God, I miss Romania!

My trip to Reykjavik has started a few days ago with a stopover in the UK to visit family in a terrible, traditional English town.

Every time I come here, I think that living in this place would be impossible for me. Why? First, because in this lifetime I must fulfill my dream of living surrounded by magnificent concrete walls while breathing the crisp, life prolonging, factory infused air. I’m also worried of not being able to get enough of the occasional dog bite as a form of appreciation for being an exemplary neighbour, and of course- the best of it all- getting the daily dose of satisfaction while savouring the famous Bucharest traffic. Once you try it- you’re hooked for life. You start craving to see people crossing streets at unmarked places, you miss hearing the unequaled Romanian swearing! It embraces equally all the members of society! One can never feel discriminated here- no matter of the skin colour, age, sex orientation or gods they believe in.

In the UK, life is too plain. There’s a depressing lake surrounded by a natural reservation where I can never find the familiar litter lying inconspicuously behind bushes. There’s no charm in cycling here either. My natural talent of looking at the wrong side of the road whenever I try to ensure passage through a crossroad always fails to bring the much-desired result- they never swear at me! They just smile. Every time. It’s an abomination! Instead of the healthy dose of adrenaline rush I’m used to get, I have priority in passage for my whole lifetime and I don’t get to use neither my health nor life insurance. What a waste!

A castle where no one ever got impaled; two pubs where I never get the chance to complain about food quality… How do they entertain here? Neighbours with dogs that never bite; supermarkets with food supplied by local farmers… Don’t they know about importing from other continents? The only thing about the UK which makes me feel like at home is the trains. Delays, cancellations- finally something which is the way it’s supposed to be!

Thanks God I had to endure it only for 2 days! I leave the UK completely unsatisfied, and I worry things might continue in same fashion in Iceland too. Their air carrier didn’t charge me for choosing my seat and they even offered me to buy a 3 euro coffee! Do they think I don’t know that a good coffee can never cost less than 6 euros? And what is it with all this leg space?

God, I miss Romania!

P.S. To be taken with a grain of salt.

The kind Caissa

     As my posts get more and more sporadic, my life becomes more and more pleasing. Yeah, I guess that's how the things work- one doesn't feel the need to share when everything's fine, or is it just about me?
     Anyhow, I thought that I can't just let my blog die, so...
     Since February, I played a round robin tournament in Dubai, one I really enjoyed playing, I finished it sharing  2nd-3rd place, but a win in the last round would have brought me the 1st place. It was a tournament of missed opportunities for me- so many games which where completely wining and I drew or even lost... The average Elo was about 2380, so it was very good as a training before the Romanian Women's Championship. Not many people knew I went to Dubai, as it was quite an unpredictable decision, taken a few days before the tournament. I was really impressed by the chess Club of Dubai, it is like a palace and all the best conditions are created for the chess players. All in all, I enjoyed the nice weather 26-30 Celsius degrees while there were -15 in Romania and the good organisation.

     The Romanian Women's Championship followed, which I was really set to win, as this is the only title I'm missing in Romania. Unfortunately, I shared the 1st-2nd place once again and I became 2nd. Well, I guess I was unlucky that my main contender- IM Corina Peptan was in a very good form and showed a really high level of chess. The both of us scored 8p/9, but she became first as her Bucholz was higher, and she won against me in the direct match. It was a very good result for me, as it's never easy to win 13 Elo points in a tournament, but there was some biterness left...
     Somehow, I've grown to really enjoy the atmosphere at all the later national events- all the friends and hanging out, it's a blessing which I really miss in between tournaments.

     The European Individual Women's Championship in Riga followed shortly after. I have to be frank and say that it was the best women's event I have ever participated at. As I've already mentioned a few times, the hotel & food was great, the playing hall- perfect for playing, the location- very central, with a few walking areas around and I really loved Riga.
     I was very happy to meet all my friends there! I had a really bad start, scoring just 0,5/2, I made a come back then, but lost once again against GM Monika Socko, having a winning positions right after the opening stage- it was painful to lose a whole point in such a manner.... I won again then,vs GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan but collapsed in the game vs GM Kateryna Lagno, losing my chances to qualify for the World Cup. The last game was a draw, though it was not dull at all. I scored 6,5p/11 (+2), not a bad result itself, but not what I aimed for.
 

     I rested a few days and came to UK then, for 3 games in the 4NCL. I won all of them vs players with 2150-2190, which was quite pleasing, as I will finally reach a new Elo record. The last one was set in 2012 (!!!), yeah, 5 years ago and you can't imagine how unhappy I was all these years, not being able to show that my chess has improved. My team promoted, so we'll be playing in the 2nd Division next season!

    Last, but not least- my German club- Schwäbisch Hall, has become Bundesliga Champions!!!  (Ah, somewhere in between all these tournaments, I have won 3 games and drew one in Germany as well :D ). I can not express how happy I am! We were so close to this title the last 2 years, but both times we became 2nd. We have such a great team- it's very uncommon for so many women with strong personalities to be great friends and to make such a great company with each other! Our managers are like family already and every time I have to go to Germany- it's like a feast!

Schwäbisch Hall Club

     There are not many upcoming events for me until July... I will play the Romanian Rapid Club Cup and a short tournament in Germnay in June. Many strong events will follow from July on.

     I am grateful Caissa has been kind to me lately and I hope it can last!


xoxo from Oxford ;)

   
   
   

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 ;)