Of Words and Games

I saw The Queens Gambit on 
Netflix yesterday and fell in love 
with the show immediately 
It is about a female chess prodigy 
and her rise (struggles too) 
The show reminds me of 
Mr Anthony Olumeko, our neighbor 
when we were living at Alagbayun 
(Ashi) area, Ibadan. 
When we moved into
That flat in 1988, I had never heard 
of Chess before. 
My parents were consummate Scrabble 
players and I practically grew up 
learning my alphabets on the scrabble 
board. 
Mr Anthony had traveled the world 
(sponsored by the Catholic Church) 
He had planned to be a priest but 
changed
His mind for a reason he never told 
me. 
Two weeks after we moved into the 
new apartment, he saw me in the 
compound and invited me into his flat. 
I went in and he showed me a lot of 
gadgets and pictures of his sojourn. 
Then I saw a chess-board and asked 
him what that was and he
Told me to sit down and taught me 
how to play immediately 
He showed me the pieces and how 
they moved and we played I won 
our first game 
He laughed and called it beginners 
luck 
I won the second game and he gave
 me the chess board 
That was how I started playing 
I love playing chess but scrabble 
was the game I truly excelled in. 
I discovered the scrabble dictionary
 at The Polythecnic Ibadan, Eruwa 
Campus in 1999. 
Before then I played with a regular 
dictionary. 
One look at the scrabble dictionary 
and I realized I hadn’t even been 
playing “scrabble” all my life. 
The players were preparing for NIPOGA 
games and I was able to watch them 
train Eventually I got to play and I 
picked up fast 
When I got to Bowen University I heard 
an announcement one day at the chapel 
that there was a scrabble club for 
interested players 
I ignored it!
When I got to 200 level, there was 
an announcement that Bowen University’s 
sport team will be going to Covenant 
University to play friendlies. 
The school announced that each player 
will get a daily allowance and all. 
I met the coach at the library. 
He was reading a newspaper, I
asked him about the games and he 
said they had filled up the slot for 
scrabble players 
I told him to arrange a game between 
me and the best players he had selected. 
He asked me if I was joking. 
I said no. 
He called them. 
We played. 
I won. I got to go to Covenant university! 
And subsequently I got to play at 
Igbinedion University and Leeds City University. 
It was fun. 
I won medals and got to make many friends 
but that was it for me. 
I used to have dreams of “going pro” but 
I had to face reality when I met some of 
my brothers from Calabar who played the
game constantly and excellently 
Nigerians are gifted at everything. 
I still have my boards at home. 
The one my father sent to me in 2005 and 
the one I bought when I was teaching 
people to play at Roseway guest house, 
Mile 12, Lagos but I have no one to play 
with at the moment
My children are just learning and all 
the adults around me are busy doing life! 
So I play with the Holy Spirit the way 
chess players play the game in their heads 
and I am yet to beat him even once! 
His win is my win, so I don’t mind