Let myself down

     Again 2-2. We wanted more but is seems like it wasn't our day. Carmen and Alina won, but Luminita and I lost. What a pity! It was looking like a 3-1 at least :( These things happen and mostly in the worst possibly timing...
     It is a free day on the 8th March- already today in Astana. We'll go on an excursion at 2pm.
     I am very sorry for myself and for the ones following us today- it just happened :( I wouldn't probably risk if I would have less time- I feel like it's all my fault that we didn't win today, but I hope that I will do better in the next matches.
     Here are some photos from the today's round and from tonight:

Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky "Let's calculate the right angle!"

Benmesbah Natacha, from France

What a move!

Taking revenge on the billiard table- Gergely Szabo

Me trying to make a shot

Alina l'Ami

It's -20 in Astana!

Gergely Szabo

     We've got to play against China tomorrow- not easy at all!

     Hope that the excursion will charge us with some extra energy and luck!

xoxo from Astana

2-2, 2-2, 2-2

     Another 2 difficult days have passed. We made 2 equal matches, against India yesterday and Kazakhstan today. Though our opponents were lower ranked than us- every game was fought very hard.
     I scored my first win yesterday, against Nisha Mohota, with black, in a 5 hours game where she was the last to make a mistake.
     It's been a better day for me today, as I've played a nice game from the beginning to the very end. It's the first game in a long time that I'm happy about.
     Tomorrow is the 5th- last round before the free day, when we're going to have an excursion through Astana- I can't wait to see the city! We are going to play against Turkey- who has almost made a sensation today- the score was 2-1 for Ukraine and the only girl from the Turkish team who was still playing was completely winning, but Inna Gaponenko managed to save the game and the match.
     Here's my today's game:

     And here you can see some photos from the last 2 days:

Romania vs India

Cristina Foisor

Alina l'Ami

Luminita Cosma

Gergely Szabo, Cristina Foisor, Luminita Cosma and Alina l'Ami

My lucky ritual, listening to my favourite songs before the game, as electronic devices of any kind are not allowed in the playing hall- Gergely has to take my ipod to his room day by day-but what doesn't one do for luck!

Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky

What faces one can't make during a game! This is from the "still acceptable" ones, or maybe not :)))

     Keep your fingers crossed for us!

P.S. A big pictorial report is to follow after the free day!

2nd round

     We  had a good day yesterday- making an equal match against the favourite nr.1- Ukraine. All the games ended in a draw.
     I can't say that I was very satisfied with my game, as I didn't play precisely in the opening and my opponent never gave me even a "hint" for advantage. I went for an equal endgame which I thought was a bit better for me, but making an imprecise move, had to make a draw myself.
     Here's the interview I gave after the 1st round (the original is in Russian):

   

     Here's the English version:




Here are some photos from the yesterday's round:

Cristina Foisor made a draw against Katerina Lahno on the 1st board

Alina l'Ami and Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky

The team captain-Gergely Szabo and me

Luminita Cosma was the last to finish the game, holding a draw against Natalia Zhukova

Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky and me

R 2: Ukraine-Romania

Natalia Zhukova vs Luminita Cosma

     We play against India today- it won't be an easy match. I hope we'll do well!

1st Round

     The first round has finished. I made a draw, but the team unfortunately lost... Well, we played against Russia- it was a difficult match. We lost 4-0 the last time we played against it, in Porto-Carras, in 2011. The match looked better for us after the 1st hour, but then it turned another way.
     The tournament is organized very well- I liked the playing hall; we had beverages and sweets in the relaxing room; there's also live coverage of the event. I already enjoy my stay here :)
     The firsts continue in this tournament for me- I had my first press-conference! I liked it so much- it's nice to play in the top and I'm so happy we've got this chance! No matter of the overall result- it will be a great experience and motivation to work harder in order to get here more often.
     Here you can see my today's game:
Here are some photos of our team from the official site of the event: http://astana2013.fide.com/images/stories/gallery/Round%201%20Astana/index.html

Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky

Cristina Foisor vs Valentina Gunina

Alina l'Ami vs Alisa Galiamova

      We play against Ukraine - the favourite nr.1 tomorrow.

      Keep your fingers crossed for us!

xoxo from Astana

Opening Ceremony

     The Women's World Team Chess Championship has officially started!
     We've attended the Opening Ceremony and it's been quite nice! Cristina picked the 2nd number for us- let's hope it will be a lucky one! We went for a festive dinner afterwards, followed by a team meating :)
     Here are some photos from the Opening Ceremony:

Our team: from left to right: Cristina Foisor, Alina l'Ami, me, Luminita Cosma, Gergely Szabo and Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky

The favourite nr.1: Ukraine

The favourite nr.3: Russia (and our opponent in the 1st round)

The Chinese team

The USA

India

France

Kazakhstan

Turkey

Kazakstan's Dinara Saduakassova receiving the WGM title from the FIDE president-Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Gulishkan Nakhbayeva also received her WGM title

Local singers

From left to right: Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky, Alina l'Ami, Cristina Foisor, Luminita Cosma and me

     We play against Russia in the 1st round, with white on the 1st board. Here's their team composition:

1	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	RUS
2	IM	Gunina Valentina	2505	RUS
3	WGM	Pogonina Natalija	2475	RUS
4	IM	Galliamova Alisa	2459	RUS
5	WGM	Girya Olga	2440	RUS

     The exact board order and the player who's going to rest in the 1st round is going to be known tomorrow morning, at 11 am. The round will be played at 3 pm and here's the official site, where you can follow the games and the live commentary: http://astana2013.fide.com/en/teams/78-live-games

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

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 ;)

Let's get married

     I've been watching a popular Russian TV-show the days I was home. It's called "Let's get married". The idea of this show is to create a couple. There's a man or a woman who seeks for a mate with some specifics. He or she posts his formular on the site of the show, so the other registered people could see it. He is scheduled a date to come to the show afterwards, where "three experienced women" helps him select one of the three pretendents who come after their attention got caught by the one who had posted the formular.
     As one could imagine, the most of the people who come are the ones who have troubles in the "relationship field". Why am I telling all of these? I've caught myself guessing the choice the "seeker" would make every time.
     As the show is broadcasted in the evening, my parents, my sister and me usually watch it all together, making bets on who's going to be chosen by the seeker. It was particularly funny last night, when the "three experienced women" recommended the 1st pretendent and my parents and sister were sure that the seeker would take their advice, while I was sure that the young woman would choose the 3rd man. My parents and my sister made a bet with me- the loser would have had to wash all the dishes (yeah, it was the "right after dinner" time). I was so satisfied when the lady chose the 3rd man... :)))
     It just seems that the seekers never make their choice being driven by what they feel, but exclusively by rationality. It turns out that I rock rationality, though I'm not sure if it's a good thing. Has the spontaneity died? Does it make me a "calculated" person?
     I don't want to be "the rationalist" for my whole life. I want a person in my life who would make me irrational.
     It's not too much to ask, is it?