Adu, Kigigha, others to represent Nigeria at World Chess Olympiad

International Master, Oladapo Adu (2314), and FIDE Master, Bomo Kigigha (2328), are among eight players who will represent Nigeria at the 42nd World Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year.
The Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF) said the other male players are FIDE Master, Daniel Anwuli (2338), Candidate Master, Adeyinka Adesina (2286), and Ochuko Emuakpeje (2272).
The five female players who qualified for the tournament are Omolola Sadiku (1910), Deborah Akintoye (1856), Toritsemuwa Ofowino (1779), Olufunmilayo Akinola (1751), and Mandy Enarevba (1710).
The tournament will hold in Baku, the birth place of former World Chess Champion, Gary Kasparov, from September 1 to 15.
Most pundits see the method of selection by NCF as a clear departure from the past when a traditional Olympiad trial held sway.
However, NCF Technical Director, Bode Durotoye, explained that the qualification was based on the current FIDE rating list released on June 1 and the activeness of players in tournaments in a calendar year.
“In the past, we invited players for either open trial or selected trial based on their ratings but we have realised that it’s more like a tournament that only produces winners by any means rather than the genuine form of an individual,” he said.
In the last two years, the NCF board lead by Lekan Adeyemi, in collaboration with the Chess Players Association of Nigeria (CPAN) has organised several rated tournaments, which are unprecedented in the history of the cerebral sport in the country.
Players have been more active in recent times to give way to selection-based of merit over time rather than producing tournament winners, which is subjective most times.
Adeyemi also explained that the over 30 FIDE rated tournaments in the past one and a half years are enough to get the best players and camp them for training before the Chess Olympiad.
“We need to get the players in camp before the event in Baku, and based on the report from the technical committee all hands must be on deck to ensure a good outing by the players.
“As a former athlete, I feel for all those who missed out but we can only be fair enough to everybody.”
Plans are underway to get the team in camp in mid-August but the venue was yet to be decided at press time.