After an initial setback in the second round fixtures in the ongoing World Chess Olympiad in Chennia, India, the Nigerian team bounced back to reckoning with convincing wins against Mauritania and Palestine in the third round of the events on Sunday.
In the Open section, the male team had Issac Okeke on board one displaced Yahi Mohammed Salem just as Bomo Kigigha on board two in white pieces defeated Cheikha Mohamed Lemme to give Nigeria two points lead.
Veteran start player, Adebayo Adegboyega extended the lead on board three in black pieces with a brilliant win against Boidiya Side and Akinseye Abiola completed the perfect score for Nigeria with his win against Mohammed Abdrachim Taleb to give the nation a 4-0 win.
In the female Nigeria won 3-1 against Palestine after Enomah Emmanuel Trust overcame Alhmouri Sara on board one just as Ofowino Toritsemuwa proved better on board two with another win against Heba Assi and Ogbiyoyo Perpentual Eloho extended the gap with a brilliant win against Enma Sawan but Onoja Iyefu lost on board four to Taqwa Hamouri and reduced the score line to 3-1.
The result of the matches mean that Nigeria will face stiff opposition tonight in the11-round Swiss event pairing tournament as teams with higher score and match points face each other as the tournament progresses.
As at the last round, Ukraine are joint top in the Open section with India Team two, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Argentina, Georgia, Cuba, Montenegro and Canada with four match points and eight board points.
Nigeria in the same section has two match points and four points on the board while in the female section; the team has two match points and five points on the board.