Our Potential Grand Masters

Anwuli Daniel

Fide Master/National Master

Nigeria Youngest Most Achieved Player

Born in 1997, Daniel Anwuli’s profile epitomizes the kind that CPAN is trying to build for committed and talented chess players in the country. Following his entry into chess as a junior, Daniel earned his first FIDE Master title and first IM norm in 2015 at the Zone 4.4 Championships in Lomé, Togo. In March 2016, he became the number one ranked Nigerian player as well as the highest rated player in the country’s history
(FIDE ELO 2365) at the age of 18. He then obtained his second IM norm; earned in April 2016 during the 18th Dubai Open in the UAE, where he defeated GM Ankit Rajpara, GM Arun Prasad and drew with GM Can Emre in three consecutive rounds. He also represented Nigeria at the World Chess Olympiad in Baku in Azerbaijan and recently placed 4th in the U/2400 category at the 3rd Millionaire Open in Atlantic City, USA. During the 3rd Millionaire Open, he defeated GM Alexander Ivanov and GM Conrad Holt in consecutive rounds to make the play-offs. With the help of CPAN affiliated sponsors, Daniel has participated in international events in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States of America with very good results.

Abdulrahman Akintoye AbdulRaheem

National Master

2018 Nigeria Most Outstanding Player

With an international Chess Rating of 2258, “Triple A”, as he is popularly called, is currently ranked ‘lucky number 5’ in Nigeria and is undoubtedly the most outstanding chess player in the country at present, having won all the major Nigerian chess tournaments of the year 2018. A lawyer, who has temporarily given up the practice of law for what he describes as his calling to excellence at the game of chess, who’s personal target is to become Nigeria’s first Chess Grandmaster. The results he has displayed over the past year has shown that he is serious about this target, hence his merited addition to the Initiative’s list of beneficiaries.

Akintoye has had stunning results since he decided to focus on chess at the beginning of the year 2018. He moved from a rating of 2148 to 2258 within a year gained over one hundred (+100) rating points in spite of the rarity of tournaments in Nigeria. He won the CPAN C4 CHEVRON CHESS CHALLENGE 2018 convincingly with a near perfect score of 6.5/7 ahead of several international masters, tied for first place in the NATIONAL FRIENDS OF CHESS TOURNAMENT 2018, and participated in the Grand Finale of the Mind Games International Chess Competition, which he again won ahead of several international masters. In January 2019, he decided to go for his first Major International Tournament at the Gibraltar international chess festival where he performed well winning the Challengers A category and recording an important 5/10 in the Masters Section, defeating several higher rated players in the process.

GOODNESS EKUNKE

A promising young star:

Born 19th August 2010, 8-year-old Goodness Ekunke in the CPAN Chess League Season 3, played for Team as their U16 player. Goodness Ekunke is unarguably the best Chess player in Nigeria under 10 years and one of the best prodigies ever seen in Nigeria Chess.

His other antecedents include but not limited to:

DEBORAH QUICKPEN

Youngest Nigerian to participate in a National Sport Festival

At age 6, Deborah was the youngest participant in the 2018 National Sports Festival, which held at Abuja in 2018. Currently under the tutelage of Nigeria’s second-highest rated Chess player Kigigha Bomo, Deborah has shown extraordinary prowess for one so young and in a sport dominated by men. She is yet to participate in a lot of tournaments, but she is a girl that the #GoForANigerianChessGrandMaster Initiative believe would be suited for the vision of the initiative.

IGWUBOR KIKOSEM

2018 U20 National Champion

Came to lime light as a 15-year-old boy, who had been learning, training, and waiting for the opportunity to shine, and the MTN FESTAC Chess Festival gave him the opportunity to show what he knows about the game. Playing against seasoned opens players and some National Masters who refused to grow in the game and finishing joint 2^nd. After this event, he gave more time to his University degree, where he is currently studying to be a Medical Doctor, only to come out of hiding in 2017, during the Flaming Knights Opens Tournament, where he also finished joint 2^nd. Knowing he had only 2018 as his last opportunity to participate in a Junior U-20 tournament, he participated in the 2018 Malogy National U-20 Chess Championship, where he finished the tournament clear 1^st, to outshine every other promising junior at the event. He then went on to represent his University at the West African University Games (WAUG), where he helped his team to Silver Medal, just behind another Nigerian University being led by Anwuli Daniel, claimed the board 1 Silver Medal, and also picked up the Blitz Silver Medal. Kikosem then represented the Bayelsa Team at the National Sports Festival, where he and the team of elder statesmen picked up the Silver Medal at the event. With all these achievements, the #GoForANigerianChessGrandMaster Initiative believes that he is one of the players that Nigeria needs to work with to produce the very first Nigerian Chess Grandmaster.

