Romanian Championships in Arctic conditions

by ChessBase
2/26/2012 – The championships were won by WGM Cristina Foisor and GM Vladislav Nevednichy. The big final report of WGM Alina L'Ami is again under the shock of the most severe winter since 1954. The players got to the playing hall much the same way Robert Scott reached the South Pole – on sleds pulled by horses. But for some all that snow was pure delight.

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Final report from the 2012 Romanian Championships

By WGM Alina L'Ami

Romania, February 2012: Snow causes havoc in Romania, the entire nation is buried under snow, the arctic conditions bring endless blizzards, people waiting on rooftops in villages stranded by the white nightmare ... these are just a few headlines, in fact the less pessimistic ones, that we read in the media during the whole month of February. Such a rough winter our country had not experienced since 1954! Given the circumstances, it's a miracle that the National Championship of Romania took place, right in the heart of winter's rage. Sarata Monteoru (a small settlement in Buzau county), the host of the tournament, was snowbound under Code Orange, with the roads closed and power outages.

Under such unfavourable auspices, some players had to give up and turn around, unable to reach the tournament. Fortunately, our bus was just in time to pass the narrow one-way roads, without being stopped by the police barriers. So here we are: ready to fight snow and for the medals at stake!


Logistics problems: When technology becomes helpless, the oldeer methods of
transport are the most reliable, like the horse-drawn sleigh!

Since the end of the era of communism, Romania has been transfigured by enormous changes; however, in the foothills of the Carpathians Mountains, life still seems to go on much as it has done for hundreds of years. And that's what got us out of trouble.


Transporting our equipment, exactly the way Robert Falcon Scott did one hundred years ago!


The shuttle to the tournament hall – bet you won't see anything like this at the Dubai Open!

We have a saying in Romania: "The devil is not as black as he seems to be". The snow didn't bring only misfortune, but also joy and happiness. The ride was better than I could have ever imagined – so good to be child again...

...just like these kids, living in the now, enjoying their furry friends and the warmth of their too big hats and shoes. Despite all challenges, life is really beautiful and children know it! [Photo courtesy Marian Mocanu]


Warm and cosy: inside the playing hall, in our women's section

The men's competition was played in a different location, a bit far from our tournament hall. That is the reason I don't have any more pictures from that section – no matter how much I tried, I couldn't be in two places at the same time. What I can tell you, though, is that both sections were marked by fierce struggles, with many surprises on the way: high ranked players being defeated by much lower rated opponents, sometimes with a gap of more than 400 Elo points. This is what keeps interest alive and the reason why chess has been loved for centuries: almost anybody can show a little genius from time to time. The fight for the gold medal went on until the very last minute, nothing was decided until the last score sheet had been signed.


WCM Ioana Gelip finished in 14th place with a score of 5.0/9


WCM Diana-Elena Cusmuliuc, rated 1745, finished at 4.0/9 points


Ioana-Smaranda Padurariu vs Elena Bulmaga in round six – White won in 29 moves

[Event "CN Senioare 2012"] [Site "Sarata Monteoru"] [Date "2012.02.18"] [Round "6.7"] [White "Padurariu, Ioana-Smaranda"] [Black "Bulmaga, Elena"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2247"] [BlackElo "1816"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2012.02.13"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nc3 a6 5. Nce2 e6 6. Ng3 Bg6 7. h4 h6 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nd7 11. f4 Ne7 12. Nf3 c5 13. c3 Nc6 14. f5 exf5 15. Nxf5 cxd4 16. cxd4 Qc7 17. a3 O-O-O 18. O-O Re8 19. Bf4 f6 20. e6 Qxf4 21. exd7+ Kxd7 22. Ne5+ Nxe5 23. Qb3 Nf3+ 24. Rxf3 Qc7 25. Qxd5+ Bd6 26. Nxg7 Re7 27. Qf5+ Kd8 28. Ne6+ Rxe6 29. Qxe6 1-0


Me playing against my friend Irina Bulmaga in round six

[Event "CN Senioare 2012"] [Site "Sarata Monteoru"] [Date "2012.02.18"] [Round "6.4"] [White "L'Ami, Alina"] [Black "Bulmaga, Irina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D16"] [WhiteElo "2360"] [BlackElo "2360"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2012.02.13"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9. Qe2 cxd4 10. Rd1 O-O 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. exd4 Nd5 13. Rd3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bd6 15. Qh5 Qf6 16. Rh3 Qg6 17. Qb5 Kh8 18. Bd3 f5 19. c4 a6 20. Qb6 Be7 21. Bf4 Bf6 22. Re1 Qf7 23. Be5 Bxe5 24. Rxe5 h6 25. d5 exd5 26. cxd5 Bd7 27. Rhe3 Rac8 28. Qxb7 Rc1+ 29. Re1 Rxe1+ 30. Rxe1 a5 31. h3 Bxa4 32. Qxf7 Rxf7 33. Ra1 Bd7 34. Rxa5 g6 35. Bc4 f4 36. Ra8+ Kh7 37. d6 Rg7 38. Rf8 Bf5 39. Bf7 h5 40. h4 f3 41. gxf3 Bd7 42. f4 Kh6 43. Kf1 Rh7 44. Ke1 Kg7 45. Rd8 Bf5 46. Bd5 Kf6 47. Rf8+ 1-0


The villa where our club chose to stay, generously provided by
the tournament organizer Mihai Posedaru


Time for fresh air and rosy cheeks: when the sleigh was not available, and the
cars were frozen, we had to walk through snow, all the way to the playing hall.


