Beyond The Board: An Ongoing Journey Through My Life
Dear readers,
Up to now, I have always published articles which are mainly about chess, some more serious and some more light-hearted. But today I would like to tell you a little bit more about myself and my life in general. Of course, since this is a chess blog and website, I will also tell how I was introduced to the game and the main moments when it was part of my life or not.
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1) INTRODUCTION
The intention here is not to be selfish or to pretend that my "biography" is something interesting, since I am neither a celebrity nor an idol to be a mirror for anyone. Actually, I just want to feel closer to the people who read what I have to write, and thus let you know more about the person behind the screen. This can also be useful for those moments when I meet someone new on the website and he/she asks questions about me, so I can share the link and tell them to read here for all the details they want to know, or at least the ones that I don't mind sharing.
Well, as you all probably know, my name is Vanessa, and from my username, you can guess that I was born in 1996 (if you guessed 1896, please leave now). As I write this, I am 26 years old. I was born in the beautiful city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand, where I still live today, but not the only place I have ever lived. People born in New Zealand can be called Kiwis. This is not at all offensive and is actually a tribute to a very cute non-flying bird that can only be found here. It also explains why you can read “The Kiwi Hobbit” in my profile status.
My father is from Dunedin and my mother grew up in the Auckland metropolitan area. As far as I know, they gave me this name after a British actress named Vanessa Angel, who played a role in a comedy movie they watched together while my mother was pregnant. Vanessa also means "butterfly", an insect my mother has always loved.
If you don't know where my country or my city is and are too lazy to open Google Maps, I will show you below and add some pictures of this beautiful metropolis, which is also the one I love the most. Although Auckland is the largest city, it is not the capital, which is called Wellington and is located in the southern part of the North Island.
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Auckland is located in New Zealand, the second most famous country in Oceania after Australia. New Zealand consists of two main islands in the Pacific Ocean and is relatively isolated from the rest of the world. Population of the country: 5.25 million; Population of Auckland: 1.44 million.
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Just sitting and enjoying the view of Auckland’s skyline is one of my favorite things to do.
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The kiwi is recognized as an icon of New Zealand, and the association is so strong that the term “Kiwi” is used internationally as the colloquial demonym for New Zealanders.
2) SCHOOL YEARS
Like any normal kid or teenager, I went to school and made most of my friends there. I can say that I was an average to good student, but I never stood out too much. My favorite subjects were usually related to logical thinking. I loved numbers and therefore math, but I was also fascinated by things related to computers, calculations, and statistics. Physics and chemistry were two other subjects that I was good at and liked to learn more about, sometimes doing my own research alone at home on topics unrelated to what was being taught in class and bothering my teachers with inconvenient questions.
Subjects like geography and history were also cool to me, and I did not dislike them at all, although I was only interested in some parts. My favorite time period to study was the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. Others like Ancient Greece or the history of New Zealand were for some reason not too exciting for me, but I cannot explain why. In geography, I enjoyed memorizing the capitals and flags of the countries, but I was bored most of the time when I heard about vegetation, relief, and that kind of stuff.
Biology was my worst nightmare. I don't want to talk much about it... And English, although you can guess that I really love to write and put my ideas into words nowadays, was actually never something that caught my attention. I liked reading and writing, but the class itself was not my favorite thing. Maybe it has not much to do with the appreciation of good writing, but most likely with the methods used in school, which in my opinion do not really lead the kids/teenagers in the right direction. But that is not what this text is about, sorry for this short reverie...
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"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding was one of my favorite books in high school. Today it is still one of them, along with "The Pillars of the Earth" and "Animal Farm".
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The day I graduated from high school. I innocently thought that my problems in life were solved. Please don't laugh.
3) GETTING PRESENTED TO CHESS
At the same time, I was a very active child who loved sports. I tried and played everything I could: football, which is my favorite sport, but also tennis, cricket, swimming, karate, kayaking and many more. I only did not try 3 sports that I could have: basketball, volleyball, and handball. The first two because I was ridiculously short from a very young age, and the last because I just didn't want to. I mean, it is just football, but less exciting and with your hands. If you are a fan, sorry, nothing personal.
