The Audience

The tournament was characterized by tense struggle in all games which is not surprising as the time control was 90 minutes + 10 second added time from move 1.  The quality of games were very high as you will see from the links, also as live spectators we saw that the players were often physically drained after each round. Campbell complained after the first round that the time control was tedious and Sorungbe also complained after the same 1st round that he developed muscular cramps during the game. However they all managed to quickly adjust. Nigerian chess organizers should take a cue from this that good chess is from ‘Fischer Timing’ classical tournaments. 

Another highlight of the tournament for the players was the sumptuous meals they were treated with from the S.U.B canteen.

Me self, I wan chop o!


Lunch ‘Grandmaster stylee’


The Cook of S.U.B. canteen.

To round up this introductory report, it is necessary to tell you that this tournament was motivated by the need to have more chess competitions in Nigeria. Years (2006/2007) have passed by without any classical event for top players to play in. Corporate sponsorship of chess has totally dried off. All these necessitated an event that would attract much needed attention and support. The event was then to be organized in such a way that corporate bodies would want to be part of it.
Many challenges were faced by the organizers the least of all not being financial. However they made a heroic effort to save the tournament, particularly Superman Seun Bisiriyu.

Superman Seun Bisiriyu (Chief Organiser)