Dapo Adu dominates Africa’s Zone 4.4 Championships

Round 1

Round one was very much explosive as it lived up to the expectations of the host, all the games in this round were decisive as there were no drawn games, FM ANWULI Daniel of Nigeria defeated ADU JNR Lionel of Ghana on board one, FM KIGIGHA Bomo (Nigeria ) in a very long and balanced game managed to swindle and won a hard fighting Togolese National Champion CM EPHOEVI-GA Adama Mawulikplimi. EBONGUE Emile (Cameroun) lost to the winner of the last edition IM ADU Oladapo (Nigeria), board four witnessed a very interesting game where OFOWINO Toritsemuwa, a female player held a higher rated CM BALOGUN Oluwafemi in a very long game of the French Defence before the latter eventually swindled and got the full point off the game. FM DEGONDO Simplice Armel of Ivory Coast won a very fancy game against ARKO-DADZIE George Kweku (Ghana). Find here: full results of Round 1.

Round 2

The African zone 4.4 individual tournament entered its third day on the 30th of March 2016, with very interesting games in round two. FM Anwuli Daniel of Nigeria who is the top seed in the tournament had a very tough time against the calm Camerounian top rated player FM Ebosse Kingue Victor Patrick in a dispute over the Sicilian defence Najdof where Anwuli employed the Sozin attack, he was eventually able to pick the full point in a two Bishop and Rook vs two Rooks ending on board one. Manan Yoboue Herman (2104) of Ivory coast with the white pieces defeated the 2363 rated Nigeria FM Bomo Kigigha in the biggest upset of the round, FM Bomo employed the scandinavian defence (main line) but he was not able to solve his opening problems as the Ivorian was in his elements dishing out straight forwards moves towards the enemy king in a tactical melee. International master Dapo Adu (Nigeria) who employed the English opening as white could only get a draw on board three against the Ghanaian star player International Master Anquandah Francis Eric in a game where the Nigerian IM had considerable material advantage in the ending but IM Anquandah who was very resourceful was able to find draw by perpetual checks on the king. Odeh Kenneth (Nigeria) lost to CM Balogun Oluwafemi who successfully used a pet line the Pirc defence on board four while 2184 rated Abimbola Osunfuyi (Nigeria) could only manage to get a draw with CM Thompson Edward Nii Lamptey 1890 (Ghana) in a Ruy Lopez set up. On board 14 Nigerian female player Ofowino Toritsemuwa with the white pieces defeated Attah Elikem Kofi (Ghana) using a very interesting London set up. See the full results of Round 2.

Round 3

In Round three which showed what seemed to be a resolution by the other countries in the Zone 4.4 to strongly challenge and perhaps stop the dominance of Nigerian players in the zone, top Ivorian FM Degondo Simplice Armel (2140) stunned The Nigerian 2249 rated CM Balogun Oluwafemi on from the black side of the King’s Indian attack on Board two while his second 2104 shocked yet another Nigerian FM Onovughe Ochuko Emmanuel on board three to send a very strong message as two Ivorian together with the highest rated FM Daniel Anwuli of Nigeria are the three players remaining on perfect score with 3 out of 3. See the full results of Round 3.

Round 4

The tournament got more exciting as we had superb clashes in round 4. With Nigeria and tournament highest ranked FM Anwuli Daniel tackling the Ivorian highest ranked point man FM Degondo Simplice Armel on board one, Daniel got the full point off the game while IM ADU Oladapo halted the other Ivorian MANAN Yoboue Hermann winning streak by beating him with the black pieces. FM KIGIGHA Bomo in a very long but controlled game dismissed FM EBOSSE Kingue Victor Patrick also from the black side. See full results of Round 4.

Round five is going to be highly tense as IM ADU Oladapo (winner of the last edition and the Zone’s representative at the last FIDE World Chess Cup) shall be seeking to stop the top seed and tournament favourite FM ANWULI Daniel who remains the only player at the event with a perfect score of 4 points out of a possible 4, another tough clash will be on board 2 between FM DEGONDO Simplice Armel (Ivory Coast) and FM KIGIGHA Bomo (Nigeria), board 3 will see CM BALOGUN Oluwafemi (Nigeria) facing MANAN Yoboue Hermann (Ivory Coast).

Round 5

In round five the top boards in particular witnessed very instructive games from the top players of various countries in the zone trying to move up the ranking ladder. It is pertinent to note that all the games in round five were decisive as there were no draws, this is an indication that this is event is getting more competitive and every one is ready for glory from the lowest board to the highest. A very determined International Master Oladapo Adu defeated fellow Nigerian and tournament top seed and favourite FM Daniel Anwuli on board one in a very tensed encounter, Adu the winner of the last edition carried out his assault in a queen side raid putting pressure on the b and c file. On board two it was another interesting encounter as FM KIGIGHA Bomo (Nigeria) using the black pieces was able to beat FM DEGONDO Simplice Armel (Ivory Coast), it was a sweet victory for the Nigerian who was happy to avenge his defeat in the hands of the Ivorian in the last edition in Togo (2015). CM BALOGUN Oluwafemi (Nigeria) using the Kings Indian attack had a long battle with the MANAN Yoboue Hermann (Ivory coast) on board three, he was however able to claim the full point in a Bishop and Knight Vs Rook ending where it was a matter of technique to convert the win. Board four witnessed a battle for supremacy between the old and the new school, Mr ERHABOR David representing the old school lost in a very tough contest against FM OSUNFUYI Abimbola. The biggest upset of the round took place on board seven where 1793 elo female player from Nigeria OFOWINO Toritsemuwa with the black pieces defeated CM KAMARA Ansumana elo 2015 of Sierra Leone in a very interesting display of chess intelligence sending a signal that female chess in the zone must be encouraged and taken more seriously. Full results of Round 5.

