Nigeria has travelled to Samarkand for the 46th FIDE World Chess Olympiad, taking a 10-player delegation that combines seasoned competitors with promising young talent.
Key takeaways
- The Olympiad will run from 15 to 27 September, with games starting on 16 September.
- A record 400 national teams are set to compete in the Open and Women’s tournaments.
- Nigeria’s delegation contains five male and five female players.
- Abdulrahman Abdulraheem is targeting a category medal after becoming Nigeria’s highest-rated player.
- Teenager Ekunke Goodness will make her Olympiad debut after winning the World Rapid Amateur Chess Championship in Abuja.
Nigeria heads to Samarkand
The squad departed Lagos on Monday night on a Turkish Airlines flight. Its journey included a planned one-hour, 30-minute layover in Istanbul before the onward trip to Uzbekistan.
The event’s opening ceremony is scheduled for 15 September, while the first round will take place the next day. Matches will be staged at the Silk Road International Tourist Center/EXPO Center in Samarkand, with 22 September set aside as a rest day.
The Open and Women’s sections will feature a record field of 400 national teams.
Nigeria’s men’s lineup consists of Bomo Kigigha, Ekunke Goodness, Bartholomew Okhipo, Abdulrahman Abdulraheem and Odion Aikhoje. The women’s team comprises Deborah Quickpen, Chiamaka Michelle Nwankwo, Sandra Omoruyi, Bridget Michael and Joy Iyefu.
Ejiro Thukson IV, the delegation’s secretary-general, is heading the group. Bunmi Olape and Adeyinka Adewole are travelling as team officials.
Players set medal ambitions
Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, now Nigeria’s top-ranked player, described the tournament as an important stage in his career following his rise to the national number-one position. His personal objective is to produce his strongest chess and help secure a category medal.
He also expressed confidence in the squad, pointing to the presence of experienced players alongside younger members and saying that combination could deliver a strong Nigerian showing.
Bomo Kigigha is preparing for his eighth Olympiad and is hoping to relive the success of 2012, when Nigeria collected a category prize. He believes the current team has the quality to win that honour again.
At 15, Ekunke Goodness is one of the newcomers to the squad. She enters the competition after capturing the World Rapid Amateur Chess Championship in Abuja in August. Goodness said she intended to remain calm, avoid pressure and produce a performance beyond Nigeria’s previous efforts, with no room for disappointing displays.
Chiamaka Michelle Nwankwo, who has been playing chess for between five and six years, said selection had brought both joy and a sense of duty. She called representing Nigeria at the Olympiad an exceptional opportunity, but stressed the need to remain mentally strong and focused throughout the games.
Deborah Quickpen said her psychological preparation began before she knew whether she would be selected. That work, she believes, will help her cope with the pressure in Samarkand. She hopes to perform well, while acknowledging that success will require her own effort and a full contribution from every teammate.
Quickpen added that the team was hopeful of bringing the prize back to Nigeria, expressing that belief in faith-based terms.
Once play begins in Samarkand, Nigeria will test its blend of established experience and emerging ability against the leading chess nations in the world.
