René Pienaar, the newly elected president of the Tshwane Chess Federation, envisions a brighter future as more children learn to play chess.

"Chess offers so many opportunities for children and opens doors. I can testify to that. I started playing chess when I was five years old. It is 23 years later, and I am still just as passionate about the game.

"Apart from the fact that chess improves your concentration skills, it also teaches you to solve problems. The skills I learnt playing chess helped me greatly in my BSc Medical Science studies at Tuks. I would go so far as to say playing chess has led to my love for clinical research. I love identifying a problem and then finding a solution for it. I was part of the team developing a vaccine for COVID-19. I really enjoyed the challenge," says Pienaar, who completed his doctoral thesis last year.

"I see the same tendency in the children I coach in chess. Problem-solving comes easily to them."

This story about how Pienaar started playing chess is interesting.

"My mother is a teacher. When I was five, she was appointed as the school's chess coach. At that point, my mom didn't even know what a chessboard looked like. So she had to learn to play chess in a hurry.

"I was restless when I was young and my mother was always worried about what I was doing when I was playing outside the house. She then decided it would be better for her and me if I learned to play chess with other children. As they say, it's over once the chess bug bites you. You'll keep playing chess."

Pienaar played for Tuks from 2015 to 2020. One of the annual highlights was the yearly USSA Chess Tournament. Tuks' women's team usually came out on top. Tuks also won overall. There was a year when she finished fifth out of 300 in the women's division. Pienaar believes in not stretching out matches unnecessarily. That's why she plays aggressively.

"I play with my bishops because I like open positions on the board. I always play a gambit. It's a strategic opening where a player gives up pieces – usually pawns early in the game – to gain a better position. The goal is to catch the opponent off guard, disrupt their plans, and gain control of the board."

Does the fact that gaming is popular with young people impact the number of young people playing chess?

"No, not at all. Our numbers at Tshwane Chess continue to grow. You'd be surprised at how popular online chess is. Playing an online blitz tournament is guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping.