Chess Olympiad: Nigeria Bounce Back As Men Crush Guyana, Women Overpower Lesotho

Team Nigeria returned to winning ways at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the Open and Women’s teams recording convincing victories in Round 8 on Thursday.

The Nigerian men responded strongly to their Round 7 defeat to Libya, beating Guyana 3½–½ to move to eight match points after eight rounds.

FM Bomo Lovet Kigigha, FM Abdulrahman Akintoye Abdulraheem and FM Odey Goodness Ekunke secured victories for Nigeria, while Bartholomew Emmanuel Okhipo held Anthony Drayton to a draw.

Nigeria, who entered the Open section as the 84th seed, will now face Tunisia in Round 9 on Friday.

Tunisia also have eight match points, setting up a closely contested African encounter scheduled for 3pm local time.

The Nigerian women equally returned to winning ways, defeating Lesotho 3½–½ to take their tally to eight match points.

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

The result placed Nigeria 83rd in the women’s section after eight rounds.

The Nigerian women will face Zambia in Round 9, with both teams also going into the encounter on eight match points. Their meeting is scheduled for 3pm on Friday.

With three rounds remaining after Round 9, both Nigerian teams will be seeking to build on their Round 8 victories and finish the 11-round competition strongly.

The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad concludes in Samarkand on September 27.