Azerbaijani female chess player crowned European champion

Ulviyya Fataliyeva went down in history as the first female Azerbaijani chess player to win a gold medal at the European Open and Women's Individual Chess Championships, Azernews reports.

She defeated the top-seeded player from Georgia, Nino Batsiashvili, to claim the championship title and scored 8.5/10 points.

"This is the most successful result I have ever achieved," the chess player said after the championship.

The 27-year-old grandmaster thanked the Azerbaijan Chess Federation for his achievement:

"I am especially grateful to the president of our federation, Mahir Mammadov, and the coach of our national team, Yevgeny Tomashevsky, for their support and help. I am happy that my family, in turn, did not spare me their support."

The European Open and Women's Individual Chess Championships 2024 took place in Greece, bringing together 182 participants from 35 countries. The event broke the participation record and became the largest European Women's Chess Championship ever.

Recall that Ulviyya Fataliyeva played for Azerbaijan in the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku (2016), the World Women's Team Chess Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk (2017) and two European Women's Team Chess Championships (2015, 2017).

In 2018, she participated in the 43rd Chess Olympiad, where her team reached 10th place in the final score. In 2022, she received a silver medal at the 44th Chess Olympiad for her result on the reserve board; the team ended the game in 7th place.

In 2022, the chess player won a bronze medal in the European Women's Individual Chess Championship in Prague.

In 2014, Ulviyya Fataliyeva was awarded the FIDE Woman International Master (WIM) title and received the FIDE Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title three years later.