With just over a week to go before Nigeria’s premier inter-school chess tournament, ChessMasters 2026 has hit a significant milestone — every single one of its 150 school places is filled, and the countdown to May 2nd has well and truly begun.
The confirmation came on Thursday at a press briefing held at Sky Restaurant, Eko Hotels & Suites, where co-founders Damilola Okonkwo and Caline Chagoury Moudaber gathered sponsors and press to signal that the tournament is no longer in preparation — it is in motion. All 750 student participants, drawn from private and public primary schools across Lagos, are confirmed and ready to compete.
For Okonkwo, the speed at which registrations closed said everything. “This time last year, we weren’t able to reach those numbers so early,” she said. “That’s a testament to the tournament we created — and we’re very proud of what we’ve been able to build.” When the tournament’s first press conference was held over a month ago, schools were still being encouraged to register. That window has since shut, and the energy in the room on Thursday reflected an organisation that knows it has built something the city wants.
The main event begins at 8:00am on Saturday, May 2nd — the day after a public holiday — and is expected to wrap up around 4:00pm. All 750 students will compete simultaneously across several rounds throughout the day, with scheduled breaks and sponsor activations running alongside the competition. For those who missed the registration window, organisers confirmed that spectator spots will be available, with a sign-up link to be shared in the coming days.
Co-founder Caline Chagoury Moudaber, who also serves as a Director on the board of Eko Hotels & Suites, was candid about just how far the tournament has travelled since its conception. “ChessMasters was an idea between two moms,” she said. “I’m not sure everybody understood exactly what we had in mind. So it is such a big deal that we’ve had so much support.” She reserved particular gratitude for returning sponsors Mikano, Seven Up, and Fidson — three brands she noted had backed the tournament before it had a track record to show. “They came in blind,” she said. “We are super grateful to them.”
Also present at Thursday’s briefing were sponsors Fidson, Mikano, i-invest, and Doculand — a lineup that points to growing commercial confidence in what ChessMasters is becoming. For a tournament built on the idea that how students think matters as much as what they know, the numbers are beginning to speak that language fluently.
Melissa Enoch