So, you can imagine that my grandparents had a hard time dealing with me and my hyperactive spirit every time I visited them in Dunedin. Without the same energy to follow me on my ways of having fun, they had to find something to calm me down so that they could play with me without running out of breath. I think it was with this in mind, and already knowing how much I liked logic and exact sciences, that my grandfather decided to teach me chess when I was 7 or 8 years old.
And I thank him for that to this day. I really liked the game, and we spent hours playing it, solving puzzles, and discussing some positions. Naturally, everything was very simple, and I could not really beat him in a serious game, but it was still one of my favorite activities when visiting him until I was about 10 years old. However, I only played with him when I was there, and since I did not have a board or anyone to play with when I was in Auckland, chess was only a hobby for some very occasional moments and not a part of my daily life.
But that doesn't mean that I was terrible at the game. During one of my school vacations, when I was visiting them, I decided to take part in a small chess tournament for children, which my grandfather persuaded me to join. I was not very confident and thought I would be crushed by some kind of mini-Einsteins who knew every opening in the world and were ready to humiliate me with amazing checkmates sacrificing their queens. To my utter surprise, they were just as bad as I was, and I ended up in 2nd place.
My young chess career lasted about three years, from the age of 7 until 10. After that, although I did not forget the rules of the game nor the good moments I had playing with my grandfather, we already began to do some other activities together, such as watching movies, walking in a park, or simply talking about subjects we both appreciate. Slowly and without noticing, chess was no longer part of my life, and found a hidden place in my heart, waiting for me to unlock the door again.
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My first chessboard was handmade by my grandfather using only everyday household tools.
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The sticker with the description has come off over time, but I'm sure Carlsen and Kasparov would be jealous of my beautiful trophy.
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Keith Hay Park was the venue for many of my childhood football and cricket matches.
4) UNIVERSITY
After graduating from high school, I started studying Information Technology at the University of Auckland in 2014. Although we are never 100% sure about our decisions at this age, and my father preferred that I choose an engineering field like him, I think it was something that made sense to me, considering what my brain likes, the structural and logical reasoning I use, and what I could feel comfortable and happy with. In the end, it is still a kind of engineering, even if it is not always called that in the official description of the course or the future job.
Obviously, I had a lot of trouble with some topics and less with others, but I can say that I really enjoyed it and acquired a very good foundation to further develop myself later in my career and professional life. Yes, I know I am still young and have a lot to discover and learn, but I just mean from what was possible until today.
Needless to say, I made a lot of friends there who I still keep in touch with. I miss this time of my life and have no regrets. In the meantime, I never stopped doing my favorite sports, but chess was still waiting for its chance to come back. Some of my colleagues liked it and maybe there was a chance, but they were not my closest friends. I recall seeing them playing here and there, but for some stupid reason, instead of joining them and asking to play a little, I just watched it from a distance, remembering with a happy face the good old days with my grandfather.
However, one wish I still had was to study and live abroad for a while. I have always loved to travel and had already visited Australia, Italy, Southeast Asia, and other smaller countries in Oceania such as Fiji and the beautiful Tahiti. With this in mind, I applied for an exchange internship program in Germany, hoping to have a new experience in Europe, learn more in my field of study in a country that is a reference when we talk about last-generation technology, and of course get to know a new culture, way of life, language, and so on.
It was harder than I thought, but with some effort and luck, I got accepted for an internship in a very famous and big automotive industry located in Wolfsburg. If you don't know which one I'm talking about, maybe try to Google it yourself, because they're not paying me to do merchandising here.
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The University of Auckland, currently ranked #68 in the world.
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Sunset somewhere in Southeast Asia. Traveling has always been one of my favorite hobbies.
5) GERMANY
My time in Germany was amazing. I lived there for almost a year, learned a lot of new things, and made great friends. Being in the center of Europe and not on an isolated island was also an advantage that I used really well to travel around the continent, having the chance to visit Portugal, Spain, France, the UK, and many other countries... I think there was not a single weekend when I was not traveling or doing something different and out of the routine.
