A talented chess player from Elsies River has been selected by Chess South Africa to represent the country at three international tournaments this year.
Charlton Mnyasta, 18, will be making moves at the World Junior Chess Championship in India next month, as well as the Africa Junior Chess Championships in Egypt in November, after scoring a 8.5 out of 9 at the South African Junior Chess Championship 2024.
Charlton has shown extraordinary potential on the chessboard and has dedicated seven years to mastering the sport.
Some of his recent achievements are finishing in joint first place at the Cape Town Open Chess Championship, first place at the Steinitz Chess Festival and fourth place at the South African Closed Chess Championship, securing his selection for the South African Men’s team to participate in the Chess Olympiad in Hungary in September.
Llewelyn Louw, chairperson of the Blackjacks Chess Club and Development Officer of the Cape Town Chess Federation, is now trying to raise funds of R50 000 to allow Charlton to be able to participate at the championships in India and Egypt.
“I have been part of the chess fraternity for over 25 years, I have seen too many brilliant and talented chess players fall by the wayside and not become professionally recognised chess players because of financial constraints and a lack of funding afforded to this sport,” says Louw.
“Here you have a youngster who can build himself a prosperous future through chess if given financial support. Charlton has the talent and determination to represent his country in many tournaments around the world but is not able to because financially he is handicapped.”
Charlton is currently in Grade 12 at Elsies RIver High School and says he hopes to secure funding for his international matches.
“I'm thrilled and honoured to represent my country. While I'm able to play the local tournaments within my province, it becomes challenging when I need to participate in inter-provincial and even more so on an international stage as the costs associated with these tournaments are too much.”
If you’d like to assist, check out https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/world-junior-chess-championships-in-india-and-africa-junior-chess-championships-in-egypt