Three Nigerian Chess Players gets Candidate Master title

 

The Trio of  Unwana, Eugene Ekpoikong (The Wild) ELO 2285 , Dieyi, Roland (The solid) ELO 2220  and Edunwale, , Hakeem (The King)  ELO 2205 have earned the Candidate Master (CM) title from FIDE, World Chess governing body. The benchmark for this title is the attainment of a minimum of 2200 ELO rating points .
   The FIDE rated tournament revolution currently going on in the Nigerian chess scene is paying off as the Nigerian chess industry is under going a serious improvement as more FIDE rated tournaments is expected for the year 2015 , and Corporate bodies are getting to know that the Nigerian Chess game as a sport is a very fertile ground for , sponsorship investment as the game is extremely easy to organize  and is just as prestigious as the game of golf , but more educative and mentally stimulating.
   The NCF president and the leadership of the Chess Players Association of Nigeria (CPAN) are warming up for a very productive 2015 Chess season.

Major Nigerian Chess events for year 2015 becomes Norm events for FIDE International Master title

 The Nigerian Chess Federation is yet to roll out the Calendar of chess events for the year 2015 , however one could get a glimpse of what is likely to happen from the recent release of  Calendar of Chess events in Africa for year 2015 by the KASPAROV CHESS FOUNDATION . The Nigerian Events reflected on the Calendar are as follows  1.Nigerian Breweries  National Open (NBL) 2015  19 - 22 October ,   2.  3rd Lagos Classics  26-29 October,  Both tournaments  will be holding at Teslim Balogun Indoor Sports Hall, Lagos, Nigeria , Both shall be FIDE rated and also now reflected as   IM NORM tournament , meaning one could get an international Master title Norm from these Tournaments  under FIDE regulations.  The Nigerian Chess Federation Presidents Cup is slated for Early November  and it will also be FIDE rated.  Though the dates reflected above may be tentative, however the situation where Lagos classics comes up immediately after the Nigerian Breweries Championships has many positive sides to it as it enables Busy chess players to prepare for that important  Chess playing two weeks and thus schedule a leave of absence from Work for that period.Other money spinning Chess tournaments expected for the year are Oba's cup Chess Tournament in Benin city Edo State, C4 Chess tournament in Lagos, and hopefully the return of NFOC Chess tournament promoted by eminent Chess event Organizer Mr Dasaolu Rotimi (Dashey)
     The Nigerian Chess federation  (NCF)President Mr Lekan Adeyemi has promised so many good things , including many FIDE rated tournaments in Nigeria This year and he also added that the Calendar of Chess Events will soon be released by the Nigerian Chess federation very soon.

2015 TOURNAMENT CHESS CALENDAR FOR AFRICA ( Kasparov chess Foundation version)

2015 Tournaments Calendar

Tournament	Date	Venue	Chief Organiser	Key Contact		FIDE Rated	Norm Event
Jan
Zimbabwe Open	30 Dec – 4 Jan	Holiday Inn, Hwe	IA Clive Mphambela	mphambelac@gmail.com +263 771 471 822		Yes	No
Lesotho Open	16 - 18 Jan	Maseru, Lesotho	Mr Tseliso Motloheloa	motloheloatseliso@gmail.com +266 5897 3766		Yes	No
Piet Robbertse Open	26 - 29 Jan	Hoerskool Waterkloof, Pretoria, South Africa	IO Judy-Mare Steenkamp	jmsteenkamp@xsinet.co.za +27 83 556 3475	Yes		No
Feb
40th Year TPLF Anniversary Cup	15 – 17 Feb	Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia	Mr Ghidey Debessu	ethiochess.fed@gmail.com +251 93 875 7575		Yes	No
Kenya vs Rwanda Challenge Match	20 - 22 Feb	Kigali, Rwanda	Mr Kevin Ganza	ganzakevin84@gmail.com   +250 727 111 085		Yes	No
Mar
Waterkloof Open	4 -7 March	Hoerskool Waterkloof, Pretoria, South Africa	IO Judy-Mare Steenkamp	jmsteenkamp@xsinet.co.za +27 83 556 3475	Yes		No
Cape Town Classic	Mid Mar (TBC)	Cape Town, South Africa	IO Lyndon Bouah	lyndon.bouah@gmail.com +27 71 363 1306	Yes		IM Norm
Chess Excellence JHB Open	27 - 29 March	Johannesburg, South Africa	Mr Nicholas van der Nat	nicholas@chessexcellence.com +27 82 970 4493	Yes		No

