A very interesting first day at Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. A city that plays host to the Nigerian junior U20 players, who are hoping to show the world that they have what it takes to fight hard on the chessboard.
Top dog, Eyetonghan Callistus, started the day on high notes, with an impressive 2/2 in his first two (2) rounds. However, unknown 20 year old ACM Iwuozor John, dealt a huge blowu to him, when he converted a lovely endgame with King+knight+bishop +pawn vs king+bishop+pawn.
This loss threw the top dog off course, as he lost his next round to Jessica Tirnom Bello. A game that was brilliantly played by the young girl, who sacrificed an officer and got it back with interest a few moves down the line.
With Callistus out of the way, the door was left ajar for other youngsters to take the top spot. Osadebe Michael climbed up the ladder to sit atop the standings after the third round ended.
However, after his fourth round draw with another favorite, Olisa Tennyson, it was Okeke Isaac who took the reins of leadership after the fourth round.
In the fifth round, Tennyson ensured that nobody went home with a perfect score by holding Isaac to a draw and keeping him at close range to everyone else.
Idara Michael was very emotional after he dropped half a point to Akinbodewa Adebayo (a.k.a Boy Fepos) in the third round.
He felt he should have defeated the young boy, but Bayo had other plans. A very interesting endgame ensued with Bayo having a knight+2 pawns vs Idara’s rook and a pawn.
After capturing Idara’s only pawn, while sacrificing one of his own pawn, Bayo knew he could not lose the game. Idara let out his frustration after he had to capture the pawn with his rook on the 6th rank, so as to secure the draw.
Idara went on to win his next two (2) games, ending the day joint leader. While Bayo went on to lose one and win one, to remain one point behind the leaders.
The first day of the Danhypro tour, Abuja, has shown that nobody should be underrated in the pursuit of glory, and one can safely say that with this initiative, and more, Nigeria will get it right, going forward.
The Danhypro tour is aimed at discovering talents in Nigeria, which leaders in the various zones can see and put in their resources to see them evolve into top players in the not too distant future.
Some of the talents discovered after the first day are:
Ferdinard Tersay Joseph – he is on four (4) points out of the possible five (5). He defeated prodigies, Ekunke Goodness and Afolabi Emmanuel. He faces Olisa Tennyson next.
Khalid Ahmed – after his first round loss to Salako Clinton, he won four (4) straight games, defeating Ayisha Azumi in the process. He faces Okeke Daniel next.
Okeke Daniel – a young chap with a big body, Okeke Daniel will be looking to show that he is as much talented as Isaac, who has had opportunities to travel out of the country on various occasions. Currently sitting on 4/5, Daniel faces Khalid in the next round.
Suurshater Gbertyoh – his first round loss to Ekunke Perez must have put him in attack mode. He defeated both girls and boys, on his way to 4/5. He faces Okemakinde Toluwanimi next.
Keyi Lucky Musa – all the way from Gombe state, Keyi’s only loss has come from the hands of Okeke Isaac, along with a draw against Abubakar Hassan, puts him on 3.5/5. He will be facing another new kid on the block, ACM Iwuozor John.
The top girl after the fifth round (only via tie breaks, as four (4) of them are tied on 3/5), is Iguehi Elora Oise. With Chuksphoenix in the neighborhood, who knows what they would have cooked up against their opponents last night.
The sixth round kicks off this morning, by 9am. The top board remains live by clicking this link.
The rankings and results can also be followed by clicking this link.
