Nigerian Chess Players Ready for Olympiad Challenge

Nigerian chess players at the 46th FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, are excited and ready to make their mark as the competition starts on Wednesday. The Nigerian team flew to Uzbekistan on Monday night with Turkish Airlines. The players include a mix of experienced competitors and young talents aiming to shine at this important global event.

Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, Nigeria’s top chess player, aims to win a medal in his category. He believes the team has what it takes to compete strongly in Samarkand.
“Personally, my expectation is to play the best chess that I possibly can, and hopefully, we can win a category medal,” he said.
“I think Team Nigeria is quite strong. We have some experienced veterans as well as some very young players, so I believe we can do very well at the Olympiad,” he added.

Nigeria is sending a total of 10 players to the Olympiad, five men and five women. The men’s team includes Abdulraheem, Bomo Kigigha, who will be making his eighth appearance at the Olympiad, Ekunke Goodness, Bartholomew Okhipo, and Odion Aikhoje. The women’s team has Deborah Quickpen, Michelle Nwankwo, Sandra Omoruyi, Bridget Michael, and Joy Iyefu.

At just 15 years old, Goodness Ekunke is one of the youngest players on the team. He will be making his Olympiad debut after winning the World Rapid Amateur Chess Championship in Abuja last month. Goodness is calm about his first global experience and says he is ready to give his best.
“I don’t think I’ll feel any pressure, actually. I’ll just stay relaxed and free, but I’ll also perform very well,” Goodness said.
“We’ll perform better than we have ever performed before, and we won’t have any poor performances,” he declared.

Another young player, Michelle Nwankwo, is also eager to compete at the Olympiad. Deborah Quickpen shared that her preparation has helped boost her confidence before the tournament. Quickpen has been getting ready mentally for this moment, even before she was officially chosen to represent Nigeria.

“I’m confident that I’ll be able to handle the pressure because I was already preparing for the Olympiad before I even knew I would be selected,” Quickpen said.
“I believe I’ll do well, by God’s grace. It’s not by my power, but I’m also going to do my best and play my part. I also believe my teammates will do their part as well.”

The Olympiad will run from September 15 to 27. It features a record 400 national teams competing in the Open and Women’s sections at the Silk Road International Tourist Center/EXPO Center in Samarkand. The competition kicks off on Wednesday when Team Nigeria starts their journey to win medals.