I cannot compare us with the real heroes, but we felt quite good
once we reached the final destination: the playing hall.


Traditional decoration: you can see in the middle many icons –
religion was and still is an important part in our culture



Irina Bulmaga vs Roxana Anton in the first round of this event

[Event "CN Senioare 2012"] [Site "Sarata Monteoru"] [Date "2012.02.13"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Bulmaga, Irina"] [Black "Anton, Roxana-Ana"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "2360"] [BlackElo "1859"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2012.02.13"] 1. e4 e6 2. Qe2 c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 d6 5. c3 Nf6 6. g3 g6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. d4 Qc7 10. Re1 e5 11. dxc5 dxc5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Na3 b6 15. Nd2 Bb7 16. Nf1 Bg7 17. Nb5 Qe7 18. Ne3 Ba6 19. a4 Rad8 20. Qc2 Na5 21. Nd5 Qb7 22. b4 Nc6 23. bxc5 bxc5 24. Rab1 Kh7 25. Bh3 Na5 26. Nd4 Qxb1 27. Rxb1 cxd4 28. Bf1 Bxf1 29. Rxf1 Rc8 30. Qd3 Rc4 31. cxd4 exd4 32. h4 Rfc8 33. Qf3 d3 34. Qxd3 Rxa4 35. Qf3 Rf8 36. Nf6+ Bxf6 37. Qxf6 Rxe4 38. h5 Rg4 39. Ra1 Rg5 40. hxg6+ Rxg6 41. Qe7 Nb3 42. Qxf8 Nxa1 43. Qxf7+ Rg7 44. Qf5+ Rg6 45. Qb1 1-0


Veronica Foisor vs Corina Peptan

[Event "CN Senioare 2012"] [Site "Sarata Monteoru"] [Date "2012.02.20"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Foisor, Mihaela-Veronica"] [Black "Peptan, Corina-Isabela"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2215"] [BlackElo "2425"] [Annotator "Robot 4"] [PlyCount "169"] [EventDate "2012.02.13"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Bd3 cxd4 6. exd4 d5 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. Bg5 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Be7 11. a3 Bd7 12. Qd3 Rc8 13. Ba2 Nd5 14. Bxe7 Ncxe7 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Nc3 Be6 18. f4 f6 19. Rae1 Qd7 20. Rf2 a6 21. Rfe2 Rfe8 22. Qf3 Bf7 23. h3 Rxe2 24. Rxe2 b5 25. Qg4 Qxg4 26. hxg4 Kf8 27. Kf2 Rc4 28. Rd2 Ke7 29. Ke3 Kd6 30. g5 fxg5 31. fxg5 Bg6 32. Rf2 b4 33. axb4 Rxb4 34. g3 Rb8 35. Na4 Rb3+ 36. Nc3 Rb4 37. Rf8 Rxb2 38. Rd8+ Kc7 39. Rxd5 Rg2 40. Rc5+ Kd6 41. Ne4+ Bxe4 42. Kxe4 Rxg3 43. Ra5 Rg4+ 44. Kf5 Rxd4 45. Rxa6+ Ke7 46. Ke5 Rd7 47. Ra7 Rb7 48. Ra6 Rb5+ 49. Kf4 Kf7 50. Rc6 Rb4+ 51. Kf5 Rb5+ 52. Kf4 Rb1 53. Ra6 Re1 54. Kf5 Re7 55. Rb6 Rd7 56. Ra6 Rd5+ 57. Kf4 Ke7 58. Ra7+ Rd7 59. Ra6 Rb7 60. Kf5 Rb5+ 61. Kf4 Rb1 62. Ra7+ Kf8 63. Kf5 Rf1+ 64. Ke5 Re1+ 65. Kf5 Re7 66. Ra6 Kf7 67. Kf4 g6 68. Rc6 Re8 69. Rc7+ Kg8 70. Ra7 Rd8 71. Ke5 Rc8 72. Ke6 Rb8 73. Rc7 Rb6+ 74. Ke5 Rb5+ 75. Kf4 Rf5+ 76. Kg4 Rf7 77. Rc6 Kg7 78. Ra6 Re7 79. Rb6 Ra7 80. Rc6 Kf7 81. Rb6 Ke7 82. Rc6 Ra4+ 83. Kg3 Rd4 84. Ra6 Rd5 85. Kg4 1/2-1/2


Sisters: WIM Irina Bulmaga, 2360, finished 8th with 5.5/9 ...


... and Elena Bulmaga, rated 1816, who had 3.5/9 points


All the girls you see in the above picture are from the same chess club:
Politehnica Iasi, where I am also an active member


Foisor family: mother and daughter fighting side by side for the first spots!


