The NWU Potch chess team showed their class and wit with a consecutive USSA Chess Championships victory to remain undefeated in this prestigious tournament.
The USSA Chess Championships happened at Durban University of Technology from 4 to 8 December and featured stiff competition from the University of Cape Town (second) and University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), which took third spot overall.
Both NWU Potch and UCT ended on 80 points overall, but NWU took the win with a better win percentage on games played throughout the nine rounds.
NWU Potch also won the overall title in 2022 and came second in the men’s open category. In 2021, when the tournament took place online due to Covid restrictions, they won the best male team category. In 2023, they managed to win both overall and men’s categories for a clean sweep.
On an individual level, Emile le Roux came second in the open section with 7.5 points out of 9, increasing his FIDE rating with nearly a 100 points.
