked off today. The event will be running from the 3rd to the 7th of January with 9 rounds and a prize fund of a whopping R 50,000 (South African Rand)! The tournament is being held at the Western Province Bridge Centre in Sea Point, Cape Town. 

Along with great views of Lion's Head and Signal Hill, this edition of Cape Town Masters boasts the participation of 12 titled players (2 IMs, 1 WIM, 3 FMs and 6 CMs), with the Masters section's AOR (Average Opponent Rating) being 1844. In attendance are some of South Africa's biggest names and talents, including a number of current/former World Olympiad participants.

The top seed of the tournament is none other than International Master Jan Karsten who is rated 2310 at just 16 years old! He achieved his IM title at the 2022 African Juniors by placing first with 6.5/9.

often lean towards coaching and other activities surrounding the game. It has lead to South Africa producing some of the world's best and finest trainers. I had a chat with FIDE Instructor, Reuben Salimu who provided some insight into what he thought chess would look like if it were a lucrative career option in South Africa.

While is it still early days, and there is much chess to be played. I will definitely be back with more updates. So stay tuned

Games are live streamed on my Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/jesse_feb