Tournament	Date		Venue		Organiser	Key Contact		FIDE Rated	Norm Event
April
Kenya Open	2  - 5 Apr		Kenyatta University Nairobi, Kenya		Mr Githinji Hinga	chairman@chesskenya.or.ke +254 722 452 458		Yes	No
Easter Open	1 - 5 Apr		Holiday Inn, Harare, Zimbabwe		IA Clive Mphambela	mphambelac@gmail.com +263 771 471 822		Yes	IM Norm
Capablanca Open	25 Apr - 3 May		Centurion, South Africa		IO Judy-Mare Steenkamp	jmsteenkamp@xsinet.co.za +27 83 556 3475		Yes	IM Norm
May
Hyenas Chess Club Open	1 - 3 May		Johannesburg, South Africa		Mr Stephen Skosana	stephen@hyenaschess.com +27 83 603 0991		Yes	No
Steinitz Open	8 - 16 May		Curro Primary School, Cape Town, South Africa		IO Lyndon Bouah	lyndon.bouah@gmail.com +27 71 363 1306		Yes	IM Norm
Sao Tome Open	End May (TBC)		Sao Tome, Sao Tome & Principe		Mr Hamilton Cruz	hamiltoncruz@ciem.st +239 990 7400		Yes	No
June
Cote d Ivoire Open	Early June (TBC)	Abhidjan, Cote d Ivoire		Mr Essoh Essis			Essisessoh@ymail.com +243 996 386 122	Yes	No
Congo  Open Championships	26 – 29 June	Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo		Mr Guy Esungi Botetsi			esungiguy@yahoo.fr +243811779758	Yes	No

Tournament	Date	Venue	Organiser	Contact	FIDE Rated	Norm Event
July
Presidents Cup	1 - 6 July	Accra, Ghana	Mr George Arko Dadzie	arkodadzie@hotmail.com +233 266 454 704	Yes	No
SA Open	3 - 11 July	Cape Town, South Africa	Mr Eldo Smart	President@chessa.co.za  +27 83 259 8747	Yes	GM Norm
Chess Excellence Winter Open	17 - 19 July	Johannesburg, South Africa	Mr Nicholas van der Nat	nicholas@chessexcellence.com +27 82 970 4493	Yes	No
Madagascar Open	19 - 26 July	Antanarivo, Madagascar	Mr Yves Rakotomahara	president@fmje.mg +261 3414 000 26	Yes	No
August
Zimbabwe Closed & Junior Championships	7 - 11 August	Harare, Zimbabwe	IA Clive Mphambela	mphambelac@gmail.com +263 771 471 822	No	No
September
UJ Open	3 - 6 Sept	University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa	Mr Shanks Naidoo	shanks.naidoo@gmail.com +27 82 652 7465	Yes	No
All African Games	12 - 13 Sept	Brazzaville, Congo	Mr Guy  Esungi Botetsi & Point Focal Echecs	esungiguy@yahoo.fr +243811779758	Yes	No

Tournament	Date	Venue	Organiser	Contact	FIDE Rated	Norm Event
October
Gauteng Closed	6 - 8 Oct	Johannesburg, South Africa	Mr Nicholas van der Nat	nicholas@chessexcellence.com +27 82 970 4493	Yes	No
Ghana National Championships	17 - 25 Oct	Accra Sports Stadium – Media Centre, Ghana	Mr George Arko-Dadzie	arkodadzie@hotmail.com +233 266 454 704	Yes	No
Nigerian National Open	19 - 22 Oct	Teslim Balogun Indoor Sports Hall, Lagos, Nigeria	IA Lekan Adeyemi	adeyemilekan@yahoo.com +234 806 505 1323	Yes	IM Norm
Lagos Classics	26-29 Oct	Teslim Balogun Indoor Sports Hall, Lagos, Nigeria	Mr Bayo Adebola	bayuba2002@yahoo.com +234 803 429 769	Yes	IM Norm
November
Nigerian Chess Federation Presidents Cup	Early November	TBC, Nigeria.	IA Lekan Adeyemi	adeyemilekan@yahoo.com   +234 806 505 1323	Yes	No
December
Zimbabwe Open	30 Dec – 4 Jan 2015	Holiday Inn, Harare, Zimbabwe	IA Clive Mphambela	mphambelac@gmail.com +263 771 471 822	Yes	No

For further information on any of these events, please contact the relevant organisers directly