Romanian Rapid Club Cup

     I am at the Romanian Rapid Club Cup with my team- "Politehnica Iasi', in Snagov now.
     There are 6 teams playing in the women section:

1. Clubul Central de Sah Bucuresti (RtgAvg:2016 / TB1: 2 / TB2: 2)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	WIM	Marin Irina-Luiza	2145	ROU	1.0	3.0
2	WFM	Baciu Anca-Otilia	2062	ROU	1.0	3.0
3	WNM	Vasilescu Maria	1842	ROU	0.5	3.0
4	I	Nastase Andreea-Cristina	1620	ROU	0.0	0.0
2. CSM Bucuresti (RtgAvg:2241 / TB1: 4 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	IM	Peptan Corina-Isabela	2419	ROU	1.0	2.0
2	WGM	Ionescu Irina	2239	ROU	1.5	3.0
3	WNM	Anusca Madalina-Maria	2065	ROU	1.0	1.0
4	WCM	Morea Georgiana-Steluta	1866	ROU	2.0	3.0
3. CS Otopeni (RtgAvg:1792 / TB1: 2 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	WCM	Vasile Teodora	1952	ROU	1.0	3.0
2	I	Stanciu Andreea-Briana	1741	ROU	2.0	3.0
3	I	Firaru Roxana-Maria	1684	ROU	1.5	3.0
4. ACS Sah Apa Nova Bucuresti (RtgAvg:2112 / TB1: 4 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2301	ROU	3.0	3.0
2	WFM	Chirita Andra-Marina	2022	ROU	1.5	3.0
3	WCM	Ilie Maria-Ruxandra	2012	ROU	0.0	0.0
4	WCM	Serbanescu Diana-Maria	1944	ROU	2.0	3.0
5. CS Snagov (RtgAvg:1108 / TB1: 0 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	II	Rata Anamaria	1209	ROU	0.0	3.0
2	III	Dragomir Carmen-Teodora	1115	ROU	0.0	3.0
3	III	Istrate Camelia-Elena	1001	ROU	0.0	3.0
6. CS Politehnica Iasi (RtgAvg:2325 / TB1: 6 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	WGM	Bulmaga Irina	2363	ROU	2.0	3.0
2	WGM	L'ami Alina	2405	ROU	3.0	3.0
3	WIM	Padurariu Ioana-Smaranda	2208	ROU	3.0	3.0
4	WCM	Gelip Ioana	2047	ROU	0.0	0.0

     Our team haw 3 wins out of 3 so far. You can follow the results here: http://chess-results.com/tnr101903.aspx?art=8&lan=1&wi=821

     The men's section has gathered a lot of strong teams with all the best Romanian GMs playing.

1. CS AEM Luxten Timisoara (RtgAvg:2556 / TB1: 4 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	GM	Lupulescu Constantin	2634	ROU	1.5	3.0
2	GM	Parligras Mircea-Emilian	2632	ROU	2.5	3.0
3	GM	Nevednichy Vladislav	2580	ROU	3.0	3.0
4	IM	Grunberg Sergiu-Henric	2379	ROU	0.0	0.0
5	CM	Toma Radu-Cristian	2143	ROU	2.0	3.0
2. Clubul de Sah al Municipiului Baia Mare (RtgAvg:2555 / TB1: 6 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	GM	Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter	2625	ROU	2.5	3.0
2	GM	Vajda Levente	2550	ROU	3.0	3.0
3	GM	Szabo Gergely-Andras-Gyula	2555	ROU	2.5	3.0
4	GM	Grigore George-Gabriel	2491	ROU	0.5	1.0
5	FM	Hajbok Robert	2365	ROU	2.0	2.0
6	FM	Szabo Attila	2290	ROU	0.0	0.0
3. CS Politehnica Iasi (RtgAvg:2477 / TB1: 6 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	GM	L'ami Erwin	2642	NED	3.0	3.0
2	IM	Mateuta Gabriel	2477	ROU	2.5	3.0
3	IM	Danilov Vladimir	2434	ROU	1.0	2.0
4	FM	Ungureanu Vlad	2324	ROU	0.5	1.0
5	FM	Manole Vasile	2355	ROU	0.0	0.0
6	CM	Stegariu Vlad-Ionut	2279	ROU	3.0	3.0
4. CSU Ploiesti (RtgAvg:2406 / TB1: 4 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	IM	Cioara Andrei-Nestor	2471	ROU	2.0	3.0
2	IM	Tomescu Vlad	2389	ROU	2.0	3.0
3	IM	Baratosi Daniel	2432	ROU	0.0	0.0
4	IM	Ionescu Doru-Alexandru	2331	ROU	1.5	2.0
5	FM	Voiteanu Gabriel	2278	ROU	1.0	1.0
6	CM	Deac Bogdan-Daniel	2173	ROU	2.0	3.0
5. CSM Lugoj (RtgAvg:2391 / TB1: 4 / TB2: 0)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Games
1	GM	Jianu Vlad-Cristian	2525	ROU	2.0	3.0
2	FM	Balla Tamas-Kristof	2382	ROU	1.5	3.0
3	IM	Dragomirescu Robin-Alexandru	2372	ROU	3.0	3.0
4	IM	Vasilescu Lucian-Mihail	2283	ROU	1.0	2.0
5	CM	Domanyek Ernest-Iosif	2206	ROU	1.0	1.0
6	I	Neagu Mihai-Cosmin	1992	ROU	0.0	0.0

