The national women’s team of Bulgaria achieved victory over the extremely strong team of Azerbaijan in the sixth round of the European Team Chess Championship in Budva.
The Bulgarians beat the No. 2-ranked Azerbaijani team 2.5:1.5 and took second place in the standings with 10 match points, one behind the leader France.
Key to the victory over Azerbaijan was the success achieved by Nurgul Salimova over Ulvia Fataliyeva on the second board. In a marathon game that lasted 84 moves, Salimova reached victory with the black pieces. The Bulgarian had the upper hand throughout the second half of the game, but Fataliyeva didn’t give up until she was three pawns down in the endgame.
On the remaining three boards, the Bulgarian chess players made draws. First with the white pieces, the former world champion Antoineta Stefanova shared the points with the strongest Azeri chess player Gunay Mamadzada. On the third board, also with white, Victoria Radeva drew with Hanim Balazhaieva. On the fourth board with black, Gergana Peycheva also split the point with Gulnar Mamadova.
In tomorrow’s seventh round, Bulgaria will play France, the leader in the ranking. The European Championship in Budva is in nine rounds and will end on Monday.
Tags: Bulgaria defeated Azerbaijan place European Chess Championship
