The 2025 Nigeria National Chess Championship will be remembered as more than just another tournament on the calendar. It was a chess festival filled with tension, late-night calculations, youthful audacity, veteran composure, and moments that will live long in Nigerian chess folklore.
As the championship approached its final stretch, the atmosphere inside the playing hall shifted. Gone were the early-round pleasantries. By Day 7, every game is crucial, every half-point felt like gold, and one mistake could erase days of hard work.
The Decisive Sprint: Where Titles Were Won and Lost
Rounds 9 and 10 marked the championship’s decisive sprint, especially in the fiercely contested Open Invitational section. With the finish line in sight, players knew this was the moment to either press forward or fall behind.
CM Tennyson Olisa Ewomazino announced his title intentions in emphatic fashion in Round 9, delivering a stunning victory with the black pieces against Ajibola Olanrewaju in a tense 42-move battle. A single queen misstep opened the floodgates, and Olisa’s knights went to work with ruthless precision. By the time the final pawn push landed, checkmate was unavoidable.
Not to be outdone, FM Abdulrahman Abdulraheem Akintoye responded in Round 10 after a frustrating draw earlier. Locked in a tough French Defense against IM Oluwafemi Balogun, Abdulraheem kept his head when the board caught fire. Eventually, his composure paid off, sealing a vital win that kept the championship race wide open.
A New Queen Takes the Throne!
If the Open was dramatic, the Women’s section was commanding.
Suleiman Azumi Ayisha didn’t wait for the final round to make her statement. Her penultimate-round victory over WCM Deborah Quickpen effectively ended the title race. Calm, confident, and ruthless when it mattered, Ayisha stamped her authority on the event.
Quickpen bounced back strongly in the final round to secure second place, while defending champion Toritsemuwa Ofowino closed out with a win to finish third.
Masters and U2000;
In the Masters Category, veteran International Master Adu Oladapo displayed a good show of experience, and, well, good form. A calm, professional draw in the final round was all he needed to lock up first place. No panic, no drama, just class.
National Sports Festival Medalist, Habila Jehu Thomas finished second with 6.5 points and ELO gain of 81,2, while Matan Adebayo and Chima Mount Zion shared third.
The U2000 section delivered its own quiet tension. Babayanju Rotimi stayed consistent from start to finish, and when it mattered most, he delivered a final-round win to clinch the title with 7.5/9. Akporherhe Blessing, Nwankwo Victor, and Taiwo Daniel followed closely, just half a point behind.
Blitz, and Closing Ceremony
The championship concluded with the ever-exciting Jonathan Odega Memorial Blitz, where speed met skill. Lapite Oluwadurotimi, CM Tennyson Olisa, and IM Aikhoje Odion tied for first, with Odion emerging Blitz Champion on tiebreaks. In the women’s blitz, WCM Deborah Quickpen claimed the National Women’s Blitz title.
A dignified closing ceremony followed, graced with the presence of the Nigeria Chess Federation Board Members, including Senator Dankwambo Ibrahim Hassan (President), Prince Adewole Adeyinka (Vice President), Mrs Ejiro Thukson (Secretary General), IA Amisu Omotayo, Dr Durotoye Bode Ali, Dr Uwana Eugene, and Mrs Toun Engore, . The Chairperson of Orchid Hotels, Mrs Odega, and her daughter Uche Odega were also in attendance and on the high table, as our Platinum Sponsor, a position they have held since the inception of the National Championship Organization (by OLCC) in 2021. As awards, medals, and trophies were presented. In a powerful closing announcement, the NCF President revealed an additional ₦1,000,000 increase to the top prize money for both the Open and Women’s Invitational sections—a strong signal of intent for the future of competitive chess in Nigeria.
