GM Elina Danielian (Armenia) came out on top at the European Women's Championship. It is the greatest success in Elina's distinguished career.
The 11-round over-the-board Swiss tournament took place in Iasi (Romania), known as the country's cultural capital.
Danielian was coming into the final round, sharing first place with IM Iulija Osmak (Ukraine). Both leading contenders for the title had white pieces and pushed hard for the victory, but only the Armenian GM succeeded after defeating WIM Narva Mai and finished clear first with 9 points.
Osmak made a valiant effort against Bela Khotenashvili (Georgia) but failed to find a crushing 33.g4!! (suggested by Stockfish) and eventually had settle for a draw and a silver medal.
Olivia Kiolbasa (Poland) and Nataliya Buksa (Ukraine) tied for third place, scoring 8 points each, with the former taking bronze thanks to better tiebreaks.
Final standings:
|
1 |
GM |
Danielian, Elina |
ARM |
2407 |
9 |
|
2 |
IM |
Osmak, Iulija |
UKR |
2418 |
8½ |
|
3 |
WIM |
Kiolbasa, Oliwia |
POL |
2288 |
8 |
|
4 |
IM |
Buksa, Nataliya |
UKR |
2413 |
8 |
|
5 |
WGM |
Sargsyan, Anna M. |
ARM |
2388 |
7½ |
|
6 |
IM |
Mammadova, Gulnar |
AZE |
2385 |
7½ |
|
7 |
GM |
Khotenashvili, Bela |
GEO |
2471 |
7½ |
|
8 |
WIM |
Narva, Mai |
EST |
2276 |
7½ |
|
9 |
IM |
Arabidze, Meri |
GEO |
2438 |
7½ |
|
10 |
WGM |
Garifullina, Leya |
RUS |
2385 |
7½ |
According to ECU Board decision and FIDE regulations, the top 10 finishers qualified for the FIDE Women's World Cup 20222. Following the decision of the ECU Board, the best player U20, Anna Sargsyan (Armenia), earned a spot in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2021.
