Hi chess fans!

One of our own takes on the big boss. Watch the action live at https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/tbilisi-fide-world-cup-2017/1/1/1!

Femi Balogun is one of the Lagos Leatherbacks and is the first African to play a competitive chess game against a reigning world champion!

@LagLeatherbacks

Our opponents on Wednesday 25 January:

Grandmaster (GM) Jonathan Hawkins
International Master (IM) Ameet Ghasi
Grandmaster (GM) Keith Arkell
International Master (IM) Thomas Rendle

Some of us will be claiming our first GM/IM scalps in 2 days. Mission Impossible you say? You have been briefed!

Mission Impossible as the @LagLeatherbacks attempt to take the @Lond0n_Towers 19:40GMT on Wednesday 25 January!

Watch the action on www.chess.com/tv with commentary from David Pruess, Fiona Steil-Antoni, Dejan Bojkov, Lawrence Trent, Maxim Dlugy, Jesse Kraai and Alex Yermolinsky! Sometimes it is still unbelievable
#prochess

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What do Turtles and Stars have in common?

Come find out on 18 January 2017, 8:30pm when @LagLeatherbacks meets and greets @AbujaRockStars at @PROChessLeague![img][/img]

Only 3 teams from Africa and 2 of them from Nigeria (...the other from South Africa)! Naija dey represent sha

This week, we take on our Naija "senior brodas"!

Come watch us live on https://www.chess.com/tv at 8:30pm Nigerian time as we take on the Abuja Rockstars!

Superb commentary by a team of world renowned international chess masters, Willams, Steil-Antoni, Trent, Rudolf, Kraai, Krush, Pruess, Yermo!

Join us on twitter https://www.twitter.com/LagLeatherbacks, facebook https://www.facebook.com/LagLeatherbacks and chess.com https://www.chess.com/club/lagos-leatherbacks-fan-club.

LagLeatherbacks

Match over. Week 1 done for us.

The Lagos Leatherbacks put up a great fight and even scored some upsets but lost the match. Special mention to Femi who made Grandmaster Maz sweat. Queen versus 2 rooks end game!

Can't wait for next week line up!

#prochess

The North American division is still on for those still awake www.chess.com/tv

@LagLeatherbacks

Our first league match starts today, Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017, 8:30pm Nigerian time.

The Lagos Leatherbacks ( us :-) ) will be facing the Dublin Desperados (from Ireland).

Join us https://www.chess.com/club/lagos-leatherbacks-fan-club and watch us live www.chess.com/tv

Final round of the FIDE World Rapid Championship in Doha, Qatar begins in a few minutes. https://www.chess.com/tv

The Rapid Chess defending Champion, Magnus Carlsen is now tied for first with Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Grischuk, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Ian Nepomniachtchi.

- LagLeatherbacks

joywendy:
Hello Guys

I have an issue I think we should discuss....

The concept of female prizes in Nigerian chess

I get the idea that it helps to promote ladies in chess but I feel that the title tends to celebrate mediocrity indirectly.

Especially for some of the ladies who may just focus on getting the female prize and forget that the main prize that is also available for them as well. It just creates an unending cycle.....You see some ladies only coming to participate because they hear that there is a female prize available.

That shouldn't be at all, what's wrong with giving everyone a fair chance of winning? The same playing field? If you keep on with the concept of giving female prizes will most of the females ever see the reason of wanting to compete on a higher scale like everyone else? Wanting to push the boundary?

Is there another way we can encourage ladies without using the concept of female prizes?

Having a separate category (and/or specific prizes) for females is a short term solution to a long term problem. We support similar short term solutions for now.

As you may have hinted, these female prizes are, "to promote ladies in chess". While this may be true, it is does not adequately tackle a much more fundamental issue. Which is, the proportion of female players to total number of players is really really low. Our preliminary statistics based on December 2016 FIDE data indicate about 10% of active FIDE rated players are female! We opine that it is society's historical "negative" views on females playing chess that led to this disparity.

We believe a long term solution is to grow grass root chess for both male and female youngsters.

How will this solution work?

If we introduce a generation of 5 - 12 year old students to the game (equally and without gender prejudice), we will inevitably get a lot of talented and highly competitive youngsters. Imagine if only 0.001 of all Nigerian primary school students have the chess talent gene and are discovered, we would be looking at tens of thousands of future titled players, CM, FM, IM and the elusive GM titles. This new talent pool will have well over 10% female participation, we hope eventually 50%, but even 40 or 30% will be a great start. Since chess does not require the best leg or arm muscles but the best brain, girls and boys are on an equal "nature-set" playing field. Now all we need to do is to equal the "society-set" playing field.

After years of mixed gender competitions, the best of them will definitely include males and females. By the time these youngsters are in their teens, the best females among them will be competing regularly and successfully with their male counterparts and will even feel insulted if anyone invited them to play separately. We would have fundamentally changed the need for separate female prizes in the life time of just one generation.

- LagLeatherbacks

Jerrylolo:
i have account with chess.com

That is fantastic Jerrylolo. We see you already on https://www.chess.com/club/lagos-leatherbacks-fan-club . You have met the basic requirements to play in the league. If you get selected as part of our team roster, we could call upon you during the season to "rep" your city in a game or two.

All chess loving people are invited to come watch and support Naija chess on https://www.chess.com/tv

Match updates will be put up here on NL, Twitter @LagLeatherbacks and FB @LagLeatherbacks. Team website under "serious" development

Meanwhile the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship has started in Doha, Qatar.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/carlsen-grischuk-to-defend-titles-at-world-rapid-blitz-9496

Oh by the way, you can also watch the Doha tournament live right now on https://www.chess.com/tv

Cheers!

- LagLeatherbacks

Jerrylolo:
is anybody competing in nigeria here?
am a very big chess fan... i play in yabatech chess club

Yes @Jerrylolo,

A lot of young and upcoming Nigerian chess stars will be playing for the Lagos Leatherbacks. The League teams are city based. The Lagos Leatherbacks is made up of players who have some connection with Lagos. Live, work, or school in Lagos. If you play for the Yabatech chess club, you have fulfilled that requirement

Next, you will need a Chess.com account. It is free. If you play a lot of online chess you already know that.

Then come over to https://www.chess.com/club/lagos-leatherbacks-fan-club or Twitter @LagLeatherbacks or FB @LagLeatherbacks lets get to know you a little more. Who knows, during the league season, you might get substituted into a match and face a real grandmaster

Cheers,

- LagLeatherbacks

The first ever international online chess league begins in January 2017 and a team based in Lagos will be competing! Follow our journey on https://www.chess.com/tv where games will be broadcasted live!

Some super stars already confirmed to play: Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Li Chao and many more https://www.chess.com/news/view/48-teams-over-100-grandmasters-to-play-pro-chess-league-7020

We will upload updates here on Nairaland as well as on twitter @LagLeatherbacks and Facebook @LagLeatherbacks.

Our ultimate goal is to find and develop talent which we believe abounds in this great country. Come cheer your home boys and girls as we play our part in putting Nigeria on the World chess map! https://www.chess.com/club/lagos-leatherbacks-fan-club

- LagLeatherbacks