South African Go ClubsThe Gauteng Open was held on 26 March, in Randburg. The results were as follows:
1) Ben Bredenkamp
2) tie between Paul Edwards / Andre Connell
4) Marc Loon
5) Pico Geye
r6) Max de Montbron
Games:
R1 – Ben bt Paul ; Andre bt Marc ; Pico bt Max
R2 – Ben bt Andre ; Paul bt Pico ; Marc bt Max
R3 – Ben bt Marc ; Andre bt Pico ; Paul bt Max
All games were scratch, colours were random.
Winter league 2021 took place from June to November, with 12 players taking part. Players ranged from 3d to 7k in strength. Once again, the tournament used a McMahon style with pairing pre-drawn based on player ranks at the start of the tournament. The bar was set at 3k for this season.
Congratulations to Chris, who won the league for the second year in a row, with straight wins. Andrew and Andre placed second and third respectively. Michael was promoted back to 4k during the tournament.
| Player | Rank | |
| 1 | Chris Welsh | 3d |
| 2 | Andrew Davies | 3d |
| 3 | Andre Connell | 2d |
| 4 | Rocco Vivier | 2k |
| 5 | Lloyd Rubidge | 1d |
| 6 | Ben Bredenkamp | 1k |
| 7 | James Nicolson | 1k |
| 8 | Christiaan Maasdrop | 3k |
| 9 | Michael Rapson | 4k |
| 10 | Paul Edwards | 1d |
| 11 | Gordon Wells | 7k |
| 12 | Fred Strauss | 7k |
Contenders was once again held primarily online, using the South Africa room of OGS as the main venue. Players were also given the option of meeting up and playing “over the board” with opponents in their area.
Victor took first place, again with straight wins. Not all the games were as comfortable, however. Andrew managed to keep his game against Victor within 10 points throughout, and Chris had a 15 point lead at move 80 that he didn’t manage to convert. The fight for second was fierce. Andre’s win vs Andrew left him with all to play for in the final game vs Chris. When Chris held on to his 1.5 point lead in end game, David’s early upset win against Andre left Andre on 4 points. This handed Andrew second place, with the tie breaker being Andrew’s head to head win vs Chris.
There was a three way tie between the lower four players, with Christiaan, Rocco, and David all on 2 wins. Christiaan took 5th place, with Rocco in 6th. Head to head games were again the tie breaker. David’s upset win against Andre unfortunately only earned him 7th place, with Ben taking a point off Christiaan.
Congratulations to Christiaan and Rocco who participated in Contenders for the first time. Christiaan also earned promotion to 2k after his win against David.
| Player | NBW | Notes | |
| 1 | Victor Chow, 7d | 7 | |
| 2 | Andrew Davies, 3d | 5 | Tie breaker: Andrew beat Chris |
| 3 | Chris Welsh, 3d | 5 | |
| 4 | Andre Connell, 2d | 4 | |
| 5 | Christiaan Maasdorp, 2k | 2 | Tie breaker: Christiaan beat Rocco and David |
| 6 | Rocco Vivier, 2k | 2 | Tie breaker: Rocco beat David |
| 7 | David Gale, 1k | 2 | |
| 8 | Ben Bredenkamp, 1k | 1 |
The 2021 Cape Town Open was held on May 30 and was played “over the board”.
First place was closely by Andrew and Sam, with their head to head game going to Andrew by less than komi. James got revenge against Fred for his loss during Candidates day one, but lost to Christiaan in the final round, allowing Michael to sneak ahead on “sum of scores”. This puts Christiaan and James at one all so far in tournament games this year.
Thanks to everyone who took part.
| Player | NBW | SOS | SOSOS | |
| 1 | Andrew Davies, 3d | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| 2 | Sam Scott, 3d | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| 3 | Christiaan Maasdorp, 3k | 2 | 4 | 13 |
| 4 | Michael Rapson, 5k | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| 5 | James Gelant, 3k | 1 | 4 | 13 |
| 6 | Fred Strauss, 7k | 0 | 4 | 13 |
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”.