After competing in an international chess competition in Panama this month, 16-year-old Seatides chess champion, Rowan Gounder will stop at nothing until he checks his way to the top.
Speaking about the tournament, Gounder described his trip to Panama as an “awesome experience” which exposed him to high levels of chess competition. He said: “I completed nine tough and long rounds and had three wins, two draws and four losses. I started the tournament at position 29 of 35 players in the under 17 division. I was placed 21st and gained 107 chess rating points. Overall was a phenomenal experience. Even the games that I lost, there was a lot of good chess behind it. I am looking forward to my next tournament.”
Gounder is currently preparing for the next tournament which is the Africa Youth Chess Championship in Zambia, set to take place from 2 to 10 July. Gounder said his career in chess started in primary school where he used to play casually.
“I only started taking chess seriously when I was in Grade 7. I used the chess pieces as soldiers in my army. As I discovered that there was more to these chess pieces, and I then started learning the rules and joined the school chess club and have been playing competitively for five years,” he said.
This competitive nature led Gounder being one of the highly ranked KwaZulu-Natal chess players in the U13 age group. “I’ve also won various school and local tournaments in KZN including the Luthuli Museum Youth championship. I’ve represented the iLembe and eThekwini district at the South African Junior Chess Tournaments from the age of 13. I was also selected for the World Schools Chess Championship 2020 but due to the pandemic it was cancelled,” said the teenage chess sensation.
When it comes to training Gounder said he puts hours into studying himself as a player. “My mentor, Mr September provides me grounding, emotional strength and helps me with in depth analysis of my strengths and weaknesses of all my games while there are long hours of practice with my coach, Keith Khumalo,” he said.
Gounder’s father Mark, said both he and his wife and very proud of their son. “Rowan has always been open minded. He has a different way of looking at a problems. His sheer determination, dedication, willingness to work hard and never give up attitude has earned him the respect he deserves as a chess player. We are indeed, proud of parents.”
