Charlize van Zyl (born 19 September 1999)[1] is a South African chess player who holds the title of Woman International Master, which she earned in 2013 at the age of 13, becoming the youngest South African to do so.
[2] Van Zyl won the African Zonals at age 13, earning her WIM title.
[3] She has represented South Africa at the Chess Olympiad in 2018 (finishing on 3.5/8 on board 5)[4] and 2022 (4/9 on board 2).
[5] She came second in the Women's section of the 2022 African Chess Championship, finishing half a point behind Shahenda Wafa,[6] and qualifying for the Women's Chess World Cup 2023,[7] where she was defeated by Nurgyul Salimova in the first round.
Van Zyl attended Collegiate Girls High School,[8] and studied a BA in media, communications and culture student at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.