Team Nigeria bowed out on a low key at 46 Fide Chess Olympiad

Team Nigeria brought the curtain down on the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sunday, with both the men’s and women’s teams finishing their 11-round campaigns outside the top 80 of their respective sections.

The Olympiad, which ran from September 16 to 27, featured 11 rounds in both the Open and Women’s competitions.

Nigeria’s Open team finished 118th overall, collecting 10 match points from five wins and six defeats. The team scored 21 game points across the competition.

The Nigerians opened the tournament with victories before experiencing an inconsistent middle phase. One of their difficult moments came in Round 6, when Vietnam defeated Nigeria 4–0.

The team recovered with important victories later in the tournament, including a 3½–½ win over Tunisia in Round 9.

However, Nigeria lost 4–0 to North Macedonia in Round 10 before closing against Hong Kong.

Nigeria went down 2½–1½ to Hong Kong in the final round. Bomo Lovet Kigigha secured Nigeria’s only win, while Odion Aikhoje and Bartholomew Okhipo lost their games; the fourth board completed the final scoreline.

Among the individual performers, Abdulrahman Akintoye and Odey Goodness Ekunke both finished on 5½ points, while Odion Aikhoje scored 4½ and Bomo Kigigha 3½.

The women’s team finished 85th, recording 11 match points from four wins, three draws and four defeats, with 24 game points.

Nigeria had a strong late surge, defeating Guatemala 3–1 in Round 10, with Deborah Quickpen, Iyefu Onoja and Sandra Omoruyi winning their games.

However, the women ended the competition with a 2½–1½ defeat to Syria. Deborah Quickpen won Nigeria’s only individual game in the final-round encounter, while Iyefu Onoja and Michelle Nwankwo lost and Sandra Omoruyi drew.

Quickpen finished with 5½ points, Omoruyi with 6½, Bridget Michael with 5½, while Michelle Nwankwo scored 4½.

Africa was represented by a sizeable group of federations in Samarkand, although the continent did not produce a team in the medal positions.

In the Open section, the best African finish came from Algeria in 80th place, followed by Angola 81st, South Africa 82nd, Madagascar 87th, Libya 90th, Uganda 91st, Mozambique 93rd, Tunisia 94th, Zambia 100th and Egypt 102nd.

Other African finishers included Kenya 104th, Botswana 111th, South Sudan 112th, Zimbabwe 115th, Nigeria 118th, Morocco 123rd, Malawi 129th, Cape Verde 130th, Liberia 131st, Sudan 135th, Somalia 136th, São Tomé and Príncipe 138th, Sierra Leone 145th, Togo 146th, Equatorial Guinea 147th, Ghana 148th, Burundi 149th, Mauritania 153rd, Senegal 154th, Gambia 156th, Namibia 158th, Ethiopia 159th, Mali 160th, Côte d’Ivoire 162nd, Gabon 164th, Lesotho 165th, Tanzania 166th, Cameroon 172nd, Guinea 178th, Comoros 179th, DR Congo 182nd, Eswatini 183rd, Djibouti 193rd, Seychelles 196th, Burkina Faso 198th, Central African Republic 203rd and Niger 204th.

The women’s section saw Egypt lead the African teams in 53rd place, followed by Angola 69th, Algeria 72nd, Uganda 79th, Nigeria 85th, Morocco 92nd, South Africa 96th, Ethiopia 97th, Mozambique 101st and Kenya 105th. Madagascar finished 108th, Tanzania 109th, Côte d’Ivoire 111th, Tunisia 112th, Botswana 113th and Zimbabwe 118th.

Further down the women’s standings were Zambia 129th, Lesotho 135th, Senegal 140th, Mauritius 141st, Malawi 142nd, Cape Verde 144th, Cameroon 147th, Eswatini 149th, Togo 150th, Sudan 153rd, Somalia 154th, Namibia 155th, Mauritania 156th, Burundi 158th, São Tomé and Príncipe 161st, Liberia 164th, Equatorial Guinea 165th, Mali 172nd, Niger 173rd, Sierra Leone 175th, DR Congo 180th, Comoros 181st, Djibouti 182nd, Chad 183rd, Seychelles 184th, Guinea 186th, South Sudan 187th, Gabon 188th and Central African Republic 189th.

At the top of the standings, Uzbekistan successfully defended its Open title, finishing first with 20 match points after winning 10 of its 11 matches. India took silver with 18 points, while Germany also finished on 18 but placed third on the tie-break.

In the women’s competition, China emerged champions, going unbeaten with nine wins and two draws for 20 match points. Kazakhstan finished second with 18 points, while India took third with 17.

The 46th Olympiad therefore ended with Uzbekistan ruling the Open section on home soil and China dominating the women’s event, while African teams departed Samarkand with another valuable international experience as the continent continues its pursuit of greater depth and stronger results on the world stage.