Freedom

     FREEDOM, FREEdom
     What is it- an undertaken right or an unconscious burden?
     Many say that the most important thing for a human being to have is freedom. I think that freedom is nothing if not knowing what to do with it. Who cares that you're free to have an opinion if you don't ever say which is it; who cares that you're free to choose your company if you hang out with people whom you hate but you need them for some reason; who cares that you're free to love if you never do it. Who cares???
     We pretend that we're free-we are people who can do whatever we want in the limits of the law. What kind of law am I talking about? Every other man has his own extra 300 laws.
     Freedom is such a burden to some people... "If only I didn't have to choose- it would be so much easier". No one made you choose anything- we're not living in socialism anymore- you choose whether you're mojo's bitch or not. Easy.
     One never values freedom until he loses it. Actually, it's good to be able to lose your freedom- it means that you had it at some point.

 

   

Last Resort

     Have you ever used chess as the last resort of getting better?

     It is an interesting thing- when something goes wrong and I am down I always use chess in order to get back to normal. When it seems that nothing can make me feel better- I lose myself in chess and it always saves me. One can get hope when practicing chess. When it seems that there's nothing more to lose- one can just focus all his energy on chess. 

     Instead of going to bed pitying myself and worrying about the following day- I practice chess until my mind gets so exhausted that I can't think about anything and I just crash. When I wake up the next morning I feel better because I know that I can practice chess again not carrying about anything else.

     It is a good thing to be able to use chess as a resort of saving yourself and I am so happy that I've got it.

9 Months

     I was wondering today how is that to have a child.
     When a woman spends 9 months of her life carrying a baby under her heart- what kind of love must she feel? It should be something very deep. Well, everyone knows that there's a strong connection between the mother and her child, but I started to think how special it must be only now. Why now? Because I've started to wonder how much love is there to give. How much love can one give during his life? Doesn't he run short of it at some point?
     If one can give so much love, I guess that it means that he can also take the same amount of sorrow. There should be a balance. The more you give- the more you get. There's unfortunately no filter to what you get- it can be either bad or good.
     Giving more means exposing yourself more. You put so much out there that if you lose it- there might be nothing left for you and it is scary. Well, life is generally scary and  if one would start to be afraid of getting hurt- he'll never get to grief other what or whom he lost but in the same time he'll never feel himself being integer- he'll never be so happy that he could feel that he can fly...
     Real love inspires, gives you hope and it puts all you've got on a public bench. It's a really big risk- the only hope is that the right person would take a sit on the bench and that he'd take care of what you had put there...

     The point is to choose very carefully the alley where you want to find a bench.
   

Back in Romania

     I am in Romania! It feels so good being here with the people I love after such a long and crazy adventure in Thailand!
     I have about a week of relaxation and then a very important tournament to me comes- the European Individual Men's Championship in Poland. It is going to be a very tough event, where I will play against very strong opponents every round.
     I am so happy! Thailand was great for me- it brought summer in my mind and in my life and there is nothing but big plans, hopes and dreams ahead now.
     Here are some photos from the days I spent in Bangkok after the tournament:

      I will enjoy the few days of rest I've got and then- with new forces and full of energy- all in chess!

xoxo from Romania ;) 

Living on a prayer in Pattaya

     The 13th BCC Open has finished. The tournament was won convincingly by the Australian GM Zhao-Zong Yuan, being the only one to score 7,5p out of 9.

