High Voltage

     The days pass quickly and 4 rounds are already behind. I played three games so far and if not the game I lost unbelievably stupid in the 2nd round, everything would have been fine.
     It was a very important match for us yesterday, one that  can be easily described by the words "Missed Opportunities". Our positions looked very promising at some point, but "Caissa" had another plans and  we even lost the match with a minimum 4,5-5,5 score at the end.
     My game was a very interesting and tense one, as I played against the very young and talented girl from Kazakhstan- Abdumalik Zhansaya. She is already a WGM (at the age of only 14 yo) and has some important achievements behind her. You can check the game here,by clicking "view pgn": http://superlig2014.tsf.org.tr/tr/component/turnuva/?task=fileview&kid=346



 

 

     We have a double round today, but I am to rest in the morning.
     I enjoy being here, as every year I play in the Turkish League and I hope that our team will show a good result :)


Wish you all a nice weekend!

xoxo from Kocaeli :)

3rd Round

     Three rounds have already passed in the World Junior Chess Championship, which is taking place in Kocaeli,Turkey.
     The tournament is organized really nice, despite changing the place of venue in the last moment (it had to be held in Hatay first, but because of the danger of a chemical attack it was moved). We stay and play in a real 5 star hotel where one can't find anything to complain about.
     I've got 2,5p/3 so far, making a draw against Abdumalik Zhansaya (2277)- a very young player from Kazakhstan. It was a very interesting game which ended with a perpetual. You can check it here:



There are 10 more rounds to go, which you can follow here: http://wjcc2013.tsf.org.tr/en/live-games

Will keep you posted!

xoxo from Kocaeli ;)

Snow in Astana!

     Here I am, freezy Astana!

Ready for the 16 floors jog! :D

     I had a nice trip from Chisinau to Astana through Wien. It's been a 1h 40 min flight from Chisinau to Wien    and another 5 hours flight from Wien to Astana. The time difference with Moldova and Romania is +4 hours, so it's 11 am here. The city is brand new from what I've noticed from the bus; it looks for me as a  much bigger Khanty-Mansiysk. Well, it's just a quick impression, so don't judge me too harsh- I guess I'll be able to tell much more about it in some days.

My room

     I've met almost all the team in Wien, they were flying from Bucharest (Carmen from Dusseldorf). I've met Alina only at breakfast (she arrived from Amsterdam through Kiev). I am very happy to be surrounded by chess players (most of them being friends) again. The atmosphere seems to be very nice in here. Though it's only -7 degrees outside, our rooms have got a special "sauna effect", I guess that the people in Kazakhstan don't like the cold weather :))) The hotel is pretty cool, everyone's got single rooms and they are huuuge! The only minus is that the wellness center doesn't have a free entrance. All we (the chess players) can get is a 50% disscount, which leaves a pretty high price anyways... What a pity! I guess I will just jog  from the 1st floor to the 16th :))) The internet seems to be a high-speed one, so I will be very active on the blog! (I Hope that I will be in a good mood to post too :)))
     Today is the arrival day- the 1st round is going to be tomorrow, at 3 pm local time. I plan to relax all the day long, don't think that I'll go for any walks, maybe only for dinner.

     What other news can I tell you? Well, I've found out that I'm going to play on the 2nd board, though initially it had to be the 3rd one- not that it matters too much- all the teams are strong and dangerous- no matter of the board order. I've had a "non-eventful" half year from the "chess point of view", so I have no idea how the tournament might go for me, but I hope I'll do well. It's important to feel comfortable and to enjoy the atmosphere and I've got it, so I think it should all go well.

Astana- view from the window

xoxo from Astana ;)

World Women's Team Championship

     There are 2 more days left until we leave for Kazakhstan. We've qualified for the World Women's Team Championship which is going to take place in Astana.
      Here's the list of the teams and their composition:

