Team Nigeria bounce back in Round 8 as men crush Guyana, women dominate Lesotho
Team Nigeria produced a strong response in Round 8 of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with both the Open and Women’s teams recording convincing victories on Thursday.
The Nigerian men were particularly impressive, defeating Guyana 3½–½ to return to winning ways after their 3–1 defeat to Libya in Round 7.
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 result lifted Nigeria to 8 match points after eight rounds. Nigeria entered the tournament as the 84th seed in the Open section.
The women also enjoyed a productive Round 8, defeating Lesotho 3½–½.
WFM Deborah Ebimobo-ere Quickpen drew with WFM Bonolo Ntsielo, while Iyefu Joy Onoja, Sandra Osarugue Omoruyi and Bridget Michael recorded wins for Nigeria. The victory took the Nigerian women to 8 match points, with the team sitting 83rd after eight rounds.
Nigeria’s 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 a closely matched African battle.
The Nigerian women will take on Zambia, with both teams entering the ninth round on eight match points. Their encounter is also scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday.
With only three rounds remaining after Round 9, both Nigerian teams will be looking to build on their Round 8 victories and finish the 11-round Olympiad strongly.
The 46th Olympiad ends September 27 in Samarkand.
