Sicilian Master, Adu, Wins Millionaire Chess Championship
Femi Solaja
International Master Oladapo Adu showed shades of his genius on the big stage following his massive win at the just concluded Millionaire Chess Championship at the Chevron Recreation Centre, Gbagada, Lagos last Sunday.
Playing in the pool of best players in the country, Adu opted to play different openings in the tournament, with the English opening as white and Queens Gambit most used during the grueling nine-round Swiss event pairing which he won convincingly.
The feat means that Adu who has triumphed in six previous tournaments among his contemporaries, has won the ticket to represent the country at the forthcoming Millionaire Chess Open in Atlantic City, USA in October.
“It’s the Lord’s doing for all the successes I have achieved in the last one year in Chess. This is the seventh time that I will emerge top in a major tournament among my other rivals,” Baku Chess Olympiad-bound Adu commented after the win.
After securing a quarterfinal slot by scoring 7.5 points from nine rounds to lead other contenders into the final knockout phase, Adu dismissed Udeme Edet in three straight win to hit the semifinal and won against fellow Baku-bound chess Olympiad Dr. Adeyinka Adesina with same result.
The defining moment of his triumph came in the final match against ambitious FIDE Master Daniel Anwuli.
The champion had to dig deep after being down to half out of two points in the rapid.
“I needed to win the two blitz games to become the overall tournament with a 2.5-1.5 thereby securing the ticket to the Millionaire Chess championship in Atlantic city, New Jersey, USA,” revealed Adu.
In his closing remarks, the President of Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF), Mr. Lekan Adeyemi, commended all the participants for their comportment all through the four-day event.
He enjoined them not to lose focus on the plans the present board of NCF has for them in spite of poor funding from the Federal Ministry of Sports since the inception of the current board of the federation.
“We hope to organise more rated tournaments even after the World Chess Olympiad aimed at making more aspiring players to improve on their ratings and earn titles,” he remarked.
