South Africa Dominates Africa's August Chess Rankings

South Africa supplied most of the biggest fields on the African chess calendar in August 2026, though the single largest turnout came from a women’s championship on the Western Cape coast.

The Western Cape Women’s Championship 2026 topped the list with 206 players over classical time control at Club Mykonos in Langebaan, running August 8 to 11. It was the only tournament in the data to clear 200 entrants.

Egypt’s 6th Traveller Tweet - Alex - Rapid drew 193 players for a one-day rapid event on August 14, organized by Traveller Tweet. A companion classical event under the same banner, running August 8 to 15, pulled 73 players.

Tunisia’s Matepoint 6.0, a one-day rapid opener held August 30, gathered 180 players. A separate two-day Matepoint marathon earlier in the month, on August 8 and 9, brought in 82.

South Africa otherwise filled out much of the middle and lower end of the top tier. Bojanala’s Rooi Masjien 2.0 in Rustenburg had 164 players, while Dr KK Chess Ferdies 2026 at Ferdinand Postma High School drew 149.

The NMBCU Closed 2026 in Gqeberha listed 136 players, and the West Rand Womens Day Open 2026 in Krugersdorp counted 127. A related schools event, the NMB District Schools Individual Finals 2026, added 122 more in the same district a week later.

Morocco’s contribution to the month centered on Agadir, where the Classique des Marocains du Monde, a week-long classical event running August 7 to 13, attracted 107 players. Two related rapid events in the same city, the Tournoi Des Marocains Du Monde Agadir 2026 Rapid and the Rapide des Marocains du Monde 4eme edition, drew 97 and 90 respectively.

Kenya’s KICC Rapids & Blitz 3rd Edition in Nairobi matched the Moroccan classical event with 107 players on August 7. Mauritius chipped in with the Gymkhana Rapid Championship 2026 in Vacoas, drawing 96, while Nigeria’s 3rd South-East Zonal Chess Championship in Onitsha ran four days and gathered 72.

Nigeria’s zonal championship closes out the ranked list, though a handful of smaller fields across the continent finished close behind it. For a first look at what’s coming up this month, Chessori’s September preview is already up.