Reykjavik Lights

From left to right: Mihaela Sandu,Victor Bologan, me and Luminita Cosma

     A bit more than a week has passed since I came back from the European Team Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland. I have to confess that it felt more like a month :))) I will tell you why a bit later. Let's get back to the Europeans first.
     Our result as a team was not so bad- 10th place, we've completed our minimal goal, though after the first half of the tournament our hopes aimed much higher... I started with 3/4 and it should have been even 4/4 if to look at the positions I got, the team was also doing very well sharing the 3rd place. The problems started after we lost the match to Ukraine in the 5th round. Somehow none of us could pull herself together to play the chess we played at the beginning of the tournament...

     All in all, it was an interesting experience- visiting Iceland, though- frankly speaking, I didn't have much time to enjoy its sites. It was too cold for long walks and too expensive for cabs :)) The thing I liked the most was the fantastic quality of still water and the closing ceremony, which was fun and very well organized. Hm... Yes, besides that- Iceland has left me with a somewhat bitter taste.


     The Romanian Rapid and Blitz Championships followed shortly after our return from Reykjavik. The host was the beautiful city I've never been to before- Cluj. I really enjoyed taking walks through the old center, admiring its beauty and lively people. The tournaments were neither bad nor good for me, a silver medal at rapid and a bronze one at blitz. Both of them were really close to being gold, but an a bit odd coefficient wasn't on my side at rapid and a lost game in the 8th round took the 1st place away from me at blitz.
     That's the way November came and passed for me and I can hardly believe that it's already December and Christmas is just around the corner... One more tournament awaits for me this year- an open in Austria and then... God knows :)))
     Here are some photos from the Rapid & Blitz in Cluj (courtesy to https://www.facebook.com/young.chess.7?fref=ts) :

Playing vs WGM Irina Ionescu

Always tough games vs IM Corina Peptan

From left to right- IM Corina Peptan, me and WGM Irina Ionescu

   
      Two more medals were added to my collection and a busy December has started!



xoxo from Romania ;)
     

Tricky Sun Rays

     The cold autumn days have come and there's of course no "better" place to be now than at seaside :))

While the sun was still here...

     Mamaia is the host of the Romanian League and it decided to be not so friendly this time, though it welcomed us with some tricky sun rays. The weather reminds me now of some terrible nightmares where I try to walk but no matter how hard I try, I remain in the same place. It is very, very windy and cloudy and frankly speaking, my mood is somewhere at the "stay all day in the bed" mode.
     Still, the tournament is as usually  very interesting with lots of tension and many great fights. I guess there's not much left to be done in Mamaia but preparing for the games and trying to show your best.
     I enjoy going from one tournament to another. Poland was a great experience and I am pretty satisfied with the 4th place I got there. Mamaia has been good for me as well so far... Between coughing and drinking one tea after another I've managed to score 4,5p/5.
     Our team is going well so far, there are two more matches left for us and  we are leading. The hope is that we can keep it this way until the end.
     You can follow some live games here: http://sahlive.ro/ , while the results are on: http://chess-results.com/tnr189236.aspx?lan=1
     As for me, there are no more tournaments left until the European Team Chess Championship, which will take place in Iceland, in November, though I might have some ideas on what I could spend my time on until then... Maybe you will find out more about it soon on my blog! ;)
     
    

I wish you all a great weekend and a few sun rays!


xoxo from Mamaia :)

Rain.Wind.Cold

     Autumn has come very unexpectedly this year- from the more or less sunny Turkey to the very rainy and windy Moldova.
     It is the kind of weather when one doesn't want to do anything but staying under a blanket with a cup of hot tea in one hand and with an interesting book in the other one. Actually- I like this weather and it goes very well with the way I feel now, so I can't complain too much :)
     I enjoyed a very nice cup of tea and some more cups of talking with my sister today :P
     It feels so good to have nothing to worry about.
     I will just enjoy these two weeks of being home
and I will try to recharge my batteries for the upcoming tournaments- European Club Cup (20-27.10.2013) and European Team Championship in November.




xoxo from Chisinau ;)