WCMs Roxana Anton and Georgiana-Steluta Morea


Georgiana is rated 1882, decided to play in the men's section.
She scored 50%, a very good result for the 17-year-old player!


The President of our Chess Federation, Constantin Dumitriu, inviting everybody to put chess
aside for one evening and to enjoy good company, wine, food and music under the same roof.

Wherever you are in Romania, you will never be out of wine. It's in our blood and our culture. Be sure that if you are a guest, even if you arrive at ten in the morning, you will always be invited to taste a glass from the very delicious homemade Dionysian drink. It's a sign of appreciation and warmth for those who enter our houses. If you never heard of this, it's surely because large amounts from the heavenly liquid never leave the Romanian borders: we like it too much to give it away.


Who said that chess is boring?! The members of our chess club having a great time


Traditional costumes

Above all, the Romanian culture is reflected by its people. Museums can devise stratagems to capture your imagination, but the amazing life of this country cannot be found in other places than on its streets and villages. So, fragile as they are, these traditions give Romania that little something, enough to make it special. Even if they are endangered nowadays, they are still able to caress your soul.


Romania's rural heritage is still alive – a gateway to Europe's unseen past.


The moment to announce the winners has arrived


Congratulations to Cristina Foisor and Vladislav Nevednichy!

They both became Romanian Champions with a win in the last round, succeeding in keeping their composure and concentration under tough circumstances – playing the last crucial game at 9.30 a.m.!

Unlike the previous years, when the winners were more or less known before the last game, 2012 was different: everybody was playing “with the medals on the boards", with a lot of hopes and pressure in the final round. The public was happy but I cannot say the same about myself. After leading in the last two rounds, half a point ahead of the field, I had to play black against the top seed, Corina Peptan. I was not sure if a draw would have been enough to clearly secure the first place, so I decided to play “all out”, rejecting the thought of forcing a peaceful end. The moment passed, I became over ambitious, decided to play for initiative and eventually the point went into Corina's pocket. This is the game, sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. But we always fight!

Open Tournament – Final top rankings after eleven rounds

Rk.
Ti. Name RtgI
Pts.
 TB1 
 TB2 
 TB3 
 TB4 
1
GM Nevednichy Vladislav 2546
8.5
66.0
60.50
55.0
2631
2
GM Vajda Levente 2594
8.5
65.5
58.50
54.0
2572
3
GM Manolache Marius 2552
8.5
63.5
58.75
52.0
2577
4
IM Cioara Andrei-Nestor 2456
8.0
65.0
54.00
51.5
2585
5
GM Berescu Alin-Mile 2488
8.0
63.0
54.00
49.5
2480
6
GM Lupulescu Constantin 2648
7.5
64.0
52.00
50.0
2520
7
GM Szabo Gergely-Andras-Gyula 2554
7.5
63.0
49.00
50.0
2489
8
IM Miron Lucian-Costin 2525
7.5
62.0
51.00
48.0
2437
9
IM Dragomirescu Robin-Alexandru 2340
7.5
61.5
47.75
45.0
2452
10
NM Doros Radu-Marian 2338
7.5
61.0
48.75
46.5
2452
11
IM Filip Lucian 2490
7.5
60.0
48.50
47.0
2405
12
IM Florescu Codrut-Constantin 2282
7.5
59.5
46.75
45.0
2497
13
FM Georgescu Tiberiu-Marian 2415
7.5
58.0
45.50
46.5
2394
14
CM Pop Alexandru 2254
7.5
57.5
45.00
44.0
2312
15
IM Dumitrache Dragos-Nicolae 2460
7.5
57.0
46.50
46.5
2328
16
FM Anton Teodor 2393
7.5
57.0
46.25
47.0
2369

Women's tournament – Final top rankings after nine rounds

Rk.
Ti. Name RtgI
Pts.
 TB1 
 TB2 
 TB3 
 TB4 
1
WGM Foisor Cristina-Adela 2395
6.5
40.5
36.50
33.5
2394
2
WGM Cosma Elena-Luminita 2325
6.5
39.0
34.50
34.0
2380
3
WGM Peptan Corina-Isabela 2425
6.5
36.0
31.00
31.5
2265
4
WGM L'Ami Alina 2360
6.0
41.0
33.25
34.5
2372
5
WFM Foisor Mihaela-Veronica 2215
6.0
40.5
31.50
33.0
2343
6
WIM Dragomirescu Angela 2240
6.0
40.0
32.00
32.0
2325
7
WGM Sandu Mihaela 2248
5.5
38.0
24.50
30.5
2233
8
WIM Bulmaga Irina 2360
5.5
33.5
22.50
25.5
2070
9
WCM Adam Andrea 1906
5.5
26.0
19.75
20.5
1887
10
WIM Padurariu Ioana-Smaranda 2247
5.0
35.5
20.25
28.5
2088
11
WFM Uta Adeline-Ramona 2087
5.0
34.5
21.00
29.0
2115
12
WFM Baciu Anca-Otilia 2129
5.0
33.0
21.50
24.0
2019
13
WFM Visanescu Daria-Ioana 2047
5.0
32.0
17.75
26.0
2056
14
WCM Gelip Ioana 2025
5.0
29.5
18.00
24.0
1957

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