Heading to Konya

   Waiting in different airports is an unavoidable part of life of every chess player. So,here I am writting from the Istanbul's airport,waiting for my next flight to Konya,I'm going to play the Turkish League there.
   I finished very well my tournament in Barbera del Valles,took the 1st woman prize and the 1st one under 2400... My Elo got raised by 11 points :) It's been an amazing trip! Spanish people definetely know how to live! Their lifestyle is very different from the Romanian's ones-they know how to relax and how to party! I've met a lot of interesting people there and I will definetely come again to Spain next year! :)

In Barcelona :)

With Van Riemsdijk Herman C (IM,2397)

Playing against Hernandez Carmenates Holden (GM,2569)

The magic of España

   Here I am, writting from a small city placed near to Barcelona- Barbera del Valles. The reason-of course playing chess :)) Here is the link where you can follow the results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr69824.aspx?art=2&rd=3&lan=11&fed=FRA&turdet=YES&flag=30

   Now speaking about Spain,it's my second time here (I've been here in 2002,at a EYCC). I can't say anything but that I'm totally in love with this country! First of all,I was lucky to come to Barcelona some days before the tournament started,so I had a lot of time for sightseeing :D Moreover,I watched the match Spain-Italy from here!!!!! It was so cool to see the fireworks and all the people celebrating Spain's win! It felt really nice to be among them :)
   The 3rd round starts today,at 5 pm,I'm playing against a French IM- Bergez Luc (2420). The tournament has started pretty well for me and I hope it will continue this way :)

It must be always good to be home

   Finally home...
   It's such a weird feeling that I get when I come home after several months of travelling,it's like I'm travelling back in time :) This one week that I'm spending here,in Chisinau, I feel I will remember for a long time, because there will be no time for me to come home until October... I don't regret it,I like playing chess all around the world,making new friends, visiting interesting places. Anyway,it gets boring for me to stay more than 2 weeks in the same place, I'm a person of change :)

My dear sister,Elena,whom  I miss so much when travelling

   Chisinau is so beautiful when summer! It's all green and sunny,it's a pleasure to walk down the alleys of it's parks.
   Though Moldova has it's own place in my heart, it makes me upset seeing that living here doesn't get any better,I was stoned when I saw no people on streets at all,at 11 pm in the center of the city. Even in Romania,people are out every day,at any hour,you can feel the life flowing through the city's streets through the people's viens... Moldavian people are poor,politicians don't care,I don't see any light at the end of this tunnel... I love my country,but I see no future here, this land is infected and more and more people who live here are getting angry,frustrated,mean... The infection spreads quickly,so I'm leaving even faster so it won't get to me...

Golden Sands

   An amazing,full of nice and not so nice memories part of my life has finished- I graduated highschool,took some good marks at my Bacalaureat (final exams) and said good-bye to my classmates...




   A summer full of chess is awaiting for me now. It has started with my playing at the Romanian Rapid Club Cup,which took part in Bucharest,from 2nd to 3rd June,with my team- Politehnica Iasi. I had a good result- 6.5 points out of 7, 1st place on the 2nd board and 2nd place with the team.I was thrilled to see how nice is Bucharest in this time of year.The old center is unbeliavably beautiful,with a lot of cafes along the streets and  a bunch of old,renovated buildings.

At the Romanian Rapid Club Cup,playing against Maria Vasilescu

The team of Politehnica Iasi,with Alina l'Ami on the 1st board and Ioana Gelip on the 3rd Board

   I am writting from Golden Sands now,an amazing seaside resort in Bulgaria. I am playing in the 1st Grand Europe Open here. It's a huge tournament,with a lot of prizes and many strong players fighting for them. There have been played 4 rounds so far and I've got a neither good nor bad 50%. I beated the lower rated opponents and lost against the higher seeds- Yilmaz Mustafa (IM,2536,TUR) and Fier Alexandr (GM,2596,BRA). Golden Sands is a big resort and there are a lot of things to do here. There's a very nice cafe on a miniature Eiffel Tower. I was very impressed to see the high quality of services and the affordable prices here. They are much better if to compare them with the Romanian ones. You can see a lot of Russians,Romanians and Germans around here. Golden Sands is one of the most popular resorts of Bulgaria.