In Wolfsburg at that time there was a small chess club which I visited sometimes. My German was not the best, but I met some really nice people there and played very few games. I was totally rusty and had a winning rate of probably about 25%. As you can imagine, my childish knowledge did not include any opening theory, endgame strategy, or middlegame plans, so it was really just for the pleasure of moving pieces again and feeling the excitement of a good game.
There is so much more I could write about Germany, Europe, and my time there, but this text has to end sometime. Perhaps the coolest experience I had was being in the stadium to watch Wolfsburg beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Along with Auckland City and Liverpool FC, "Die Wölfe" became one of my favorite football teams.
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The city of Wolfsburg, located in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany. The population in 2023 is approximately 124,000.
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I took the opportunity to visit as many places as possible.
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VfL Wolfsburg Football Stadium. Capacity: 30,000 spectators.
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6) AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
Returning to New Zealand and my studies, I had a really nice chance to learn more and develop some projects in the area of Air Traffic Control at Auckland International Airport. It was an opportunity I could not pass up and I am glad I took it despite all the stress I knew it would bring.
It is undoubtedly a fascinating job with a lot of responsibility for people's lives, where you have to make sure that everything is done correctly and according to procedure. Passengers do not really think about it while they are on the plane, but they still rely on you and trust you to do a good job and make their trip safe. My role today is not just about the traffic control itself, but much more about the system and the software that is used.
For me, the most beautiful thing is being part of a big and complex machine, a small cog that has to work perfectly on the ground to make sure that everything goes well and safely for those who fly. All this without expecting any congratulations or applause for simply doing my job, but just the personal satisfaction of knowing that I play an important "hidden" role in aviation.
Just as a good referee is the one whose name is never mentioned at the end of a football game, a good ATC is the one whose name is never printed on the front page of a newspaper or mentioned after another safe flight. Technical, discreet, complex and indispensable. I think this is a profession that really fits my personality and what I like to do.
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The Auckland airport control tower. Auckland Airport (AKL) handles approximately 16.5 million passengers per year with more than 420 flights per day.
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Being an air traffic controller is super easy. It is almost like playing a video game, but with a little added stress and pressure because if you fail, everyone dies, and you get arrested.
7) BRAZIL
Now it is time for what I consider to be the most special years of my life. I once talked to my boss and told him that I had always dreamed of visiting South America, especially Brazil. Coincidence or not, a few days or weeks later he came up to me with an opportunity to move there and work at a small airport in the middle of a big city called Belo Horizonte. The goal was to gain more experience and knowledge of different methods. At the same time, I could work on and write my graduation thesis while living there. Of course, I could not pass it up.
The two years I spent there were the best I could have ever hoped for. I met so many nice and lovely people, visited so many beautiful places, and had such great experiences that I will never forget. I could write a whole text just about it… the delicious food, the wonderful beaches, the wildlife, the curious and interesting history… but I will try not to make it too long and just mention the main things that made me fall in love with Brazil.
First of all, it is full of great and generous people. Unfortunately, the country has a bad reputation because of its low safety ratings, but I still encourage anyone reading this to give it a chance and visit one day, because the vast majority of people are fantastic and have big hearts. I never expected to be so welcomed and treated so well by everyone I met there.
Second, it was there that my passion for chess finally blossomed and came out of the prison it had been in in my heart. Some of the best friends I made there loved to play, so it was a good opportunity to finally learn the game for real and not just how the pieces move. I developed a lot and laid the foundation for what I know today. Sure, I am not a master, and I don't even consider myself an advanced amateur player, but little Vanessa, who finished 2nd in that Dunedin tournament, would certainly be very proud if she knew what I would understand about the game today. Cheering for Brazil at the 2018 Chess Olympiad was also a fun and good moment I had with my friends there.
And third, but no less important, I went to the Mineirão football stadium many times to watch Cruzeiro E.C. play. The atmosphere was impressive, and I experienced something that is not possible in New Zealand due to the low popularity of the sport. I fell in love with the club and became a fanatical supporter. Bringing them good luck and good energy, I was able to see the team win the National Cup twice during my time there, and most importantly, to share great moments with my friends, cheering, suffering, and celebrating.
