I feel proud of myself. It’s a special feeling. Although I can’t claim that being a two-time champion is something I worked a lot towards. I just thought of giving the National Chess Championship a shot again in 2022. I put in some work every day and I was able to win it the second time. I just did my best and hoped to get in the top three. I wasn't expecting to win it the second time but I did and that made me very happy

Were you expecting to win the national title the first time?

I can't say I had high expectations of winning the first time but I was aware of my strong position. A lot of people believed I would win but I was not sure. During the tournament, I lost a crucial game and I thought I had lost the championship but I kept going. I did work hard in terms of preparation. I put in effort. I did my chess trainings but not like I was training to win the title.

Tell us a few things about yourself that most people probably don’t know.

I was born in Maiduguri, Borno State on June 26, 1997. My parents, who are from Ughelli, Delta State, fled Maiduguri in December 2000 due to religion related violence that broke out because of newly introduced Sharia Law. The issue escalated with churches being burnt and Christians becoming targets of extremists. My parents, who were Christians, feared for our lives and so fled to Edo State. That’s how I grew up in Benin until I went to Rivers State for my university education. After graduating, I decided to remain in Port-Harcourt. Maybe that is more because I believe in being my own person and finding my own path.

People describe me as quiet. I think I am but I can be very talkative when I am with people that I feel comfortable around. I like to be simple and straightforward. I love playing the guitar and I enjoy singing and dancing when no one is watching! When I participated in my first official tournament, I had just lost my dad but I didn’t let that stop me. Fortunately, after the tournament, my ratings came out and I was the top player, it was quite shocking because nobody knew me then.

I have two siblings, a younger sister and an older brother. Our mom, whom I love very much. is still kicking. We lost my dad in 2017. He was sick for a while. At first, we were told he had cerebral malaria, then he began to have some psychological issues. Afterwards, things got out of hand and he was depressed for a long time. We miss him but my mother did a great job filling in. She always taught us that nothing comes easy, that we have to work for what we have. She was a fashion designer and we all worked for her. I had a target to sew a number of clothes for her and got paid for this. I used the money I made to buy a guitar.

My first encounter with chess was when I was nine years old. After we all worked for my mother for some time, she bought us our first computer which at the time was a big deal. That was my first encounter with computer chess. At the time, all I did was play chess on it. I was just having fun and never fully understood the game, especially how the knight moved. But I didn’t continue playing for a while until I got into the university because I didn’t have anyone around me playing chess. Well, the rest, like they say, is history.

I love to see other people win. I love when I am able to help them attain success. I’m currently working on an NGO called Promoting Queens. It’s all about empowering women through chess. As the national women’s chess champion, I want to be able to give back to Nigeria and show people the many opportunities in chess.

This is inspiring, well-done! What was schooling like for you?

Which do you love more, Chess or Guitar?

Oh, definitely chess!

What does chess mean to you? Is it a mere sport or does it mean something deeper?

Chess is not just a sport to me. It is like my escape. Whenever I was going through any tough situation, I could just play chess the whole day and not think about the problems. Also, playing chess has prevented me from making bad choices I might have otherwise made. Chess is my first love. People can break my heart, but even if chess does, I’ll still go back to it.

You have won the last two editions of the National Women Chess Championship. What do you make of the National Chess Championships and its impact on chess in Nigeria?

When the championship first happened in 2021, it was grand and spectacular. It was mind blowing! We hadn’t seen a chess tournament in Nigeria that was so well organized and with attractive prizes. However, for the second edition, I think more could have been done in terms of media coverage because that is what chess needs in Nigeria now. We need people out there to understand that chess can be enjoyable even if they don’t play and we need people to be able to relate to the game and this requires storytelling. But overall, I believe the impact the National Chess Championship being organized by Orchid-Lekki Chess Club (OLCC) on behalf of the Nigeria Chess Federation has been great. It’s a partnership that is really benefitting Nigerian chess. The National Chess Championship has raised the bar of chess organization so high, and it has helped chess players to realize that there is much more to just playing chess. Now, we all look forward to playing the National Chess Championship. This is a very good thing.

