Top chess players in South Africa

The highest-rated active players from South Africa on FIDE's November 2026 classical list.

#	Player	Rating	+/−	World	Born
1	IMJan Karsten RSA	2387	0	#1946	2008
2	FMBanele Mhango RSA	2345	+1	#2856	2003
3	IMCaleb Levi Levitan RSA	2336	0	#3080	2010
4	FMRaphael Felix RSA	2326	+19	#3330	2010
5	IMDaniel Cawdery RSA	2312	0	#3715	1982
6	GMKenneth Terence Solomon RSA	2282	0	#4735	1979
7	Charlton Mnyasta RSA	2265	−8	#5361	2005
8	FMRoland Bezuidenhout RSA	2256	−13	#5737	1997
9	FMDaniel Barrish RSA	2245	0	#6174	2000
10	IMWatu Kobese RSA	2237	0	#6522	1973
11	IMRyan Pierre Van Rensburg RSA	2228	0	#6927	1990
12	CMKeith Khumalo RSA	2224	0	#7105	2001
13	CMJa Ophoff RSA	2223	0	#7141	1979
14	IMMichael Simpson RSA	2212	0	#7705	2007
15	FMJack Van Zyl-Rudd RSA	2209	0	#7883	2002
16	FMCalvin John Klaasen RSA	2172	−5	#9015	1987
17	IMJohannes Manyedi Mabusela RSA	2138	0	#9614	1984
18	WIMJesse Nikki February RSA	2010	0	#10969	1997
19	WFMChloe Badenhorst RSA	2003	0	#11036	2007

Ratings from FIDE's official November 2026 list. The +/− column is the change from the previous month. Inactive players are not ranked.