IAF Interview 1: Florentin Olteanu

About Florentin Olteanu

Florentin Olteanu is one of the best (if not the best) middlegame player in Antichess. He was the founder of the International Antichess Federation (IAF). He is also a Romanian National CM, with 1 NM Norm. This is his FIDE profile.

The Interview

Q1. How did you first get into online chess?

Ans: A friend of mine told me about lichess and I visited the site and I liked it from the start.

Q2. What was the attraction of Antichess above other variants?

Ans: I also tried atomic or horde but I didn't like it.

Q3. If there was one thing you could tell standard chess players about antichess to convince them to play, what would it be?

Ans: I didn't think of convincing anyone to play antichess so I don't know what I could say to standard chess players.

Q4. How did you get to be one of the world's strongest players and what advice do you have for others trying to improve?

Ans: I worked a lot, especially after the end of the lost matches, I entered the analysis board to see where I went wrong. I played games with strong players, especially in increments. Tips are on the forum in the form of chapters 1 & 2 how I became a great master in antichess but I can also write here that the analysis of mistakes immediately after a lost game is the key to the progress of a player who wants to improve.

Q5. You've used multiple accounts on lichess over the years, how come? Was it to try out different openings or another reason?

Ans: At first I used them for practicing different openings, after that I didn't want to be recognised by opponents and in the last year I used them for teams and team messages.

Q6. Is there a favourite game you've played that you'd like to share?

Ans: I don't have a favourite game but the games against Dragon Lord, Shadiiii, Jere Gruic, Caleb Nezol or Artyom Andreev are my favourites.

Q7. Which players have you most enjoyed playing against?

Ans: As I said in the answer of the 6th question, games against Dragon Lord, Shadiiii, Jere Gruic, Caleb Nezol or Artyom Andreev and also Preslav Petkov and Pinni pleased me.

Q8. What motivated you to develop the IAF and what accomplishments are you most proud of?

Ans: There is a lot to say here. First of all when there was no hourly we created the flo arena tournaments in which the best players were present there daily. The IAF was created in last October by the request of several players. I was helped a lot by Kex, Soccer and Sarang but all the members did their job well. For example, ODMWND organized the ACWC2020 very well, Andrii Kostikov drafted the IAF charter, yourself and Polo worked on streaming, etc. The motivation was to prove to the other people that we are united and we like to work and perform together, but not only to the other variant communities but also to the lichess mods and now the IAF is doing very well, with the steering committee of 5 led by FBP and the other council members among whom, I am one. I am proud of the titled players that have caught on very well and with the exception of a few, it reflects the value of the players.

Q9. Outside of online chess, do you have any other hobbies or passions?

Ans: Yes, I like to play and watch football.

Credits

Grammatical Corrections from auto-translated responses: cFlour
Questions Asked by: RTPonting