Silence.
Silence fell on the table as the handshake was made. Even though the venue was still filled with the sound of chess pieces hitting the board, the silence on the table where Indonesia’s n’s team was playing against Italy was so deafening. It filled one side of the table with surprise, as no one from the team Italy expected Sabino Brunello to lose this badly.
While yeah, they admitted that Sheva was strong, and the probability of their senior losing was quite high in this ga. However... This? Just in 34 moves? One hour and 56 minutes? Wasn’t that a little bit too fast?
anwhile, on the Indonesian team’s side, the exact opposite reaction could be seen as everyone let out a relieved sigh. They had seen the crazy move where Sheva sacrificed his knight to lure the opponent’s king out earlier, and while they believed that this was a calculated move, it would be a lie if they said that they were not nervous. However, since everything worked well for the team, it was enough to elevate more than half of the pressure on their shoulder, as one point was already secured in their bag.
’Now, we just need to not lose our ga!’
Of course, while the awkward silence stayed on the table, the situation on the live stream was far different. Bagas went berserk, not even holding back all the arsenal of words he had learned before comnting to praise his best friend to the sky.
"YES! AND HE HAS DONE IT!" The boy roared, holding his mic tightly as if he was afraid that his voice was not loud enough. "FROM TI TO TI! WHEN THE TEAM NEEDS HIM THE MOST! HE! ALWAYS! DELIVERS! ADRIAN SHEVA! REMBER HIS FUCKING NA!"
Froggies: CO OOOOOON!!!
Hilda99: Fucking hell... Everyone is going crazy!
Jimslg5: Let’s fucking go, Sheva! Indonesia!
...
The situation was so festive as everyone celebrated the win crazily. If anyone who heard it didn’t know that it was a chess ga, they all would’ve thought that the football World Cup was currently being played here.
While it was not the first ti Sheva won the ga and not the best opponent that he had faced, there was no denying that this was probably the most impressive ga that the boy had ever played. The process was quick and accurate, and the tactical approach he found was ruthless and didn’t give the opponent any chance to move. If anyone could see his accuracy in this ga, they would be surprised to see that it crossed 90 percent, showing how dominant the boy was in this ga.
As for the main protagonist himself, Sheva didn’t celebrate the victory too excessively. Besides the fact that this was still in the middle of the ga, the excitent also hadn’t sunk in his head yet. No, if anything, the first feeling registered through his brain was a relief, as if a huge burden was lifted from his shoulder.
’Oh, gosh... My shirt got really wet... How could I sweat this much?’ He muttered, feeling disgusted at himself. This was the first ti he realized how uncomfortable he was in this situation. Even though several air conditioners were set and worked hard to ensure that the hot temperature and the jam-packed venue wouldn’t affect the players’ comfort too much, it would be impossible to eliminate all of the negative things in the air. Right now, all Sheva wanted to do was to go back to the hotel and take a quick shower, wanting to refresh himself. However, he put that thought on the back of his mind, wanting to see how the others were going. ’Still... I wonder how the others are faring right now...’
Honestly, a team event like this was a bit tiring. No matter how good his performance was, he would always be haunted by the possibility of failure, especially since his teammates were not strong enough. Honestly, with 6 wins out of 6 gas, he should be at the top of the standings, fighting for the number one place. But since his teammates didn’t disappoint when it ca to letting him down, right now, the country was still in 26th place in the standings, so far away from Sheva’s personal target.
Even though it was a little bit arrogant, right now, Sheva dared to admit to himself that he was the best player on the team, so it was not strange for this kind of feeling to develop over ti. The other Indonesian players also did their best to justify Sheva’s feelings, as even right now, two of them were already at a disadvantage.
’Master Susanto and Arfan again, huh?’ He frowned, starting to feel displeasure over those two’s performances. ’Even though their opponent’s rating is far higher, can they at least make an effort to hold their own ground? This is embarrassing!’
Yeah, those two were currently in a difficult situation. Master Susanto, who played against the prodigy Luca Moroni, was getting pushed back right now. Playing with black, the man found all of his pieces scattered all over the place, too far away from coordinating and supporting each other. Not only that, but the suppression from Luca Moroni also exposed the king in an open space, and while the threat hadn’t arrived yet, it would knock on the door in the next few moves, and once that happened, the man could only count painfully until he t his last breath.
anwhile, Arfan’s situation was slightly better. While he was already down by two whole pawns, it was still a difficult endga to convert, and his opponent needed to navigate the situation precisely to snatch the victory. It was difficult for Arfan, and it still required the opponent to make a mistake, but the ga itself was pretty savable.
Still...
’If we lose both gas, my effort would be useless here.’ Sheva couldn’t help but sigh. ’Man, as expected, only Brother Taher is reliable in this team.’
As for Taher himself, playing with the white piece, he managed to gain a slight advantage in the middle ga, coming to the endga with a pawn advantage and a massive confidence. The situation was similar to Arfan’s ga, but Sheva believed that Taher would be able to execute everything perfectly.
’God... Watching their performance is quite stressful...’ Sheva shook his head once again, feeling tired out of nowhere. Then, his gaze wandered far to the other side of the venue, and the boy couldn’t help but mutter, ’I wonder how the girls are faring right now...’
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