Nigeria returns from Chess Olympiad with bronze

By Ifeanyi Ibeh


October 8, 2010

Nigeria’s men’s and women’s teams to the just concluded 39th World Chess Olympiad both finished a respectable third place in their respective categories at the end of the championship which took place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

In the men’s category, the Nigerian team, consisting of Bunmi Olape, Charles Campbell, Olamide Ajibowo, Inimo Kigigha and Ajibola Olanrewaju, churned out a series of consistent performances in the championship’s category E to place behind Zambia and Pakistan. In the women’s category, where Rachael Dappa, Rosemary Amadasun, Tobi Olatunji, Funmi Akinola and Vivian Dzaayem flew Nigeria’s flag with honour, they finished in third place behind Jamaica and Qatar, which was a much better performance than was the case at the last edition in Dresden, Germany where they placed a distant seventh position.

More experience needed

The men’s team final position in Russia was however a spot behind the second place finish they achieved in Germany. The leader of ‘Team Nigeria’ to the Chess Olympiad, Sani Mohammed, said that the players may have performed better if they have been exposed to more international competition prior to the tournament. “The team that participated in the tournament was largely made up of players appearing in only their first international tournament,” he said. “But they were selected to represent the nation based on their respective performance during the trial process. But if we can continue like this, we have the potentials to make better grading at other international competitions including the next All Africa Games in Zambia next year.”

The coach of the team, Lekan Adeyemi, expressed confidence that all the players to the Chess Olympiad will be pre-tournament favourites when next a tournament takes place in Nigeria owing to the experience they have garnered over the course of the world championship. “Before we travelled many people expressed doubts on the ability of the team but I have a strong belief that they will excel because they made their mark during the trial organised in Lagos and if they can be exposed to more tournaments outside the country it will be a blessing to the country in the long run,” he said.

Aside the bronze medals won by the country’s teams, Ajibowo also bagged a FIDE Master title just as Charles Campbell bagged a Candidate Master title for the four points he made playing on board three. Forty countries took part in this year’s Chess Olympiad, which is the biggest event in the sports’ calendar.