There were two types of opponents that Ummi Fisabilillah hated the most in chess. First, it was the aggressive players who would pressure her relentlessly from the beginning until the game was over. The second group consisted of those who defied the mainstream style that chess schools would always teach their students.
Unfortunately, Sheva really fitted those two categories, which gave her quite a headache here.
Yeah, Sheva was indeed her kryptonite in this tournament. She had already watched almost all of his games—not that it was hard, considering Bagas always uploaded them—and learned that the boy was a really aggressive player, not just in style, but also in time management.
Honestly, it would be okay if he only had the first one. After all, Ummi herself was also an aggressive player, always liked to attack and go straight forward without any second thought. At least, when facing this kind of player, she would know or could guess her opponent’s process of thought. What she hated the most, though, was the kind of player who was aggressive in time management, those who treated a standard game as a rapid, or God forbid, a blitz.
Yeah, Ummi had to admit here that she was a slow thinker. Not only that, but the woman was always indecisive in a lot of things. For example, if she saw two equally good choices, she would waste a lot of time thinking about what to choose, weighing every possibility just to end up forgetting more than half of her thoughts and making a blunder in the end. This was one weakness that she knew she had for a long time, yet couldn’t find a way to solve. That was why facing an opponent who was quick and decisive in every move was always a headache for her.
As for the second type, those who defied the mainstream style... Well, this was kinda her fault. Usually, during their childhood, a chess player would often go out to the traditional market or the nearby park where all the local old men would play, joining the fun to hone their instincts. After all, those old men were not people who learned from a formal school or book, so they wouldn’t follow the mainstream way of play and would just rely on instinct. Even though not a lot of them were strong, it was still important to test a chess child at this stage to let them learn how to handle an unpredictable opponent.
Unfortunately, when she was a child, Ummi was a scaredy cat. She always saw those old men as a bunch of scary creatures and refused whenever her father, her friends, or her coach asked her to join. In the end, no one was able to force her to do that, and since everyone thought that this was just a small part of her training that wouldn’t be too essential for her career, she was allowed to skip this part. Unfortunately, she came to regret that decision as it really bit her in the ass. She would always find herself having a difficult time whenever she played against an opponent who didn’t follow the rules, and this cost her more games than she would’ve expected to be.
’Okay, let’s focus on this game first and think about those complicated matters later.’ Ummi felt like she wanted to slap her cheeks a few times to wake herself up. ’Okay, back to the basics. My king’s safety is in jeopardy now, but it is not that bad. I mean, his only attacker is just a queen, and that alone will not be enough to kill me. Yeah, I could still run my king to the other side of the board, and the advantage is still on my side. Wait—Is he really yawning in the middle of the game?’ She felt the corner of her lips twitching.
Indeed, even though Sheva tried his best to hide his yawn, Ummi could still notice that. Of course, if it were a normal player, this disrespect wouldn’t slide that easily. Unfortunately, Ummi herself was still in the middle of an existential crisis here and had no time to think about his opponent at all.
’I should’ve let my king run first before trying to counterattack, right? No, that shouldn’t do. His bishop is still hanging, and it is safe to say that I should take it first. No, no, no. If I did that, my pawn structure would be destroyed instantly, and I wouldn’t be able to put my king into a safe place. Oh, God... What should I do... Why am I here, just to suffer?’
Yeah, this was a normal thought of a chess player in the middle of the game. After all, not many players could concentrate and think about the game for the full three hours nonstop. Sometimes, some players even thought of a ridiculous problem like world peace or the conspiracy theory of whether the moon landing was real or not. Unfortunately, those ridiculous thoughts were far from being helpful in a chess game. Hell, if anything, they only served as a distraction, just like what Ummi was suffering right now.
’No, I cannot do this. I have to focus on the game first!’ The woman shook her head quickly, berating herself inwardly. ’Okay, let’s do this slowly. Let’s go for a solid play first and put the king in safety first...’
Right after that, after thinking for 53 minutes just for one move, Ummi finally acted, running her king toward the other side of the board to get it safe. Of course, Sheva wouldn’t let it go easily. No, he let his bishop hang while maneuvering his queen swiftly to chase her king.
For a moment, it was as if everything was in Sheva’s favor. However, if both players looked at the computer, they would be shocked to see that it was Ummi who still held the advantage. After all, once her king’s run was over, the only danger threatening her would be gone, while Sheva’s king itself was still pretty much in danger.
However, chess was not just what the computer engines evaluated. No, there was also a psychological battle in there, and it was clear that Ummi was about to lose in this contest. She was struggling to hold up, but in the end, the woman couldn’t bear the pressure anymore.
She finally tilted, and the evaluation bar suddenly spiked up in Sheva’s favor.