{"id":45139,"date":"2025-10-08T05:10:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/?p=45139"},"modified":"2025-10-08T05:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:10:13","slug":"1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-nigeria-steps-up-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-nigeria-steps-up-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"1st Physical FIDE \u201cChess in Schools\u201d Instructor Training: Nigeria Steps Up in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Chess doesn\u2019t just sharpen minds \u2014 it changes lives. And in early 2023, Nigeria showed once again it\u2019s ready to do both, by hosting the <strong>first ever physical FIDE \u201cChess in Schools: School Instructor\u201d training<\/strong> in the country. For a chess fan like me, it felt like a turning point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Went Down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Lagos State was buzzing from <strong>January 3-8, 2023<\/strong>, as teachers, chess trainers, and educators gathered for the hands-on seminar. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The event was organized by the <strong>Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF)<\/strong>, under the watch of <strong>DIG (Rtd.) Sani U. Mohammed, mni<\/strong>, in partnership with FIDE\u2019s Chess in Education Commission. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Those who passed earned a certificate that allows them to teach chess in educational institutions (everything college-level and below, except universities). <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why It Matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This wasn\u2019t just another training. According to the main trainer, <strong>WIM Anzel Laubscher<\/strong>, Africa is <em>the only continent<\/em> that does this kind of seminar in person. Nigeria is the <strong>fourth country<\/strong> in the world to host it physically. That\u2019s big. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The fact it was physical meant people who might struggle with online courses had a chance. Laubscher pointed out that some places in Africa lack high-tech tools (smartboards, etc.), so doing things face-to-face is more inclusive. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Was Achieved<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>26 participants passed the exam with the bare minimum and above to earn the <strong>School Instructor (SI)<\/strong> title. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On average, the group scored <strong>70%<\/strong>, with the highest score being <strong>90%<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More Than Just a Certificate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prince Adewole Adeyinka<\/strong>, Vice President of NCF, spoke passionately about the long-term goal: having FIDE-certified instructors ready is one way to push for chess being adopted into school curricula. Even just having a certified trainer once a week in a school could create a lasting impact. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The idea is that teachers who already know how to guide children get an extra \u201ctool\u201d \u2014 chess \u2014 in their arsenal. When students learn chess in the classroom, it can teach them strategy, patience, problem-solving, and more. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s Next<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nigeria plans more of these instructor trainings, so the number of certified \u201cSchool Instructors\u201d grows. Every round adds more teachers who can bring chess into more classrooms. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Longer term: adapting curricula so that chess isn\u2019t just extracurricular, but integrated into weekly school programs. <a href=\"https:\/\/africachessmedia.com\/1st-physical-fide-chess-in-schools-instructor-training-in-2023\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">africachessmedia.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My Take<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Watching this come together felt special. It\u2019s one thing to play chess, to hold tournaments, to crown champions. It\u2019s another to build <em>infrastructure<\/em> \u2014 education + chess + certification + access. If we really want chess in Nigeria to mean opportunity and growth, these kinds of steps are what make it real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s to more teachers empowered, more kids exposed early, and a chess culture that is rooted in classrooms, not just in competition halls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chess doesn\u2019t just sharpen minds \u2014 it changes lives. And in early 2023, Nigeria showed once again it\u2019s ready to do both, by hosting the first ever physical FIDE \u201cChess in Schools: School Instructor\u201d training in the country. For a chess fan like me, it felt like a turning point. What Went Down Why It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nigeria-chess-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriachessfederation.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}