Vanessa Obioha
A brand new competition proposed by Chess in Slums Africa founder and Guinness World Record titleholder Tunde Onakoya will carry chess and artwork collectively in a celebration of Lagos’s vibrant tradition.
Announcing the Lagos International Chess Festival on Saturday, October 10, on the Mikano Motors showroom in Lagos, the place he celebrated his birthday, Onakoya stated the competition would take chess past conventional tournaments and introduce the sport to a wider viewers.
He stated the concept was impressed by his love for chess and his travels all over the world to play the sport. Having skilled chess in totally different components of the world, he desires others to go to Lagos and expertise it in a brand new manner.
“Chess is an intellectual endeavour, but it is also a game that connects people, and my goal is to inspire everyone to play chess. It has a lot of tremendous benefits. It is a game that has opened my world. I hope this festival achieves that,” he stated.
Scheduled for October 2027, the competition will carry collectively folks from totally different walks of life, together with artists, medical doctors and designers. Proposed actions embrace a chess and artwork exhibition, a large-scale event for youngsters, matches between grandmasters and a star chess event. Organisers additionally plan to introduce a chess and trend occasion and a celebration celebrating Lagos.
Another proposed attraction is chess on a ship, an concept impressed by town’s waterways and its relationship with the encompassing lagoon.
The competition’s visible identification additionally attracts on Lagos tradition. Its emblem combines components of the Eyo masquerade, a recognisable image of town, with the form of a rook, one of many principal items in chess. The colors are supposed to replicate the vibrancy of Lagos.