     You can follow the results here: http://chess-results.com/tnr101901.aspx?art=0&lan=11&wi=821

Here are some photos:

Erwin l'Ami playing with white

Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu

Levente Vajda

Vlad Jianu with white

Cristian Chirila with black

Lucian Miron vs Tiberiu Georgescu

"Politehnica Iasi" with Vladimir Danilov, Gabriel Mateuta and Erwin l'Ami

"AEM" with Vladislav Nevednichy, Mircea Parligras and Constantin Lupulescu

     A big photo report from last night's blitz matches will follow!

Interview with GM Constantin Lupulescu aka "The Wolf"

1. Hi, Constantin! First of all, let me congratulate you with sharing the 1^st place at the European Individual Chess Championship in Legnica! How do you feel about it, do you think you could have achieved more?

     

     Hi, Irina, thank you! Well, I think if I could achieve  more- it had to be in my game against Moiseenko. I played quite uninspired and I was slightly worse for some time but right after the time trouble I had a powerful  41.g5 that would have given me a big advantage. I totally missed the idea which the engine shows immediately.  Of course everyone can hit space and become an expert after the game so I guess I cannot complain with my +5 finish.

2. Which were the critical moments of the tournament, the ones where you felt confident in your chess and the ones which made you worry the most?

         

      Actually the first time when I really worried was right in the first round against a 2400 player. I got a bad position and it was enough for him just to play normal moves to get a big advantage. Luckily, he went for a “winning” combination and eventually the game ended in a draw. After that I started playing really well with nice attacking games. I think I felt most confident in my game against Fedorchuk, it was that game when I started to think that I could achieve more than just qualification.

3. Your best Elo was 2657, in November 2011, since then you dropped it to 2603 in May 2012 and you’re raising it again this year, with a live Elo of 2655 now.  Do you see yourself as a 2700+ player in the near future?

     As you said it was really not difficult to lose more than 50 points so I try not to be bothered by rating anymore. I will just try to play good chess.

4. Which qualities should a chess player have in order to become a strong  Grand Master?

         

     It's not so easy to give a clear recipe but basically I think you need a lot of hard work and determination and this is of course possible only if you really like chess. :)

5. When was the moment when you’ve decided that chess is the thing that you want to do for  your whole life?

         Since I was quite young I enjoyed playing chess much more than the subjects I had in school. I started to go in a lot of tournaments and I began having good results. After a while playing chess for a career was just the natural thing to do.

Constantin playing vs Dieter

6. You played on the 1^st board in the last team events, leading the team to a great result -8^th place at the last Olympiad in Istanbul, 2012. What do you think about the absence of Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu in the last team events?

     We also got 9^th place on the European Team Championship in 2011 in Greece. Well I didn't play particularly well but somehow the team managed to get very good results. But of course, having again in the team someone like Dieter Nisipeanu, with a 2700+ level understanding and also with good leadership skills surely would be very nice.

7. What is your opinion on the latest cheating “trend”? Do you have any ideas of how to fight against it?

     I think nowadays it became easier and easier to cheat as even a smart-phone can play at a very high level. Of course I am not an anti-cheating expert but I think there should be taken the minimum measures to at least discourage the most primitive cheaters (like the jamming devices they already use against students cheating in some universities).

8. The match Carlsen-Anand, on whom would you bet your money and why?

      

     I think that if Anand gets back some of his motivation it will not be as easy for Carlsen as most people expect. Nevertheless, I think that the odds would still tip in Carlsen's favour.

9. What are your goals for the future?

        

     Even after a good tournament like the one I had you still discover a lot of faults. So I would really like to improve my play in the areas I feel it's lacking.

