Royal Riches in Romania Part 1

Introduction:

For my newest article, I want to talk about the European Youth Chess Championship U8s which took place in early September, 2017 in Mamaia, Romania. After European School 2016 U7 (check out the link here) I had rose to the top very quickly in my age group but it was time to test my skills against other strong European U8s...

Games :

Round 1: I was the 3rd seeded with a rating of 1700, therefore played a 1139 called Stefan Alexandru. He played the King’s Indian in which I replied with the Kramer variation (an aggressive line with a knight on g3 instead of f3) and since he did not know the line, I managed to get pawns to b4 and c5 (a typical idea in the King’s Indian).

I won a pawn and eventually the game. There was a funny story that the broadcast online showed I was Black and lost which surprised many people; fortunately the error was fixed. After Round 1: 1/1.

Round 2: I played a 1211 Fide rated guy called Tokarik Jan. It was the Sicilian Dragon (an extremely aggressive line with a fianchettoed bishop and a structure that looks like a dragon.

My opponent did not go for the sharp Yugoslav attack (where you castle queenside) instead he went for a safer kingside castling. I managed to get the e5 square and get one of his bishops. Eventually, he blundered, and I won. There were a few giggles in the game as a butterfly was hovering over my head. Romania has a lot of wildlife and quite a few creatures entered the playing hall, the people next to me gave me a few hints and I soon managed to get it of my head. After Round 2: 2/2.

Round 3: I played quite an underrated Romanian called Popescu Stefan Adrian. He played a stonewall and gave a free pawn quite easily but fought back really well. It was a long grind in a knight endgame but fortunately I grinded well enough and won. I was elated my score of 3/3 because some of the players you play in these types of tournaments are not as easy as their ratings may suggest.

               I am White here. Can you find the best move which is a nice tactic.

 Hint: it helps simplify some pieces.

I played Nf5! with the plan of deflecting his knight on e7 to exchange of material, which is what you should aim for when you are material up. 

Round 4: I played a Hungarian guy called Hajdu Marton Abris. I finally got a game including the Yugoslav Attack. I used some typical ideas such as Rc5 which helps with b5 and sometimes possibly sacrificing on g5 for his bishop. Soon, it went into an endgame in which I won an extra pawn very quickly and went for a race of who would promote first. It was me who won by a comfortable margin. After Round 4: 4/4.

                     

Round 5: I played a guy called Dimitrov Martin who had given me a souvenir from Bulgaria. I did not know how to play the opening and got caught out on quite a typical idea. It soon became a bit sharp as he castled queenside while I castled kingside, but I managed to win his very weak e7 pawn and eventually a passed pawn which helped me win. After Round 5: 5/5 The next day was a rest day and so we went to explore the beautiful paradise by exploring the beaches, swimming pool and trying some fun games there which helped me relax before a few tough upcoming rounds.

            

                                         Enjoying the rest day!       

Stay tuned for part 2!