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IM Oladapo Adu of Nigeria capped off a solid performance at the 2004 Chicago Open scoring 5-2 which was good enough for 1st in the 2300-2449 rating category. The penultimate round saw Adu facing rising star, NM William Aramil (2253 USCF). Adu explained when showing the game that it was a case of pressing the initiative the full game. In the following game, Adu plays a speculative piece sac and goes on a king hunt.
Adu--Aramil
In the final round, Adu closed with a resounding win over IM Blas Lugo (2447 USCF). The last round victory came out of a theoretical Najdorf 6.Be3 variation with Adu as black. Adu had mentioned that he felt Lugo may have underestimated his play. It appeared as if Lugo was going for an early knockout, but erred with 15.Nf5? tossing a crucial pawn. Lugo continued to press on the attack, but was beat back by a vicious counterattack by Adu's heavy pieces. The naked white king took heavy fire and eventually sucummbed in the center of the board.
Lugo - Adu
In a side note, Adu is always ready to discuss the latest games on the international scene and loves a good game of blitz. One highlight was his classic blitz match with Chicago Master, NM Marvin Dandridge. Dandridge is no longer active in tournament play, but still enjoys a good game of blitz chess. The games were all hard-fought and of high quality with Adu winning the set, 5-3.
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