I’ve Embraced Chess As Part Of My Life – Deborah Quickpen

She was one of the outstanding athletes at the maiden Niger Delta Sports Festival where she won three gold medals. 13-year-old Deborah Quickpen after winning the Rapid, Blitz and Team Event for Bayelsa State spoke to Saturday Telegraph’s CHARLES OGUNDIYA, saying her target now is to regain her national title at the Nigeria National Chess Championship. Excerpts:

How does it feel winning three gold medals at the maiden Niger Delta Sports Festival?
I feel very happy and honored to be in Uyo for the first time and I hope this tournament (NDSF) can happen again and many more events to come.

Going back to your first ever festival, National Sports Festival in 2018, you were just six, how has it been between then and now?
Well, it has been tough, really, to get into tournaments, sponsors, funds, but my parents keep on supporting me and I’m really grateful for that, but the journey is not yet over. I still have a lot to go forward, so I hope I achieve my dream of becoming a Grandmaster.

This NDSF, what do you think it can do for athletes, especially those younger ones of your age?
It will actually encourage more young people to come into sports, especially Chess and that will be very good for the future of the game. It will also bring awareness to Chess in Nigeria and around the world.

In 2018 you are six, but you’ve been to all the NSF and Youth Games since then and several other tournaments across the world despite just 13 now, how easy or difficult has it been for you trying to match up with school, practice and competition?
Well, it has been difficult but there are programmes for me when I get back to school so that I will be able to catch up in school.

You have been to several countries for competition at this your young age, playing against both young and old, have been intimidated before?
No, nothing like that. It has always been me ready to go for anything because my parents always told me that I should not be scared of anyone. I should go and play with confidence and just play with anything that comes. I should play with it and that’s how I’ve been living my life and I’ll continue to live my life like that. I’ll always have confidence when I’m playing any kind of game. I face anyone, even if you’re a Grandmaster if you’re a beginner anyone I play, I do so with seriousness and confidence.

You played in the NSF and NYG, which one do you look forward to?
I always look forward to playing the National Sports Festival more because I’m part of the top people in my state as well, the top females in my state. So I always look forward to going to the National Sports Festival and making my state proud, myself and my parents proud.

What makes Chess special?
Well, it’s a very, very critical game although it’s very complicated but it also brings peace to me. For me, it shares love as well. Although chess looks like a game of war but if you have sportsmanship you’d understand how chess is played.

How has playing Chess been helping you academically?
Well, I will say Chess has helped me a lot. Physically in my life, in decisions like this, I’m making decisions and even in my academics as well because chess is a game of education, it has connection with calculations, like mathematics and it actually helps me too.

Would you say due to Chess, you are very good in mathematics and other science subjects?
Yes, I would say I’m good in mathematics and almost all the science subjects although I’m still struggling a bit with some subjects but not all of them but most of the science subjects I could say I’m really good at that.

As a chess player, education wise, what do you hope to become?
I plan to study medicine and become a doctor. I am inspired by a grandmaster from Egypt. His name is Bassem Amin. He’s a Grand Master and also a medical doctor. He got his PhD so I can do better than him and I hope I do actually.

So, is he your role model in the game?
My role model is a Grandmaster, Judit Polgár, she’s from Hungary. She became the youngest female grandmaster in the world at the age of 16 and I hope to be better than her, hopefully breaking the record even before I am 15.

How close are you to that dream and how do you plan to achieve it?
Although I lost my national title, but I hope I can get it back. And also to achieve being a Grandmaster I have to go for international trips, tournaments around the world actually to get that and also keep training, practicing, studying and that will actually help me and the only way to really achieve that Grandmaster title is to play international tournaments and tournaments within my country as well.

What has been the support like to your journey in chess?
It has been really, really fantastic and great. My parents supported me, my state supported me and a lot of people supported me and I’m really grateful for that.

Despite all that you have achieved, how do you relate with people?
I still look at myself at the same level as my age mate because I can’t underrate anybody. One of the lessons in Chess, you can’t underrate even generally in sports you can’t underrate anyone and I don’t do that. I play the same way I’ll play with Grandmaster, that same way I’ll play my age mates and I take every game seriously.

So what has been the relationship with your friends, has it changed from when you have not achieved anything in sport?
No, it has not changed. I encourage my friends. I actually teach some of my friends in school how to play chess and some of them are making great improvements in it. Although it’s not all of them that support me, but I don’t mind. I still have people that support me in my chess career. So I still go on with it.

You said the only way to achieve your goal is by going for international tournaments, how do you want to achieve this?
Well, I have a sponsor, his name is Yemi Edun, the CEO of Daniel Ford International. He is into Real Estate in Lagos and UK. He has been the one supporting me ever since I went to Accra Ghana for the African individuals and he’s still supporting me even for the tournament I went in Georgia, USA. The tournament in Georgia was an event for U-8 to U-12, he supported me there, although I didn’t perform well but he still encouraged me and I’m grateful for that.

You played against the Guinness World Record holder for the longest marathon chess game and founder of Chess in Slums Africa, Tunde Onakoya, and it ended in a draw. How do you feel achieving such fear?
I was never under pressure playing with him because before the day of the match I went to his house to play a bullet game with him and I saw his game pattern and the way he plays and even before I went to his house, I already knew about him and I saw the way he plays so I wasn’t really scared of him, I just decided to play my game and see how it goes. I was really happy although I was losing 4-1 but I equalized 4-4 and it was fun. It was very interesting.

What was his words to you personally after that epic game?
He said that I should keep on pushing, that I have a very bright future, great talent, that I am a shining light that cannot be deemed, that I should keep on pushing myself, that I will get there.

At home I was made to understand you play both Chess and Scrabble, why did you settle for Chess?
I don’t really play scrabble well that much now because I chose chess. First of all. I had passion for it. I really wanted to know what the piece is and I knew I wanted to go deeper into the game so I decided to choose chess instead of scrabble.

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You have your brother playing the game too, how good is he?
He’s actually as good as I am. He wins me sometimes. I beat him as well. But I get more wins against him. I hardly lose to him now. But then we both beat one another and we improve, train together and study together.

Like you said, you have your school support, can you describe sport generally in your school?
Well, they encourage education and sport as well. The principal gives me the privilege to go out for tournaments and when I come back I’ll attend my programmes to catch up.

Do you see yourself moving abroad to continue your education?
I really hope so and I’m praying to God for that. I will leave the country probably to the US or UK.