Tearing up University Nationals (Again!)

Read on for an overview of the tournament, some of our best games and a photo gallery.

The Tournament

Every December, dozens of South African universities gather to see which team is the nerdiest best at chess. Last year's tournament took place in Kimberley, but this year we traded mine dumps for beaches and moved to Durban, where the Durban University of Technology hosted us.

The Team

Our team (from the University of Cape Town) consisted of:

• Laviens Makhetha (7/9)
• Ayanda Masinga (6.5/9)
• Laurie Ann Shaw (6.5/9)
• Tane Ressel (6/9)
• Shingisai Samupindi (6/9)
• Jayden Moore (5.5/9)
• Alex Holwill (5.5/9)
• Lora Botha (5.5/9)
• Phemelo Maile (5/9)
• Tim Martin (5/9)
• Mnelisi Mabuza (5/9)
• Sachen Pather (4.5/9)
• Mahlomola Mohlomi (4.5/9)
• Kamogelo Merafe (4.5/9)
• Immaculate Ngcongwane (3/9)

The Games

I had a great Evans Gambit win in round 1. This one goes out to Paul Morphy!

Lora played a perfect game:
Phemelo's opponent was feeling kind:
Tim channelled Tal with some amazing sacrifices:
Alex found a DISGUSTING Knight sacrifice:
Lora's opponent tragically forgot to castle:
Tim displayed his attacking flair for the second time:
I showed why people don't generally play 1...b6:
Laviens fought back from a lost position to a win (with some help from his opponent):
Now for some puzzles from Laurie Ann's games!

The Gallery

Can't wait to do it again next year!

I don't just blunder - I also coach! Message me on lichess to get in touch if you want to improve :)