"Ulviyya made us very happy. As soon as I finished the race, I congratulated her myself."
Zeinab Mamedjarova, a former chess player of the Azerbaijan national team, told Idman.biz.
The 40-year-old grandmaster appreciated the championship of Ulviyya Fataliyeva, who made history the first time in the European chess championship held on the Greek island of Rhodes. She said that the athlete, who won the title of champion, fought very well in the preliminary rounds: "We looked at the level of their games and their movements and analyzed them between us. Stable result and debut preparation was at a very good level. He looked comfortable. She used to get superior situations. When Ulviyya sets a goal, she shows character and achieves what she wants. It's a great result."
Mamedjarova also commented on the performances of other members of the other team: "They all played well at the beginning of the tournament. Sabina Ibrahimova showed a somewhat surprising result. Because she had not played chess for a long time. She stood out. Because Gulnar Mammadova made draws, the result was low. But we expected a higher performance than that. I believe that he will recover in future competitions. Ulviyya Fataliyeva also defeated Govhar Beydullayeva in the championship. Govhar could have been more successful if she had played that round with someone else. There is no good feeling among chess players when 2 Azerbaijanis compete against each other in the European Championship. We can show ourselves better against the representatives of other countries. We expected a good result from Govhar as well."
According to Mamedjarova, Govhar's chances also decreased after Ulviyya defeated her: "We believed in Gunay Mammadzada's successful performance as well. But the main thing is that he stood out. I am very happy that female chess players of Azerbaijan have already started to show better results in Europe. Russian athletes did not play in this competition. This was a great chance for us. But our girls are not the same. They have become very strong. If the Russians played, the opponents would be relatively stronger. But the current level of our chess players is enough to show results among strong grandmasters."
The former member of the national team revealed the secret of success and his expectations for future competitions: "When Elman Rustamov was the president of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation, I always said that special attention should be paid to girls, they should work with coaches, and awards should be written. The reason for this was that they were just sitting and playing chess. After Mahir Mammadov was elected as the head of the federation, great help was given to female chess players. Very strong coaches are brought to Azerbaijan. They needed it badly too. Therefore, it would be a sin not to use these conditions. From now on, we expect great results from our chess players. The Olympics and team competitions are especially important for me. Our girls have already won a bronze medal in this competition. I expect a higher result from our national team."
It should be noted that Ulviyya Fataliyeva is the European champion, and Gunay Mammadzada won the right to participate in the World Cup next year because she was in the top 10.
Emin Aga
Idman.biz
