About Lukhanyo

Lukhanyo grew up in Masiphumelele and attended Ukhanyo Primary School. He matriculated from Masiphumelele High School in 2010.

After matric, he studied sports management at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), never imagining that chess would one day change his life.

He would often see children from the community play chess at the library but thought nothing of it until a friend taught him to play in 2016.

“This is when it all changed for me, and I became hooked,” he said. He googled chess moves and discovered he was a natural. He decided he wanted to become more involved with chess in his community.

“Chess is a means to address the social ills in the community, such as drug and substance abuse. The most beautiful thing about chess is that it transcends beyond race, gender, age, background, language and religion. No matter what your circumstances are, anyone can enjoy the game,” he said.

He submitted a proposal to Ukhanyo Primary School asking if he could get involved with its chess club, and the rest is history.

Lukhanyo has been sharing his skills with children from Ukhanyo Primary School, at the Masiphumelele community hall and at the library. “The idea is to keep the children occupied with chess all the time to prevent them from getting into trouble,” he said. “Teaching children chess has made a huge difference in the community. It provides a safe haven for the children and develops their strategic thinking,” she said.

Coming from Masiphumelele the future was challenging, but he proved to himself and the world you don't need to be the victim of your circumstances.

His dream is to train and mentor the next grand chess master in Masiphumelele.

Awards

Lukhanyo won the 2019 After School Sport Coaching Excellence Award from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport through the After School Programme.

Lukhanyo Xhonti won the award for coaching chess at Ukhanyo Primary School’s after school programme. The award recognises excellent coaches working in after-school programmes at schools, in NGOs and at centres or organisations across the province.

His journey to this award has been one of determination, just one of the qualities that makes him such an excellent coach.

Here is a video from the award ceremony (click to play the video):

Certifications