International Master Bunmi Olape has emerged the winner of the maiden Millionaire Chess Festival that ended in Lagos on Monday.
Olape, for this feat, won an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas, USA, in October.
With a total of $1,000,000 in prizes for
the American competition, it is the highest-stakes open chess tournament
in history. The second edition of the Millionaire Chess is scheduled
for October 8 to 12 in Las Vegas, USA.
The victory of Olape at the Lagos
tournament was assured following a major setback by in-form Eugene Uwana
in his final game of the event when he made a blunder against Lapite
Oluwadurotimi. It was Olape that profited from that as he secured a win
against Adeyinka Adeshina to level on seven points with Lapite.
In
the playoff, both players drew the first game but Olape won the
reversed game to earn the Las Vegas Millionaire tournament ticket.
“I am delighted to be back to form and
ready to dominate the national chess scene again. It was not an easy
task for me because I started badly in the opening rounds but happy to
return into wining ways.
“To all my opponents, I say a big thank
you because without the stiff opposition, I would not have brought the
best out of me,” Olape said.
The President of Nigeria Chess
Federation, Mr. Lekan Adeyemi, commended the Millionaire Chess company
that promotes the game and organises global chess tournaments. The
organisation conducted the first Millionaire Chess Open tournament,
which was held in Las Vegas, USA, last year.
