Around the street corners of mostly crowded Lagos slums resides a generation seeking the surest path to navigate teen life. It is the search for such guidance that has led out-of-school and disadvantaged youngsters to find their way up to Chess in Slums, the way an apprentice seeks out a master.

Going about tending to poor socioeconomic situations brought on the Chess in Slums, Africa idea in 2018. Having gone through challenges that almost broke him as a result of lacking resources, the convener Tunde Onakoya, found an outlet in chess.

And so now, six years on, founder Onakoya has successfully started a recovery that is taking centre stage around the slums of Lagos. It happened just around Christmas when his non-profit hosted the Lekki Chess Dream to convert urchins in the upscale area of the megacity.

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In Lekki is where Lagos hosts a section of its colourful real estate splendour but also homeless kids that are lacking parental support and formal education opportunities. Learning chess has helped these young ones to understand strategy made possible by each piece on the board. Rooks are prone to martyrdom and this makes one of the vital lessons that the teenagers see themselves being exposed to as well as critical thinking.

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The chess dream competition was supposed to be “a two-week program designed to bring an immersive and transformative experience for the children, providing them with a unique opportunity using chess”, reads a description on Chess in Slums’ Instagram page back in December.

In the post, it also says that the “project goes beyond the chessboard, as it incorporate educational elements, promoting literacy, numeracy, essential life skills, mentorship and counselling”.

Ultimately, winners were to emerge at the end of the tournament. When they are announced, it is always mostly a grand reception with the participants donning the Chess Fila. This headgear draws inspiration from Tunde Onakoya’s personalised representation of a flying chess wizard.

Those who get called up to enter a contest are usually presented with only one option although it is limited to the sporting minds. That will take them to the dusty fields of an academy where they can start their professional footballer dream but that demands investment in kits out of scarcely available resources.

Perfecting their chess skills offer something different. So, now, the only investment the young ones can make is their time, which positions them for a sound future through strategic thinking that comes with the game.