1. Ukraine FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 1411091 Ushenina, Anna GM 2477 2 14109336 Lagno, Kateryna GM 2547 3 14114550 Muzychuk, Mariya IM 2471 4 14101181 Yanovska (Gaponenko), Inna IM 2405 2492.3 5 14101513 Zhukova, Natalia GM 2471 6 Captain Brodsky, Michail GM 2. Georgia FIDE ID Full name Title Rating Avg 1 13601903 Dzagnidze, Nana GM 2555 2 13602640 Khotenashvili, Bela IM 2499 3 13601458 Javakhishvili, Lela IM 2461 4 13600320 Khurtsidze, Nino IM 2437 2488.0 5 13602446 Melia, Salome IM 2403 6 Captain Gurieli, Nino        IM 3. Russia FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 4128125 Kosteniuk, Alexandra GM 2495 2 4167570 Gunina, Valentina IM 2490 3 4147855 Pogonina, Natalija WGM 2475 4 4129752 Galliamova, Alisa IM 2459 2479.8 5 4195752 Girya, Olga WGM 2441 6 Captain Rublevsky, Sergey GM 4. China FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 8603006 Ju Wenjun WGM 2505 2 8602689 Huang Qian WGM 2478 3 8603642 Tan Zhongyi WGM 2466 4 8604002 Guo Qi WGM 2431 2470.0 5 8603162 Shen Yang IM 2415 6 Captain Yu Shaoteng GM 5. USA FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 14101572 Zatonskykh, Anna IM 2491 2 2012782 Krush, Irina IM 2460 3 13301918 Abrahamyan, Tatev WGM 2300 4 1212915 Foisor, Sabina WGM 2313 2391.0 5 11602252 Ni, Viktorija WIM 2263 6 Captain Khodarkovsky, Michael 6. Romania FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 1200496 Foisor, Cristina Adela IM 2389 2 1201590 Cosma, Elena Luminita WGM 2332 3 13903063 Bulmaga, Irina WGM 2355 4 1210246 Lami, Alina WGM 2362 2359.5 5 1206729 Voicu-Jagodzinsky, Carmen WGM 2281 6 Captain Szabo, Gergely Andras Gyula GM 7. India FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 5013623 Gomes, Mary Ann WGM 2394 2 5012600 Karavade, Eesha Sanjay IM 2391 3 5004330 Mohota, Nisha IM 2327 4 5029295 Padmini, Rout WGM 2307 2354.8 5 5016193 Soumya, Swaminathan WGM 2291 6 Captain Sahu Sekhar, Chandra IM 8. France FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 623725 Milliet, Sophie IM 2408 2 13601717 Maisurasze, Nino WGM 2331 3 2902265 Collas, Silvia IM 2286 4 11600209 Safranska, Anda WGM 2322 2336.8 5 642002 Benmesbah, Natacha WIM 2266 6 Captain Tregubov, Pavel GM 9. Kazakhstan FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 13704788 Nakhbayeva, Guliskhan WGM 2353 2 13700090 Saduakassova, Dinara WGM 2301 3 13703595 Davletbayeva, Madina WIM 2272 4 13702971 Dauletova, Gulmira WIM 2265 2297.8 5 13703544 Abdumalik, Zhansaya WIM 2184 6 Captain Kotsur, Pavel GM 10. Turkey FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg 1 6302920 Yildiz, Betul Cemre WGM 2368 2 6302599 Ozturk, Kubra WGM 2281 3 6325670 Cemhan, Kardelen WCM 2025 4 6300278 Sop, Selen WFM 2028 2175.5 5 6306411 Kaya, Emel WCM 1995 6 Captain Mikhalchishin, Adrian GM

     We are nr. 6 by rating, not as bad as I expected, I thought we'd be the last team :)))
     Our team has changed it's composition a little bit from the Olympiad, with Mihaela Sandu being replaced by Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky.
      The reigning Romanian Women's Champion- Cristina Foisor is going to play on the 1st board:

Cristina-Adela Foisor

     Luminita Cosma is on the 2nd board:

Elena-Luminita Cosma

     I am going to play on the 3rd board:

Irina Bulmaga

     Alina l'Ami is on the 4th board:

Alina l'Ami

     Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky will be on the 5th board:

Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky

     Our captain will be Gergely Szabo:

Gergely Szabo

     It is going to be a very interesting tournament and I can't wait to play. I have the feeling that it's going to be a good tournament for us!

     As about Astana, I looked for some photos on internet and I'm even more curious to visit it now:

     You can follow the tournament here: http://astana2013.fide.com/

Keep you fingers crossed for us!

xoxo from Chisinau ;)

Sailing through the World

Rhodes island

      What is it about us, chess players, that we seem never to get enough of travelling? It must be one of the main reasons why we've chosen chess as a profession. We choose to sail through the World, our thirst for new places seeming to never get enough.
      I had some crappy days and my mood was under the ground, but I feel like in the 9th sky now, as I've found out that I'll have the chance to visit a place I've always wanted to see- the Rhodes island! I like Greek islands so much! I've already been several times on Crete and I also visited Leros - there's such a nice atmosphere there- a pittoresque, but in the same time a very lively one! One can get whatever he wants on the Greek islands- from sightseeing and peaceful sunbathing to wild nightlife. There's one more island I'd like to visit one day- Santorini!

Rhodes

     I am so excited when going to new places- I try to visit at least one new country per year. I added to my list Poland, Austria and Hungary last year and there's going to be Kazakhstan, Thailand and Serbia this year,well and Rhodes (though I've been so many times in Greece, Rhodes should be a whole new experience!).
   
Looking forward to writting xoxo from Rhodes, Belgrad, Astana and Bangkok!

As for now, xoxo from Iasi ;)