Tag: Candidates

The “Candidates” stage of the SA Closed tournament was played this weekend, September 17 and 18. Each day is a three round Swiss tournament, with the top four players from day one progressing to day two. The top for players from day two move on to the “Contenders” stage of the tournament.

Congratulations to James and Adru on their promotions to 2k and 5k respectively. David Lubinsky played through from day one to qualify for Contenders, his first time qualifying. His last recorded game in the SAGA ranking system was in 2011. It seems that he’s come back from a break in good form.

Day One:
1: James Gelant
2: Christiaan Maasdorp
3: David Lubinsky
4: Adru van Niekerk
5: Pieter-Francois Theron
6: Michael Rapson
7: Fred Strauss
8: Pico Geyer

Day Two:
1: Rocco Vivier
2: David Lubinsky
3: Ben Bredenkamp
4: Paul Edwards
5: James Gelant
6: Adru van Niekerk
7: Christiaan Maasdorp
8: David Gale

Positions 2-4 and 5-7 are determined by “sum of opponent scores”.

The “Candidates” stage of the SA Closed tournament was played this weekend, May 1 and 2. Each day is a three round Swiss tournament, with the top four players from day one progressing to day two. The top for players from day two move on to the “Contenders” stage of the tournament.

Day one saw an upset with Fred Strauss beating James Gelant in the first round. James managed to stabilise in the next two games, and then went on to win day two. Three players who played day one went on to qualify for Contenders. All three will be playing in Contenders for the first time in 2021. Congratulations to Rocco, Christiaan, and James Gelant. They also earned promotions based on their performance. They are now 2k, 3k, and 3k respectively.

David Gale also secured his place at Contenders. He previously qualified for the tournament in 2018.

Day One:
1: Rocco Vivier
2: Christiaan Maasdorp
3: Michael Rapson
4: James Gelant
5: Fred Strauss
6: James Nicolson
7: Gordon Wells

Day Two:
1: James Gelant
2: Rocco Vivier
3: Christiaan Maasdorp
4: David Gale
5: Michael Rapson
6: Ben Bredenkamp
7: Paul Edwards
8: Paul Steyn

Positions 2-4 and 5-7 are determined by “sum of opponent scores”.