Chess Olympiad 2026

Open section
Standings
RSA
Seeded 77, category B
5 won, 2 drawn, 4 lost
Also in the Women section
South Africa as a nation

South Africa

In numbers

82

place of 206 after round 11

12

match points from 11 matches

24

game points; TB1 222, TB3 120

2283

average rating

Roster

Board	Player	Rating	Games	Score	Perf.	±	Favourite
1	IM Jan Karsten	2386	10	5	2386	+1
2	IM Caleb Levi Levitan	2316	9	5½	2350	+12
3	FM Banele Mhango	2354	9	4	2299	−10
4	Charlton Mnyasta	2236	10	6½	2363	+37
5	James Dinham	2124	6	3	2031	−14

Boards follow the order the players have appeared in, as the team list keeps it; board 5 is the reserve. Games and scores count played games only. Performance and rating change come from Lichess. A name opens the player’s page.

Who carries the team

Each board from the player’s rating (hollow) to the performance so far (filled); red, the largest lift, grey, a board below its rating. The grey line is the team’s average rating, the score closes the row. A performance on few games moves a long way.

Matches

Round 1 v Democratic Republic of the Congo COD

4–0

Won, 2 match pointsBlack on board 1

1Yves De Billoez 19880IM Caleb Levi Levitan 23161 2FM Banele Mhango 23541FM Mashala Kabamwanishi 19400 3Makuwa Mbayo Gaetan 18040Charlton Mnyasta 22361 4James Dinham 21241Josue Kanda 0

Round 2 v Austria AUT

0–4

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1GM Kirill Alekseenko 26561IM Jan Karsten 23860 2IM Caleb Levi Levitan 23160IM Lukas Dotzer 24721 3IM Konstantin Peyrer 24851FM Banele Mhango 23540 4Charlton Mnyasta 22360GM Valentin Baidetskyi 25111

Round 3 v Cote d’Ivoire CIV

4–0

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Jan Karsten 23861FM Simplice Armel De Gondo 20710 2CM Yoboue Hermann Manan 20610IM Caleb Levi Levitan 23161 3Charlton Mnyasta 22361Yao Aubin Maximilien Tanoe 20020 4CM Franck Anderson Nean 19930James Dinham 21241

Round 4 v Sweden SWE

1–3

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1GM Nils Grandelius 26031IM Jan Karsten 23860 2IM Caleb Levi Levitan 2316½IM Jung Min Seo 2503½ 3GM Erik Blomqvist 24821FM Banele Mhango 23540 4Charlton Mnyasta 2236½IM Hampus Sorensen 2428½

Round 5 v Zimbabwe ZIM

3–1

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Jan Karsten 23861FM Roy Mwadzura 22110 2Tapiwa Jele 2204½FM Banele Mhango 2354½ 3Charlton Mnyasta 22361Emarald Takudzwa Mushore 21390 4Vitalis Mapuranga 2058½James Dinham 2124½

Round 6 v Italy ITA

2–2

Drawn, 1 match pointWhite on board 1

1IM Jan Karsten 23861GM Lorenzo Lodici 25730 2GM Luca Jr Moroni 25560FM Banele Mhango 23541 3Charlton Mnyasta 22360GM Francesco Sonis 25391 4IM Edoardo Di Benedetto 24731James Dinham 21240

Round 7 v Uzbekistan 3 UZB

1–3

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1IM Saidakbar Saydaliev 24751IM Jan Karsten 23860 2IM Caleb Levi Levitan 2316½IM Almas Rakhmatullaev 2418½ 3IM Mukhammadali Abdurakhmonov 2390½FM Banele Mhango 2354½ 4Charlton Mnyasta 22360IM Asrorjon Omonov 23471

Round 8 v Puerto Rico PUR

3–1

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Jan Karsten 23861FM Edgardo J. Almedina Ortiz 22000 2FM Jaime Rodriguez Santiago 2069½IM Caleb Levi Levitan 2316½ 3FM Banele Mhango 23541FM Sebastian J. Toro Cruz 21430 4CM Diego Zilleruelo Irizarry 2061½James Dinham 2124½

Round 9 v Cuba CUB

2–2

Drawn, 1 match pointBlack on board 1

1GM Jorge Roberto Elias Reyes 25051IM Jan Karsten 23860 2IM Caleb Levi Levitan 23161GM Lelys Stanley Martinez Duany 24400 3GM Ermes Espinosa Veloz 24601FM Banele Mhango 23540 4Charlton Mnyasta 22361GM Aramis Alvarez Pedraza 24330

Round 10 v Pakistan PAK

3–1

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Jan Karsten 23861FM Amer Karim 21470 2CM Mafaaz Khalid 20570IM Caleb Levi Levitan 23161 3Charlton Mnyasta 22361Zaman Sohail 19350 4Zorez Shabkhez 19331James Dinham 21240

Round 11 v North Macedonia MKD

1–3

Lost, 0 match pointsWhite on board 1

1IM Jan Karsten 23860IM Emil Risteski 24261 2FM Anton Zlatkov 24221IM Caleb Levi Levitan 23160 3FM Banele Mhango 23540IM Filip Pancevski 24221 4IM Nikola Nikolovski 23930Charlton Mnyasta 22361

Team awards

Whitewash

Round 1
South Africa RSA4Democratic Republic of the Congo COD0

Won the match 4–0, forfeits included.

Whitewash

Round 3
South Africa RSA4Cote d’Ivoire CIV0

Won the match 4–0, forfeits included.

Theory Match

56½opening moves

Round 7
South Africa RSA1Uzbekistan 3 UZB3

The match that stayed in the book longest: the opening phases of its four boards added, in moves.

Zeitnot Nation

39.5% under five minutes

Round 9, 88 of 223 moves in 4 games
South Africa RSA

Highest share of moves played with under five minutes on the clock.

Theory Match

57opening moves

Round 11
South Africa RSA1North Macedonia MKD3

The match that stayed in the book longest: the opening phases of its four boards added, in moves.