 

With my good friend and room-mate,Iva Videnova,winner of the Bulgarian Women Chess Championship in 2012 (the mini-Eiffel Tower on the background)

   Now speaking about my "full of chess" summer,I will play in Barbera Open,Barcelona from 3rd to 12th July,then it comes the Turkish League,in Konya,from 15th to 22nd July,then the World Junior Championship,in Athens,from 1st to 16th August,the Olympiad in Istanbul,from 27th August till 10th of September and finally the Romanian Team Championship,from 22nd till 30th of September... It's going to be a really tough summer but in the same time a very interesting and challenging one. I dream big,I want to break the 2400 line,in order to get the IM title. Big dreams involve a big amount of work that I hope to be able to do. It's difficult to mentain a balance between such a "full" chess life and the normal life. I admire Judit Polgar for being able to have both a brilliant chess career and a happy family. She's always been my idol and with every day that passes by I understand how difficult it must have been for her to become the World's strongest female player ever.
   There is much to be done,there are a lot of dreams and hopes but I try not to forget that there's only one life and once the game is over the queen and the pawn go in the same box.

World School Chess Championship,Iasi 2012

   It's been such a long time since my last post and I definetly can't call myself a blogger,but there's such a nice event in the city where I live- Iasi, that I want to share it with everybody!
   It's been a great honor for Romania and for Iasi particularly to host this year's edition of the World School Chess Championship. The last round is still being played,but soon we'll find out who are the winners!
   I had the pleasure to make some photos for the official site: http://www.wscc2012.ro/index.php/gallery/photo-gallery.html (round 2 and round 9 + some photos from the 3rd round ). It's so nice to see all these kids struggling for a win! I remember myself being at there age and worreing so much about every game! Everyone wants to be a champion but only few of us can... I'm very happy that so many kids from all over the world came to Iasi to fight for medals! I also had the pleasure to participate in these championships some years ago,in 2005,2006 and 2007. I remember how badly I wanted to win the title and how much I worked to win it 3 years in a row... The feeling of being a CHAMPION can't be compared to anything! Mostly,it's the reason why I decided to stop by the playing hall and to take some pictures- to remember this great feeling :)
   Here are some of my favourite photos, make yourself comfortable and enjoy them!

 

With a little toy bear as a talisman,I remember I used to have a small lion :D

 

Isn't it nice to wear a personalized tshirt with the logo of the country you represent? This girl is from Turkey!

 

And this boy is from England! How do I know it? From the mantle he wears! A little chess SuperMan!

 

So concentrated!

 

And this boy is from Moldova,have you noticed his bracelet?

 

"Hm... Should I move the ruck,or the bishop?"

 

All the players from Turkey were wearing these tshirts! This girl,Menzi Nezihe Ezgi, I remember from 2006,when at the age of 8 y.o.she was the youngest participant at the EIWCC

 

This boy-Ivan Schitco,from Moldova,is the pupil of my former coach-Itkis Boris.He was the only one to beat the champion and it brought him  the 3rd place (U9 category).

 

Anchikov Vladimir,of Russia,2nd place in the category U7

 

Gheorghiu Calin,my club mate, whom I admire not only for his chess results,but also for his great guitar skills!

 

Who said that chess and fashion  can't come together?

 

What a cute hairstyle! 

 

Delia Oloeriu-this smile is going to win not only chess games ;)

  

What a tough call!

                                               My friends- Roxana Anton (who did a great job helping the oraganizers) and Georgiana Morea,who's been playing U17

   I hope you liked the photos and I look forward for the next big tournament that Iasi will be hopefully hosting in the near future!