Vanessa Obioha
A brand new pageant proposed by Chess in Slums Africa founder and Guinness World Record titleholder Tunde Onakoya will convey 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 mentioned the pageant would take chess past conventional tournaments and introduce the sport to a wider viewers.
He mentioned the concept was impressed by his love for chess and his travels world wide to play the sport. Having skilled chess in totally different elements of the world, he desires others to go to Lagos and expertise it in a brand new approach.
“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 mentioned.
Scheduled for October 2027, the pageant will convey collectively individuals from totally different walks of life, together with artists, docs and designers. Proposed actions embody a chess and artwork exhibition, a large-scale event for youngsters, matches between grandmasters and a celeb 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 thought impressed by the town’s waterways and its relationship with the encircling lagoon.
The pageant’s visible identification additionally attracts on Lagos tradition. Its brand combines parts of the Eyo masquerade, a recognisable image of the town, with the form of a rook, one of many principal items in chess. The colors are meant to replicate the vibrancy of Lagos.
