site.btaBulgaria’s Women Defeat Germany to Finish Fourth at European Team Chess Championship, Men’s Team Also End with Win

The national chess teams of Bulgaria, both women’s and men’s, concluded their participation in the European Team Chess Championship in Batumi with victories. In last ninth round of the event, the Bulgarian women’s squad achieved an impressive result, defeating Germany 2.5:1.5 to secure fourth place in the overall standings.

The key game in the victory over the German team came on board three, where Nadya Toncheva won with the black pieces against Josefine Heinemann. It was Toncheva’s sixth win in eight rounds, making her Bulgaria’s most successful player in the tournament.

The other three games in the match ended in draws. On board one, Antoaneta Stefanova split the point with Dinara Wagner; on board two, Beloslava Krasteva drew with the white pieces against Hanna Marie Klek; and on board four, Viktoria Radeva, despite having a winning position, chose not to take unnecessary risks and agreed to a draw with Lara Schulze.

Thus, Bulgaria collected 12 match points from six victories and three losses, finishing just one point behind Germany, which took third place. Poland won the title with 16 match points, followed by Ukraine with 14.

In the men’s final round at the event, Bulgaria defeated Moldova by 3.5:0.5. On board one, Arkadij Naiditsch set the tone for the victory by defeating Ivan Schitco. On board two, Martin Petrov overcame Vladimir Hamitevici. The only draw came on board three, between Momchil Petkov and Iulian Baltag, while Kiril Georgiev sealed the overall success by winning with the black pieces against Dmitrii Gubin.

With this result, the Bulgarian men’s team finished with 10 match points, placing 16th in the final standings. Ukraine won the men’s title with 15 match points, ahead of Azerbaijan and Serbia, who each scored 13.