Chess In Slums, Platform School Win Bank’s Championship

Ecobank Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to youth development and educational advancement as Chess in Slums Africa and Platform School emerged champions at the fourth edition of the Ecobank National Schools Team Chess Championship held in Lagos.

The two-day tournament, organised by the Nigeria Chess Federation and hosted at the Ecobank Pan African Centre, attracted more than 1,000 students from schools across the country.

Chess in Slums Africa clinched the Primary School category, winning all six matches to finish with a perfect score of 18 match points. First Baptist Group of Schools placed second on tiebreaks despite also winning all their matches, while Jareb Private School finished third.

In the Secondary School category, Platform School successfully defended their title to emerge back-to-back champions. The school finished with 16 match points after six rounds, narrowly edging Dayspring School, who also remained unbeaten but settled for second place on tiebreaks. King’s College Lagos came third.

Head, Educational and Social Services at Ecobank, Kunle Adewoyi, charged the students to aspire to become Grandmasters and place Nigeria on the global chess map.

“There are Grand Masters in Kenya, Rwanda and some other African countries, but sadly, we don’t have any in Nigeria at the moment. It is our prayer that some of these students will become one in the near future,” he said.

Adewoyi noted that Ecobank remains committed to supporting chess because of its role in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills among children.

Vice president of the Nigeria Chess Federation, Adeyinka Adewale, commended Ecobank and other partners for sustaining the initiative and assured participants that next year’s edition would be bigger and better.