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!

Friendship

     I’ve been always wondering how is that to have a real friend and I feel so lucky that I had one. It’s when you share everything and you’re not afraid to tell the darkest of your secrets. You know you won’t be judged and you’d just be listened to. It’s when you can make an international call at 1 am just for crying out to your friend and both of you wouldn’t even think about that 10 euros that were spent on it. It’s when your first thought when you feel excited or depressed it to call your friend, it’s when you feel that together you’re undefeated and the whole World is at your feet.  It’s when you can’t stop to care about each other no matter what...

     It’s a once in a lifetime thing to have a real friend and it’s such a pity to throw this chance away. You are so different but you’ve got the same dreams and even when you think you’ve let this all go, you continue wondering how you’re friend’s doing. Real friendship is when you can’t stop loving even if you hate each other.

Last round at EIWCC,Tbilisi

   The 11th round of the EIWCC will start in less than two hours,at 11 am :)
   I lost my game yesterday,against Khukhashvili Sopiko.It was an interesting,equilibrated game but I had done a mistake in zeitnot and then she played exactly in a rook ending and I couldn't do anything.... I play against Girya Olga today. My score after 10 games is 5,5 points,hope to improve it today! The closing ceremony will be at about 9 pm,I'll come with a later photo report ...
   As for now,I try to focus on the game,though I'm already thinking about the exams that are waiting for me when I return home. I'll have about 2 more weeks  of school and then the summer holiday starts!I'm so excited!  I won't play too many tournaments this summer as the last year when I played like a crazy-about 6 tournaments in 3 months...
   Keep your fingers crosed for me! :)
  

Free day in Tbilisi

   I made a draw yesterday. It was a very interesting game.I had black against Charkhalashvili Inga. Though I made a nice combinaation,I missed the win later :( Houdini showed -27.54 in a moment,I didn't even know that it's possible to have such a big advantage! It was the longest game I've played so far (about 5 h 20 min). I was so angry with me after the game that even a Kinder Bueno didn't help,(although it usually does) :))) But I've found a new way to feel better- watching horror movies.It really helps!

The famous and delicious 'hachapuri'

  Now,let's talk about pleasant things :) Today we have a free day. I didn't manage to get to the "Women Party" yesterday,but I'm waiting for some impressions from the ones who were there! The day started with a late breakfast,followed by an excursion. The bus took us to the "President's Ressidence" at about 11 am. They asked us to have our passports. When we arrived,we saw a huge queue at the entrance and a security point where a man was checking everyone's bags.It didn't scare us,we decided to wait. Then,a guide came and he said that only two people were allowed to take pictures ! It was the last drop! Some friends of mine and me decided that we stayed enough and we just walked away. We walked through the center,ate some traditional "hachapuri".We also visited a church,bought some souvenirs :) Then,a taxi gave us a ride to our hotel (for the price of 6 lari). It has been a nice day,I've really enjoyed it! Here are some photos:

The view from a bridge

Veronica and Cristina Foisor

Mt'k'vari River

EIWCC,Tbilisi

   Four rounds have been played and another 7 will be disputed in the next days.
I have 2 points as far,not so bad but far from my best,with some missed chances...But I hope for a better luck in my next games :)

   Tbilisi is a nice city.I enjoyed having a walk through the center.I discovered that Tbilisi had metro! It was quite a surprise for me. Although it has only 15 stations, I find it great ;) Comming to Tbilisi I was ready for the worst and I was surprised to find it so enjoyable! At least it compensates the lack of a stable internet connection ...
   I am playing with Hairapetian Anna tomorrow. The results can be followed on:  http://www.chess-results.com/tnr49244.aspx?art=2&rd=5&lan=11&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=1000
   Here is also the official site, where you can find daily photo reports and news : http://www.tbilisi2011.ge/