The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Chess Player of the Year, Philip Selikem Yao Amoako and on Tuesday called on the Editor of the Ghanaian Times newspaper, Mr.David Agbenu.
Accompanied by his parents, Mr. Dennis Amoako, a Quantity Surveyor and Dr. Emefa Takyi-Amoako, an Educationist, they presented the SWAG award and other trophies and medals won in his burgeoning career.
The visit was also to seek the support of the newspaper in bringing to light the exploits of the 11-year old who is set to make Ghana proud on the international stage.
This comes after Philip was adjudged the Best Chess Player of the Year at the 46th MTN SWAG Awards last Friday for winning a silver medal at the 2021 African Youth Chess Championships.
Welcoming them, The Editor, Mr. Agbenu lauded the Chess prodigy for his remarkable achievements as well as the parent for the support offered the young player.
“I am very happy to hear about the adventure of this young boy. As a media house, we’ll open our pages to promote him; anything that he is doing.We are prepared to promote him and follow him through his competitions,” he indicated.
Sharing his experience with the sport, Mr. Agbenu recounted his son’s interest in the game which was eventually ‘killed’ because despite the support they offered him by buying a board for him, there were no friends to play with.
He said Philip can lead the crusade to make sure that Ghana wins more awards, emphasizing that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should mainstream Chess in the curriculum as it enhance the intellectual capacity of students and reiterated that “Chess is not only a game but a tool for learning.”
The mother, Dr Emefa Takyi-Amoako said Philip was introduced to the game at the age of five, after three years of practice with imaginary opponents because both parents were not familiar with the game.
“We were amazed by his desire to play after his three year practice so we finally decided to allow him to participate in a tournament which to our surprise yielded good results,” she said.
She said, after that, young Philip was described by the older and more experienced players as a ‘creative player’.
Dr Takyi-Amoako added that chess had so much benefits which would help develop the mental capacity of children and urged parents to introduce the game to their wards.
The father, Mr. Dennis Amoako appealed to the government and philanthropists to support Philip’s dream to achieve the Grandmaster title and carry the flag of Ghana high.
BY JESSEL LARTEY THERSON-COFFIE & CONNIELOVE MAWUTORNYO DZODZEGBE
