This picture was taken in 2022, when I had just started playing chess.
I remember dreaming of getting an 1800+ FIDE rating when I got rated. Reality hit differently. In 2023, my first rating was 1498 Classical and 1506Rapid.
I won't lie,I was disappointed.
125 rated Nigerian juniors.
Five are above 2100.
The average rating of Nigeria's top junior chess players is 2030. π³π¬βοΈ
Nigerian youth chess is not a conversation for later,
it's happening NOW. π
Tag someone who needs to see this π
#ChessCulture#AfricanChess#ChessTwitter
Endgames may not be the most exciting part of chess, but they are often where the result is decided. It's a lesson I've learned the hard way, and it's changed how I approach my training. I COULD have won those games above if I had sufficient endgame knowledge ππ
#Chess # Engame
As a chess player, I always believed there was no need to spend much time studying endgames. My thinking was simple: if I could get a significant advantage from the opening and middlegame, the endgame wouldn't matter.
Recently, that mindset has cost me dearly.
I've lost important games and missed valuable opportunities because I couldn't convert winning positions or defend difficult endgames accurately.
The hard truth is that an advantage means nothing if you don't know how to finish the game.
But I kept showing up. I kept studying. I kept playing.
From that little boy with big dreams to a peak rating of 2123, and currently 2062 FIDE, the journey has been worth every sacrifice.There is still a long way to go, and bigger goals ahead. Sometimes all it takes
Anyone who does not already realize that our government does not care about us is suffering from a peculiar type of blindness.
Do you not see the urgency with which they act when their political power is threatened?