3rd PWC Chess4Change Grand Slam Lights Up Teslim Stadium

Twenty two schools from four education districts in Lagos state are participating at the ongoing “Chess For Change” competitionholding at the indoor sports hall of the Teslim Balogun stadium, Surulere

The tournament, which began Tuesday ends on Thursday this week.

The Grand Slam tournament which featured 88 players, is a culmination of a three-month intensive Chess tutelage and two Mini Challenge competitions, that will produce winners in all categories of the competition.

The third edition of annual PWC Chess4Change competition commenced with participants competing for honours in 182 events for individual and team categories using the Swiss System format to determine the winners that will be awarded prizes at the end of the event.

Supported by the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Eductaion and the Lagos Sports Commission, as well as the Lagos State Chess Association, the initiative was designed to use the game to improve strategic thinking and critical reasoning amongst secondary school students in Lagos State.

Stakeholders at the opening ceremony of the three day competition commended organisers of the chess tournament for not only sustaining the event but also using the project to transform lives.

Chairman of the Lagos State Chess Association, Tokunbo Fagun described the Chess4Change competition as a stepping stone for future players.

“You really can’t quantify a tournament like this because it is very essential to the growth of the grassroots and the young ones. As you know a young Nigerian won a tournament in New York, an eight year old. I think this is the starting point, hopefully more companies, more multinationals will get involve in the tournament like this” Fagun said.

Representative of the Ministry of Education, Mrs Titilayo Solarin who is the Tutor General/Permanent Secretary Education District 3 described the chess tournament as a worthy initiative that has impacted positively in the lives of students who are from public schools in Lagos state. She admonished participants to give their best at the tournament.

“The case of Tanitoluwa Olawunmi, an eight year old boy that is making waves in far away USA, winning a chess championships, is something to think about. It is a welcome idea and very helpful to students, particularly in their studies. Chess is for serious minded students and it is making our students to be focused and we are getting better results for it. I know that for the students to be competing mean that they are very serious. I just want to urge them to continue to be serious. I’m very happy that all our students are represented here and that shows the extent of wonderful performance our students are recording nowadays. Some of them also went to Ghana to participate at an international championships and they came second. This is to tell you that we are doing very well in Lagos state”.

Esiri Agbeyi, Partner at PWC said the developmental championship is a corporate social responsibility of Pricewaterhouse Coopers aimed at contributing to youth development. She emphasised the values inherent in the game of chess, stating that the game teaches analytical skills and develop mental awareness of the students.

“I think a strong motivation for us is our value as a business, our primary purpose which is to solve important problem in the society and we believe that human capital development is a major area that we need to invest in for the country. We think this is where we can build the right crop of leaders to drive our nation to the level that we want it to be at the moment. Chess is a strategic game for building the skills sets for that type of position and we’ve seen is that it has helped to build the kids, their leadership skills, their critical thinking skills, their self confidence. These are evident in their application in their subjects in schools where most of them have excel. This has driven us to continuity and we believe this is something we want to invest in the long haul”. said Agbeyi

The tournament will end of Thursday with winners going home with mouth watering cash prizes, while the best students get the chance to represent Nigeria at an international championship.