Romanian Championships in Arctic conditions

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

Me playing against my friend Irina Bulmaga in round six

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.

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

Veronica Foisor vs Corina Peptan

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!

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

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

• Full results of all 123 participants here

Women's tournament – Final top rankings after nine rounds

• Full results of all 28 participants here

Links Official tournament site Games in PGN: Open (zipped PGN) – Women The top games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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