Chess made very easy

African Chess Lounge in Plumstead recently launched their online chess platform to allow players from across the country or international chess players to play and compete against each other at any given time.

The lounge aims to uplift communities through chess and with this online platform, coach and founder Reuben Salimu says it is a step in the right direction.

According to Salimu, the platform provides tools and resources to make chess fun for children, adding that even if parents don’t know how to play chess, they can help their children to learn to play and improve their skills quickly.

Salimu is an international chess instructor and has been playing chess for about 20 years. Formed in 2011, the lounge has bagged numerous accolades.

Salimu says teaching chess at a school is easy but to get the players to come together and complete is a daunting task, mentioning that travelling and organising transport and availability is really a nightmare.

This platform will make things easy.

“At a school, you can have 100 kids, but for tournaments only a handful. This platform will be taking away all that stress. Players can play anytime of the day and from anywhere. All they have to do is to click and go into the platform. This makes it so much easier to teach and to get the players to compete,” he says. He added that the platform “eliminates hustles of trying to get players to a certain venue.”

Anyone can play the game as they have devised games for absolute beginners to professionals. With the platform, there will always be enough players at any time of day or night.

On the first online run, they had 46 players, the next run had 96 players and Salimu says the platform is growing and it will have even more players. “It does not matter where you are and what time. You can make use of the platform and you can get someone to play with,” he says.

Players can join individually or per school, making it affordable. Players are from the ages of four all the way up to 75.

They also run a chess hour, which is a national tournament once a week where any child or student can play.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Salimu says chess improves mental capacity.

Playing chess helps children develop logic, focus and discipline.

“The mind is a muscle that needs to be exercised. Playing chess helps with that exercise and it helps players perform better in various things,” he says V For more information email info@africanchesslounge.org or call Reuben Salimu on 078 572 7546.