1		GM	Zhao Zong-Yuan	AUS	2537	2537	0	7.5	0.0	51.5	41.50	6	40.0	2695	9	7.5	5.65	1.85	10	18.5
2		IM	Wan Yunguo	CHN	2494	2494	0	7.0	0.0	54.5	41.00	6	36.5	2607	9	7	5.55	1.45	10	14.5
3		GM	Gustafsson Jan	GER	2621	2621	0	7.0	0.0	54.5	40.75	5	37.5	2647	9	7	6.49	0.51	10	5.1
4		GM	Vajda Levente	ROU	2632	2632	0	7.0	0.0	53.5	41.00	6	35.5	2584	9	7	7.09	-0.09	10	-0.9
5		GM	Hansen Sune Berg	DEN	2561	2561	0	7.0	0.0	53.5	40.50	5	38.0	2633	9	7	6.05	0.95	10	9.5
6		GM	Laylo Darwin	PHI	2491	2491	0	7.0	0.0	51.5	39.50	5	36.5	2592	9	7	5.71	1.29	10	12.9
7		GM	Barbosa Oliver	PHI	2563	2563	0	7.0	0.0	50.5	38.00	6	35.5	2581	9	7	6.69	0.31	10	3.1
8		GM	Antonio Rogelio Jr	PHI	2527	2527	0	6.5	0.0	55.5	38.25	5	37.5	2609	9	6.5	5.28	1.22	10	12.2
9		IM	Wang Chen	CHN	2485	2485	0	6.5	0.0	54.5	37.50	4	36.5	2571	9	6.5	5.18	1.32	10	13.2
10		GM	Koneru Humpy	IND	2597	2597	0	6.5	0.0	53.5	37.00	4	36.0	2568	9	6.5	6.53	-0.03	10	-0.3
11		GM	Short Nigel D	ENG	2697	2697	0	6.5	0.0	50.5	34.50	6	33.5	2520	9	6.5	7.71	-1.21	10	-12.1
12		GM	Venkatesh M.R.	IND	2508	2508	0	6.5	0.0	49.0	35.00	4	33.5	2463	9	6.5	6.72	-0.22	10	-2.2
13			Ma Zhonghan	CHN	2372	2372	0	6.5	0.0	48.0	33.25	4	34.0	2496	9	6.5	4.84	1.66	15	24.9
14		GM	Schebler Gerhard	GER	2445	2445	0	6.5	0.0	47.0	31.25	5	35.0	2454	9	6.5	5.87	0.63	10	6.3
15		GM	Horvath Adam	HUN	2509	2509	0	6.5	0.0	46.5	31.75	5	33.5	2460	9	6.5	6.75	-0.25	10	-2.5
16			Rishi Sardana	IND	2232	2232	0	6.5	0.0	46.5	30.50	6	30.0	2443	9	6.5	4.10	2.40	15	36.0

     Here is the link where you can find the full  final standings: http://chess-results.com/tnr94564.aspx?art=1&rd=9&lan=11&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984

Zhao Zong-Yuan

The only other Romanian playing in the event-Levente Vajda, took the 4th place

Chess-a game for everyone

The 5 best players receiving their trophies

Enjoying some coconut juice with my roommate- Irene Sukandar

Playing vs Levente Vajda in the 8th round- it was an interesting game!

      The tournament was organized on a very high level- mr.Kai Tuorila made a very good job. I recommend to everyone this tournament and I will also come the next year!
      We went in the center after the closing ceremony- to listen to my favourite Thai band in the Hottuna Bar for the last time. It was a fun night!
   
xoxo from Bangkok

Crocodile Smile

     My adventure in Thailand continues!
     The tournament finished- I made 6p out of 9- a normal result. Well, actually I would have been dissapointed if I got this result in any other tournament- but here-in Thailand- I am satisfied with it- 5 Elo points is a small price to pay for all the new experiences I had!
     We visited the Sriracha Tiger Zoo today-it was amazing! Here are some photos:

Staging "The Nutcracker"

Sweet friend of mine-crocodile!

     This photo-well, only I know how my heart beated while the photographer took his time :D The adrenaline I got was really worth it!

Hm-dangerous... :D

Horvath Adam

Adam Horvath, Levente Vajda, Zoltan Varga and Czebe Attila (from left to right)

Some shooting?

     See you later, alligator!

More articles about Thailand to follow!

xoxo from Bangkok ;)