The Lagos State Sports Council (LSSC), in collaboration with Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), has organised the 7th edition of the ‘Chess4Change’ grand slam tournament for students of public schools in Lagos State.
The Director-General of LSSC, Oluwatoyin Gafaar, declared the event open at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The DG stated that sports are an encompassing event that is not only about winning but about developing every part of your body including the mental ability.
He explained that sports, especially Chess, are very good in enhancing the intelligence quotient of the players including school children which underscores the reason behind the annual tournament, adding that the tournament was designed to provide a platform for the youngsters to develop their latent abilities in the game.
Gafaar thanked PWC for sponsoring the programme for the youths, urging the organization to do more in terms of expansion and prize-winning to increase the capacity of the competition to attract more participants.
In his remark, the Country Operation Partner of PWC, Pedro Omontuemhen, describes Chess as a tool that can influence the thinking faculty of children.
“We are focusing on children in public schools because Chess can be used as a means of changing their mindset, behaviour and academic performance”, he added.