Narva made history at the tournament, held on the Greek island of Rhodes, becoming the first Estonian to win a medal at a major championship.

She won six of her 11 games (including five with black pieces) and drew four.

That was enough for bronze, behind Serbia's Teodora Injac, who defeated Narva and won the event, and Irina Bulmaga of Romania, who finished second.

Speaking to ETV's Sunday sports program, Narva, 25, said: "Now it has definitely sunk in, but it certainly hasn't worn off. I think this is the best achievement in my life."

"This is a very strong tournament, most of the European top players are there — maybe only those who are also global elites are absent. For them, the European Championship isn't that important," Narva went on.

Narva has an International Chess Federation (FIDE) ranking of 2,380 (compared with Injac's 2,454) and now considers herself among the world's top 50 players.

She said: "Sometimes it feels like the top ten isn't that far off, and other times it feels like it is. I can play with them and sometimes even beat them, but being consistently at their level is still far away."

As for strategy, she said she focuses most on openings, even though it's not her strong suit.

"This might be my weakest area — my opening knowledge hasn't yet reached the level of the world's top players," Narva added.

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