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Praça da Liberdade (Liberty Square) is one of the most famous symbols of Belo Horizonte. Population: 2.32 million.
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In addition to the food and the natural beauty, it was in Brazil that my passion for chess was rekindled.
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I was lucky enough to be at the stadium and watch both trophies being lifted live. My favorite players were Fabio (GK) and Arrascaeta (MF).
8) SPAIN
And there is one last country I lived in. Not for so long, only about 6 months, but still, the time I spent there was unforgettable. Actually, it was not in continental Spain, but in the beautiful city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital of an archipelago near the African coast called the Canary Islands.
This time I only worked at the airport, without studying or working on my thesis at the same time, so I had the rest of my time free, and considering that most of the months were summer and the weather was great, I could enjoy the islands a lot, especially its beaches and hiking in the mountains to have a view of beautiful landscapes.
I must mention that the people there are also very nice. My friends are still in close contact with me and have already visited me in New Zealand once. I wish I had spent more time to enjoy all the things I couldn't, but I'm still grateful for what I was able to experience. And one of my favorite parts was the Canarian boys, but let us not give too many details about that kind of thing.
One last fact that maybe not everyone here knows is that the worst and deadliest air accident of all time happened in this archipelago. To be more precise, it happened on March 27th, 1977, at the Los Rodeos Airport (today known simply as the North Airport) on the island of Tenerife. The accident was mainly caused by a miscommunication that made one of the planes take off while another was still taxiing on the same runway. 583 people lost their lives.
As an air traffic controller, these types of stories always leave us very saddened, but I must say that this accident is still being studied and discussed a lot, because all possible factors that can usually go wrong happened at the same time. Terrorism, weather conditions, ATC miscommunication, disregard for procedures, human error... all combined to create a disaster.
I had the opportunity to visit the small memorial near the airport and pay my respects and condolences to the victims. Although it was a heartbreaking moment, I think it also reminded me of my responsibilities, giving me the motivation to always be as professional as possible and to do my job correctly, in order to prevent similar things from happening in the future.
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Location of the Canary Islands and the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Population of the archipelago: 2.2 million. Population of Las Palmas: 378,500.
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Las Palmas is a beautiful blend of history, nature, and paradise beaches.
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The International Tenerife Memorial. It is my duty to ensure that the lives lost were not in vain.
9) TODAY (AND CONCLUSION)
There is not much more to say about me. Today I live back in Auckland and spend most of my time working, doing my favorite sports, hanging out with friends, playing some chess, and sometimes writing random texts like this one you just read. I have also been taking some piloting lessons in small planes like Cessna 172 and Cirrus SR20, so I am learning the basics of flying and will hopefully get my license in the near future, but I cannot promise because it is very expensive.
If you were curious after reading my short profile description, you now know why, when, and how I learned the other languages I speak. However, I have to say that I am not an expert in any of them and can only communicate properly without really having a full knowledge of things like grammar and slang, nor a rich vocabulary. But the same goes for English, so who cares?
I would like to thank you for your patience and attention if you have made it this far. I believe that the stories of our lives, at any age, are what build our personalities and make us who we are. Therefore, in my opinion, we should not regret our choices, nor should we be afraid to take calculated risks in order to have new experiences. Life is not static, and we are changing ourselves every day.
Ultimately, the concept of "self" extends beyond our bodies, its constituent atoms, or the blood that flows through our veins. These components, although vital, are replaceable and merely serve as the physical manifestation of a deeper essence. The "I" is something intangible, it is the sum of your memories, your experiences, your friendships, your relationships, your moments of joy and sadness. It is the very awareness of being alive, appreciating and embracing the wonders of the world. These elements are irreplaceable and distinguish you from everyone else, making you unique.
Therefore, do not be ashamed of your past, do not despise your present, do not fear your future. They are not something apart from your existence. They are essentially who you are.
