Nigeria Chess Teams Aim for Strong Comeback in Round 7

Nigeria’s men’s and women’s chess teams will look to bounce back from their Round 6 defeats when they return to action at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The Nigerian men will face Libya in Round 7, with both teams going into the encounter on six match points. Nigeria, however, have a slight advantage on board points, leading Libya 11½-10½ after six rounds.

The closely matched encounter comes after Nigeria suffered their third defeat of the competition on Monday, losing 4-0 to Vietnam.

Bomo Kigigha, Abdulrahman Akintoye Abdulraheem, Odion Aikhoje and Odey Goodness Ekunke all lost their respective games against Vietnam.

The defeat followed Nigeria’s impressive 3½-½ victory over Malawi in Round 5, after they had earlier suffered a defeat to Cuba in Round 4. Kigigha drew on board one against Malawi, while Akintoye, Aikhoje and Ekunke secured victories.

Aikhoje and Ekunke had both accumulated 3½ points from their opening five games before their defeats to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian women will take on Suriname as they seek to recover from their 3-1 defeat to Austria in Round 6.

The women had earlier played out a 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic in Round 5 before suffering their first defeat in three rounds against Austria.

Michelle Chiamaka Nwankwo, who had secured a win against the Czech Republic, also lost her game against Austria, while Deborah Quickpen and Sandra Omoruyi were defeated. Bridget Michael secured Nigeria’s only point in the 3-1 loss.

After six rounds, both Nigerian teams have six match points. The men have recorded three wins and three defeats, while the women have two wins, two draws and two losses.

With five rounds remaining, Wednesday’s fixtures offer both teams an opportunity to respond to their Round 6 setbacks and improve their positions in the standings.

The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad is scheduled to run until September 27, with 11 rounds in the team competition.