Chess:Mihaela Sandu takes 26th place marred by cheating accusations, Natalia Zukova is new European champion

Natalia Zukova of Ukraine is the new European champion in chess after the Georgian tournament that was marred by the unfounded accusations that Romanian chess player Mihaela Sandu had cheated during the competition.

Natalia Zukova finished first with 9.5 points of 11 possible.

The only representative of Romania, Woman Grand Master Mihaela Sandu placed 26th, being affected by the pressure and negative atmosphere of the second half of the competition. It is noteworthy that Mihaela Sandu had led the provisional rankings until round 5, up until which she had 5 consecutive victories. After that round, she was unfairly accused by 15 players of having cheated.

The Romanian Chess Federation has issued a protest to the organizers of the Georgian tournament, as well as to the head arbiter of the championship, in which they showed that Woman Grand Master Mihaela Sandu was subjected to undeserved pressures, and that the negative atmosphere affected the capacity of the player to perform in their best form. The document bears the signature of Vladimir Danilov, Secretary General of the Romanian Chess Federation.

Vladimir Danilov mentioned for AGERPRES that all the accusations brought against the Romanian player turned out to be unfounded.

The tournament was organized by the Georgian Chess Federation and the European Chess Union at the Oasis Palace Hotel in Chakvi, with 98 chess players in attendance. The first 14 players also qualified for the next Women's World Championship.

In the 2014 edition, the continental title was won by Valentina Gunina of Russia, following the European Chess Championship that took place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. AGERPRES