It was an honour to play the game I love for the national team at the Olympiad in Samarkand. Good fights. Story continues. Photo by @Othims_

🇺🇿 Uzbekistan wins the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad! 🏆♟️ #ChessOlympiad

🇨🇳 China wins the 46th FIDE Women's Chess Olympiad! 🏆♟️ #ChessOlympiad

RECAP - ROUND 3 (WOMEN) Mixed feelings for Nigeria Nwankwo Chiamaka wins again for 2.5/3 while Sandra Osarugwe is now on 2/3 Heartbreak for Deborah Quickpen and Onoja Joy who both lose Nigeria🇳🇬 2 - 2 Mozambique 🇲🇿 #DaUniBrow #SportCity #ChessOlympiad #ChessOlympiad2026

🇳🇬 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad | Samarkand, Uzbekistan 📅 15–27 September 2026 Team Nigeria Women 🇳🇬 Name: Omoruyi Sandra State: Edo State FIDE ID: 8528640 FIDE Rating: 1919 Peak Rating: 1973 Designation: Board 4 Olympiad Appearance: First Short bio: Omoruyi Sandra from Edo State, Nigeria, is one of the country's promising young chess talents, steadily making her mark through strong performances both locally and internationally. Sandra has enjoyed a breakthrough 2026, highlighted by her victory in the FIDE Women's World Amateur Chess Championship – U2000 category, where she emerged as champion. She also represented Edo State at the NDDC Games, where she claimed Individual Gold, adding another major achievement to an already impressive year. Beyond these major events, Sandra has continued to gain valuable competitive experience through several tournaments, recording wins and steadily developing her strength, confidence and resilience over the board. With a current FIDE rating of 1919 and a peak rating of 1973, Sandra continues to establish herself among Nigeria's promising young female players. The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand marks Sandra's first-ever Olympiad appearance — and notably, her first international tournament outside Nigeria. From competing on the Nigerian chess scene to stepping onto the world's biggest team chess stage, Samarkand represents a major milestone in Sandra's journey. Now representing 🇳🇬 Nigeria on Board 4, Sandra will have the opportunity to test herself against players from across the world and gain invaluable experience at the highest level of team chess. A young champion from Edo State, making her first international appearance outside Nigeria and her Olympiad debut in Samarkand. 🇳🇬♟️🌍 We wish Sandra and the Nigerian women's team the very best in Samarkand! 💪🇳🇬 Photo credit: @Othims_ #ChessOlympiad #Samarkand2026 #TeamNigeria #NigeriaChess #NigeriaChessJuniors #ChessInNigeria

🇳🇬 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad | Samarkand, Uzbekistan 📅 15–27 September 2026 Team Nigeria Women 🇳🇬 Name: Deborah Quickpen FIDE Title: WFM FIDE ID: 8511616 FIDE Rating: 2174 Designation: Board 1 Short bio: Deborah Quickpen from bayelsa state Nigeria is making her 2nd appearance at the Chess Olympiad, having previously represented Nigeria on the international stage. She earned the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title in 2024 before becoming a Woman FIDE Master (WFM) in 2026. Currently the highest-rated female chess player in Nigeria, with a FIDE rating of 2174, Deborah has established herself as one of the country's leading female players. She has also participated in the WR Chess Tour Africa and has won multiple chess tournaments throughout her career. With her strength, experience and competitive pedigree, Deborah will be an important part of Team Nigeria Women as they take on the world's best in Samarkand. We wish Deborah and the Nigerian women's team the very best as they fly the Nigerian flag on the international stage. 🇳🇬♟️ Photo credit @Othims_

