Lolomari George Wins Vestar Rapid Invitational

The first edition of the Vestar Rapid Invitational tournament in 2018 was superb. This is an initiative of the current President of the Chess Player’s Association of Nigeria (CPAN), in person of Ayokanmi Ajayi, which is aimed to bring in players who do not have time for Classical Chess Tournament, to meet once in a month and play Chess at Vestar Coffee House, situated at 26, Idejo Street, Adeola Odeku, Ikoyi, Lagos. This also enables the association to reach out to non-chess players who can be introduced to the game or get sponsorship from, after seeing notable gentlemen play for fun with serious looks on their faces.

A gentleman during the rounds approached me to give me his observation, he said “the look on these guys’ faces when they start the game, shows total seriousness but thereafter they start laughing as if nothing really happened.” I told him, there is a time to be serious and a time to reflect and have fun.

The entry fee was $14 (N5,000), which will generate $140 dollars by all players. The prizes are shared amongst the top three (3) in the ratio 40-30-20 respectively, while the remaining 10% goes to organization cost. At the tournament, there is free refreshment for everyone, courtesy of Ms Ayokanmi Ajayi.

The event is a five round tournament with time control of 10mins+5secs added-on, from the first move. Tournament was slated for 6pm – 9pm, and the Chief Arbiter was Oyeleye Olawale.

Ten players featured in this edition; And the list is below

The games started at about 6:30pm. Adewole Yinka and Fajemirokun Abimbola both requested for bye, based on the reason that they could not make the first round on time, and half a point was awarded for the bye, considering the fact that it was a 5 round event and a full point would be robbing the other players.

The first round kicked off with Udeme Dominic defeating Adeniyi Kareem with the French, which is one of the most preferred opening for the player as black. The latter invited a pawn double attack, missing a last minute King safety in his analysis, hence losing a piece.

Ayokanmi lost in less than twelve (12) moves when she gifted a whole rook to Fabeyo Fred, who with a gladdened heart accepted with loads of appreciative smiles. After which she calmly resigned from the game, knowing she was playing her instructor, and not wanting to waste more time beating around the bush that was not there in the first place.

Other results of the first round included veteran Nnamdi Nwoye’s cool finish of the special arbiter Ademola Oyebanji, who’s sole win at the tournament came in the third round of the event. And Lolomari George’s defeat of Olajide Tobun.

Round 2

Round two had some very interesting games, which included Udeme Dominic’s brilliant finish against Nnamdi Nwoye, while Fabeyo Fred held the defending champion Lolomari George, to a draw via three fold repetition. Fajemirokun Abimbola was also held to a draw by Adewole Adeyinka after playing so well during the match. Olajide Tobun defeated Ayokanmi Ajayi, while Adeniyi Kareem had his pound of flesh from arbiter Ademola Oyebanji.

Round 3

With the mid point reached, Fabeyo Fred held Udeme Dominic who was leading the pack (with a perfect 2/2) to a draw, while the players with the black pieces won their games on the other boards. Nnamdi Nwoye was in deep thought while in a playable position, neglecting the ticking of the clock and he brilliantly lost on time, to Lolomari George, while arbiter Ademola Oyebanji recorded his only win of the tournament against Ms Ayokanmi Ajayi with a cool calm and collected finishing.

Round 4

Round 4 presented the leaders of the tournament Udeme Dominic and Lolomari George (both on 2.5/3) with a unique opportunity to take sole lead in to the final round with a win. Unfortunately, there was an error with the setting of the clock as it was set at a flat time of 10 minutes for both players instead of 10 minutes + 5 secs added from the first move. They discovered very late and since it’s a time scheduled tournament, the arbiter had to adjust the time and include the necessary seconds which wasn’t enough for Udeme Dominic, because he was already low on time, hence the painful loss.

Interestingly, Ayokanmi Ajayi had a lovely position against Adewole Yinka, with a whole piece up, but unfortunately couldn’t convert and eventually lost the game at the end of the day. Fajemirokun Abimbola and Fabeyo Fred continued their battle for second and third positions as the both clinched wins in the round to move them above Udeme Dominic.

Round 5

The final round had the leader of the pack Lolomari George paired against Fajemirokun Abimbola, and everyone believed Fajek could be the force that would stop Lolomari George in this round, but Lolomari George had to prove once again why he is the defending champion of Vestar Invitational Rapid, by defeating Fajemirokun to claim the sole first prize.

Fabeyo Fred defeated Nnamdi Nwoye on board 2 to claim second position prize, while Udeme lost to Olajide Tobun, which ensured that the top seed finished in sixth position, relative to Zambia’s top rated IM Andrew Kayonde who finished 17th in an Open tournament most recently, and Olajide securing his third position at the tournament. Ayokanmi Ajayi secured her first draw in the tournament against Adeniyi Kareem. to ensure that she does not finish the tournament with zero point.

Final standing in the tournament

We appreciate you for reading our Vestar experience. See you after the Match Edition. Cheers.