European Women's Championship: Underdog Poliakova takes the lead

by Stefan Liebig
5/28/2026 – After three rounds at the 2026 European Women’s Championship in Batumi, seven players still maintain a perfect score of 3/3. Varvara Poliakova, seeded 110th, currently leads the standings on tiebreak. Close behind the leading group is a pack of 15 players on 2.5/3. | Photo: European Chess Union
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On the top board, IM Ulviyya Fatliyeva (2450) of Azerbaijan, the European champion from two years ago and rated almost 200 points higher, had to settle for a draw against Josefine Safarli. On board two, IM Mai Narva (Estonia, 2426) defeated WFM Charis Peglau (2238) after an interesting game that eventually led to a winning rook ending for Estonia’s top-ranked female player. Mai demonstrated excellent endgame technique and converted her advantage with confidence.

Charis Peglau (left) caused a sensation in round two by defeating Yuliia Osmak. In round three, however, Mai Narva (right) proved too strong. | Photo: European Chess Union

The 16-year-old Ukrainian WFM Anastasiia Hnatyshyn (2207) produced the sensation of round three: on board four she defeated the Spanish IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (2375) with the black pieces. Hnatyshyn obtained a slight edge right from the opening and steadily increased her advantage until she reached a winning endgame with an extra piece, which she converted soon afterwards.

WFM Varvara Poliakova (FIDE, 2108) continues her sensational run in the tournament. After her surprise victory over IM Irina Bulmaga (Romania, 2361) in round one and her win against WGM Sofia Pogorelskikh (Serbia, 2284) in round two, she scored another point in round three against WIM Adela Velikic (Serbia, 2277). Velikic appeared to be well prepared in the opening, but mistakes in the early middlegame allowed Poliakova to seize the initiative. Although the position remained complicated, 29...Rg8?? proved to be the decisive blunder that handed Varvara the win.

IM Oliwia Kiolbasa (Poland, 2397) won with the white pieces against WIM Sofiia Hryzlova (Switzerland, 2226). | Photo: European Chess Union

Of the leaders headed by Poliakova, only Narva is currently among the top seeds. Fataliyeva, seeded fifth, dropped her first half-point against Safarli. The other favourites have already conceded even more ground. Dinara Wagner won her third-round game against Bulgaria’s Viktoria Radeva (2242) and will face Olga Zimina (Italy, 2290) on board six in round four. On the neighbouring board, Josefine Safarli, who has also started strongly with 2.5/3, will play reigning European Blitz Champion IM Eline Roebers (2389) of the Netherlands.

Standings after round 3

Rk. Name Pts.  Tb1 
1 Poliakova, Varvara 3 0
2 Kazarian, Anna-Maja 3 0
3 Narva, Mai 3 0
4 Kiolbasa, Oliwia 3 0
5 Hnatyshyn, Anastasiia 3 0
6 Aydin, Gulenay 3 0
7 Mirzoeva, Elmira 3 0
8 Fataliyeva, Ulviyya 2,5 0
9 Socko, Monika 2,5 0
10 Mammadzada, Gunay 2,5 0
11 Safarli, Josefine 2,5 0
12 Bivol, Alina 2,5 0
13 Rakhmangulova, Anastasiya 2,5 0
14 Antova, Gabriela 2,5 0
15 Rodshtein, Tereza 2,5 0
16 Wagner, Dinara 2,5 0
17 Zherebtsova, Alexandra 2,5 0
18 Salimova, Nurgyul 2,5 0
19 Toncheva, Nadya 2,5 0
20 Roebers, Eline 2,5 0
21 Zimina, Olga 2,5 0
22 Charkhalashvili, Inga 2,5 0
23 Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina 2 0
24 Skvortsova, Alena 2 0
25 Velikic, Adela 2 0
26 Peglau, Charis 2 0

...165 players

Games

Tournament page

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Topics: Batumi, European Women's Championship 2026, Varvara Poliakova
Stefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.
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