Irina Bulmaga

Irina Bulmaga is a WGM/IM born in Moldova, currently representing Romania. She became the youngest Moldavian Champion among Women at the age of 14 years old. Since 2010, she has been a part of the Romanian Olympic team, successfully representing it at 5 Olympiads, winning an individual bronze medal in 2014. Irina’s been the top rated female player of Romania for two years now, being a constant presence in the Top 100 rated Women in the World for over five years. She holds more than 30 National titles at classical, rapid, blitz and solving and won various national and international chess tournaments. To check out more, visit: irinabulmaga.blogspot.com

Recent news

Chess, my brain and I (and pickles)

3/18/2023 – Irina Bulmaga is the 30th highest-rated woman player in the world. Last month, she bravely decided to play in the open section of the Romanian Championship, when only a final-round loss prevented her from reaching the podium. Here she tells us the story of her time in Sebes, focusing on her inner thoughts, presented as a candid dialogue with her own brain. She concludes: “Brain and I are thankful. GM or not, we have a purpose. Our life is about chess and making girls and women believe”. | Photo: Romanian Chess Federation
More...
 13

A friendly tournament: The Paleochora Open

7/28/2022 – The 15th edition of the Paleochora Open took place from the 17th to the 24th July on Crete. It is a tournament with a special atmosphere, which is one of the reasons why Irina Bulmaga likes to return to play in the small town which is about 70 km south of Chania. The Romanian IM and WGM reports from this year's open.
More...
 2

Targu Mures: Nisipeanu wins ahead of 13-year old Ukrainian IM

6/15/2022 – Rating favourite Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu (pictured, on the left) won the Targu Mures Open, a tournament that is part of the Romanian Grand Prix, a series of strong open events in Romania. In round 1 Nisipeanu lost against WGM Mihaela Sandu but he recovered and finished sole first with 7.0/9, ahead of the 13-year old Ukrainian IM Ihor Samunenkov who was sole second with 6.5/9. Irina Bulmaga (pictured, on the right) won the women's prize and sent a report. | Photos: CS Juvenes | Facebook
More...
 5

Unmasked emotions: a trip to Havana

5/5/2022 – “It is early night in Havana. A red retro Chevrolet convertible is taking us back to the iconic Hotel Nacional. The ocean is on our right, the lively streets of the old town on the left, and I can’t help thinking that it’s a dream I will soon wake up from”, writes Irina Bulmaga about her successful trip to Havana, where she got a remarkable victory in the Premier group of the Capablanca Memorial. | Pictured: A photo from the Morro Castle, a fortress guarding the entrance to the Havana harbour
More...
 11

The joys of chess: The Romanian Blitz, Rapid and Solving Championships

3/16/2022 – From 11 to 13 March the Romanian Rapid, Blitz and Solving Championships took place in Bucharest, at the "Pentagon Events" venue and attracted a record number of 212 participants, 163 in the Open section and 49 in the Women’s section. Irina Bulmaga (pictured), who won the Solving and the Rapid event, reports. | Teaser Photo: David Llada > All other photos: Florin Ardelean / We Love Sport

Irina Bulmaga looks back on the "Battle of the Sexes" match in Gibraltar

2/15/2022 – The "Battle of the Sexes" was a ten-round Scheveningen match between ten male and ten female players that was played from 24 January to 3rd February in Gibraltar. The men won 53-47, and looking back on the match, Irina Bulmaga (pictured), who commentated the games live in Gibraltar, wonders if and why the men were better at team-building and what this match says about women's chess. | Photo: David Llada

In a serene little village: Solodovnichenko wins Paleochora Open

9/3/2021 – Paleochora is a serene little village which occupies a small peninsula on the southeast coast of Crete. Even during the uneasy pandemic time, Paleochora welcomed more than 300 players from all around the world for the 14th edition of the Open, one of the strongest tournaments in Greece. Irina Bulmaga reports from a paradisiacal location.

Mother tongue and chess – is there a connection?

4/30/2021 – Since 2009 Irina Bulmaga (pictured) has played in the German "Bundesliga", and recently she decided to use the enforced break caused by the pandemic to start learning German. However, passionate chess player that she is, she could not help but wonder whether there is any connection between the written and unwritten rules of the language you grow up with and the way you later study and play chess - and had some fun trying to find an answer to this question. | Photo: David Llada

What's your profession?

2/22/2021 – Irina Bulmaga is a chess professional from Romania but she has sometimes found it difficult to explain to non-chess players what this means. Until recently - when she had an interesting conversation about chess, women's chess, Judit Polgar, Garry Kasparov, and others topics, while waiting for an official document. | Photo: Irina Bulmaga | Photo: David Llada

A Chess Story

1/23/2021 – Irina Bulmaga is a Woman Grandmaster, an International Master, and a chess professional. She discovered her passion for chess when she was still a child, and in a short story she looks back to the start of her chess career and remembers the beginning of a life-long love affair.

Irina Bulmaga: Playing and loving chess during the pandemic

11/20/2020 – Irina Bulmaga loves chess. Before corona, the Romanian IM and WGM used to travel all over the world to play in tournaments and league events. But the pandemic brought all that to a halt. In a passionate article Bulmaga wonders how corona changed her life as a chess professional, and how the pandemic affected her love for the game. | Photo: David Llada

Bulmaga tops a quartet in Sharjah, UAE

1/20/2020 – Escaping the cold Romanian winter, IM IRINA BULMAGA returned home recently from a successful jaunt to the UAE where she shared first with fellow IMs Irine Sukandar and IM Olga Zimina, and GM Monika Socko, each scoring 7 out of 9. It was the tenth such tournament for women in Sharjah. | Photos: Official site: shjwomenchess.com

A trip to Saudi Arabia

3/23/2019 – The 1st Hail Rapid Chess Tournament for men and women took place from the 15th to the 18th of March in Hail, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It gathered more than 200 participants from 18 countries. Wang Hao took clear first in the men's tournament while IM IRINA BULMAGA won the women's tournament and sends her reflections. | Photos: KSAchess Twitter

Wang Hao wins 9th HD Bank Open 2019

3/17/2019 – Chinese GM Wang Hao finished first in the 9th HD Bank Open in Vietnam's most populous city and most popular tourist destination, Ho Chi Minh City. IM IRINA BULMAGA was there and reports on this strong traditional Open tournament, which saw a star performance by the second youngest Grandmaster ever, the Indian prodigy D. Gukesh. | Pictured: Stanislav Bogdanovich, Wang Hao, Nandhidhaa P V, Wen Yang | Photo: chess.hdbank.com.vn
Scroll down to reload more