Launched in May 2025, ChessMasters made a powerful debut, bringing together over 500 students from more than 100 schools, beginning its journey toward becoming Nigeria’s premier annual school chess tournament. Created through a powerful partnership between KEY academy, Africa's first 21st-century project-based school and Eko Hotels & Suites, West Africa's leading hospitality brand, ChessMasters is a game-changing initiative designed to equip children with essential 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision making. 

 

At KEY academy, chess is not simply an extracurricular activity. It is an important part of how we develop young thinkers, helping students learn patience, strategy, resilience and disciplined decision making. But the real power of chess emerges when it moves beyond the classroom. ChessMasters was created to open that opportunity to thousands of children across Nigeria, bringing schools together on a national stage and expanding access to the kinds of skills that define a modern education. By combining healthy competition with intellectual challenge, the tournament aims to nurture confident problem solvers who can think several moves ahead. Our long term vision is bold: to grow ChessMasters into a platform that inspires young minds across Nigeria and ultimately across Africa, using the timeless game of chess to unlock potential, build character and prepare the next generation to lead.

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