Monday, March 11, 2013

CWP High Performance Training

In the Western Cape one of the dreaded things by the stronger players in tournaments is meeting some of these youths over the board. Most of them are actually much stronger than what their rating suggests.

As an initiative to set a new standard of approach to youth Chess the Youth Director for Chess Western Province Mr Deon Solomon introduced High Performance Training after a successful transition of the Portfolio from outgoing Directors Mr Andrew Fisher and Mr Roland Willenberg.

The duo of Andrew and Roland strategy was to spread wide the dissemination of chess amongst the youth. Thus we saw the biggest participating teams in the 2012 Junior Championships coming from the Cape. This was indeed what we needed to develop chess for the future and was the correct strategy.

The approach Deon is taking is to continue with that while concurrently consolidating what we have achieved. So utilizing resident Masters a program has been started to prepare our youths for international competition. I attended one I the sessions with International Master Watu Kobese and had a lot of fun in that session.

So captivating all that was successful in the previous year and now adding this new training regimen to all qualifiers of the closed tournament a new plateau is being set for greater achievements in the continuing Chess Revolution launched in March 2012 by MEC Dr Ivan Meyer.

All the best to the youth in this program and I hope one day we can drive such a program national.

R. Salimu














Friday, March 1, 2013

Rhodes High- Another Success Story

In April 2012 Mr Warren Rossiter referred the Principal of Rhodes High to African Chess Lounge to get directions on how to start a chess club at the school.

We provided sets and coaching and working with Mr Maurice Lipshitz teacher in charge of Chess and Mrs Rhona Elixer the Deputy head we started with 5 students and now the Club boasts of close to 30 competing students of which one Deon Goredema has excelled to the extent of representing the Western Province in the under 16 Category.

As a result of the excitement and benefits experienced by the participants and administrators today they announced they will be embarking on a program to teach everyone at the school how to play chess. By taking the existing players who match a class themselves they will start a program where the chess players spend a session teaching everyone how to play chess!

So in one session they will have 30 people playing chess. I look forward to monitoring the results of this particular project!