site.btaBulgarian Chess Player Nurgyul Salimova Records Second Draw at Women's Candidates Tournament in Toronto

Nurgul Salimova recorded a second draw at the Women's Candidates Tournament 2024 in Toronto, Canada on Saturday. In the second round, the 20-year-old Bulgarian finished in a white draw with China's Lei Tingjie. The game lasted 39 moves, with the two agreeing to a draw in a completely even endgame.

The 14-round tournament in Toronto will see the winner become the official challenger for the world title currently held by China's Ju Wenjun.

The Bulgarian and Tingjie, who played for the world title last year, played a Queen's Gambit and on the eighth move exchanged queens pieces. This greatly reduced both their opportunities for attacking play and greatly simplified the board position.

After the draw, Salimova has one point out of a possible two, while the Chinese has half a point in her tally. The leader with the maximum two points is the other Chinese player in the tournament - Tan Zhongyi, who won over Indian Vaishali Rameshbabu in her last game.

In the third round, which is on Saturday night, the Bulgarian will play the black pieces against Rameshbabu.