Marianne Merten Cape Flats chess champs Kenny and Craig Willenberg are on their way to the exclusive South African Closed Championship in Pretoria later this month, courtesy of generous Mail & Guardian readers. And another reader, who wants to remain anonymous, is ensuring the brothers can defend their national titles at the South African Junior Chess Championships in Durban at the end of the year without financial worries. Kenny and Craig are third- generation chess players who have beaten the odds growing up in the high-crime area of Belhar on the Cape Flats to win respectively the under-18 and under-14 South African and Western Province titles.
They have also secured their places to represent South Africa at the World Youth Chess Festival in Spain in October. The brothers were set to miss the closed championships because sponsorship for chess players is scarce and difficult choices have to be made in deciding which tournaments to attend. A Cape Town chess player, who prefers not to be named, has sponsored Kenny’s flight to Gauteng to attend the tournament between April 27 and 30. Johannesburg chess lover Dr Vernon Meyer has stepped in to sponsor Craig’s air ticket. The Willenberg family said the offers took them by surprise and they are thankful for the opportunity. “The biggest worrying factor is how to get my kids to the events,” said their father Roland Willenberg. “I want to thank all the people who are prepared to help. It feels like a load off my shoulders.”