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On Saturday the 12th of
December, I found myself in a minter part of Olodi-Apapa,
less fondly known as Ajegunle. My overt mission to my
unsuspecting target was to return a book I had borrowed
weeks earlier; covertly I had designs to present a new story
to you.
International Arbiter Obinna Ogbonnaya
is a recognizable face on the Nigerian chess scene. He is
the perennial chief arbiter of the Friends of Chess series,
and when national tournaments do come around it is the
oddity not to see him among the top arbiters.
Publicly, he cuts a reserved and
serious demeanor but getting close and personal with him I
found a jovial and simple person. However, there are things
he takes seriously. Having a principle based character is
one. Chess is another. Indeed, it has been a long time since
I met someone who loves the game this much as you will find
out from the interview. The interview was one long rambling
session but I here present the main views of Obinna.
Obinna Ogbonnaya at home
On the attitude of chess
players
I find the attitude of most chess
players disappointing. They don’t see what they can do to
bettering chess in the country; rather, they look to NCF and
others. My philosophy is that when you associate yourself
with chess, when you know how to move the pieces, there is something you can do to make chess better.
On the goodness of chess Chess has a lot to offer society. Take me for example; I
have lived all my life in this Ajegunle
and this is a rough neighborhood with many ruffians. Chess
helped me to be a success despite the challenges of my
upbringing.
The International Arbiter at work
On how he became a chess
player
I started chess as a player way back in
1986. It was not until 2003 that I became an International
Arbiter. I learnt chess at Federal Government College,
Okigwe from a fellow junior student though it was mostly
played by the seniors. I became instantly in love with the
game and I quite clearly remember emptying my bank account
of N100 to buy a magnetic chess set. N100 was much money
then but I can never forget that board. That same year I
became the unofficial Okigwe chess champion and that was
because I devoted a lot of time to it.
On
his chess career
The point I am trying to make is that
my achievements in chess like going to Singapore to attend
FIDE chess coaching program by personal sponsorship,
becoming an IA and any other is to make chess grow. The
chess in school program that is beneficial to a lot of chess
players now was an initiative that a few of us started back
then as far back as 2001. Idada was organizing the chess
league and a few of us bought into it. We saw the
opportunity that teaching chess in school could be a
lucrative venture. At a point we saw that secondary school
was not it, so we moved to lower schools that is nursery and
primary schools.
On
teaching children chess
A lot of my students are age 4 and 5
years. I teach them the chess board, the lines on the chess
board, I teach them to name the squares and they comprehend.
Movement of pieces is something children can understand. The
other day I saw on the internet a 5 year old boy teaching
his 2 year old sister how to play.
On
his chess vision
When we talk about Nigeria producing a
grandmaster, it’s this kid, that’s the vision. These kids
becoming grandmasters is what motivates me.
More
on his chess vision
I was teaching at
Federal Government College, Ijanikin in 2001/2002 and I was paying to go teach
there, no one was paying me. I’ve committed my life to
helping others get the benefit I’ve gotten from this game.
Even
more on his chess vision
What I am hoping that chess would do
for this country is transform the mindset. Change us from
money worshippers. We have a mindset in the country
presently where wealth rules. Where money talks. As a chess
player I don’t give a hoot about your money, I know with my
own efforts, by using my brain power I can overcome the
challenges that life throws at me. We have a society where
people do not think they can help themselves. This is
because those who have this little power called money have
put themselves in a position where others worship them. If
we have a transformed mindset of the citizenry, which is
what chess can help achieve. Chess can transform the mindset
of the populace to see that whatever life throws at you, you
can meet the challenge by depending on your brain power.
On a
benefit of chess
Chess can help one to be successful.
Success to me is not having N100 billion in your bank
account. Success is being able to overcome life challenges
by using a well developed mind. A success should not be
frightened by the vicissitudes of life but should be able to
meet them confidently. Joachim Idada is an example of
someone that chess made a success.
On
how to grow chess
I agree you can have a strong mind and
not be principled. In fact, this is the problem of many
chess players. They are lazy and don’t see their roles in
making society better and working towards this
transformation I have talked about. Take the situation we
have, there is a shortage of chess tournaments, yet the
average chess player just sits down waiting for a god to
come down and produce a tournament not realizing that on
their own they can create this tournaments. In this my
humble house I used to run tournaments. I invite players and
we play and go away with the fulfillment of having played
chess. Tournaments don’t have to be for immediate money.
Money is just a fringe benefit. Tournaments offer a platform
for one to play chess basically. ‘Friends of Chess’ is not
run with much money and yet a lot of chess players come.
Other people can follow this example. What will bring in
sponsorship for chess is an increase the chess playing
population. We must try to spread the gospel of chess.
On
his future plans
In 2004, I registered a business name
Afro Chess and I also registered it on FIDE website as a
chess club. The vision is for it to eventually set up an
academy in Nigeria like the one I saw in Singapore.
Basically, it’s like a school that runs after school program
for students when they are through with their regular
school. They come around and study chess. Its not just
players, it’s a whole gamut of chess activity. Chess
enthusiasts get to be trained as arbiters, coaches and other
chess roles. We have many people who see themselves as chess
coaches in the country but who don’t have training and are
thereby performing poorly. Arbiters also need refresher
courses as the laws are reviewed regularly and they need to
be up to date.
On a
need
We need an institution where chess
persons get improvement. This is because chess is dynamic.
Coaches need to improve, arbiters need to be up to date and
even chess players must be assisted to improve. Improvement
goes beyond having a chess program and chess books.
Obinna during a casual blitz game
On
producing a GM Definitely there is hope that the
current generation of chess players can produce a
grandmaster. There must be that burning desire in the
individual and he should be supported. This is one of the
purposes of Afro Chess. Afro Chess aims to support people
who have the desire to become grandmasters. I have about 80
chess books all for Afro Chess aim of improving chess
players.
More
on producing a GM Even if there is no organized support,
the individual can achieve his grandmaster goal by being
persistent towards it. An example is Amon Simutowe, who made
sacrifices after sacrifices to become a gm. It paid of for
him eventually. Anyone can achieve their goal in life if
they persist at it. The current generation of chess players
can indeed achieve the GM title if they have a strong desire
for it and persist in pursuing it.
The chief arbiter during 'Friends of
Chess'
Finally, on NCF
NCF has a very negligible role to play
in anyone achieving the GM title. We should not leave the
development of the game to NCF. In actual fact, we should
see NCF as you and me. Mark my words, chess players are
supposed to be NCF. Until we see things as this then NCF and
the sorry state of chess will remain poor. Each player can
do a lot to affect how NCF is being run presently. It is
shameful that chess clubs are dead in Lagos. This is an easy
thing for chess players to do and grow the game. Chess
players should not put reward ahead of developing chess, if
they do they will not achieve great success. | 