I think with the way the National Chess Championship is being organized now, corporate sponsors can be more assured of returns on their sponsorships. There are certainly opportunities for corporate sponsors in Nigerian chess now but we need to tell our story a little differently. We need to get sponsors more interested in chess. If we are able to raise enough awareness about chess and make people see that the sport can be fun, then getting sponsors will be easier. At a personal level, the National Chess Championship has changed my life. It has opened my mind to a lot of possibilities that exist in chess in Nigeria.

Can you share one or two of those with us?

I spoke earlier about the NGO I’m starting. Promoting Queens. I want to see more girls and more women playing chess. If I hadn't competed and won the National Women's Chess Championship, I doubt I would have come up with the idea. My goal for this year is to get us to surpass the number of current female chess players in Nigeria. I also want to help women to integrate lessons from chess into other areas of their lives. I used to struggle a lot in school, especially during exams. It was hard for me to comprehend. I would read a book 10 times before I could understand it. But that changed when I started playing chess. I gradually became better at comprehending things faster. Chess, in my opinion, has a way of developing minds and sharpening skills which is what I want for other women.

How would you describe the quality of female chess players in Nigeria?

We could, in my opinion, do better. Many players in the female category are quite laid back when we need to show off more. If we work harder, we should get the Woman Grandmaster title, which is what I will like to achieve. I want to be the first Woman Grandmaster in Nigeria.

Do you ever get underrated by men who don’t know how good you are in chess?

That happens a lot. There have been many instances where people, especially men, underestimated me just because I am female. I can’t count how many times I have heard a man say, “I can never lose a game to a woman”. In such scenarios, I usually just laugh to myself. When they start playing me and losing, some of them just realise how silly they must have sounded. But some, despite that, never admit losing fairly to a better player just because she is a woman. They go on to make all sorts of excuses like, “I was very tired when we were playing.” “I have had a long day.” Etc.

I remember an experience I had a while back at University of Port Harcourt. These guys came for a tournament and there was a particular fellow who kept boasting about how he was going to beat me convincingly just because I was female. He said it didn’t matter to him that I was female, that when it came to chess, he showed no mercy to women. Well, as we sat to play, I told him that if he was so sure he was going to win, he should put his money where his mouth was. He took up my challenge and we got playing. After losing to me about the 10th time, he quit, found an excuse and quietly exited the place. I could imagine how difficult it must have been for his ego. But being good at chess is not about being male or female. Anyone can develop skills and get good at it. And once you sit to play an opponent, you have to respect him or her not because of their sex but because you know anyone can be capable.

The next National Chess Championship is coming up in October 2023. Are you going to be Nigeria’s first 3-time National Women Chess Champion?

Ha! This is a tricky question. Well, I can’t outrightly say I will win the title again but I will certainly try my best! I’ll just try to put aside my emotions like I always do when playing chess. I won’t try to think about winning too much. At the last championship, there were certain games I should have won but because I was a bit tense, I didn’t win them. But now, I think I will approach the next championship with the ‘It’s just a game’ attitude. This can help me relax more. But of course, performing well comes down to training well, analyzing your games and learning from mistakes. I’ll make an effort not to put myself under pressure.

Who inspires you?

The first person I would always mention is my mum. I’ve always admired her strength and her approach to handling situations.

Who is your favorite chess player of all time?

Mikhail Tal. I admire his aggressive style of playing chess. Tal always went for the kill on the board. That’s how I always want to play chess. It is how I often play chess. In Nigeria, my favorite player is Adebayo Adegboyega, also known as Dabee, the current National Chess Champion of Nigeria. The story of how he took a long break from chess and returned to win the National Chess Championship is inspiring.

Thank you for giving us your time, Perpetual.

It has been a pleasure.