Career
Born in New Brigton, Port Elizabeth, Kondlo started to play draughts at the age of seven years.[2] In 2007, he won the World Qualifier in Las Vegas, United States and became the first draughts grandmaster from Africa.[2][3]
His match against Ron King in 2008 for the world champion title in the GAYP version was the subject of the documentary King Me.[4][5] In 2012 he won the silver medal, the gold being won by Alex Moiseyev, in American checkers at the SportAccord World Mind Games in Beijing, China.[6] Kondlo won the 2014 World Qualifying 3-Move Tournament in Clarksville, Indiana, U.S. edging out Sergio Scarpetta on head-to-head tie-breaker. Thanks to this victory, he earned the right to challenge Michele Borghetti in the world championship match in the 3-move version.[7] The match took place in 2015 in Livorno, Italy and was won by Borghetti.[8] In 2018, in Petal, Mississippi, US Kondlo won the world title match in the GAYP version against defending champion Borghetti.[9] Kondlo is the first world draughts champion from Africa.[2] He lost the title on 30 April 2022 to Italian Matteo Bernini.
Test matches
Although there have not been nearly enough international test matches between countries, Lubabalo has played in:
| Year | Played | Country played | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Hugh Devlin |  Ireland |
lost | Old Edwardian Society, Lower Houghton, Johannesburg |
