Winners emerge from third annual chess competition

New winners have emerged from the third annual chess competition for schools in the Federal Capital Territory.

Adedoyin Olumi, director of Operations, Christabel Private Schools, the competition’s host, said the chess game is particularly important for learners.

“Why Chess? Chess is a game that helps learners make decisions. It is a game that helps restless students or learners who struggle with their attention span achieve calmness. It positively impacts the general academic performance of learners.”

Mrs Olumi said the school decided to host schools in the FCT annually so that learners could meet and compete with other students from varying schools to improve their knowledge of the game.

“It is important for the learners to meet with other students to be certain of their knowledge of the game and to learn from others.”

The director also highlighted that the school is working on other projects, such as Mathematics and ICT, including how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be explored in schools.

“The school is also looking into other areas of interest that can improve learners’ academic performance. We are looking at ICT and mathematics. When we see learners who begin to show distinctive performance in mathematics, as a school, we have to step in and see to it that the zeal and passion are nurtured and directed to yield the optimal benefit.

“Mathematics is a big deal, even abroad. Students are offered admission because they are good at mathematics. When a learner is good at mathematics and begins to develop confidence in that regard, there is a tendency for the learner to improve in other subjects.”

Schools speak

Ochuwa Ojukwu, a staffer from Thrive Academy, Lugbe, said Chess promotes critical thinking, and exposure for the school’s learners is key, meeting with other people and mixing up. Basically, we know that chess helps children think strategically. It helps in calculating and even their mathematical skills. This is our second time coming to this competition. We were here last year. Attending such competitions helps boost the confidence of the learners. It gives them more confidence to dive into bigger things. See their excitement that they won in one of the rounds.

“We treat chess as a subject in our school. Learning chess is compulsory for all students, from primary to secondary school. This started about two years/sessions ago. There has been a great improvement in the student’s performance since then. We look forward to attending more such competitions and bigger ones.”

The Chess Coach at Divine Mercy Asokoro Secondary School, Erastus Itwange, said, “Over time, we have seen that the game helps students, especially in the sciences, to develop their potential, thinking ability, and problem-solving skills.

“They are able to solve these problems ahead of their counterparts. Those are some of the benefits of the game, especially in the sciences. Chess puts the learners in a position where they can think out of the box; they can tackle and solve problems around their STEM subjects, which would be maths, physics and chemistry as most of them involve problem-solving.”

On the importance of competing with other learners, Mr Itwange said, “It’s like you are covered in a box. When one tells you there is light outside, you doubt it until the box is opened. Then, you would actually know that there is more for you that is yet to be discovered. A chess completion exposes the learners to truly see where they are and then know if they are improving.

“We have taken chess seriously in the last three years. We are offering it as a club in the school. Right now, we allow the students to choose whether or not to play it. It is an extracurricular activity. Even for sciences, it is not compulsory. In comparison, I can tell you that those who play chess stand out.

“I plan to speak to the parents at the end of this term. For now, it is operational at the secondary school. I would enlighten them on the benefits of chess so interested parents can key in,” he said.

The Head Boy of Divine Mercy Secondary School, Jeremiah Onolemhemhen, who was among the players at the competition, said he sees chess as a challenging game through which he can reach his full potential.

“I started playing chess when I got into Secondary School, in JSS 1. That was about five years ago. I have been at the Chess club ever since. I feel I have an edge over some students who do not play chess. Some of them feel that it is a boring game. My advice is that they shouldn’t see it as just a board. It’s more than that.”

Winners

About 15 schools attended the competition this year. The top three in the primary category are Christabel Schools, Vine Care, and Thrive Academy. In contrast, the top three in the secondary category are Christabel College, Premier Academy (Lugbe) and Hephzibah Bilingual College.

Kelvin Ojo and Ekom Awesome from Christabel Schools had a tie as the Winner of the Best Boy Primary, while Biyaya Abu from Degracia Model School won the Gest Girl Primary.

For the secondary category, Charles Oro from Christabel College won the Best Boy College award, while Elizabeth from Degracia Model Schools and Goodness from Thrive Academy tied for Best Girl College.

Trophies, medals and prizes were awarded to the winners.

READ ALSO: Nigerian chessmaster Onakoya launches Chess Innovation Hub in Lagos

Chess

Chess is one of the oldest and most popular board games. It is usually played by two opponents on a checkered board with specially designed pieces of contrasting colours, commonly white and black. The objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s king.

When playing chess, the brain will be challenged to exercise logic, develop pattern recognition, make decisions both visually and analytically, and test memory. Anyone of any age can enjoy chess. As a result, these brain exercises can be part of the health of your brain for a lifetime.

Apart from its educational advantages, chess has other benefits. It opens doors of opportunities for fantastic players. Tunde Onakoya is a Nigerian chess player and coach who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon chess game. As the founder and convener of Chess in Slums Africa, he has organised several interventions for children across slums in Lagos State, including Majidun, Makoko, and, recently, Oshodi.

About the host

Established in 1999, the host of the competition, Christabel Schools, Wuye, Abuja, is a private school that exists to provide a solid start and an excellent base for all children. The school is known for its unmistakable culture of excellence, character training, extraordinary care, and possibilities.