Monday 17 March 2014

The Game

     It's been a very interesting month for me, one in which I had some very good time doing the things I like the most.
With a dear friend- Katerina Pavlidou
     The Europeans ended for me not as well as it had started. If I had a 2600+ performance after the first five rounds and a high level of chess, the tournament ended with me showing a 2440 performance and only one truly good game out of the last 6. If to consider that it was the first tournament of the year for me, after a two and a half months break, the result is normal, one that I hope to be followed by better ones :)
     As about Armenia, I enjoyed it and I am grateful for the nice people I have met there and for the friends I've made :)
     Aaah, not to forget to mention, if you remember, I was telling how much I liked the Armenian food in the last post... Well, I guess I liked it too much, as I got a very nasty food poisoning in the last days- maybe that's the reason why I started winning again :))) (I suppose it is a joke, well, the last part, the food poisoning wasn't any of a joke :P )
     I've drawn all the necessary conclusions and I am ready to play the next tournaments (or I will be in about 10 days :)
Constantin Lupulescu
     The last but not the least important thing about the tournament- Constantin Lupulescu shared the 2nd place with an impressive 2759 performance and has qualified for the 2015 World Cup, with which I congratulate him once again! 2/2 in the last two games, both with black, against higher rated players, both in French- hm... maybe I should rethink my opening repertoire ;)
     Now, about next tournaments- I will play the "Karpos Open",which will be held  in Macedonia, from the 29th of March. It is going to be a very strong tournament, I am nr.82 so far in the starting ranking list, which you can check here: http://chess-results.com/tnr121297.aspx?lan=11
     I will play another three tournaments after that, about which I'll keep you posted ( of course :D )!
     That's it so far, I have so much to write about, but let's keep the intrigue until the next posts ;)

     An idea to keep your mind busy- "Do you think your personal karma affects your level of chess?"


xoxo from Iasi ;)

Sunday 9 March 2014

Good Day

     There it is- a half of the Europeans has already passed.
     It is as I expected, a very difficult, but in the same time a very challenging and interesting tournament. I've played against strong opponents, I learned new things and I've fighted in every game until the very end. I am satisfied with my chess so far- well, it's impossible to be 100% satisfied, but I understand that there's a reason I'm still an IM and not a GM- there is place for improvement.
     We had a free day today and as a "real professional" I went to an excursion through the holly places of Yerevan. I had some very good time and I learned many new things about christianity and about the Armenian history.
     Another thing I can't help mentioning is the Armenian food- it is so tasty that I think I will try to learn how to cook some of their dishes- especially their traditional soup "Spas". I eat it at least once a day :D
     I hope that the second part of the tournament will go at least as well as the first one :)
     The other Romanians keep their chances for qualification, with Constantin Lupulescu and Mircea Parligras having the best score among us- "+2".

46GMLupulescu Constantin2643ROU11½½½½4.0422670102.50Official results
74GMNevednichy Vladislav2591ROU½010½13.0158230810-20.00Official results
85GMJianu Vlad-Cristian2574ROU1½01½½3.587251510-2.90Official results
88GMParligras Mircea-Emilian2572ROU1010114.067252910-2.20Official results
166IMBulmaga Irina2375ROU½10½½02.516125471012.10Official results
187FMDeac Bogdan-Daniel2322ROU01½0½02.02022324150.30Official results
251Porfireanu Serban1903ROU0000011.0255133715-18.30Official results
     Here are some photos from the last days:












You can find more photos on the tournament's site: http://eicc2014.am/gallery

With Maria Gevorgyan and Katerina Pavlidou ;)
xoxo from Yerevan! ;)
     

Sunday 2 March 2014

Yerevan

     Here I am , in Yerevan- at the European Individual Chess Championship- the tournament that opens this year's chess season for me.
     I like playing the Men's Europeans, as it is the strongest tournament I play every year and there is absolutely no pressure on me, thought it doesn't mean that I don't put some by myself :D
     I've missed chess, as I haven't played for 2 and a half months and the trip to Yerevan has been a very awaited one. It is my first time in Armenia and I like it- everything has been great so far- the food, the hotel, the receipt. I hope that it will continue this way ;)
     The first round starts tomorrow, at 3 pm local time. Here is the official site, where you can find all the information about the tournament, as well as the live games and photo reports: http://eicc2014.am/  I expect to have a very strong opponent tomorrow, as I am nr.167 out of 259  http://chess-results.com/tnr123081.aspx?lan=11&zeilen=99999
     I hope to play some good games and to show my best chess!
     Romania is represented by 7 players here:
46GMLupulescu Constantin1207822ROU2643
74GMNevednichy Vladislav1205730ROU2591
85GMJianu Vlad-Cristian1208110ROU2574
88GMParligras Mircea-Emilian1204297ROU2572
167IMBulmaga Irina13903063ROU2375
188Deac Bogdan-Daniel1226380ROU2322
252Porfireanu Serban1208632ROU1903

     I wish them all the best of luck (including myself :D ) !
     Here are some photos from my today's walk through the center of Yerevan:


Seems like chess is a tradition around here



With Mircea Parligras and Constantin Lupulescu
     Will keep you posted!


xoxo from Yerevan  ;)