Students from across the country will converge on Lagos on May 7 to vie for honors and cash prizes at the Third Ecobank National Schools Team Chess Championship, the organizers have announced. Apart from medals and other awards, teams will compete for various cash rewards from the N20 million prize money provided by Ecobank. The championship will take place at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Chess Championship Details
The Vice President of the Nigeria Chess Federation, Adeyinka Adewale, stated yesterday in Lagos that the tournament is limited to primary and secondary school students. Adewale revealed that winners in the primary schools category will receive N2 million, while champions in the secondary schools category will be rewarded with N2.5 million.
Ecobank's Commitment to Youth Development
Head of Educational and Social Services at Ecobank, Kunle Adewoyi, emphasized that the bank is particularly interested in chess sponsorship because it aids in the development of children. “Ecobank is very particular about human capital development, and this championship aligns very strongly with our strategic initiative for people’s development,” he said. Adewoyi expressed concern that Uganda, a much smaller country with a population of about 50 million, has a Grand Master in chess, while Nigeria has none. “As big as we are, Nigeria does not have a Chess Grand Master. I am going to challenge the young students to aim to become that through this pathway we are providing. We will be willing to bring out the best in these children to become Grand Masters in the near future.”
Adewoyi also hinted that exceptional players in the competition may be offered the opportunity to intern at the bank to further develop their thinking capacity and gain mastery in banking procedures.
Schoolmate's Involvement
Also speaking at the event, Head of Marketing at Schoolmate, a co-sponsor company, Ambesh Kumar, said his organization is identifying with the championship because it stands for what they believe in. “We are concerned about quality education for children, and we find this tournament to be a veritable way of furthering that cause, hence our involvement. Last year, we distributed books for the children, and this is the first time we are coming in as a co-sponsor. We are happy to be with them. Schoolmate has been operating in Nigeria for some years now, and we see this Chess championship as a way of giving back to society,” Kumar stated.
