Nigeria’s longest running monthly chess tournament Chess Heights Monthly held nationwide on Saturday May 4th and Chess Heights Oyo Monthly marked its 5th consecutive month with 4 new participants including 9 year Adaora Nduji who is the only female and youngest player to feature in this month’s event in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Other players coming for the first time were 12 years old Badru Ariyo and 2 adults players Hammed Adefila and Ogunniyi Olubunmi. The tournament attracted eight participants from various skill levels, ranging from beginners to experienced players.
The tournament was organized by Chess Heights Foundation in partnership with Gistcom Chess Academy at their soon to be inaugurated training centre on the 5th Floor of Lemmy House Business Complex, Molete-Challenge Road, Ibadan. It was a great success, providing an opportunity for players to showcase their skills and compete in a friendly and competitive environment.
The event also had Mr. Badru and Mrs. Nduji, parents of some of the kids in attendance. And was officiated by Mrs. T. Adejumo a member of Chess Arbiters of Nigeria.
The tournament consisted of 7 rounds of Round-Robbins pairings, with each player competing against all available opponents. The games were played with a time control of 20min plus 10 seconds from the first move, allowing for intense and strategic gameplay. After the final round, the winners were determined based on their performance throughout the tournament.
The winners of the tournament are as follows:
Best Female player 9 years old Nduji Adaora,
Best under 14 player Isah Usman
3 players Soliu Hassan, Hammed Adefila and Ogunniyi Olubunmi tied on 6 points to emerge joint winners for the month.
