Seven year old Andrea Lewaks has all the right moves – chess moves that is.
The Vredenburg Primary learner has represented the West Coast on national level since the age of five. She is currently the Western Cape’s top u-7 girls chess player and is ranked 16th in South Africa.
It is easy to see why Andrea has been chosen as Weslander and Super Sport’s Let’s Play month winner.
“Andrea won the u-8 girls’ section at the South African Junior Chess Open Championships in 2018. This was the first time that a West Coast player won a national title at the championships,” explains coach and dad André Lewaks.
Himself a keen chess player, André says he taught his daughter to play chess and his coaching is certainly paying off.
She is one of only two players who made it to the Chess GrandPrix list as players that will get a special invitation to the South African Junior Closed Championships. These players will have an opportunity to play for a position in the South African Chess Team.
This year Andrea has already won four chess tournaments which helped her ranking.
Currently she holds the 62nd position under the list of 100 players of all age categories for the most tournaments won in South Africa in 2019.
Aside from her impressive playing skills Andrea has also recently become a coach, which makes her the youngest chess coach in the province.
