Levitan chess prodigy seals SA’s World Cup spot

Fourteen-year-old chess star Caleb Levitan kept his cool with all eyes on him for more than five hours in a high-pressured Olympiad match in Budapest in September to seal South Africa’s spot at next year’s Chess World Cup.

This Grade 8 King David Linksfield (KDL) student is now playing in Serbia before heading off to Singapore in November. A KDL Facebook post about his Olympiad triumph went viral and caught the eye of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), in particular the chief executive of FIDE, Emil Sutovsky. Caleb was subsequently invited to go to Singapore to watch the World Championship match, receive grandmaster training, and play in a grandmaster event.

Caleb found himself the focus of the action at the Olympiad as he played in South Africa’s crucial final match. South Africa was 2-1 up, and needed Caleb to at least draw the match to secure the country a ticket to next year’s World Cup.

Caleb had huge pressure on him. “Everyone was waiting outside with bated breath to see what was going to happen,” said his dad, Shaun. “He fought hard.” His opposing country, Nicaragua, was in a similar position, needing to at least get a draw out of the match. “The game went on for more than five hours. Caleb’s opponent was much more senior, more experienced, and he had all eyes on him. In the end, I think time pressure and stress made the opponent make a mistake, and Caleb capitalised on it, winning the game, which meant that South Africa won the match 3-1. There was great euphoria and relief from his teammates.”

Caleb’s performance at the Olympiad helped South Africa finish as one of the top 80 teams and earn the team the right to send someone to the Chess World Cup next year. “Caleb was the youngest South African to ever participate in the Olympiad, and he did really well for his first time and for his age,” Shaun said.

Caleb and his twin brother, Judah, are now playing in the Serbian League, in which chess clubs play against each other. “He is part of one of the teams, and so is Judah,” Shaun said. “They just completed an event where Caleb achieved his second international master norm. You need three norms to become an international master, and you need to get your FIDE rating to 2 400.

“Caleb has a live rating of 2 278. Judah has a live rating of 2 100. Judah is also strong. He has the candidate master title.”

In November, Caleb’s attention will turn to Singapore, where he will receive special grandmaster training conducted by some of the world’s top grandmasters such as Belarusian-Israeli Boris Gelfand.

Caleb will also play in the Singapore International Open, “an incredibly strong grandmaster event”, said Shaun. “It’s by far the strongest event that Caleb would have played outside of the Olympiad, but the Olympiad is a team event, this is an individual event. It’s another opportunity for Caleb to show where he stands and gain experience. A lot of what South Africa misses isn’t necessarily talent but exposure to these very strong events.

“He can be seen by countries outside of Africa. These opportunities don’t normally go the way of Africa, let alone South Africa. It’s just amazing for Caleb to have caught the eye of FIDE. Hopefully, he can take the opportunity that has been given to him and build on it.”

While in Singapore, Caleb will watch the World Championship match between Ding Liren of China and Gukesh Dommaraju of India. “The winner of those series of games will be the next world chess champion. Liren is the current champion, so he might retain the title of champion or hand it over,” Shaun said.

What propels the Levitan twins along their chess journey is the fact they have each other along for the ride, Shaun said. “They both still love chess, and they have each other for companionship. If only one of them loved chess, it could be to the detriment of the other.

“They’re both missing a lot of school. They’re missing family, but they have their brother, one of their closest friends, with them. Whether it’s jokes or experiencing life or new things, you’ve kind of got a ready friend next to you. Imagine being able to have a close friend who you get to go and see parts of the world with that you’ve never seen before,” Shaun said. “For example, they are currently by Lake Palić, a beautiful lake in the middle of Serbia. It’s an amazing journey that these boys are having, which is unique for any South African and probably unique for any South African chess player.

“They will miss a couple of exams while in Singapore. They will write those exams online, jet-lagged, in a different time zone after a full day of grandmaster training. They might be exhausted, but that’s just the balance that they are trying to seek, having this experience but still having some responsibility for their academics. The school has been incredibly supportive in allowing that.”