Curro Durbanville Chess Academy

🏆 2026 WCSC Primary Schools Individual Championship

A huge well done to the 5 students from Curro Durbanville Primary who represented the school this past week:

♟️ Callan Manning — U13 Boys CHAMPION (6/6) 🏆
♟️ Gisele Heidemann (WRM) — U11 Girls, 3.5/6
♟️ Giavanna Booysen — U13 Girls, 3/6
♟️ Kenzi Gabriel — U11 Girls, 2.5/6
♟️ Mia Graham — U11 Girls, 2/6

Special congratulations to Callan on a perfect score and the U13 Boys provincial title — an exceptional achievement.

Thank you to every parent who made the early starts, long days, and full six-round event possible. A detailed individual report will follow.
Proudly trained at the Curro Durbanville Chess Academy, in association with African Chess Lounge.

Arena Grand Master.

Matthew Shapiro has earned the AGM title on FIDE Online — the highest title in the Arena classification.

ACL Academy Advanced Level 2.

Well played, Matthew.

Observe · Learn · Practice.

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Two of our students. One continent. Three top-10 finishes.

Chase Salimu (Grade 8) and Mila Snyman (Grade 9) represented Curro Durbanville High School and the Republic of South Africa at the 2026 African Youth Chess Championship in Entebbe, Uganda.

Chase finished 8th in Africa in the Rapid Open Section, and 9th in Africa in the Classical U16 Open.
Mila finished 10th in Africa in the Blitz Girls Section.

Across five rated events and 41 games on the board, they faced the strongest junior players from across the continent — Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Well played, Chase and Mila. We are proud of you.

Chase Salimu and Mila Snyman will represent South Africa at the African Youth Chess Championship 2026, taking place in Entebbe, Uganda from 14–23 May.

Both players will compete across 9 rounds against the continent’s strongest juniors, with a shot at earning coveted FIDE titles — a milestone that places them firmly on the international chess map.

Congratulations to Chase Salimu for this incredible achievement

Congratulations to the following Curro Durbanville learners who excelled at the Metro North Schools Chess High School Individual Trials that took place this weekend at DF Akademie:

*Under 15 Boys*
🥈2nd place - Chase Salimu
♟4th place - Janko Weidemann
♟5th place - Aiden Matima
♟7th place - Ndumiso Ngidi
♟️12th place - Jordan Braaf
*Under 15 Girls*
🥇1st place - WPM Imkhita Joya
🥈2nd place - WRM Mila Snyman
♟️8th place - Emlyn Wilson
*Under 17 Boys*
♟4th place - Dylan Ashworth
♟️6th place - James Wilson
♟8th place - Judah Ellappa
♟️9th place - Kevin Gwanzura
*Under 17 Girls*
♟5th place - Lee-Anne Matima
*Under 19 Girls*
♟️7th place - Isabelle Thompson

We are very proud of these learners who will all receive Metro North District colours!! ♟🐺

We had 55 coaches from across the Curro network participate in the Training Chess Trainers programme we hosted today , reflecting strong system-wide buy-in.

Notably, Dylan Ashworth, one of our learners, successfully completed the course and has now qualified as a Schools Chess Supervisor, demonstrating the effectiveness of our internal development pipeline.

In addition, our Primary School Teacher in Charge of Chess attained the same certification, strengthening on-campus leadership and continuity.

We also saw meaningful inclusivity, with Clide Arendse, a member of our cleaning staff and a former provincial-level player, attending and completing the workshop—highlighting the depth of untapped talent within our community.

Next step: these candidates will enter a structured apprenticeship phase within our Foundation and Beginner chess classes, where they will gain supervised practical experience while progressing toward their Entry-Level Coach certification. This ensures quality control, mentorship, and a sustainable coaching pipeline aligned with Curro’s long-term chess strategy.

Our first Monthly Rapid was a strong success — well done to all the students who participated.

Progress in chess is built on consistency: regular learning, deliberate practice, and applying skills under competitive conditions. We look forward to seeing you back in training sessions and at the next tournament as you continue to build momentum.

Kick Off 2026 with Trials Preparation Workshop and Rapid - January 24th!

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