WGM Raluca Sgîrcea - Page 47
WGM Raluca Sgîrcea is a Romanian chess player and coach. She was born on 11 July 1989.
Her peak rating was 2302 in October 2014.
She won the European Youth Chess Championship in the U10 girls category in 1999. She became a Woman International Master (WIM) in 2011 and achieved one Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm. She speaks Romanian, English and Spanish.
Chess Articles by WGM Raluca Sgîrcea
3 Best Games of the Week – 9
This is a great game by US top Grand Master Hikaru Nakamura. He played very creatively in the opening and within just a few moves obtained a considerable advantage. Vachier failed to equalize and could not defend against Hikaru’s initiative. The move 19.Nc5! Was really nice. Very instructive play by Nakamura showing when to open […]Zugzwang – How to Use it in The Middle Game
In this article, we are going to talk about a concept that is very well known to any player, no matter their rating or strength – the zugzwang. The term refers to a situation where one of the players finds himself wanting not to move and rather pass the move to his opponent. The fact […]5 Steps to Correctly Evaluate Symmetrical Positions
The correct evaluation of the positions arising in the middle game is one of the most difficult things to do for any chess player. From beginners to masters, this particular subject is always a heavy task. It takes a good understanding of the main positional concepts, a well-trained instinct, and of course calculation skills.Counter-Attacking in Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Setup
Sicilian Defense is probably the most dynamic response against 1.e4. The philosophy of this opening is not just to achieve a position with equal chances, but to fight for the initiative from the very start of the game. In this article, we are going to examine the positions arising from the sharp Najdorf/ Scheveningen variations, […]Weak Squares: How to Convert Positional Advantage
By pushing the pawns, weak squares are inevitably created in our position. It is very important to know how to correctly use and even create them in your opponent’s camp in order to win the game. Before moving further, we will first define what a weak square is – it is a square that can […]Backward Pawn: 5 Things to Remember
One of the very important elements of the strategic play is understanding the basic pawn structures and the plans that can be used in each type of position. Having previously discussed most of the pawn formations that can appear during a game, we are now moving on to another concept – the backward pawn. 3 Best Games of the Week – 8
For this edition of the 3 best games, we have selected two games played in the strong Russian team championship and the surprise win of the Italian IM Nicola Altini over the top GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave. The first game shows some very sharp play in the Adams Attack of the Najdorf Variation.Playing Ruy Lopez: The Worrall Attack
Worrall Attack of the Ruy Lopez: The popularity of 1…e5 has increased greatly in recent years. For a long time, this response against white’s move 1.e4 was considered a less ambitious option for black than, for example, The Sicilian Defense. However, times have changed, and so has the way we perceive 1…e5 nowadays.Queen and Knight vs Queen and Bishop: What Wins?
Queen and Knight vs Queen and Bishop: It is a well-known concept that the queen and knight team works better than the queen and bishop. All the experienced and strong players are well aware of this strategic nuance. However, at a lower level, even though this concept is told several times, the less experienced players […]The Exchange Sacrifice: Topalov Way
In our previous article on this subject, we wrote about the characteristics of the exchange sacrifice, dividing them in two groups. Sacrifices are done in order to attack the opponent’s position and in order to defend from our opponent’s threats. Let’s review our list from our previous article. ***
