“Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.” — Marie Curie
When I think about these words from Marie Curie, I’m bedazzled by their sheer verity and intensity. Coming from such a towering figure in science, the quote resonates far beyond gender. But for me, it raises an important question: Are women in Africa scared that they may be successful in Chess? Do we misunderstand what success in chess for women means?
In my last article, I implied that Chess is a gift that keeps giving, and that success for some women (and anyone really) who dare to take on chess is not directly measured by how much trophies they win or titles they mop up, but by the virtues that rub off on them and the character it shapes. While this remains true, in this article, I want to push it a nudge further: can African women push forth and excel at chess to the highest level?
AyoZer0 is Thinking…
Absolutely. As sure as Caissa remains feminine.
Dear reader,
Allow me a brief detour. Think of it as a knight manoeuvre on the chessboard of my thoughts. I promise, the pieces will all fall into place soon. Stick with me!
High agency, Low Drama
Who would you call if you were arrested?
In talks of high agency, the answer is not just about who would show up, but who can get you out of such a mess. Typically, a problem solver, a loyal friend who is calm under pressure and has the wherewithal to act productively.
Why does this question matter? It forces you to think and assess your circle through the lens of trust and utility. Who are your fair-weather friends, and who are your ride or die pals? If you can think of someone immediately, good for you. If you cannot, become that person for others and start building a circle with people who operate on clarity, action, stability and growth thinking. Stick with people who force you to embrace and harness your great but hidden potential.
For me, I am lucky to have a few good humans in my corner, and I daresay that I keep aspiring to be one for my circle of friends. That said, I am grateful for friends like Perpetual, you have probably heard of her — Promoting Queens, rings a bell?
Track back to 2018, Perpetual was my teammate at the All African Games in Rabat, Morocco. Of course, we go way back, but this was one special event for us, flying the colors of our country, Nigeria. We came fourth place in that tournament behind Zimbabwe, Algeria and Egypt, half a point short of making the top 3 position. You can imagine how hurtful that was for us, but we kept pushing.
In 2021, we both competed in the African Zonals and qualified for the first online Zone 4.2 chess event on Tornelo. I won the male category, and she took the top spot in the female category. That earned us both an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2021 African Individual Championships in Lilongwe, Malawi. At the time, we were both students at the University of Port Harcourt.
That same year, I was on track to become the Nigerian Chess Champion, leading the field by a comfortable 1.5 points. But somehow, the title slipped through my fingers. A Classic near-success syndrome, Whew!
Happily, Perpetual won the national championship title and would go on to defend her title the following year (kudos to her grit and her Polish coach, now the 2025 Polish national chess champion). Fueled by a mix of inspiration and frustration after missing out on the National Championship title, I channelled my energy into chess with a quiet resolve and a plan to take over the West African chess scene. But was this drive rooted in inspiration, or was it a self-sabotaging attempt?
Perpz (as she is fondly called) was the first person to call me to order, I was imploding. “When you become a grandmaster, what’s next?” The question struck me like a quiet revelation, I hadn’t truly reflected on it. I was so consumed by the pursuit of the goal that, despite my flirtation with philosophy, I had overlooked a timeless truth: the journey is often weightier than the destination. Looking back, I see now that I was being led not by purpose, but by frustration with myself; this would have gotten me nowhere.
The truth is, it was Perpetual who pulled me out of my self-imposed prison. No drama, just real talk. I saw the truth in what she said, but I didn’t want to face it. That’s the essence of a high-agency friendship. We never called it mentorship, no labels. We just showed up, stayed sharp, pushed each other forward, turned setbacks into strategy, and didn’t wait around for perfect conditions. And yes, I had to swallow a bit of pride for that to happen.
Agency is not about control, it’s about response. What do you do when your position looks impossible? Who do you become when you lose? Who are you when no one is watching? High agency is what separates an acquaintance from a friend, but as I have seen, many don’t know how to differentiate them.
Simply, an acquaintance is based on proximity, a friend is based on depth. Exemplary is my friendship with Abiola O.a.t.s (the African Kierkegaard) — a brother on the spectrum of depth and principle, a quiet mentor. He is also proof to me that some of the best friendships happen through the quiet hands of serendipity. Biola says walking helps him think. I told him, “Careful, my guy, that’s how Kierkegaard started. Next thing, you’ll be writing about existential dread on the PATH train”.
Now I can go back on track, this train ain’t derailing, hopefully, the dots are connecting for you. But I couldn’t tell this story without first telling you about Perpetual. She’s one of those rare women who not only demonstrates the brilliance and grit it takes to play chess at the highest level but also embodies what it means to be a high-agency friend. A mentor to countless women across Africa, she’s the heart behind Promoting Queens — a movement dear to my heart. Let’s step into her world.
Promoting Queens, a Unicorn per Impact
Every great dream begins with a dreamer — Harriet Tubman
Promoting Queens is the passion child of WFM Perpetual Eloho Ogbiyoyo, born out of her need to give back and show other women and girls the light that chess shines on her. She believes every woman is a queen, so she uses Chess as a means to enlighten women and girls, not just promoting them, but unveiling their innate royalty.
Merely two years in, Promoting Queens has already become a force to reckon with in women’s chess across Nigeria and West Africa. When we talk about impact, few initiatives shine as brightly. Rooted in vision and powered by purpose, Promoting Queens stands as an answer to a pressing question: What happens when you dare to dream for others, not just yourself? In a world that often underestimates women, especially in fields like chess, this movement is rewriting the rules one empowered girl at a time.
