Oliwia Kiolbasa leading the European Women’s Chess Championship 2023
Kiolbasa Oliwia from Poland defeated Bulmaga Irina in round 6 and got herself a half-point lead ahead of Socko Monika and Narva Mai. This year, Montenegro Chess Federation, cooperating with European Chess Union, had the honor of organizing the 23rd European Women’s Chess Championship. The event takes place from 17th to 30th March in Petrovac, Montenegro.
The format is an 11-round Swiss System with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds for every move starting from move 1. Not only the European Champion title but also the total prize fund of €60000 and qualification of the first nine players to the next World Women’s Cup is at stake.
GM Khotenashvili Bella, from Georgia, is the top seed out of 136 players. The first round started with the first move made by the ECU President, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, on the first board.
Round 1 brought draws on the top boards, between Khotenashvili Bella and Lehaci Miruna-Daria after an intense fight where both had their chances for a better result, and between Gunina Valentina and Toncheva Nadya. Gunina in a two-bishop endgame missed a chance and had to accept a draw. The first round concluded in 14 draws – showing how balanced the tournament is.
Also in round 2, the games on boards 1 and 2 ended in a draw. Only 19 players had 2 full points. The 3rd round left only 3 players with full points – Maltsevskaya Aleksandra (Poland), Bulmaga Irina (Romania) and Kiolbasa Oliwia (Poland).
Bulmaga Irina was paired against Maltsevskaya Aleksandra and had a winning position after a mistake on move 11. Bulmaga quickly won the game and became the only woman in the tournament, with maximum points after 4 rounds. Kiolbasa and Beydullayeva on board 2 had an equal game from the start and shortly agreed to a draw.
On board 1, in round 5, we could watch a thrilling game between the leading Bulmaga and last year’s European Women’s Champion Socko Monika. Both had their chances, but the game ended in a draw after 60 moves. Kiolbasa strategically and tactically destroyed Badelka and tied Bulmaga with 4,5 points.
In Round 6, a game between Kiolbasa and Bulmaga finished in the favor of Kiolbasa after she declined to repeat the moves and used her knight to attack Bulmaga’s weak kingside. The Polish IM is now the leader of the tournament with 5,5 points. You can check the full results here.
Today is a free day, but you can watch a polish derby between Kiolbasa and Socko on board 1 on Saturday.
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