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Just got back from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, am taking good care of my stomach, sleeping a few days and nights, and finally getting my mind back.
Generally speaking I am very satisfied with my results. I am still analyzing my strengths and weaknesses in the tournament. I think it a milestone in my career and it gave me many profound memories.
The first was an unforgettable trip from Beijing on the 18th. Because of bad weather the flight was delayed and I didn't land in Azerbaijan until the early morning of the 21st. I had black on the same day and faced the top seed Magnus Carlsen. That to me was a nightmare start. However the results seemed to fit an old saying, "Hao shi duo mo!" (there are many setbacks before you could have a success!)
The tournament proceeding were really quite tough. There were many difficulties. English was I biggest barrier and I had some communication problems. Luckily I could handle the daily chores. Big Sister has promised to stuff-feed me English. [We are told that Big Sister is Gu Xiaobing, a fellow WGM. Wang is 21, and Gu 23]
Next was the food. I can only blame our Chinese food for that: it is just too delicious. I underestimated how long the journey to Baku would be and finished of all the snacks I brought with me before getting to my destination. After the cool feeling of eating western-style food had subsided, I started to really suffer. But I do not have the modesty to say that my ability to adapt is relatively strong – I was still able to fill up my stomach every meal. (Everybody who knows me knows that I am a "food bag", ha, ha). All I want to say is that food and physical strength is directly connected. If you don't have enough food you wouldn't be able to sustain your physical strength!
Then there's the sense of loneliness. I didn't have any one to talk to for half a month! Fortunately, I did not lose any games throughout the tournament, so no one to speak to was not so unbearable.
After bringing up the hard part, I should now talk about the happy memories. Someone is of course going to tell me that difficulty is a kind of treasure, heh, heh.
Throughout the match the change in mentality was very interesting. At the beginning my goal was to strive for no loss of capital, to earn 1-2 points in excess of the mandate. After all, it was my first participation in such a high-level competition. I was not sure of the superstars' strength before the tournament, and was kind of wondering how much stronger they were. But as the event started, those worries disappeared. All I needed to do was to concentrate on playing well at every move. The consequences of distraction would be unthinkable! The development was beyond my expectation. I played better and better after each game, from looking not to lose at the beginning to trying to find ways to attack later. The encouragement of friends and relatives (particularly grateful to Big Sister) was my motivation to win the tournament. Towards the end, I really believed I could beat those tough opponents!
I know most people like to play soccer, and on the limited rest days we all went out for a few kicks! (chess team jargon). Actually, I am kind of lazy at home and do not play often. I wasn't interested in playing at Baku, I had been waiting for the rest day and I wanted nothing but sleep, ah! But I couldn't refuse the invitation, and it turned out we all had a lot of fun in the gym. Everyone was just relaxed and friendly, we were opponents on the board, but friends off the board. Everyone played pretty well (including me). I think we will get together and play some more soccer next time.
There are many more interesting things I need to re-taste in the coming days, I'll not tell you guys all, heh, heh.
The winners of the first FIDE Grand Prix in Baku: Wang Yue, Vugar Gashimov
and Magnus Carlsen
I was "forced" by Big Sister to share this look back. I have to write a formal summary to the coaches, so here I didn't mention the technical preparations and the details of the games. Thank you all for following my progress and chess in China. The men's team will get to the top one day. China's chess is materially practical, heh, heh. Want to know what "materially practical" means? Asks my Big Sister.
Wang Yue
2008.5.11
Translated by Zhidong Chen, Salt Lake City, USA
For those of you who want to check the accurary of the translation or enjoy the informal style of Grandmaster Wang Yue here is the Chinese original:
月交作业了---- 2008 Grand Prix Baku 站自战回顾
以下:
刚刚结束了在阿塞拜疆的大奖赛，回国内休息了几天，好好照顾了下我的胃，睡了几个日夜不分，总算感觉魂魄又归窍了。。。
总的来说这次比赛结果我是很满意的，对于自己的长处和不足我仍在总结当中。相信这个比赛会是我人生中的一个里程碑，它给我留下太多太多深刻的印记。
首先是难忘的行程，18号下午从北京出发中间因为天气原因航班延迟居然21号凌晨才到达阿塞拜疆，当天就需要拿黑棋面对头号种子卡尔森。这对我来说实在是个噩梦一样的开始，不过就结果来看--也许应验了那句老话“好事多磨”！
这个比赛的过程真的非常艰苦，困难的因素来自各个方面。英语是我最大的障碍，沟通有一定问题，但是还好生活上的一些小事还是可以应付的。（回来后老姐答应给我恶补英语）
其次就是食物，要怪就只能怪咱们中国的饭菜实在太好吃了太适合我了，而对于去程的漫长估计不足，我带去的粮食早在还没到达目的地就几乎被我消灭光了。头几 天吃西餐的新鲜劲过了之后开始感觉煎熬。不过我毫不谦虚地说我的适应能力还是比较强，仍然每顿都能吃的饱饱的。（了解我的人都知道我是个标准的“吃货”） 呵呵。说这么多其实是想说食物和体力直接挂钩，如果没有充足的粮食做保障就不会有充沛的体力！
然后就是孤独感。一个人半个多月没有可以说话的对象！！好在我整个比赛没有输棋，所以没人说话就显得不是那么难以忍受。。
说了那么多被我克服了的困难之后应该说点愉快的记忆啦，不过肯定会有人告诉我其实困难也是一种财富，嘿嘿。
在整个比赛过程中心态的变化是非常有趣的，刚开始出发的时候我给自己定的目标是争取保本，赚一个到两个超额完成任务了，毕竟是自己头一次参加这么高级别的 比赛，赛前对于那些超级巨星的实力真的没有把握，到底比我强多少呢，心里感觉虚虚的。但是比赛开始后，赛前的那些担心自动就消失了，因为在赛场上需要做的 就只是全神贯注的下好每一步棋。分心的后果不堪设想！赛程的发展出乎了我的意料，一盘比一盘下的好，从刚开始的保守求和到后面的出动出击，心态信心的变化 和亲人朋友（特别感谢下老姐）是我支持冲击冠军最大的动力，到后来我真的相信自己完全是可以战胜那些强悍的对手！
踢球相信很多人喜欢，在有限的休息天里我还和这些队员们干了两记球！（棋队行话）其实我在国内很懒，不常参加踢球活动，在那的时候开始也不想踢，好不容易 盼来一个休息天睡觉多舒服啊！但被他们叫的没办法。不过上了场还是很开心的，大家都很放松很友好，场上是对手，场下是朋友嘛。都踢的相当不错，（包括 我）。我相信在下一站的比赛中大家还会聚在一起踢球的。
还有很多很多有趣的事情让我自己在未来的日子里慢慢的回味吧，就不说给你们听了，嘿嘿。
写这篇总结主要被老姐“强迫”的，因为我还会写一篇正式的总结给教练，所以在这里就没有提到我的技术准备，以及棋的细节之处。谢谢大家对我的关注，对中国国象的关注，男队总有一日会冲到巅峰的。因为中国的国际象棋是最实惠的~嘿嘿想问实惠是什么意思就问我老姐吧~~~
王玥
2008．5.11
