A workshop for trainee arbiters and organisers took place from 6th to 8th February at Coastlands Durban. It was organised by KZNCA president Sandile Xulu who invited 2 representatives from each of the 11 districts within KZN province. The chief trainer was Rudolf Willemse, who was assisted by Keith Rust. An intensive course in the Laws of Chess started on Friday afternoon, with the basic laws and a discussion on the conduct of the players and the role of the arbiter. On Saturday we completed the competition rules and looked at how the rules differed for rapid play and blitz. After which it was time to install the Swiss Arbiter pairings software and try out some Swiss pairings for a small tournament. Then we learnt how to do round-robin pairings and how to calculate rating changes. Phew! it was a long day. Then on Sunday, it was the dreaded exam, which lasted for 3 hours.
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The chief trainer was Rudolf Willemse (from Johannesburg),
pictured here next to one of the new KZN Chess Association banners |
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| Listening to Rudolf on the Laws of Chess |
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| Keith Rust explains increments using his DGT digital clock |
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| How does this Swiss Arbiter program work? |
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| Bongani Mkhunya shows the pairings software on his computer |
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| A team photo, showing off the new KZNCA golf shirts |
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| Taking notes on how to do round robin pairings |
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| Rudolf Willemse, Sandile Xulu and Keith Rust |
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| Taking the final exam on Sunday morning |
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| Sandile Xulu after a successful workshop is completed |
Congratulations to Mbongeni Sithole who qualified as a Tournament Supervisor and to the following people who qualified as School Supervisors - Lulama Qobo, Lulama Nqubuka, Nkosinathi Masuku, Eugene Bernard, Cyril Thanda Danisa and Welcome Gwamanda.
