Even though he was already in the lead, Gukesh still didn’t show any reaction, just crossing his arms in front of his chest calmly while also staring at the board with his sharp gaze. This was pretty much a common occasion for his opponent, as Gukesh himself was always a stone-cold during the game, never wearing emotion on his sleeves.
The boy knew that once his concentration slipped away, any advantage he had would be gone instantly, so he would rather ignore everything and crush his way through the opponent’s side first until they surrendered before celebrating it after everything was over.
He acted like a machine, never letting the external interference get through his head.
However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t really feel anything during the game. For instance, right now, the boy was punching the air, knowing that the momentum was on his side. He glanced sideways through the opponent’s side, and at the sight of a flustered opponent on the other side of the table, the Indian boy was ready to celebrate his victory.
’Well, damn, Pragg... He is not as difficult as you portrayed to me.’ The boy muttered to himself.
Yeah, the night before this game, Praggnanandhaa, his best friend and rival in chess, didn’t forget to tell Gukesh about Sheva. In Pragg’s words, Sheva’s playing style should surprise him. However, up until now, the boy still couldn’t find anything threatening from his opponent. Hell, if anything, this was pretty much a one-sided game. For more chapters visit NovelHub(.)net
’Oh, well... If anything, he is just a broke version of you, right?’ He held back the urge to snort as Gukesh was amused at his own thought.
Well, this could hardly be blamed on Pragg. After all, they came and played against Sheva in two different circumstances. Unlike Gukesh, who had been warned by Pragg and treated Sheva as if the boy was another top player, Pragg himself came with no clue, treating Sheva as if he was just a random 2100-rated player.
Still, one absolute fact stood tall here, and that was the fact that Gukesh was about to win while Pragg himself could only get a draw result against Sheva. Even with all the excuses, it was unacceptable for Pragg, a young prodigy, to be forced to a draw against someone whose rating was 500 below his. This alone was enough to make Gukesh feel better about himself.
Of course, Sheva didn’t know what his opponent was currently thinking. No, he was sweating bullets right now, thinking of a way to get out of this tight situation. There was also a little bit of frustration flashed on his face as it was clear the man was confused about how he could be in this disadvantageous situation without him noticing before it was too late.
’Is it when he forced me to exchange my rook with his knight?’ The Indonesian boy mused. Then, he shook his head, denying that idea quickly. ’No, that shouldn’t be. My position should be worse when he managed to plant his pawn into the D6 square, right? But I thought it would be the best scenario... So, how?’
Sheva tried his best to recall the position that put him in this situation, even glancing at the sheet he used to record all the moves before that, trying to see whether he had made a blunder or not. However, as he thought more, the boy was confused, knowing full well that he hadn’t made even a single bad move before that, and honestly, he was right.
The computer also showed that his first blunder was that he didn’t exchange the queen even when he was down two points of material. However, before that, the computer showed that everything was quite normal, and no mistake could be found in either player’s game.
However, this was the nature of the Dutch Defense, as it really weakened his own position in return for the aggressiveness that could fluster the opponent. It was a double-edged sword, and while more often than not, Sheva managed to wield it perfectly, this was the first time someone managed to hurt him with his own opening. This was quite a novel experience even for him.
Sheva was thinking hard, not even noticing that his opponent was gone from his seat. Yeah, it seemed Gukesh was feeling confident here, to the point that the Indian boy left the table to check his competitors’ game. When he finally realized that Gukesh was gone and noticed the boy’s whereabouts, Sheva couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance.
’Damn! Is he really sure that he could beat me in this position?’ He grumbled. ’Uh... Not that it is hard to do, since this is probably the worst position I have ever had in my life. But damn... The disrespect...’
Honestly, Sheva himself didn’t mind the disrespect here. If anything, he wanted all the top players to do so just so that they would lower their guard against him. In the boy’s mind, the disrespect he faced was nothing if he could make an upset against them. Sheva just wanted to complain here because he really wanted to do the same, checking his fellow Indonesian players’ games on the other tables, yet somehow feeling it was inappropriate to do so since he was about to lose here.
’Oh, well... Damn, let’s finish the game first.’
A moment later, Gukesh was back at the table, and they continued again. The game went quite slowly after that, with both players taking their sweet time to think about it. They both knew that one single mistake would be fatal in the endgame phase, so it was better to be careful.
In the end, Gukesh managed to force a queen exchange, and right after that, the passed pawn on the D file was enough for him to put pressure on Sheva’s defense. It didn’t take quite a long time before the Indian boy managed to force another rook exchange, and now, it was five pawns and a rook versus five pawns and a dark bishop. It was clear at this point that Sheva was going to lose this game.
Of course, he didn’t just give up without fighting. However, after Gukesh managed to exchange the last piece on the board and simplified the entire game with four pawns versus four pawns while one of his pawns was ready to promote, Sheva knew that it was over. In the end, he smiled bitterly, offering one last handshake.