site.btaPower Struggle in Bulgarian Chess Leads to Salimova Not Participating in Women's World Team Chess Championship

Nurgyul Salimova, who finished second in the Women's Chess World Cup in Baku on August 21, has declined the International Chess Federation's (FIDE) Provisional Committee's invitation to participate in Bulgaria's squad for the Women's World Team Chess Championship, which will take place in Bydgoszcz, Poland on September 5-12, segabg.com said on Friday. This is a consequence of a power struggle in Bulgarian chess in which five organizations claim the position of controlling body of the game in the country. FIDE seized control until the election of a single federation and a new president.

Salimova was part of the original line-up drawn up by the Bulgarian Chess Federation 2022 (BCF 2022) - one of the five aforementioned organizations, which was licensed by the Sports Ministry under Vessela Letcheva on November 3.

BCF 2022 said that FIDE rejected the proposed line-up. "It turned out that FIDE does not allow us to submit an application directly, as it must be approved by the Provisional Committee. Considering this a purely formal act, the list of the BFC 2022 team was sent to said Committee. The response stated that they have appointed a different coach and put together a different squad," BCF 2022 says in a message to the media.

BCF 2022 accuses FIDE's Provisional Committee Secretary Georgi Gradev of pressuring the players to accept to play under the conditions set by the Committee. Ultimately, Salimova was absent from the line-up, as was Nadya Toncheva who finished ninth at the European Individual Chess Championship.

"Bulgaria's participation is being compromised, and through the foreigners who head this Committee, the Bulgarian team is being crippled and deprived of the opportunity to top the rankings," BCF 2022's statement concludes.

Gradev told segabg.com that he did not exert pressure and that four players affiliated with BFC 2022 had rejected the invitation of the Provisional Committtee - including Salimova and Toncheva. Later on Friday, Gradev wrote on Facebook that he will sue BFC 2022 for defamation over their allegations.

Bulgaria's final squad for the World Team Chess Championships includes Antoaneta Stefanova, Gergana Peycheva, Viktoria Radeva and Beloslava Krasteva. Grandmaster Petar Arnaudov will be captain of the team.