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Lekan
Adeyemi, who coached the Nigerian team to the last FIDE World Chess
Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, will next month be in England
after he was selected to officiate at the annual Hastings International
Chess Congress.

Adeyemi, the only
FIDE Instructor in the west African sub-region, is the only African
invited to officiate at the annual chess tournament, which will come up
from December 27 and run till January 6, 2011.

In the letter of
invitation sent to Adeyemi by Stewart Reuben, the Director of Hastings
Premier Tournament, Rueben acknowledged the fact that Adeyemi remains
one of the few active international arbiters in Africa and will be at
Hastings as there was a need to ensure that all the continents are
fully represented at the 10-day event.

Adeyemi was the
venue manager of the chess event of the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja
and handled the country’s women’s team to win three gold medals at the
last All Africa Games held in Algeria in 2007.

The following year he led the women’s team to a bronze medal finish at the Chess Olympiad held in Dresden, Germany.

“I am really
delighted to be the first Nigerian arbiter to be selected to officiate
at the Hasting tournament and I promise to keep the flame burning
thought out the 10-day competition,” said Adeyemi.

The Hastings
International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes
place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year.

The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament.

Alongside the main event there is the challengers’ section, which is
open to all players, with the eventual winner earning an invitation to
take part in the following year’s Premier tournament.