Bulgaria recorded a victory for the men and a loss for the women in the eighth round of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The men's national team prevailed over Turkmenistan with 3.5:0.5 points, and the women's team lost to Mongolia with 1.5:2.5. This was reported by Focus.
Arkady Naydich brought the first victory for Bulgaria, after he dealt with Saparmirat Atabayev with the white pieces on the first board. On the second board, Momchil Petkov won with the black pieces against Meilis Anaberdiev, and the playing captain Kiril Georgiev defeated Atakhan Khomodov on the third board. The only draw in the match was recorded by Radoslav Dimitrov against Shahrukh Turayev.
After the success, Bulgaria occupies 17th place among men. Uzbekistan and Germany are leading the standings with 14 points each.
Women's team remains ninth
Bulgaria's women's team has 12 points and is in ninth position. Three of the games against Mongolia ended in draws – between Nurgyul Salimova and Bat-Erdene Mungunzul, Beloslava Krasteva and Khishigbaatar Bayasgalan, as well as Gergana Peycheva and Bathhuyag Munguntuul.
The only loss for the Bulgarians was on the second board, where Nadya Toncheva with the black pieces lost to Turmunkh Munkhzul.
China leads the women's team with 15 points. Kazakhstan, Armenia and Mongolia have 14 points each. There are three rounds left until the end of the tournament, with the ninth round taking place on September 25.
Sources: Focus