Our national women’s chess team won the deciding match for the title of the European Team Championship in Budva against Georgia with 2.5:1.5. With this, our girls guaranteed the distinction and pulled up in the standings with 8 points.
Meanwhile, direct competitor Azerbaijan beat Serbia 3:1 and fought until the end to dislodge Bulgaria from first place, but in the end collected 7.5 points and remained at the foot of the top.
In addition, the Bulgarians have an advantage from the direct match between the two, as they defeated the Azerbaijanis with 2.5:1.5 two rounds ago.
The Bulgarian chess machine continues to crush – the title is very close
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Second is Azerbaijan with 6.5 points.
Bulgaria’s success is even greater given the fact that the Georgian team was ranked #1 in the Old Continent championship scheme.
Otherwise, the Georgians proved that they are a difficult opponent and the Bulgarian victory did not come easily.
Victories for Bulgaria were achieved by Antoineta Stefanova on the first board and Gergana Peycheva on the third, with Peycheva’s success securing the title and coming from a position in which the Bulgarian was very close to losing.
The match between the Bulgarians and the Georgians started with a very quick draw on the second board. Already on the 18th move, Nino Batiashvili and Nurgyul Salimova made a triple repeat, which automatically brought a draw in the game.
About two and a half hours later, the batting team exchanged one victory each within a few minutes. First on the first board, former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova prevailed over Bela Hotenashvili in 31 moves. Stefanova had an advantage in the debut and methodically managed to develop it. She was given an extra officer in the endgame and that led to Hotenashvili surrendering just minutes later.
On the fourth board, however, Salome Melia leveled the score at 1.5:1.5 with a victory with the white pieces over Beloslava Krasteva. The Georgian managed to surprise Krasteva in the Sicilian Defense version with the four horses and despite the Bulgarian’s attempts to level the game, they were not successful and Melia won after 36 moves.
Thus, the outcome of the match between Bulgaria and Georgia had to be decided between Gergana Peycheva and Lela Javakhishvili, who were playing at the third table.
The two played a Nimtsovich variant in New Indian defense and from the opening the board position was even, but also very complicated. On move 30, Javakhishvili managed to win a pawn, giving her a slight advantage. Six moves later, Peycheva restored material equality on the board, but the initiative remained with the Georgian playing with the black pieces.
The party continued to be very exciting, and Peycheva seemed to lose. However, the Bulgarian showed extreme intransigence and in the end not only leveled the game, but also managed to get the victory after nearly 6 hours of play, forcing Javakhashvili to surrender on the 83rd move.
Results throughout the championship:
First round: BULGARIA 2.5:1.5 Turkey
Bulgaria defeated Turkey at the start of the European Chess Championship in Montenegro
Second round: BULGARIA 2:2 Hungary
Bulgaria with a draw against Hungary on the second day of the European Chess Championship in Montenegro
Third Round: BULGARIA 2:2 Switzerland
Bulgaria with a new tie at the European Women’s Team Chess Championship
Fourth Round: BULGARIA 3:1 Spain
Bulgaria defeated Spain at the European Women’s Team Chess Championship
Fifth Round: BULGARIA 3:1 Serbia
Bulgaria defeated Serbia at the European Chess Championship in Budva
Sixth round: BULGARIA 2.5:1.5 Azerbaijan
Bulgaria defeated Azerbaijan and took second place at the European Women’s Team Chess Championship
Seventh round: BULGARIA 3:1 France
Bulgaria took the lead in the ranking of the European Women’s Chess Team Championship
Eighth round: Bulgaria 2.5:1.5 Poland
The Bulgarian chess machine continues to crush – the title is very close
Ninth round: Bulgaria 2.5:1.5 Georgia
