Lagos State Chess Masters Series began
on Wednesday with the 16 best men, eight best women and some secondary
school players in the state competing for various prizes and a place in
the state’s squad for the next National Sports Festival.
The tournament, which will be concluded
on Friday, is holding at Rowe Park, Yaba and is being organised by the
Lagos State Chess Association.
Some of the notable international
players participating in the event are four-time Olympiad, Femi
Oluwaseyitan, Dave Erhabor, Rotimi Dasaolu and Edunwale King. In the
women’s category there are the National Sports Festival silver
medallist, Seun Olabisi, Chinyere Ehirim and Tumininu Oyewole.
In the secondary schools’ section are
players representing Kings College, The Dew Schools, Queens College,
Wonderful Lord School and Penny International School.
Chairman of LSCA, Fela Bank-Olemoh, said
the competition was part of the programme to elevate chess to a
mainstream sport and also provide a platform for youth engagement.
He said the state would ultimately
organise an international classic from October 8 to 11 which will
provide Nigerians the opportunity to improve their international ratings
in addition to bringing some of the best chess players in Africa to
Lagos.
He said, “At the Lagos Chess
Association, we are committed to raising the standard of the game and
rankings of our players hence the Lagos International Chess Classics
will be made an annual event to continuously assist our players gain
points and possibly attain the highest ranking in the years ahead.”
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