Nigeria’s longest-running monthly chess tournament, Chess Heights Monthly, took place all over the country on Saturday, May 4.
The event, put together by Chess Heights Foundation and Gistcom Chess, saw four players, one of whom was nine-year-old Adaora Nduji. She's the youngest and the first girl to take part this month.
Two new players, 12-year-old Badru Adefila and Ogunniyi Olubunmi, also joined in the competition for the first time.
The tournament drew in eight participants with different skill levels, from beginners to experienced players.
The contest included seven rounds of pairings, with each player facing every available opponent.
The winners were determined based on their performance in the final round.
The awardees included Nduji Adaora as the Best Female Player and Isah Usman as the Best Under 14 Player.
Soliu Hassan, Hammed Adefila, and Ogunniyi Olubunmi tied with six points, making them the joint winners for the month.
Meanwhile, in the Lagos edition,
42 players, including Oluwole Oladele, Teniola Abiola, and Michael Izuogu, vied for victory in six intense rounds of chess.
The games followed a Swiss format, with a time control of 20 minutes plus a 10-second increment from move 1.
The tournament had three categories: the open category with seven prizes, the ladies category with three prizes, and medals of gold, silver, and bronze for the under-14 category.
Students of Platform School dominated the under-14 category, winning all the medals.
Amir Obe secured the gold medal after defeating many adults, including the previous champion, Michael Izuogu, and scoring 4.5 points.
In the ladies category, Ogechi Emmanuel clinched the top spot with four points, with Odumade Yetunde and Uche Chioma securing the second and third prizes.
The main category, the open category, had seven prizes.
The seventh prize was shared by five individuals: Odusina Olufemi, Adetula Opeyemi, Ogundare Favour, Adekanye Adejuwon, and Umeodinka Chibuikem.
Michael Izuogu, Adeyinka Adewole, and Amir Obe found themselves in a three-way tie for fourth to sixth place.
Evbuomwan Efosa and Oladele Oluwole tied for the second and third positions with five points each.
Teniola Abiola emerged as the champion after winning all six games.
Teniola Abiola's victory marks his second win at this event.
Nigeria’s longest-running monthly chess tournament, Chess Heights Monthly, took place all over the country on Saturday, May 4. The event, organized by Chess Heights Foundation and Gistcom Chess, had four participants, including nine-year-old Adaora Nduji, who is the first female and youngest player to take part in this month’s event. Other players who took part for the first […]