10. Which things do you like besides chess?

         

     Whenever I get the chance I like to spend some time with my family and friends. Although I am not really an expert- I like playing some table tennis and some pool from time to time. However, I would like to have more time to visit the places where I travel to play chess.

11. What are the things that motivate you to be better or who are the persons who inspire you for greatness?

           

     A strong tournament like the Europeans always motivates me a lot. Although usually I had the starting rank around 80 and more I was very close to qualify in 2007, 2008 while I qualified in 2009, 2011 and 2013. I don't have someone particularly in mind but I usually try to be around optimist and honest people. It always lifts my mood to be among persons like that.

12. Why have you chosen living a life of a chess player- always travelling-never home, do you ever regret making this choice?

       I like that in chess compared to a regular job you get an immediate feedback of your abilities and skills. If you miss-evaluate yourself, your opponent brings you down on earth immediately. I also like that I can travel to a lot of places and meet a lot of interesting people. Of course sometimes I cannot be at home on Christmas or Easter (like it was last year when I played Al Ain in late December and now the European Championship) but I think these troubles are outweighed by the opportunities I am offered.

13. You’ve become Romanian Champion earlier this year, now this great result at the EICC, what is the recipe of your success ?

    2012 was really not a good year for me as a chess player but I learned a lot from my mistakes and after some hard work I started to have good results again.

14. How do you recover after a painful loss during an important tournament?

  I think it's important to try to relax somehow in order to forget a little bit about the tournament after such games. But what I think that is the most important it's having a good sleep after such losses; which as the most chess players know, is much easier said than done. Always when you're half asleep a position comes back to haunt you. However, a bad sleep after a painful loss is like a time trouble in a bad position – hard to give a good advice anymore.

15. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

    I will probably be at the peak of my chess career. I will also, most likely, be already teaching chess for some time. And of course with a nice family. :)

Dress Code Policy

     A very interesting proposal of Ms. Beatriz Marinello I've just read on chessdom (http://www.chessdom.com/fide-dress-code-policy-proposal-of-ms-beatriz-marinello/) . She wants all of the chess players to follow a strict dress code during all of the official tournaments like: World Team Championships, Olympiads, European Individuals, World Juniors, etc... The style we should stick to is "business casual (European standards)". It means no torn pants or jeans, no caps, no beach clothes, nothing too reavealing. I think that it's a nice idea. If we want to promote chess- we should act properly and present ourselves nicely.
      I remember last year, at the EICC in Plovdiv- some players who were staying at the same hotel where the playing hall was were coming at the round in slippers... It wasn't nice at all.

     I think it's a reasonable request- not so difficult to follow :)
     Well, I guess that there will be no more mini-skirts, but what to do... I can still have high heels, right? ;)

That would be too short...

... and this one too revealing

     What do you think? Time for a wardrobe change?!

Fake a smile!

     A friend was asking me some days ago why do I always smile, even when I walk around the playing hall, with a totally lost position on my board.
     I don't see why should all the World know that I feel bad- it would make them either be happy cause something is wrong with me or they would feel sorry for me. None of these cases bring me anything good. It's so simple... If no one knows that you feel bad- you may forget about it too. Like all these motivation books say: "If you want something- fake it until it comes true". That's what I do- I want to be happy, so all I have to do is just to fake a smile :)
     What is a smile? A smile is a facial expression which denotes pleasure, sociabillity, happiness or amusement. Smiling is something that is understood by everyone despite culture, race or religion. It's an international mean of communication.
     It's funny, there's even such a thing as "smilorexia"- when people get obsessed with having a prefect smile :)))
     Here's my way of smiling:

     In conclusion, it doesn't matter whether you feel good or bad- just smile and everything will be easier :)

Enjoy the silence

     Have you ever felt the optimism running through your veins? That's exactly what I feel now.

     I remember myself some months ago, when everything seemed to go wrong. I was disappointed, unhappy and so vulnerable... I used to tell myself that better times will come and I was telling it after each and every disappointment. I was so desperate not to be left alone with my thoughts- that used to be my worst nightmare.

     Better times have come :) I've started enjoying the silence again. Nothing is better than a silence that can be filled only with some positive thinking! It is so comforting to be able to enjoy a minute, an hour, a day of complete silence. 

     They say that the World has started with a word, I think that it has started with the silence before the word. It is easy to pronounce something, but it's a great power to know that you can do it and still keep the silence.

     I was thinking, what word would I use to create the World? "Love", "Air", "Universe", "Peace", "River", "Heartbeat", "Thunder", "Rain", "Sun", "Breath"... Which one would it be?

