Boishaaier 2018

In Retrospect Sufyaan Abrahams

It was a great honour to be 2018's chess captain this year. In celebration of Paarl Boys’ High’s 150th year and the 50th year of chess we held a rated chess tournament in our school hall. This was a great way to start the year and the tour- nament was a success, bringing Old Boys, stu- dents and top players in South Africa together to celebrate Chess at Paarl Boys’ High. In the second term the top schools' play-offs began when we met Paul Roos and Paarl Gim. Sadly we did not make it to the next round. We had our annual Grey College competition and they came to Paarl this year. With tight competition, Boys’ High won.

The 3rd term is the term every Boys’ Higher waits for: the term of Interschools. Most of our preparation is aimed at Interschools. This year the odds were stacked against us. Coming from a loss in 2017 and losing to Paarl Gim at the top schools tournament in 2018, every minute in practice was to prepare us for Interschools. Our coach brought out the best in us this year, motivating us and always making us believe we can. A two and a half hour practice each day all paid off. On the day everyone was nervous. Our coach gave a speech, I delivered my speech and we walked onto the battlefield. As a few games

passed Boys’ High merely had to win or draw a game to win the Interschools. But Gim played brilliantly. Down to the last game and the score was 4 – 3 in Boys’ High’s favour. In a tough bat- tle of minds the Gim player won the last game, thus ending the 2018 Interschools chess with a draw. I would like to thank all the boys who made my last year such a fantastic one to be the leader of the chess team. I would like to thank our coach- es who gave it their all this year, who led the underdogs to a very successful end of the chess season. I will forget many things about school after I leave but my time spent in the library learning about chess is one I shall not.

Bernard Badenhorst Interhuis-skaak

1ste plek Zeederberg 2de plek Villieria 3de plek Monte Bello 4de plek Berlyn

Skaak!!! Skaakmat!! Hierdie uitroepe is verskeie kere in die afgelope weke tydens die Interhuisskaaktoernooi gehoor. Zeederberg het dit egter moeilik gemaak vir enige ander huis. Die enigste punte wat Zeederberg afgestaan het was ’n halwe punt toe Hanro Fabricius van Berlyn dit reggekry het om teen ons skool se nommer een Divan van der Bank ’n gelykoptelling te kry. Op 20 September het die finaal asook die uitspeel wedstryd om die 3de en 4de plekke plaasgevind. Monte Bello het vir Berlyn 4 - 1 geklop en na ge- fokusde spel het Zeederberg as kampioene uit die stryd getree deur Villiera 5 - 0 te klop. Die posisies was dus soos volg:

Almal het die toernooi met ywer aangepak en baie geniet. Daar het selfs ’n paar belowende spelers na vore gekom wat ons hoop om weer by skaakoe- feninge raak te loop. Skaak is nie sommer net ’n spel nie, maar ’n oefening van strategieë, konsentrasie- en deursettingsvermoë. Dankie aan al die spelers wat die 2018 Interhuisskaaktoernooi tops gemaak het.

The Experience Of A Boys’ High Chess Player Faizal Saban

Life is like a game of chess. The only way you’re going to survive in life is by having knowledge, by thinking fast and by acting upon your con- sequences and actions. If you want to make it to the top you must understand how your surroundings work, understand the people around you and how they think. If you want to influence somebody you must understand their thinking and how they act in certain situations. In a game of chess when you fight your oppo- nent you don’t fight with violence, you fight with thinking and you take EVERY opportu- nity, EVERY chance there is and you risk it. This is the life the chess players of Paarl Boys’ High has been living, kicking off with the 150 Remembrance Open in February which at- tracted over a hundred eager players, some even from the Western Province and Cape Wine- lands region. Following this prestigious event came the dreaded Grey College Interschools game where the first team managed a draw

overall and second team emerged victorious! But what stood out the most for me during my four years of playing chess at Boys’ High was the hype of Cape Winelands Top Schools individ- ual and team tournaments. Working together throughout the years always created highly competitive gameplay and priceless memories with my teams. Our previous chess captains: Jack Chiu (2015 and 2016), Jan-Meyer Verhoef (2017) and this year’s captain Sufyaan Abra- hams, each gave our whole chess group strength and encouraged us to give our all in every single game we play throughout the year, be it against Huguenot High or Paul Roos Gimnasium. And we will not forget the main part of Sufyaan’s speech with regards to the familiar chess Inter- schools clash against Paarl Gim: “This year in our first game against Gim, we lost. Later at the Top Schools game against Gim, we DREW. So surely at our Interschools game, we will WIN.”

And we did exactly that, with every single Boys’ High chess player performing at his absolute best in the Interschools game. This resulted in a win from the second team and a draw from the first team. What never came to our attention was that if the overall results resulted in a draw and our board 1 player (Divan van der Bank) wins his game, Boys’ High’s first team wins overall. In short: That is exactly what happened! I want to quote from Victor Kortchnoi: “Those who think that it’s easy to play chess are mistak- en. During a game a player lives on his nerves and at the same time he must be perfectly com- posed.” It has truly been an honour not only to have been part of the 2018 chess first team, but also the 50th year chess has been a part of Paarl Boys’ High.

BOISHAAIER 2018 / Skaak / Chess

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BOISHAAI 150 YEARS