IMKhanim Balajayeva

Khanim Balajayeva was born in Qax and gained early senior-team experience at the 2016 Olympiad in Baku. She played for Azerbaijan's third women's team there before joining the national side at the 2017 World Team Championship. She won the Azerbaijani women's championship in 2018 on tiebreak over Gunay Mammadzada. Later that year, she scored 7/9 at the Batumi Olympiad and won individual gold on board three. She became a woman grandmaster in 2019 and an international master in 2023.