Sunday,1st August, the final day of the DanhyPro Asaba Chess tour kept the audiences glued to their screens as the event continued with surprising and entertaining results in every round until the end.
After winning the round 6 match against Emmanuel Afolabi on Sunday morning, Isaac Okeke took the lead with a half-point. This feat was not so easy to hold on to as he needed to win all other games. With luck on his side, Isaac Okeke won the tournament. Another amazing performance was by Idara Emmanuel who scored 7.5points and finished second place with Olisa Tennyson, finishing third place.
In the battle for the best lady prize, Suleiman Azumi Ayisha defeated Matan Adebayo catching up with Jessica Pelemoh losing her 6th game to Idara. Pelemoh’s resilient performance during this tournament was impeccable as she ended up winning the gold medal for the best girl. Iyefu Onoja finished in second place after a tiebreaker with 5points while Ayisha finished third with 4.5 points.
Isaac Okeke
Isaac made history at the third leg of the Danhypro chess tour –becoming the first player to champion the event two consecutive times but did it without a tie!
On the final day, Isaac was able to keep his cool, playing tactically and brilliantly, saving himself from a few difficult positions. Ultimately the 18-year-old superstar secured the first-place prize with a half-point ahead of Idara Emmanuel. He is now leading the DanhyPro Chess Tour by a large margin with a total point of 22.5 and 152 TB3 points. The Nigerian #1 U20 player will be leading the junior team into the DANHYPRO CHESS INVITATIONAL coming up on 14th, August in Lagos.
Idara Emmanuel
On his second appearance in the tour, Idara Emmanuel started strong and finished well ending the tournament in second place, higher than his debut performance. Idara was very close to clinching the championship but was faced with opposition from Salako Clinton in the 8th round of the tournament. Luckily for him, the tournament leader, Isaac Okeke was also unable to win in that round but played a draw match against Callistus. Idara Emmanuel finished the Asaba tour with 7.5 points winning six games and three draws.
Olisa Tennyson
One could say Olisa was playing like GM Anish Giri 4 years ago managing to maintain his position as a top junior player in the country but struggling to keep consistent wins. Nonetheless, after finishing third place at the Asaba Tour, Olisa remained in contention for the overall top performance race with a total of 21 points and 148 TB3 points bagging the third-highest earner at the Danhypro Chess Tour.
Pelemoh Jessica
The Nigeria #1 female player decided to give the Danhypro Tour a try for the first time. She emerged as the best female in the end. Jessica Pelemoh started the tournament strong with four wins on the first day and one loss. She had quite a tough time on the final day; Jessica faced players like Idara Emmanuel and Callistus and was unable to hold them off, in the eight-round, Jessica had the crucial win against Idahosa Amos which helped her secure the gold medal for the lady’s prize.
To close the tournament, we had dignitaries like Mr. Ogunsiku Babatunde and Mr. Micheal Benson,
The short closing ceremony was anchored by Samson Ofubu. The participants were happy about the excellent standards of the tournament. They also commended the organizers for giving them the opportunity and platform to showcase their talents. We look forward to the tour finale in October.
(insert prize and medal table)
See the interviews below.