Round 6

The sixth round of the tournament saw a clash of the dominating Nigerians with decisive results on the top seven boards, International Master ADU Oladapo (Nigeria) continued his impressive run on board by beating hard fighting FM KIGIGHA Bomo who deployed his pet line, the English opening in the encounter which lasted for about 5 hours before a queen side assault delivered IM Adu the full point. On board two there was a very tough battle between top seed FM ANWULI (Nigeria) and CM BALOGUN (Nigeria) in a dispute over the Pirc defence, the FM started a ferocious attack on the queen side with the CM having to defend and make prophylactic moves, patiently observing a watching brief for a long time before his counter attack proved effective as he was able to deliver the final blow to beat FM ANWULI in the longest game of the round, FM OSUNFUYI Abimbola defeated FM ONOVUGHE Ochuko Emmanuel on board three while CM OYAMA Ekok with the black pieces beat FM DEGONDO Simplice Armel on board four. Full results of Round 6.

Pairings for Round 7.

Round 7

The Ghana individual chess championships entered its 7th round and the heat is on on the top boards as International Master Oladapo Adu (Nigeria) on 5.5 points maintained the top board as FM OSUNFUYI Abimbola ‘s solid Caro kann defence could not unseat the Defending champion , IM Oladapo Adu won in a very closely contested game when Osunfuyi cracked under time pressure. CM BALOGUN Oluwafemi (Nigeria) on 5 points deployed the Kings Indian attack to beat the Ghanaian CM MENSAH Joseph Jamena in a balanced game which was determined by superior end game play. CM OYAMA Ekok (Nigeria) using the English opening lost with the white pieces against FM ANWULI Daniel (Nigeria) after picking a seemingly free pawn which displaced his queen costing him three tempos to get the “lady” back into the game, the FM used the time lost by his opponent to begin a deadly kingside pawn storm which proved decisive. IM ANQUANDAH Francis Eric (Ghana) lost on board 4 against FM KIGIGHA Bomo while FM EBOSSE Kingue Victor Patrick (Cameroon) lost on board 5 to a very impressive and all fired up ADU JNR Lionel of Ghana who has already satisfied the conditions for the award of the Candidate Master title but is aiming for more (the FM title).

The female players has also been very impressive at the event OFOWINO Toritsemuwa of Nigeria has been playing strongly but lost in round seven to remain on 3 points, AYIKU Angela Naa Amerley of Ghana has been playing good chess following the basic principles to arrive at a playable good positions in the middle game but has not been lucky to get a point so far at the event. Full results of Round 7.

Round 8

In the penultimate round of the 2016 Zone 4.4 Individual Chess Championships on board one IM ADU Oladapo (Nigeria) played 1.Nf3 against the in form CM BALOGUN Oluwafemi (Nigeria) and the game soon transposed into the latter’s pet line, the Pirc defense which became very interesting after the CM gave up the exchange for the initiative however the game ended in a draw after a three fold repetition of moves on move 52. On board two FM OSUNFUYI Abimbola (Nigeria ) with the black pieces and employing the solid Caro Kann Defence defeated FM ANWULI Daniel, FM Daniel played the plain and straight forward exchange variation but soon ran into problems and ended up being Checkmated on move 45 as he did not see the mating threat on board, he went pawn grabbing on f7 with his queen and it was checkmate in one move !! On board three FM KIGIGHA Bomo (Nigeria) with the black pieces defeated ADU JNR Lionel (Ghana). On board four ODEH Kenneth (Nigeria) using the Caro Kan as black beat FM DEGONDO Simplice Armel (Ivory Coast ). On board five veteran player Mr ERHABOR David employed a Samisch formation against CM OYAMA Ekok in a very interesting attacking game which was full of cut and thrusts of chess tactics forcing CM Oyama to resign on move 30 when it was obvious he was about to be checkmated.On board twelve hard fighting lady OFOWINO Toritsemuwa (Nigeria) lost with the white pieces to CM THOMPSON Edward Nii Lamptey (Ghana) in a London system set up. Full results of Round 8.

Round 9

At the last round of this highly competitive 2016 Zone 4.4 Individual Chess Championship, there was still no clear winner as the leader with 7 pts was only half a point ahead of the second 6.5 pts and two players were at 6 pts. with chances to finish first equal. This electric round started with a forfeit on board two resulting from Ghana ADU JNR Lionel sickness, BALOGUN Oluwafemi (Nigeria) bagged the free point and began waiting anxiously for the result of board one game: FM EBOSSE Victor (Cameroon) versus IM ADU Oladapo (Nigeria). In a Queen Gambit Declined complications, the IM emerged with the full point to be crown for the second time in a raw Africa Zone 4.4 Chess Champion! The other podium places were decided on board three, five, six and seven with Nigerian FM KIGIGHA Bomo, ODEH Kenneth, FM ANWULI Daniel and ERHABOR David defeated respectively ATTAH Elikem (Ghana), IM ANQUANDAH Francis (Ghana), CM EPHOEVI-GA Adama (Togo) and DEGONDO Simplice (Ivory Coast). Already at 6pts, FM OSUNFUYI Abimbola couldn’t make it farther and finished 4th equal by losing on board 4 to MANAN Yoboue (Ivory Coast).