The beauty of setting one’s heart on. Today marks exactly eight years since we officially kickstarted the Chess in Slums project. Oh, how beautifully time flies. It still feels like yesterday when, with trembling hands, I committed my heart to this seemingly impossible miracle of doing great things from small places. I feel immense gratitude today, above all things. But I also want to share a recent contemplation from one of my many mundane musings about life. Sometime in July, while I was in New York, I decided to take a really long walk through the city. New York is a deeply fascinating place, with so much to see and admire that one can easily get lost in its allure and chaos. So I gave myself a simple task to find and photograph everything in color blue. Suddenly, it felt like the city changed, at least in my own eyes. A blue bicycle chained to a railing. A stranger in a blue coat. A young boy in a blue shirt held closely by his mother, one of his hands carefully wrapped in a blue cast. Blue tents. A small patch of sky reflected in the glass of a building. By the end of my walk, I had taken so many wonderful pictures of all the beautiful blue things my curiosity could capture. Of course, the city hadn’t changed. The blue had always been there. What changed was that I had decided to look for it. I haven’t stopped thinking about that experience ever since, about the strange and beautiful power of setting one’s heart on something, and how what we choose to look for in the world eventually teaches us how to see. It feels even more meaningful today because eight years ago, I set my heart on the Chess in Slums project, and it became my own trail of blue through the world. It taught me to see possibility in the lives of children in places where poverty had robbed them of the basic dignity of being human beings with dreams and aspirations. We went into those places with chessboards and a simple belief: there is remarkable brilliance here, if only someone is willing to look for it. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to witness what happens when a child who has been invisible for most of their life finally encounters someone who sees them. And perhaps that is another thing I have learned: we do not only find what we are looking for. Sometimes, by looking long enough and loving deeply enough, we help it become visible to others too. These eight years have carried the full spectrum of being alive: beautiful moments, difficult years, mistakes, exhaustion, hurt, disappointment, uncertainty, and days when the size of the problem made our efforts feel painfully small. But chess has taught me something about small things. The pawn is the smallest, most ordinary piece on the chessboard. Yet hidden within its humble beginning is the possibility of becoming something far greater than anyone imagined. Perhaps children are like that too. There are still millions of children across Africa whose brilliance remains hidden behind circumstances they did not choose. So we will keep looking. We will keep going to the small places. To help them burn brighter and hold them up long enough for the world to see. And perhaps this is the beauty of setting one’s heart on something: That you begin by searching the world for a particular kind of light…. Then one day, you look around and realize you have spent your life helping to create it. Happy anniversary, @chessinslums. To our incredible team, volunteers, partners, friends and supporters over the years, thank you for believing, for staying, and for teaching me in the most profound way that no amount of darkness can conquer a flicker of light. Eight years later, my heart is still set on the same thing. This is Day One, all over again.

In a late-August interview with Africa Chess Media, @JanHBuettner........ africachessmedia.com/fide-el…

2 DAYS TO GO! In less than two (2) days, @AfricaChess #Media brings you a special conversation with some of the key voices who are hoping to shape the future of global chess. FIDE Presidential Candidate, @JanHBuettner Deputy, IM @TelegraphChess FIDE Treasurer Nominee, Vukani Dlamini Hosted by @thecosmochip and @cassandramendie, this promises to be an insightful conversation on leadership, chess in Africa and, most importantly, Africa’s place in the global chess ecosystem. What are their plans for Africa? What should African chess players, federations and stakeholders expect? And what kind of leadership does chess need at this critical moment? Date: Friday, August 28, 2026 Time: 3:00 PM Nigeria Time | 4:00 PM SA Time Venue: LIVE on Google Meet 🔗 Join us: meet.google.com/cpu-tggt-zbn Set your reminder. Tell a friend. Share this post. #Africa needs to be at the center of the conversation. Africa Chess Media - Giving #African #Chess a #Voice.

This Wednesday, I would be taking a chess class with the wonderful children at The Convenant nation Iganmu. The goal is simple, we use chess to help them grow. If this resonates with you, bring your kids along. Don’t let them miss out! #chess #education

As the #chess world looks towards the 2026 @FIDE_chess #Presidential #Elections......... africachessmedia.com/three-c…

The Chess Club Grand Roi opens its center in #Cotonou today. As the Ambassador of @thegiftofchess to Benin Republic, I was invited to make donations of our chess sets. The mission continues.

Amazing! Just Amazing!

I kick start my chess camp in style. Kids and adult showed up on the first day, first to see how a 11 years old an ambassador for @thegiftofchess can teach chess. And second, to play with me. Dreams are getting bigger. @chessinslums @promotingqueens @ibrahimvivian51 @Tunde_OD

Huge Congratulations to #Kenya's Bernard Wanjala for winning the elections to become the 10th #Africa #Chess Confederation President 2026-2030! He led Kenya Chess for 8 years and now takes up the leadership role of the continent having won with 25-24 votes at the polls!

#Chess is More Than a Game. Across #Africa, it is a tool for education, a pathway for young talent, a source of opportunity..... africachessmedia.com/2026-th… @FIDE_chess

We brought chess to Tech Unwind Lagos. And people showed up. Real boards. Real games. Real conversations. This is exactly why I built Chess In Public. Making it easier for people to find someone nearby, meet up, and actually play. Here's what our activation looked like ♟️🔥

Played a game with someone off Chess In Public today 😁♟️ The app is actually doing what I built it to do 😂

The #African Continental Stage of the @FIDE_chess / @ischoolchess #World #Schools Team #Chess Championship 2026 officially......... africachessmedia.com/1st-mov…