Zone 4.4 Individual Chess Championship, Ghana 2019: Day II

With the round one out of the way, round two (2) came with very interesting results, where most of them had to do with Nigerians showing superiority against themselves in the open section and others stepping up to be counted as they held their own against their Nigerian opponents.

OPENS UPSETS:

The first major upset of the day, was Onokpite Kennedy defeating IM Adu Oladapo on board 1, with a number of Nigerians mentioning that the young man had always found a way to defeat the IM, same way Kryptonite defeats Superman, when all else fails. On board three (3), where the face of the Go For A Nigerian Chess Grandmaster, FM Anwuli Daniel, was able to force a draw in a position that he agreed to be losing, if only his opponent had found the right continuation, but alas, he was happy with the draw against his Cameroonian opponent, Kingue Victor Ebosse.
Moving on to board ten (10), where the in-form CM Oragwu Chukwunonso lost a position he was trying so hard to win in a seemingly drawn game against a reformed Adegbayi Oluwadara, who calmly converted. The board ten (10) upset was swiftly followed by another major upset on board eleven (11), where Nigeria’s CM Adeyinka Adesina succumbed to the strength of his Liberian opponent’s preparation, FM Barcon Harmon, who defeated FM Anwuli to pick up his title at the same event in Liberia.
On to board thirteen (13), where the Liberian National Champion also forced a draw against Nigeria’s Akinwamide Tosin. While, on board sixteen (16), where Ghana’s Fomevor Clinton claimed a very important win over the ACC Financial Secretary and Sierra Leon’s representative at the event, CM Kamara Ansumana. And then on board seventeen (17), with over three hundred (300+) rating points separating them, Adanu Kofi Mawuena forced his higher rated opponent from the same Ghana Chess Federation, Anhwere Bernard, to a draw to gain some valuable rating points.

FIGHTING CHESS:

It was serious fighting chess all around the board, as the development of the game and dedication of the players are made evident in this round, as most games ended with both the victor and vanquished recognizing the fact that even in losing positions, the losing opponent still tries to look for a dubious move to try and swindle something from the position, which only unsuspecting individuals would fall for.

Manan Yoboue Hermann, the winner of the last edition of this event, stretched FM Kigigha Bomo in their encounter on board 2, but eventually succumbed to the grit of the latter, while on board 4, the oldest Fide Master at the tournament, FM Erhabor David, ensured that the younger FM Abimbola Osunfuyi (A.K.A Young GM), worked very hard for the point the young man gained during this round, as Abdulrahman Abdulraheem Akintoye (Triple A) defeated the only Fide Arena Grandmaster (AGM) at the event, AGM Apemiye Austin on board 5, and then, in the battle of the International Masters on board 6, Nigeria’s IM Balogun Oluwafemi showed superiority, as he calmly displaced the Ghanaian IM Anquandah Francis.

FEMALE SECTION:

In the female section, the Nigerian ladies continued their dominance of the event, as the went on a winning streak that ensured that they all ended the round victorious with six wins of six games, considering the fact that they were not playing against themselves in the round. After the round, the arbiter of the female section, FA Mario Kpan, ensured that he told any Nigerian who wished to listen, that this event is an individual tournament and not a team event, seeing how the Nigerian ladies were going strongly at the event and the men rejoicing together at the ladies’ victories.

ROUND 3 REPORTS

UPSETS:

Seeing the number of unexpected victories that came in the second round of the event, players had to tighten their grasp going into the third round of the event, while the lower rated/unrated players had a renewed believe that they can do great things at the event.

This ensured that the number of upsets on the top boards were limited to the barest minimum, but the round still produced some huge upsets, as Ameku David, brother of the Ghana Chess Federation President, Philip Ameku, handed a second loss to FM Erhabor David, in a game where the elder dropped his queen towards the end of the game due to pressure from the opponent? Or due to fatigue? We would never really know, but after the game, the FM was angry with himself for how he played on the day.
The second major upset came on just the next board, where AGM Apemiye Austin was outplayed and had to resign against Liberia’s CM Kolani-Banake Sopague, who was gentlemanly in his composure and handling of the game. Worthy of note also, is the board 1 tussle between CM Abiola Akinseye and FM Kigigha Bomo, which even though many felt Akinseye should have won, Bomo displayed the grit and the never die attitude he was known for, finding solid moves that forced Abiola to make tough choices and eventually succumb to the draw. Also worthy of mention, is the way young FM Anwuli dismantled FM Barcon Harmonn in superlative style during this round.

FEMALE SECTION:

Meanwhile, in the female section, it was a battle of the Nigerian ladies on the top three (3) boards, where WFM Ogbiyoyo Perpetual continued her dominance by defeating Charles Glory with the black pieces. Glory played into a position where she was forced to lose a bishop, and it was purely downhill for her from that point.

Charles Glory (white) vs Ogbiyoyo Perpetual (black).
The major battle for this round was the battle on board 2, where Ofowino Toritsemuwa faced off with Samson Peace. The position was in the former’s favour, with various weaknesses in Peace’s camp, which Toritse eventually capitalized on and worked until she ended victorious.Toritsemuwa (white) taking on Peace (black)
WCM Tobi Felix of Ghana gave it her best against Vivian Dzaayem, but it seemed not to be enough, as the Nigerian veteran stood tall at the end of the day, making it three (3) Nigerian ladies on perfect 3/3, heading into the fourth round. Ghana’s hardworking WFM Ayiku Angela came back to winning ways, as she defeated the young and upcoming Benson Maud, while Omimi-Okoro Brume was victorious over CIV’s Lorng Yowel Madeleine on board 7.

It will only get tougher for the players and more interesting for the followers, going into the next two (2) rounds that would play out tomorrow, as Nigerians would be facing themselves in the top five (5) boards of the Open section and the top three (3) boards of the female section, which would be found in the links below:

http://chess-results.com/tnr429713.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=4&turdet=YES&flag=30 – Open Section

http://chess-results.com/tnr433613.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=4&turdet=YES&flag=30 – Ladies

The two rounds tomorrow would indeed separate the boys from the men, but then, it would take the remaining rounds to determine if the men can stay as men or return to being boys.

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