International Master Oluwafemi Balogun became Nigeria’s chess champion on Sunday, November 14 after he came tops in a keenly contested round robin battle against fellow top rated players in the country at the just concluded National Chess Championship of Nigeria hosted by Orchid-Lekki Chess Club (OLCC) on behalf of Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF). It was a well-deserved achievement for a player who has consistently been among the top 10 rated players in Nigeria for some years now.
When visitors and guestsare considered, there were close to a thousand participants at the one week chess carnival. There were many categories and titles to battle for but the most important were those of ‘National Chess Champion’ and ‘National Women Chess Champion of Nigeria’. At the end of what turned out to be an epic battle among the elite players of Nigeria, it was International Master Femi Balogun who became Nigeria’s Chess Champion and Women FIDE Master Perpetual Ogbiyoyo who became the National Women Chess Champion of Nigeria.