Monika Soćko won European Women Chess Championship!

Monika Soćko is the individual European chess champion! The experienced Pole beat her rivals perfectly and stood on the podium of the European Championships for the second time. This is the second year in a row that Polish women have won a medal at this event! Aleksandra Malcewska scored as many points as the second and third-placed players but finished just behind the podium due to a worse auxiliary score.

Soćko, seeded seventh, finished the tournament without defeat. She won six games and tied five, including the last three, accumulating 8.5 points. She secured her medal by finishing her Wednesday game as one of the first of the day, after eight moves.

“Monika Soćko made history with her achievement and can certainly be called the best Polish chess player of all time. She was seeded seventh but was not counted among the main favourites. In the Czech Republic, however, she played her best tournament in several years and showed excellent debut preparation and a great heart and tenacity. She left her most dangerous opponents Mammadzada and defending champion Elina Danieljan from Armenia far behind. A major contribution to her success was made by her husband Bartosz Soćko, who helped with the preparations and repeatedly saw through her rivals well. ‘The Polish grandmaster was well prepared for her opponents’ game strategy,’ PZSach head of training Michał Bartel told PAP.

The Polish women are not off the podium for the second year in a row. Last year, the bronze medal was won by Oliwia Kiolbasa. In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the championships did not take place. In 2019, Alina Kashlinskaya was the European champion, but at that time she was still playing in Russian colours. Soćko’s gold is the first gold medal in the history of competition at the European Women’s Championships.