At the end of 2021, Alba Iulia hosted the International Chess Open of Romania, a competition in which top adult and junior players were entitled to participate.
Towards the city of Union
What would we do without traditions? Even if some voices might argue that times are changing, people are no longer the same and have other priorities, preserving our identity, whatever its field, links us to our past and to our future.
In chess there are some national competitive landmarks that have stood the test of time and have remained present in the sports calendar, regardless of social changes, and the Romanian International Chess Open is one of them.
n the pandemonium, due to legal restrictions, the number of participants was considerably reduced, so that only 22 combatants were accepted for the competition scheduled to take place on 21-27 November at the Hotel Transilvania in Alba Iulia.
Among them was 11-year-old Robert Sava, a member of ACS Hannibal Bucharest,
who was accepted to take part in a competition where two international grandmasters (the highest chess title) and eight other international title holders announced their participation, which was an extra motivation for the kid who is equally passionate about Lego, Minecraft and logic games.
Technical preparation for the tournament started two weeks before the opening round, adding extra volume to the regular training sessions so that fitness is close to optimum.
The most difficult logistical aspect of participating in sports competitions in Romania is the road. Travelling the distance between Bucharest and Alba Iulia is a real challenge and can be a factor that can affect sporting performance in the early stages of competitions.
The shortest route was avoided in favour of a journey that would also offer the little chess player a cultural dimension, so that the fatigue of the journey would not be noticed.
Starting from Bucharest, the route followed the Prahova Valley, with a welcome and history-laden stop at the Cantacuzino Castle, then, leaving Brasov to the right, included a stop at the Cârța Abbey, a place full of energy and interesting stories.
Heading towards the motorway leading into Transylvania, it was not to be missed in Sibiu and its Old Town, where an hour’s walk and a quick snack helped to keep a positive mood.
Nine hours after leaving Bucharest, Robert arrived in Alba Iulia, full of energy and eager to start the showdown with some of the top Romanian chess performers.
Fierce competition
Every competition day looks the same for an athlete and is divided into competition, training, rest and recovery. It may sound boring, but perseverance and predictability are values that top athletes share and adhere to strictly.
Robert’s programme started every day at 6am when he woke up, did his physical exercises and then went for a 30-minute walk in the cool air of the Transylvanian plateau.
At 7 a.m. he had breakfast and by 8 a.m. he combined the usefulness of the first meal of the day with moments of relaxation, so important when you have to perform under pressure.
Before training, he took a phial of Astenor Energy, the supplement which, with its mix of arginine aspartate, vitamin B6, biotin and magnesium, helped to restore energy and increase his ability to concentrate.
The actual training included problem solving, refreshing knowledge of the likely systems to be used in the day’s confrontation and preparing for the next opponent, both technically and psychologically.
Immediately after the training, school activities took their lion’s share, as participation in the competition also meant absences from the 5th grade class, which Robert attends with very good results.
Maths, History, Communication, Civics, English took up the time of the competition, helping to relax and maintain a good mental tone.
At 12:30 it was time for lunch, and immediately after lunch a two-hour nap helped to reset the whole mental system.
An hour before the start of the round, Robert would wake up, take his second ampoule of Astenor Energy and problem-solve for 30 minutes to get his brain in the right shape for the showdown on the 64-square board.
Between 4pm and 7pm was the game of the day. Three hours in which the combatants maximised their cognitive capacity to infiltrate their troops into the opponent’s device in order to assassinate the enemy’s king.
After such psycho-physical consumption, the evening meal came as a deliverance and as a moment to recharge the batteries for the next day.
At 10 p.m., a refreshing shower and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer rounded off a day that was to be repeated seven more times until the end of the Romanian International Chess Open.
At the end of the competition, for Robert, the prize obtained in his age category was less important compared to the practical experience offered by the confrontations with mature opponents and the verification of the knowledge acquired in the training process.
Alba Iulia was a useful test in a competitive season affected by the restrictions of the COVID pandemic and a preliminary stage to the 2022 Season, one that looks to be close to the sporting normality we have been used to.