Balgarianovinite.com Nadya Toncheva became only the fourth Bulgarian female chess player to earn the International Master (IM) title after finishing runner-up at a strong classical chess tournament in Kavala, Greece.
By scoring 7 points out of a possible 9, Sofia’s Levski Chess Club player achieved her third and final IM norm, securing the second-highest title in chess after Grandmaster (GM). Before Toncheva, only Antoaneta Stefanova, Iva Videnova-Kuljasevic and Nurgyul Salimova had achieved this. Former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova remains the only Bulgarian woman to hold the highest title of Grandmaster.
In Kavala, Toncheva was surpassed only by Polish Grandmaster Milosz Szpar, who won the open (mixed-gender) tournament with 7.5 points. Among the Bulgarian’s most notable results were her seventh-round victory with the black pieces over Colombia’s Santiago Lopez Rayo, the tournament’s 11th seed, and her eighth-round draw with the white pieces against the top seed, Greek Grandmaster Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis.
In addition, Toncheva, who trains under Grandmaster Vladimir Dimitrov, surpassed the 2400 Elo rating mark. At the tournament in Greece, where she recorded six wins, two draws and just one loss, she gained 36 rating points, bringing her live rating to 2408.
The Kavala tournament featured 148 players, including nine from Bulgaria. Behind Toncheva, the next best-performing Bulgarian was women’s national team member Beloslava Krasteva, who scored 5.5 points to finish in 39th place. Nadya Toncheva Becomes Only Fourth Bulgarian Female Chess Player to Earn International Master Title 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-04 17:04:24 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law