After a momentary setback in the second round fixtures, Nigerian team to the ongoing World Chess Olympiad in Chennia, India bounced back to reckoning with convincing wins against Mauritania and Palestine in the third round of the events yesterday.
In the Open section, the male team had Isaac Okeke on board one and displaced Yahi Mohammed Salem just as Bomo Kigigha on board two in white pieces defeated Cheikha Mohamed Lemme to give Nigeria two points lead.
Veteran start player, Adebayo Adegboyega extended the lead on board three in black pieces with a brilliant win against Boidiya Side and Akinseye Abiola completed the perfect score for Nigeria with his win against Mohammed Abdrachim Taleb to give the nation a 4-0 win.
In female Nigeria won 3-1 against Palestine after Enomah Emmanuel Trust overcame Alhmouri Sara on board one just as Ofowino Toritsemuwa proved better on board two with another win against Heba Assi and Ogbiyoyo Perpetual Eloho extended the gap with a brilliant win against Enma Sawan but Onoja Iyefu lost on board four to Taqwa Hamouri and reduced the score line to 3-1.
The result of the matches means that Nigeria will face stiff opposition tonight in the the11-round Swiss event pairing tournament as teams with higher scores and match points face each other as the tournament progresses.
As of the last round, Ukraine is joint top in the Open section with India Team two, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Argentina, Georgia, Cuba, Montenegro, and Canada with four match points and eight board points.
