“I feel more experienced and stronger after my participation in the Candidates Tournament,” Salimova told Sport in Bulgaria Foundation exclusively. “This is a top-level competition and few from around the world have managed to qualify for it. I am very happy that I was one of them.”

Sport in Bulgaria Foundation-supported chess player Nurgyul Salimova accumulated 5.5 points and finished seventh at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto, Canada.

Salimova was the youngest female chess player in the competition and performed admirably, recording one win, nine draws and four losses, to finish ahead of Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk in the final standings. “I learned a lot of new things, chess and not so chess, which I am sure will be useful for me in the future,” Nurgyul added.

The winner was China’s Tang Zhongyi with 9 points and she will play for the world title against her compatriot Jiu Wenjun. Salimova believes good preparation was one of the main things that helped her perform well in Toronto. “There is no change in my plans and training – I have just noted new things to work on to perform even better in the next tournaments I take part in,” she added.

The Sport in Bulgaria Foundation continues to support Nurgyul Salimova and is doing everything possible to ease her path to world success.