Want a piece?

     As I'm done with my first exam and my session at Uni is officially opened, have thought of some nice way to relax and to take my thoughts from studying all kind of Management stuff. I think you've guessed what came across my mind- chess!
     Here's a game which I particularly like from my latest tournament in Groningen:

Black to move

  
      This position came from a Caro-Kann, me being black vs Hulshof Peter (2178). The position is looking very comfortable for black, with such a great knight on "a4", though, if black is not to take some immediate actions, white might play Rd4, with the obvious idea of getting rid of my knight, which would leave me with pretty much nothing.
      In this moment, I got the idea of exploding the position with a piece sacrifice! It is not winning, but I couldn't bare such a big temptation! 20... f6! 21. Rd4, and now...
   

Black to move

     21...Nxc3 might have been more precise, but 21...Nxb2 proved to work as well. 22.Qxb2- fxe5 23. Rdd1- Rxf2. My opponent failed to find the best defense, which was 23.Rg4- with an unclear position.

White to move

     White's position is already lost, despite the extra piece, black has complete domination. 24.Kh1- Be4 25. Rg1- Qe3 26. Rd2- Rcf8

White to move

     Black threats 27... Bxg2 28.Rxg2- Rf1+ with mate, white doesn't have any good enough defense, so he played 27. Bf3 and after R8xf3 white resigned.
     I really like playing attacking chess and being given the opportunity to make an interesting sacrifice, I usually don't think twice :D


     Wish you all a nice week, without too much calculation!


xoxo from Iasi ;)

Call me Shallow

     I could write about countless things today, like the birthday of the great Romanian poet- Mihai Eminescu, or about the very interesting Tata Steel Chess tournaments, but I prefer to approach a more personal theme- sports.
     I think that Sport is the best thing that have ever happened to me, and I'm not talking only about chess, I'm talking about jogging, fitness, table tennis, swimming, etc.

      I haven't been a big fan of being on move since forever. I've discovered the pleasure and the adrenaline that practicing sports induce only in 2009 and since then, with some 2 years gap, I've become very friendly with all kind of sports. Jogging is my all favorite, as I have a quite good resistance and I enjoy running with my headphones on... It clears my mind when I'm worried about too many things and it helps me meditate on all kind of matters. Jogging gives me a sense of control not only over my body, but over my life as well. I guess that some people don't need it, as they can get this feeling from elsewhere, but for me- it's the best option I've discovered so far.
     I have in mind some more sports that I find quite appealing, but I still didn't have the courage to try them for good and that's basketball and box. I hope that they will cross my way at some point :)
     I remember that I started to practice sports only because of the strive to change my body and nowadays, more and more people associate working out only with a great care about self image. It's not that it's an all false impression, I just think that people who pretend not to care about their bodies are either unaware of the health risks they're exposed to, or they've lost their believe that they could change themselves, so they just call the "5 times a week working out" people- "shallow".

     It's not like I'm a saint in living healthy or smth, but I think that practicing sports is an easy way to balance at least some of the unhealthy things we're exposed to in our lives (willingly or not).


Wish you all a week full of adrenaline and sports!


xoxo from Iasi

Double Skip

With my dear sister, Elena

     There are not many things going on lately, though I can't complain about a loose schedule either ;)
     2015 has started promising for me, I got the chance to spend a few days in Chisinau, with my
family (finally got to see my beloved sister). I am so lucky to have such an amazing sibling! She's my little ray of sunshine :) I miss her too much since she's moved to study in the UK...
     I got back to Iasi then, have to honor my being a student mission. The exams will start soon, so I have to study a bit :) It's only half a year left and I'll graduate! I am happy about it, though I can't stop wondering how could time fly so quickly...
     I feel like I'm on a crossroad, what's next now? You know, they say- graduate high school, get a degree and then... I don't like the get a job part, so I'll just skip it, the marrying, children part- double skip- too early, so I guess I have a "some" years gap to fill in with smth- preferably with some amazing chess memories ;)
     These being said, I'll try not to look too far away in the future and focus on my Uni Saga :))) I promise a huge article about the Romanian Studying System when I get my degree, there might be some curious professors getting friendly with google :P
     Wish you all a fine week and a great time following Wijk aan Zee!



xoxo from Iasi ;)

The Freedom Currency

     In a place where nothing is certain and the most of my deeds are based on instinct rather than on rationing it gets really strange to be around people who know for sure what they are going to do in the next 5 years. It gets even stranger when they tell you the place you'll be by that time. I don't even know where I'm going to be tomorrow...
     I dream of unconditioned freedom, of meeting my destiny with nothing
but a rucksack on my back, a smile on my face and the wind carrying me on.
     They used to fight for freedom and to sacrifice their lives so their children could have a chance to know what liberty is. Their fight was won, but I still feel an invisible chain. As long as you're a part of society, you'll never be free, because there are always people whose opinion is more important than what you feel.
     There are people who pretend to be free, they wear the mask of "not carrying" but even they are being fooled because they are not free enough to be able to relinquish their freedom when the moment comes.
     I think that life is about the moments when you crave for liberty and you're too afraid to claim it and about the ones when it's a price you're gladly willing to pay, but they don't accept this currency.
     Just give me a call when freedom has reveled itself to you...



xoxo from Chisinau ;)

Between Words

      A New Year is here, but there's pretty much time to speak about 2015.
     2014 was a very full year, one filled with many hopes, firsts, achievements and some disappointments as well. Chess has kept being the satellite of my planet Earth and there are no changes in the horizon. The more I play chess, the more I enjoy the chess lifestyle, with all the traveling, discovering new places and people. I keep ferreting different life aspects and I love seeing myself constantly changing. I don't know if it's what they call progress, but there are less and less wars I lead against myself. I've enjoyed being 20+, becoming independent and there are fewer and fewer "no's" I say to myself.

   2015 is the year of my graduation and I really hope that I'll never have to use my diploma. I don't want to live in a World where playing chess is just a hobby. Some friends told me that this year will be about freedom for me.
     Can't do anything about it but embrace it with my heart and mind opened!
 
     Have a Happy New Year and don't be afraid to say "Yes"!






xoxo from Chisinau ;)