A boy from the Makoko area of Lagos State, named Benjamin, has been given a scholarship up until the university level by a chess master from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States.
The chess master, Tyrone Davis III, who is the president of the MIT Chess Club, visited Nigeria two weeks ago to see the works of a charity organisation, Chess in Slums Africa.
The development was announced in a tweet by the organisation’s founder, Tunde Onakoya, who described Benjamin as a chess prodigy.
According to Onakoya, Davis’ visit to Nigeria was inspired by a US-based charity, The Gift of Chess, where he paid a visit to Benjamin in Makoko, with both of them engaging in a game of chess.
“Two weeks ago, Tyrone, a titled chess Master and president of the @MIT Chess Club, visited Nigeria for the first time to connect with Benjamin, a chess prodigy from the slums of Makoko. Chess changed Tyrone’s life and now he’ll be sponsoring Benjamin’s education till university.
“Tyrone’s visit was inspired by the @thegiftofchess’ mission to connect the world by leveraging the power of chess to create community, expand opportunity and ultimately change lives,” Onakoya wrote.
It was reported that Manchester United legend, Patrice Evra, had visited Oshodi underbridge in Lagos on account of CISA to play chess with underprivileged kids and raise awareness on how chess is changing their lives.