Team Nigeria Bounce Back in Round 8 as Men Crush Guyana, Women Dominate Lesotho

By Maxwell Kumoye

Team Nigeria bounced back strongly in Round 8 of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with both the Open and Women’s teams recording convincing 3½–½ victories on Thursday.

The Nigerian men produced an impressive response after suffering a 3–1 defeat to Libya in Round 7, defeating Guyana 3½–½ to return to winning ways.

FM Bomo Lovet Kigigha, FM Abdulrahman Akintoye Abdulraheem and FM Odey Goodness Ekunke all secured victories for Nigeria, while Bartholomew Emmanuel Okhipo drew his game against Anthony Drayton.

The victory moved Nigeria to eight match points after eight rounds. The Nigerian men entered the tournament as the 84th seed in the Open section.

The women also enjoyed a successful outing, defeating Lesotho 3½–½.

WFM Deborah Ebimobo-ere Quickpen drew her game against WFM Bonolo Ntsielo, while Iyefu Joy Onoja, Sandra Osarugue Omoruyi and Bridget Michael recorded victories for Nigeria.

The result took the Nigerian women to eight match points, with the team placed 83rd after eight rounds.

…Nigeria Face Tunisia and Zambia in Round 9

The Nigerian men will face Tunisia in Round 9 on Friday, September 25, at 3:00 p.m. local time.

Tunisia also has eight match points heading into the encounter, setting up another important African contest for Nigeria.

The Nigerian women will take on Zambia, with both teams also entering the ninth round on eight match points.
Their encounter is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

With the tournament entering its closing stages, both Nigerian teams will be aiming to build on their Round 8 victories and finish the 11-round Olympiad strongly.

The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad is scheduled to conclude on September 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.