By our reporter 27.9.2026
Team Nigeria brought the curtain down on the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sunday, with both the men’s and women’s teams finishing their 11-round campaigns outside the top 80 of their respective sections.
The Olympiad, which ran from September 16 to 27, featured 11 rounds in both the Open and Women’s competitions.
Nigeria’s Open team finished 118th overall, collecting 10 match points from five wins and six defeats. The team scored 21 game points across the competition.
The Nigerians opened the tournament with victories before experiencing an inconsistent middle phase. One of their difficult moments came in Round 6, when Vietnam defeated Nigeria 4–0.
The team recovered with important victories later in the tournament, including a 3½–½ win over Tunisia in Round 9. However, Nigeria lost 4–0 to North Macedonia in Round 10 before closing against Hong Kong.
Nigeria went down 2½–1½ to Hong Kong in the final round. Bomo Lovet Kigigha secured Nigeria’s only win, while Odion Aikhoje and Bartholomew Okhipo lost their games; the fourth board completed the final scoreline.
Among the individual performers, Abdulrahman Akintoye and Odey Goodness Ekunke both finished on 5½ points, while Odion Aikhoje scored 4½ and Bomo Kigigha 3½.
The women’s team finished 85th, recording 11 match points from four wins, three draws and four defeats, with 24 game points.
Nigeria had a strong late surge, defeating Guatemala 3–1 in Round 10, with Deborah Quickpen, Iyefu Onoja and Sandra Omoruyi winning their games.
However, the women ended the competition with a 2½–1½ defeat to Syria. Deborah Quickpen won Nigeria’s only individual game in the final-round encounter, while Iyefu Onoja and Michelle Nwankwo lost and Sandra Omoruyi drew.
Quickpen finished with 5½ points, Omoruyi with 6½, Bridget Michael with 5½, while Michelle Nwankwo scored 4½.
Africa was represented by a sizeable group of federations in Samarkand, although the continent did not produce a team in the medal positions.
In the Open section, the best African finish came from Algeria in 80th place, followed by Angola 81st, South Africa 82nd, Madagascar 87th, Libya 90th, Uganda 91st, Mozambique 93rd, Tunisia 94th, Zambia 100th and Egypt 102nd.
The women’s section saw Egypt lead the African teams in 53rd place, followed by Angola 69th, Algeria 72nd, Uganda 79th, Nigeria 85th, Morocco 92nd, South Africa 96th, Ethiopia 97th, Mozambique 101st and Kenya 105th. Madagascar finished 108th, Tanzania 109th, Côte d’Ivoire 111th, Tunisia 112th, Botswana 113th and Zimbabwe 118th.
At the top of the standings, Uzbekistan successfully defended its Open title, finishing first with 20 match points after winning 10 of its 11 matches. India took silver with 18 points, while Germany also finished on 18 but placed third on the tie-break.
In the women’s competition, China emerged champions, going unbeaten with nine wins and two draws for 20 match points. Kazakhstan finished second with 18 points, while India took third with 17.
