The Azerbaijan women's national chess team will face England today in the fourth round of the World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the encounter is of particular interest due to the presence of Azerbaijani-origin chess player Elmira Mirzoeva in the England squad. The 44-year-old is registered as the team's fifth player at the Olympiad but has been left out of the line-up against Azerbaijan. Bodhana Sivanandan, Lan Yao, Jovanka Houska and Harriet Hunt will represent England in the match.
Mirzoeva was born in Moscow but has never hidden her Azerbaijani roots. In an interview, she said that her father, Nazim Mirzoev, is from Ganja, while her mother comes from a small village in Azerbaijan's Shamkir district. According to Mirzoeva, her family spoke Azerbaijani at home and celebrated Novruz, while she regularly travelled to Azerbaijan to visit relatives during her childhood.
Elmira is known not only as a chess player but also as a sports journalist. She worked for many years on Russian television, including the Sport, Russia-2 and Match TV channels, covering major chess events.
Mirzoeva also visited Azerbaijan on numerous occasions for professional assignments. In particular, she covered major tournaments in Baku and Shamkir, including the Vugar Gashimov Memorial. In 2018, she worked in Shamkir as part of a Match TV production crew.
Mirzoeva has represented England internationally since 2024. She became English women's champion that same year and subsequently continued competing under the English flag. At the 2026 Olympiad, she is officially registered as the fifth member of England's women's team.
Interestingly, most members of England's current line-up have international family backgrounds. Sivanandan was born and raised in London, while her parents come from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Lan Yao was born in China and represented the Chinese federation until 2021. Houska was born in London to Argentine parents and also has Czech ancestry through her great-grandfather.
Hunt was born in Oxford and has represented England since her junior years. There is no information in publicly available biographical sources indicating a foreign family background.
The board pairings for the England vs Azerbaijan women's match are as follows:
Bodhana Sivanandan (2354) – Ulviyya Fataliyeva (2402)
Lan Yao (2270) – Govhar Beydullayeva (2392)
Jovanka Houska (2297) – Khanim Balajayeva (2356)
Harriet Hunt (2284) – Gulnar Mammadova (2311)
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's open team will face the Czech Republic in the fourth round of the Chess Olympiad.
The board pairings are as follows:
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2720) – Nguyen Thai Dai Van (2633)
Aydin Suleymanli (2664) – David Navara (2606)
Mahammad Muradli (2653) – Vaclav Finek (2578)
Eltaj Safarli (2616) – Jan Vykouk (2524)
