Chess Olympiad 2022: S. Nitin enjoying his coaching stint with Nigeria

Nitin’s enthusiasm and passion for chess was rekindled when he finished second in the Chennai Open International Grandmaster tournament in June this year.

S. Nitin at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Twenty nine-year-old S. Nitin is an International Master, who has been waiting for long to become a Grandmaster.

After becoming an IM in 2010, Nitin got a job at Southern Railway (Salem),which kept him busy. His enthusiasm and passion for chess, however, was rekindled when he finished second in the Chennai Open International Grandmaster tournament in June this year.

Soon, an offer came his way to coach the Nigerian men and women’s teams in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram and he gladly took it up.

Nitin, who is still active as a player, is making optimum use of the opportunities. The top rating of the men’s Nigerian team is 2202 (IM Okeke Issac) and for women’s it is 1748 (Suleiman Azumi Ayisha), which is not great by any yardstick.

“I met the Nigerian team after reaching here (Mamallapuram). So it was quite difficult at the start. Now they are getting used to me. I am training all the 10 players. It is not easy, but a new experience, nevertheless,” Nitin, a qualified engineer, told Sportstar.

He is all praise for the players . “I am concentrating on their openings. Nigerians are very sharp and their natural instincts are very good. They know their chess. They had issues in the openings and I am trying to sort them out,” he said.

Even as he is trying to get the Nigerian teams to perform to their best, he is focused on his own goals. “I want to become a GM soon,” he said.