Top stars begin battle for Lagos Classics $5,000

| credits: Awww.thechessstore.com

The Lagos International Chess Classics began on Tuesday with first round matches at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.

Players will compete in two events – the open and U-14 division – with the winner in the open event going home with the $5,000 star prize.

The competition, which ends on Friday, has Serbia’s Dejan Antic as top seed. Five Nigerian players led by Bunmi Olape were also listed among the top 10 seeded players in the championship.

“I am very excited by the standard. We have over 160 players participating and we have a Grand Master from Serbia, three Egyptian players, who are among the best in Africa. We also have an International Master from Uganda and all the International Masters from Nigeria, so whoever takes home the $5, 000 star prize will be really doing a lot to get the money,” the Lagos State Chess Association chairman, Fela Bank-Olemoh, said.

Bank-Olemoh said the inclusion of the U-14 category was to help develop the game at the grassroots in Nigeria.

He said, “Serbia is a country of only eight million people and they have 40 Grand Masters but Nigeria doesn’t have a Grand Master. So we are contributing our own quota to ensure that we have a Grand Master.

“For the Lagos State Chess Association, whenever we do our competitions all-year round, we always ensure that we have the U-14 event for the secondary school pupils. The U-14 starts tomorrow (Wednesday) and the winner gets a laptop and a cash prize.”

As the only Grand Master in the tournament as well as the highest world rated player in the competition, Antic is seeded number one, followed by Egypt’s duo of Mohammed Ezat and Abdelrahman Hesham, who are seeded number two and three respectively.

Ugandan International Master, Elijah Emojong, is seeded number four while Egypt’s Walaa Sarwat is fifth on the seeding list.

Highest ranked Nigerian player in the world, Olape is number six, while Chukwunonso Oragwu is seventh in the rating. Other Nigerian players seeded among the top 10 are Adeyinka Adesina, Oladapo Adu and Bomo Kigigha.