While I am a partner at Promoting Queens, not merely because Perpetual is my friend and a like-minded fellow, I also wanted to do something similar to Promoting Queens, but I did not have the right motivation to do it. I am most pleased that the most capable person is anchoring such an amazing humanistic project.
18 months ago, I came to the resolve that I just can’t keep moving chess pieces with finesse without making an impact on the lives of those around me. Hence, Coach Ayo was born.
So I started pouring myself into this cause, partnering with Promoting Queens and other chess centers. But I had so much to learn still, I had no mentors and very little support.
My rise to the top of Nigerian chess was swift, but it was built on a foundation of hard losses. I played countless street games, far more than I ever spent in structured training. I learned by losing over and over until the wins finally came. But, how do I teach, coming from such an unstructured background, to women who are often focused on winning from the start?
To remedy that, We began focusing on what lies beyond chess score sheets. We realized that we could give back to women by shifting the focus away from performance and toward personal growth. Chess, for me, has never been just a game. It changed the course of my life. It gave me the chance to travel, to sharpen my mind, to make wiser decisions, and to build connections I never would have thought possible.
What Promoting Queens want for young Girls is the platform a lot of Girls and Women never had. Not to turn them all into professional players, but to help them unlock the life-changing power chess carries: confidence and resilience. That vision is exactly what birthed Promoting Queens, and on June 1st, 2025, we’ll celebrate two years of planting that vision in the hearts of girls across Africa. Our footprints are fresh on the path, yet to bloom.
The Road So Far With Promoting Queens
If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all. — Dan Rather
Promoting Queens since her inception has been at the fore of Chess outreaches, going to places where many won’t, and charting a new course and using chess as a tool to unveil the royalty in every girl. Difficult as the journey has been, we have kept it moving.
Our outreach programs have reached Jos, Enugu, Osun, and Delta, but our journey began online. Upon launch, we hosted a virtual chess training session that brought together women from across Nigeria. For a month, We had the privilege of teaching women chess, followed by an online chess tournament. Over time, we transitioned from virtual chess classes to meeting these girls/women. Meeting some of these women in person allowed us to support them beyond chess. We supported some of our girls with tech courses and provided a few of them with laptops to kickstart their tech careers.
Today, our focus remains on empowering young girls in primary and secondary schools, using chess as a gateway to education, opportunity, and lifelong growth. Only a few things bring us greater joy. This year, we expanded our reach to Kenya, beginning with just two bright young girls.
Thanks to Mr Kosi’s leadership and coordination, now we have 31 girls in the Promoting Queen’s chess club, Kenya. These girls have so much potential in chess, but never got the opportunity to explore their brilliance until now.
We sponsored them to compete in a tournament, and no surprises, they blossomed. Most outstanding were Ozella, a 7-year-old, and Lisa, who both performed beyond our expectations, even with no serious chess training. These girls have so much potentials on and off the chessboard, and we can only hope to nurture them to blossom more and more.
Our dream is to provide these girls more opportunities through chess, not just making them champions on the chessboards but in life itself. It can only get better.
Why does this matter to me?
Beyond being a professional player, representing my country, and travelling the world, Chess is my escape from the issues that bother. This is why I do this, and Promoting Queens has been my outlet for giving back.
Women stand at the heart of every great society. One day, I’ll share the story of my mum’s sacrifices that brought me to where I am today. That’s why I deeply believe in empowering women.
Chess teaches thinking skills like reasoning, analysis, and adaptability and these skills are not tagged “Men only”, so, we hope women and girls tap into these skills to feel empowered and succeed in many areas, and that’s what we are giving freely.
In chess, how you start really matters, improving your opening prep can take you more than halfway into chess mastery. While the Grandmaster title is tough to achieve, I am a firm believer that it’s not out of reach. With better infrastructure, access to quality training, and active support for young girls, Africa can produce female grandmasters, perhaps even before their male counterparts. Though we have Women Grandmasters (WGMs) in Africa, the absence of African female grandmasters stems from deeper issues that border on limited resources, cultural barriers, and economic challenges.
Also, I believe that women in chess, especially in my home country, are not promoted enough, talked about enough, or supported enough to reach the highest levels. Maybe some think women aren’t made for challenges and hardship. But true women’s empowerment is about balancing strength and resilience with gentleness and grace. #Women can play chess.
Empower a girl with Promoting Queens
We are creating a digital and real-world space where young women step beyond limits, mastering chess and their futures. This isn’t just a game, it’s a movement, a metaverse of queens building power, strategy, connections and empowerment one bold move at a time.
We stand with every woman and girl out there, the late bloomers, the underdogs, the sheepishly quiet girls in the corner, the overlooked queens, the often underestimated brainy girls.
They sit at the corners, no medals, no applause, just steadily glaring at the chessboard with their quiet minds learning. What they need isn’t saving, but support, a mentor to build their confidence.
She has lost many battles, doubted herself, and even quit, but she’s not weak, just waiting. With the right environment, the right push, and space to grow, she’ll rise quietly and powerfully. This is what we do at Promoting Queens: we unveil that brilliance that already exists in every girl.
Support and partner with Promoting Queens to help mentor, train, and inspire the next generation of bold, confident women leaders using chess as a gateway to lifelong empowerment.
We’re not just teaching a game, we’re building resilience, strategy, and skills that help women win far beyond the board. With mentorship, structure, and visibility, we’re creating a pathway for girls to rise.
Because promoting a queen is more than a chess move. It’s a powerful truth: Even the strongest piece on the board started as a pawn.
I hope you pour into this vessel that will quench the thirst of generations to come.
Till next time, stay thoughtful, stay bold, and keep moving your pieces with purpose.