A total of 2,500 youth chess players from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions from 24 states of the country are set to battle for the N20million on offer in the 2025 Ecobank National Schools’ Team Chess Championship. The event will hold from June 26 to 28 at the Ecobank Pan African Centre, Victoria Island in Lagos.
According to the organisers, the three-day event will begin with primary school pupils taking to the board on June 26, secondary school student will take their turn on June 27, while students from the tertiary institutions will take their turn on June 28.
Speaking at the pre-championship press conference, Ecobank’s head of Education, Faith and Social Services, Adebukola Ademuluyi said the championship, the second in the series, will witness an ambitious, inclusive and transformative tournament aimed at producing future Grandmasters, adding that participants will also be drawn from School of the blind.
The Vice President, Nigeria Chess Federation, Adewale Adeyinka said apart from cash prizes, a total of 90 medals will be awarded to winners in the various categories. There will also certificate of participation for all the players.
“In 2024, we celebrated a milestone by organising the grandest chess championship in the country, which attracted over 1,200 students from 240 schools, courtesy Ecobank. This year, it is even bigger as over 2,500 students are expected from 450 from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions from across the country. They will be competing in teams of five players each, an upgrade from the four players per team that featured last year,” Adeyinka said.
He further stated that the federation was assisting the budding chess talents to register with the International Chess Federation, FIDE to ensure the long term development of the young players. “We strongly believe that to nurture young talents, we must equip them with tools for success from the onset.”
Giving the breakdown of prizes for the winners, Adeyinka said: “For the tertiary schools, the gold medallist will get N2m, silver N1m, bronze N650,000. There are prizes for winners up to the 10th position.
“The secondary school winner will get N2.5m, silver N2m and bronze N1.5m. There are also prizes up to the 10th position. For the primary school category, the winner will get N2m, silver N1.5m and bronze N1m.”
He congratulated Marvelvine Montessori Schools, Dayspring College and the University of Lagos, for winning last year’s edition, just as he commended the Managing Director/CEO of Ecobank, Mr Mobolaji Lawal for his support in sponsoring the travel Marvelvine and Dayspring to Uzbekistan for the World School Team Chess Championships last year.
Representing co-sponsors MTN, Onyinye Okeke, Head of Marketing Services said they decided to identify with the championship because it aligned with the company’s philosophy.
“This competition provides an opportunity for the young one to grow. This tournament is very dear to us at MTN because it is about youth empowerment which aligns with our philosophy.”