     I think that I would use "Hope".

Closing Ceremony

     The tournament is over and the most of us already got home.
     My finish wasn't very successful, as I lost the last 2 rounds... Well, the most important thing- getting over 2400 has been achieved anyways, but still- it left me with a bitter taste.
     The new European Champion is Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine, with 8p/11. He lost against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the last round, but it made no difference. Nine other players got the same number of points, but they were worse on coeffcient:

1		GM	MOISEENKO Alexander	UKR	2698	8.0	2643	71.5	72.0	6	2714	10	13.4
2		GM	ALEKSEEV Evgeny	RUS	2700	8.0	2639	72.0	76.0	5	2800	10	13.9
3		GM	ROMANOV Evgeny	RUS	2640	8.0	2637	73.0	78.5	6	2789	10	21.8
4		GM	BELIAVSKY Alexander G	SLO	2628	8.0	2629	68.5	73.5	5	2783	10	22.5
5		GM	LUPULESCU Constantin	ROU	2634	8.0	2624	69.5	74.5	5	2778	10	21.0
6		GM	VALLEJO PONS Francisco	ESP	2695	8.0	2613	68.0	73.5	5	2776	10	11.0
7		GM	MOVSESIAN Sergei	ARM	2693	8.0	2606	66.0	71.0	5	2769	10	10.3
8		GM	NEPOMNIACHTCHI Ian	RUS	2710	8.0	2596	65.0	70.0	5	2763	10	6.8
9		GM	DREEV Aleksey	RUS	2654	8.0	2594	68.0	73.0	5	2754	10	13.9
10		GM	MELKUMYAN Hrant	ARM	2622	8.0	2551	64.5	69.0	6	2709	10	12.5

     Constantin Lupulescu had a very good performance- sharing the 1st place, but being a bit unlucky and taking the 5th place. It is the best result which he has achieved so far and I wish him a lot of luck in the World Cup, which will take place in Norway, in August.

     Here are some photos from the closing ceremony:

While listening to the anthem of Ukraine- Alexander had some tears in his eyes

Taking photos during the closing ceremony

Katerina Pavlidou, Anna Iwanow and me (from right to left)

A very interesting dancing performance by some local artists

The trophees waiting for their winners

Katerina and Anna

Alexander Moiseenko, Evgeny Alekseev and Evgeny Romanov-getting their medals and checks

Anna Iwanow receiving a Performance prize 

Bogdan Deac- getting the 4th prize in the Performance category

      Here you can find the final results of all the Romanians:

21	GM	NISIPEANU Liviu-Dieter	2679	ROU	0	1	1	½	½	½	½	0	1	½	1	6.5	83	2574	10	-14.40
54	GM	LUPULESCU Constantin	2634	ROU	½	1	1	½	1	1	½	1	½	½	½	8.0	5	2778	10	21.00
102	GM	PARLIGRAS Mircea-Emilian	2570	ROU	½	1	0	1	1	½	½	½	0	0	1	6.0	110	2531	10	-4.60
112	GM	JIANU Vlad-Cristian	2555	ROU	1	½	0	1	½	½	0	1	½	½	½	6.0	98	2588	10	5.30
142	IM	ARDELEAN George-Catalin	2510	ROU	1	0	1	½	0	½	1	0	1	0	½	5.5	154	2465	10	-5.40
175	IM	ANTON Teodor	2441	ROU	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	½	5.5	160	2418	10	-3.10
199	WGM	BULMAGA Irina	2393	ROU	0	1	0	1	½	1	0	½	1	0	0	5.0	174	2432	15	10.05
201	IM	MANEA Alexandru	2389	ROU	½	0	1	½	½	0	½	0	½	1	0	4.5	203	2394	10	0.10
211	IM	PETRISOR Adrian-Marian	2378	ROU	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	½	0	4.5	212	2337	10	-3.90
219	FM	POSEDARU Bogdan	2339	ROU	½	0	0	0	½	0	1	0	1	0	1	4.0	249	2143	15	-42.00
220		STANCIU Alexandru-Ovidiu	2335	ROU	1	0	0	0	½	1	½	1	0	0	1	5.0	185	2385	15	10.80
259		DEAC Bogdan-Daniel	2183	ROU	0	0	½	½	1	½	1	1	0	0	½	5.0	186	2403	15	43.35

     I enjoyed the tournament a lot and I wish I would have the possibility to play only these kind of strong tournaments. I think that this is the best way to get a stronger player and this is the thing I want the most- to become a really strong GM!

xoxo from Romania ;)