Team Nigeria Heads to Samarkand for World Chess Olympiad
… Abdulrahman targets medal as Quickpen declares: “Nigeria will bring it back home”
Oru Leonard
ABUJA — September 15, 2026: Team Nigeria has departed for Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to compete in the 46th FIDE World Chess Olympiad, with the Nigerian contingent combining experienced players and promising young talents in pursuit of international honours.
The delegation departed Nigeria on Monday night aboard Turkish Airlines and is expected to make a one-hour, 30-minute stopover in Istanbul before continuing to Samarkand.
The prestigious tournament runs from September 15 to 27 and is expected to feature a record 400 national teams competing in the Open and Women’s sections at the Silk Road International Tourist Center/EXPO Center in Samarkand.
Nigeria is represented by a 10-player squad comprising five men and five women.
Nigeria’s representatives
Men’s Team
Bomo Kigigha
Ekunke Goodness
Bartholomew Okhipo
Abdulrahman Abdulraheem
Odion Aikhoje
Women’s Team
Deborah Quickpen
Michelle Nwankwo
Sandra Omoruyi
Bridget Michael
Joy Iyefu
Ejiro Thukson IV is the Secretary-General of the delegation, while Bunmi Olape and Adeyinka Adewole are accompanying the team as officials.
For Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, the Olympiad comes at an important stage of his career after rising to become Nigeria’s number-one chess player.
The chess star said he is targeting a medal and believes the Nigerian team has the quality to compete strongly against some of the world’s leading chess nations.
“Personally, my expectation is to play the best chess that I possibly can, and hopefully, we can win a category medal,” Abdulrahman said.
He added that the blend of experienced players and emerging talents could give Nigeria an advantage.
“I think Team Nigeria is quite strong. We have some experienced veterans as well as some very young players, so I believe we can do very well at the Olympiad,” he said.
Veteran player Bomo Kigigha is set to make his eighth appearance at the Chess Olympiad. His most memorable outing came in 2012 when Nigeria won a category prize.
“This will be my eighth Olympiad. My best experience was when we won the category prize back in 2012,” Kigigha said.
“This year, we have a very good team, and we are looking forward to clinching the category prize again.”
Nigeria will also be banking on the energy of its younger players, including 15-year-old Ekunke Goodness, who is making his Olympiad debut after winning the World Rapid Amateur Chess Championship in Abuja in August.
Goodness said he is determined to remain calm and focused despite the magnitude of the global competition.
“I don’t think I’ll feel any pressure, actually. I’ll just stay relaxed and free, but I’ll also perform very well,” he said.
He added: “We’ll perform better than we have ever performed before, and we won’t have any poor performances.”
Another young member of the contingent, Chiamaka Michelle Nwankwo, expressed excitement at the opportunity to represent Nigeria on the global stage.
“I feel really excited. It’s amazing to be able to represent your country at the Olympiad,” Nwankwo said.
“But you also have to stay strong and focused on the games so that you can perform well.”
Deborah Quickpen, meanwhile, said she had been mentally preparing for the Olympiad even before her selection was confirmed.
“I’m confident that I’ll be able to handle the pressure because I was already preparing for the Olympiad before I even knew I would be selected,” she said.
Quickpen expressed confidence in her own ability and that of her teammates to produce a strong showing in Samarkand.
“I believe I’ll do well, by God’s grace. It’s not by my power, but I’m also going to do my best and play my part. I also believe my teammates will do their part as well.”
She offered an ambitious message to Nigerian chess supporters ahead of the competition:
“Nigeria will bring it back home, by God’s grace. We’re hopeful.”
The opening ceremony is scheduled for September 15, with competitive action beginning on September 16. The tournament’s rest day is September 22, while the competition is scheduled to conclude on September 27.
With the world’s chess elite assembled in Samarkand, Team Nigeria will be seeking to combine the experience of its established players with the confidence and fearlessness of its younger stars to secure a strong finish and potentially replicate the country’s past category success.
(Nigeria Chess Federation, Media September 14, 2026)
