site.btaAntoaneta Stefanova Finishes 6th and Nurgyul Salimova 11th at World Blitz Chess Championship in Doha

Antoaneta Stefanova finished sixth in the women’s event at the World Blitz Chess Championship in Doha,  while Nurgyul Salimova placed 11th.

Both Bulgarian players performed exceptionally strongly over the two competition days of the tournament, and only sporting luck kept them from finishing among the top four, who will determine the new champion through direct knockout matches.

Stefanova, who spent the entire 15-round tournament within the top ten of the standings, finished with 10.5 points. The five players ahead of her all finished with 11 points. In the final round, she had the opportunity to knock two-time world blitz champion Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan off the top, but the game ended in a draw.

Salimova finished with 10 points, which placed her tied for positions seven through fifteen. Based on tie-break criteria, she was ranked 11th. The former finalist in the Women’s World Cup made significant progress in the standings on the final day, when she recorded two wins and three draws in five games.

Stefanova will earn  EUR 9,500 from the total prize fund of EUR 150,000, while Salimova will receive EUR 2,500.

With 7.5 points, Nadia Toncheva finished in 66th place, while Beloslava Krasteva ended the tournament in 105th position with 6.5 points.

In the men’s event, which was played over 19 rounds, Arkadij Naiditsch finished in 43rd place. The grandmaster, who was born in Riga but represents Bulgaria, scored 11.5 points.

As in the women’s competition, the men’s champions will also be decided through playoffs among the top four players in the final standings. These will include Arjun Erigaisi (India), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Magnus Carlsen (Norway), and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan).