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Adventures of 2022 - what's next?
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Adventures of 2022 - what's next?

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vladyx92
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In my last blog post, I was offering my thoughts on the 2021 year. Hence, it makes sense to round up the action of 2022 now. For those who have supported my endeavors, a sincere thank you! Let's get to it, then...

  • March - played my first ever European Individual Chess Championship, finishing on a paltry 3/11. However, despite suffering from food poisoning, I had an amazing game against the strong IM Noe Tutisani in Round 1, which you can check here.

  • May - Attended the Grand Chess Tour as a spectator in Bucharest, Romania. After the tournament, I had the great honor and privilege of dining with the man himself, GM Levon Aronian and a group of friends. The vibes were stupendous wink.png

      A pleasant and relaxed evening at my student Zan's!

  • July - Played my biggest ever international event in Pardubice, gaining a solid +30 Elo in the company of strong opponents throughout. There were more than 600 people in the main playing hall - a true chess festival. Had a great time with one of my loyal travel buddies @akjett, so in 2023 I am back to play in the Teplice Chess Festival wink.png

       

  • August - Helped my hometown club Sah Club Vados Arad put together an event that was headlined by the presence of top streamer and recent FIDE Candidates commentator, WIM/FM Anna-Maja Kazarian. Her livestreams from the tournament hall were gathering a loyal following of 300+ concurrent viewers. In our spare time, we tried to refute the Four Knights Sicilian over some McDonald's and pizza margherita - we won't reveal the refutation here! Interview with Anna-Maja from the tournament, conducted by yours truly.

    Time for a quick pic before the flight departs!

  • September - Attended FIDE Trainers Seminar in Mamaia, headlined by Ivan Sokolov and Ramesh RB. Obtained my FIDE National Instructor certification. Met the lineup of BotezLive, and appeared on a number of streams, ultimately compiling a 1-1 score against the Botez sisters and a rather crushing 10-5 overall victory over 2300-rated WGM Dina Belenkaya. 

      2600 (left) about to destroy 2300 (right) player wink.png

  • October - Played my first FIDE World Event ever, participating in the World Amateur Championship in Malta with a disaster on the board, but lots of fun outside.

      Endless blue Mediterranean sea from the port in Valetta

As you can see above, 2022 was a whirlwind. Lots of traveling, lots of chess lessons, lots of blunders, and also a bunch of unforgettable memories. Thanks again for being part of my journey, and who knows...maybe I will eventually make that post on rook endgames, but first I need you to interact with this post and show me that I am not writing into the abyss wink.png

By the way, before I forget! Are you interested in chess lessons and want to learn how to improve your game sustainably and in the long-term? I don't have shortcuts, but if you're willing to put in the work, you can book your lesson with just one click!