The Chess Pro Tour will entering a crucial stage with the commencement of the Masters’ Series that is, (Battle of the Titans) event between FIDE Master Olufemi Balogun and International Master Oladapo Adu.
The much-anticipated event comes up at Orchid Hotels and Event Centre Lekki on May 12, 2018.
Chess pundits are already looking forward to the clash that is mostly seen as a clash between new order and the old horse and many are of the opinion that Balogun, who made his debut at the World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul 2012 looks set to upstage Adu in the match.
FM Olufemi Balogun with a elo rating of 2255 FIDE rating is a Chess Pro Tour Card holder and highest ranked on the Pro Tour ranking is the only African or Nigerian to have play against a current World Chess champion, Magnus Carlson of Norway.
Balogun lost the much anticipated encounter in the double colour in a reversed fixture match during the 2017 FIDE World Cup IN Azerbaijan
On the other hand, IM Oladapo Adu, with a 2273 FIDE rating and former national champion and he is a proponent of famous Sicilian opening who became the Nigerian national champion in 1995. In 2015, Adu qualified for the Chess World Cup 2015, being knocked out in the first round by Veselin Topalov.
The Pro Chess Tour is an elite program developed to transform chess into a professional sport in Africa especially Nigeria. The tour comprises of the following circuit of events; Q-SCHOOL, OPEN CHESS CLASSICS (OCC), Premiere League, Masters’ Series, Grand Slam
