NextGen Cup: An African Diaspora Chess Battle!
The NextGen Cup is a novel tournament with a $20,000 fund featuring ten master-level players throughout the African Diaspora. It will take place on chess.com on February 6th. IM Kassa Korley, a player who has his own Grandmaster aspirations, is currently employed as chess.com Director of Community. He told The Chess Drum last month that he was organizing a tournament modeled after the historic Wilbert Paige Tournament held in Harlem in 2001. That tournament featured two players participating in the NextGen Cup… IM Watu Kobese and GM Kenny Solomon.
Photos by The Chess Drum and Jerry Bibuld
The rest of the field is a mixture of players of varying ages, with two 14-year-olds in IM-elect Tanitoluwa Adewumi and Goodness Oday Ekunke. Ekunke is considered a phenom and was profiled at age 9 on Al-Jezeera. Tani’s story as a Nigerian immigrant is well-known to the chess public, but mainland Nigerians are also well-represented, and the current national champion Tersee Nyiuma will also be ready to battle!
How will the 17-year-old Nigerian champion fare?
Photo Nigeria Chess Federation
Meet amazing Ekunke goodness a 9 year old chess champion winning tournament in Nigeria and outside pic.twitter.com/rIFvIp0igb
— Nigeria Stories (@NigeriaStories) August 15, 2020
14-year-old Goodness Ekunke
Photo courtesy of Tomi Akporoghene Wojuola
The last Nigerian in the field is Tunde Onakoya, who founded the Chess in Slums initiative and has garnered global attention for his efforts. He has partnered with Gift of Chess to distribute chess materials in various countries. He recently played a match against 13-year-old phenom Deborah Quickpen and continues to provide a platform for overlooked players and underserved communities. Nigeria seeks to become the first West African nation to produce a Grandmaster.
This tournament has a nice mixture of players from three generations, all with very interesting stories. While there is only one Grandmaster in the field, the field has quite a bit of parity from top to bottom. The 14-year-olds are on opposite ends of the lineup but will be looking to take points from the field. Kobese at 51 (two GM norms) is a legend in his own right and will lead the field as the senior member. South Africa’s Kenny Solomon is the only Grandmaster in the field, but in blitz he will have his hands full against the speed and reflexes of “digital natives.”
One unheralded player would be IM Orlando Husbands, the only Caribbean participant and Barbadian multiple national champion. He won last year’s national blitz championship with 9/9. The NextGen Cup is a cutting-edge tournament designed to highlight these national heroes. It is appropriate that the tournament will take place during Black History Month.
Photos by ChessTakes, Orlando Husbands, and The Chess Drum
The NextGen Cup    |
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2025 NextGen Cup (Participants) |
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| # | Title | Player | ELO | Fed |
Flag
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Age
|
| 1 | IM | Justus Williams | 2356 | USA |
|
26
|
| 2 | FM | Tanitoluwa Adewumi | 2352 | USA |
|
14
|
| 3 | IM | Orlando Husbands | 2308 | Barbados |
|
28
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| 4 | FM | Joshua Colas | 2296 | USA |
|
26 |
| 5 | GM | Kenny Solomon | 2280 | S. Africa |
|
45
|
| 6 | NM | Tersee Nyuima | 2271 | Nigeria |
|
17 |
| 7 | IM | Watu Kobese | 2264 | S. Africa |
|
51 |
| 8 | FM | James Canty III | 2197 | USA |
|
32 |
| 9 | NM | Tunde Onakoya | 2165 | Nigeria |
|
30
|
| 10 | NM | Goodness Ekunke | 2154 | Nigeria |
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14 |