Children at Rupetta Academy made history by playing chess in a swimming pool, creating a unique aquatic chess experience to celebrate World Chess Day 2025, themed: “Every Move Counts.”
This innovative event, held at the academy’s facilities in Abuja, saw young chess enthusiasts from the Rupetta Academy Chess Club take the ancient game to extraordinary new depths quite literally. Using specially designed waterproof chessboards and pieces, the children demonstrated that chess truly knows no boundaries.
Speaking at the event in Abuja, Katmaan Senlong, Founder and CEO of Rupetta Academy, reiterated that Chess is the game of geniuses, and today’s young geniuses have shown that every move counts, even when you are in the swimming pool. “We wanted to create something truly memorable for World Chess Day 2025, and what better way to show that chess is for everyone, everywhere, than by playing in water? Senlong demonstrates that chess fosters confident learners and thoughtful decision-makers, regardless of the environment. The event aligns perfectly with FIDE’s 2025 Year of Social Chess initiative, which promotes chess as a tool for inclusion, education, empowerment, and mental well, ” he said.
Following the success of The Pointer School’s chess match atop London’s O2 Arena, where children played 52 metres above the city, Rupetta Academy’s event continues the tradition of taking chess to unexpected places to highlight its educational benefits. Senlong further emphasised that “we believe in giving every child a chance to discover their interests and thrive intellectually, socially, and emotionally,” continued Senlong. “Chess brings numerous cognitive benefits that translate into improved performance in other areas, be it concentration, problem solving, or creativity, as well as valuable life skills like critical thinking, planning, and logical reasoning,” he said.
The swimming pool chess event featured multiple simultaneous games, with children aged 6 to 12 participating in both casual games and mini tournaments. Professional underwater cameras captured the matches, and the footage will be shared with FIDE as part of their Creative Chess initiative, which encourages enthusiasts to play in the most imaginative locations possible.
This innovative approach reflects Nigeria’s growing chess culture, following in the footsteps of national icons like Tunde Onakoya, who broke the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon in New York’s Times Square, and the recent successes of Nigerian teams in international chess competitions.
Similarly, a nine-year-old Sarah Makama, one of the young participants, shared her excitement: “Playing chess in the pool was amazing! I had to think even more carefully about my moves because I did not want to splash the board. It made me focus better, and I still won my game!”
Also, her part, five-year-old David Ibe added: “This was the coolest chess game ever! The water made it feel like we were chess champions from another planet. I cannot wait to tell my friends about this.”
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