Redhead in Groningen

     Half of the tournament has already passed. Yeah, that's how I'll start this post, no mention of any celebration- still too early for that.

     I have 2,5p/4 with 3 draws and a win- 3 draws!!! I normally make them in 3-4 tournaments :))) Have never ever been such a solid player before! :D Don't think that I didn't try to win- I played 100 moves in the 1st game and 135 in the 2nd one ('ve discovered that the Queen+Knight vs Queen endgame is a dead draw, but not before tormenting my opponent and myself for 50 moves).
     Well, now- getting to the interesting part...
     I had a fantastic experience the other evening! The tournament director invited us to a special event- an evening dedicated to the French composer- Eric Satie. There was live piano music, there was fantastic singing and a mute movie that impressed me a lot and made me regret that I am such a rare bird in the artistic entourage.
     And here comes the Christmas part...
     It is my first Christmas away from home and I don't really feel its spirit. I've always associated it with home, with too much tasty food, lots of presents and too many family members :D
     We had a different celebration of Christmas this year- with chess players, blitz, jokes, fun, going out and fun again :) Can't tell which one I liked more- both have their own charm :P

     All these being said, have a nice Christmas and if you don't- never mind- it's just a day in the calendar!

Ioana Gelip and Vlad Stegariu

With Alex Stegariu

xoxo from the redhead in Groningen

A taste of NL

     There've been no posts lately and, judging by the increasing number of views- everyone was curious about what was going on.
     Well, the beginning of December was too intense- I had many problems to solve and I simply had no mood and no physical or psychological strength to distract on anything else. The conclusion I've drawn out of all this stuff is never to put anyone's interest above yours. People leave, but the sacrifices you've made for them stay with you.
     All in all, I am happy that everything's behind and I have no concerns but how to have a good time until next year ;)
     My friends and I are in Groningen now, playing a tournament here. The city has proved to be very nice so far. We had a really nice walk through the center yesterday! Our hotel is quite far from everything and there's an about 4 km walk to the center. We were lucky to ask the direction we should go a guy in a car and he dropped us in the center :D People in this city seem to be very friendly and I have the feeling that we'll have a very good time here.
     As about the tournament itself- it is organized nicely and the only thing left is to play some good chess :) You can find the results and the pairings here: http://www.schaakstadgroningen.nl/festival/14/A/
     Here are some photos:

With Ioana Gelip

With Ioana Gelip and Alex Stegariu

xoxo from Groningen ;)