ADARAMAJA TEMITOPE

2018 U20 National Girls Champion

Playing her very first National tournament in the year 2017, Temitope has grown to become one of the finest chess playing young girls in the country at age 14. She had a remarkable 2018, where she finished 1^st position (female section) at the 1^st Malogy U-20 National Chess Tournament, and at the 2^nd Edition of The OSFI Board Games Tournament, defeating boys in the process. She also represented Lagos at the National Youth Games, where she also came home with a medal, which would reward her with her first international exposure, as she was selected as one of the members of the Nigerian teams to represent the country at The West African U-16 Team Chess Championship, where she was unbeaten and finished the event with a perfect 6/6 score, helping her team to finish second, just behind another Nigerian team consisting of the nest three (3) young talents that would be mentioned. With these numerous accomplishments in so little a time, the #GoForANigerianChessGrandMaster team believes that she would be invaluable to the success of the program.

Okeke Isaac

Having a rapid rise in the chess industry is the story of Okeke Isaac, who only started playing chess in 2017 and has become one of the most known junior names in the game, not just because he can talk, but also because he plays some good chess, claiming some very important wins, showing serious improvements as time goes by and never afraid to face a top player. Isaac participated in the 2017 edition of CPAN/Chevron Chess Challenge, where he finished with 3 points out of a possible 7. But from this event, he gained valuable experience, which helped him to overcome his peers at other age category tournaments in the same year, which includes: The 2017 OSFI Chess Tournament U-14 section, where he finished as overall 1^st place winner, The Mike Okiro Rapids U-16 section, where he also picked up the 1^st place prize and joint 1^st position at The National Friends of Chess Junior U-16 event. Starting out 2018 as the Best Junior U-16 player at The Household of David Rapid Tournament was no mean feat, finishing with 5.5/9 among top players in the country and fishes alike. Representing Ogun State at The National Youth Games, 2018, was an important push for him, considering his 3 Gold Medal haul at the event, where he picked up the Board Gold Medal, helped his team to Gold Medal and defeated everyone in his wake to clinch the Blitz Gold Medal at the event. The Chess Heights Rapid event is one of the most popular rapid events in the country, holding almost every other month, and Okeke Isaac can boldly say that he finished in 3^rd position at the August 2018 edition of the event, which boasted of various top Opens players. He also participated in the Ogun State Closed Trial of 9 players (inclusive of himself) Round Robin, where he qualified to represent the state, as part of the team of players that would participate at the National Sports Festival, 2018 (picking up 3 wins, 3 draws and only 1 loss). He did participate at the National Sports Festival, where he played 5 games and had 4.5/5 at the event. At the end of the CPAN Chess League, 2018, Okeke Isaac had helped his team to a 4^th place finish on the table. He is also a back to back National Champion of the Redeem National Chess Event. Seeing all these efforts by the young man, the #GoForANigerianChessGrandMaster team believes that he is one of the talents to help spur Nigeria into achieving her aim of the very first Grandmaster

AZUMI AISHA

Born on the 22^nd of November, 2002, Suleiman Azumi Ayisha, a Kogi State prodigy grew to love the game of chess and started her exploits as an Eleven (11) year old girl. Traveling to Lagos for the 1^st Lagos Chess Classic in 2013, she finished the junior tournament joint 1^st to show that she was as good as any boy within her age category. A year later, at the 2^nd edition of the same event, she finished in the junior tournament, as the overall 3^rd best player and the best female player in the category. Azumi became an household name in 2015 after producing some superlative performances, which includes: Best female performance and Bronze Medal at the 1^st Northern States Unity Chess Championship, Best female and 1^st position at the 1^st Millionaire Satellite Chess Championship Junior Edition and Best female & 1^st place performance at the 2015 NBL Junior Chess Championships, after which she took some time off the game. She came back into the scene in 2017, representing Kogi State at the U-17 National Youth Games, where she finished with a Board Gold, a Team Silver and a Blitz Bronze Medal. A feat she was unable to repeat in the 2018 edition of the event, and would only settle for the Board Gold. Azumi participated at the 1^st Mindgames Premier Championship in Ibadan, where she was joint Best Lady defeating some notable Opens players. Towards the ending of 2018, Azumi was part of the Team A Junior U-16 boys and girls, who represented Nigeria at the West Africa Zone 4.4 Junior U-16 Chess Championship, where she helped her team to win the Gold Medal. For these achievements, the #GoForANigerianChessGrandMaster team believe that she is one of the standout girls that would push the Team Nigeria achieve the aim of having the very first Grandmaster.

Abimbola Osunfuyi aka young GM.

Michael Osadebe

Toritsemuwa Ofowino

Joy Evaristus

Akintoye Deborah

Ogbiyoyo, Perpetual Eloho

Femi Balogun

Abiola Akinseye

Okemakinde Toluwanimi

Oyelabi Jonathan