True to Bagas’s prediction, the next morning, the fat boy inford Sheva about several requests for an interview, from the national television to so famous podcasts back ho. Sheva himself could only stare blankly at the screen where he saw all the lists, sohow feeling numb and not knowing what to say.
It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t overwheld by this. In the end, he could only ask his best friend what he should do.
"Don’t worry, let handle this." Bagas just waved his hand nonchalantly. "There will be two unavoidable interviews, one from Kompas and one from ChessBase India. But other than that, I will try to delay it until we can go back ho first, and after that, we can leave the future problem to us in the future." He explained thoroughly as if the boy were Sheva’s manager here. Well, in hindsight, Bagas always acted one, ensuring that Sheva could play freely without being burdened with the off-the-board issues like this.
"Thanks, by the way. I don’t know what I would do without you." Sheva grinned, punching Bagas’s shoulder lightly.
"Oh, I know, you are probably still wandering aimlessly in Jakarta like a headless chicken." Bagas snorted. "Anyway, I also have to talk to the ladies, too. Their interview requests are quite a lot, even though it is not as many as yours."
"Oh, they also get one?" Sheva crooked one of his eyebrows slightly.
"Well, not really." Bagas pondered before shaking his head quickly. "Most of them want to interview the ladies if they sohow managed to get onto the podium. Not the easiest task, of course, and telling them could backfire, putting more pressure than necessary. However, I think they would be excited at this news, as it is quite rare to get this kind of exposure."
Sheva nodded slightly, could see the point here. Chess was not a popular sport in Indonesia, so it was quite difficult to gain good exposure. Except if a player got a title or won sothing big, like how Irene dominated the Asian Championship in the early 2010s, not a lot of dia would want to give them the exposure they deserved. That was why this was a 1 in a million chance, and they would only get excited about the news.
However, after looking back at the pairing, Sheva couldn’t help but grimace. The ladies’ opponent today was Ukraine, probably one of the best countries in the world in terms of won’s chess. They had two sisters who had been staying at the top level for so long, Anna Muzychuk and Maria Muzychuk. Those two were Anna and Claudia’s inspiration, since it was quite rare for two siblings to stay at the top level for so long. It was an unlucky pairing, but it couldn’t be helped here.
"Yeah, if they want to get into the podium, at so point, they have to beat the powerhouse countries like Ukraine," Sheva muttered. "They have already failed twice against India’s 1st team and Poland, so this is their chance to show the world that they belong to the top three, not just because of their luck in pairing, but also because they have the ability to do so."
Well, that was a story for after the day was over. For now, though, Sheva would concentrate on the ga in front of him first. As he ca down to the hotel’s lobby to et the others, he could see Taher and Arfan standing there, but not without the two elders. Curious, he asked, "Where are those two?"
"Brother Novendra is having a stomachache, so he couldn’t play this round." Arfan sighed helplessly.
Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching at that poor excuse. "Even an elentary student could make a better excuse, you know?" He retorted. Arfan could only shrug, knowing that this was his teacher’s last attempt to save his dignity.
"So, yeah, we are going to play without him," Taher said, sighing while also rubbing his forehead a little. "Anyway, what is your target today?" The man asked.
"My target?" Sheva crooked one of his eyebrows slightly.
"Yeah, your target." Taher nodded in confirmation. "You have already been determined as the gold dalist. No one on the reserve board could match your impressive record. So, do you want to have a quick, rest day before going ho, or do you want to push our rank further?" Arfan also turned around, wanting to hear Sheva’s answer.
Sheva himself didn’t answer imdiately. No, he pondered for a mont while also scanning his two teammates’ expressions. Seeing that they were genuinely curious, he couldn’t help but ask, "If I want to push further, what would you do?"
"Us?" In return, Taher and Arfan just stared at each other with a knowing smile. "Well, we both have already been expecting this, so if you really want to push further, we have no choice but to try to hold on and steal a win in our ga, right?" The forr answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yeah, don’t worry, Shev." Arfan also added with a solemn tone. "We might not be able to help you a lot in this tournant, but just for the last ti, we will fight with our blood and sweat to help you get what you want."
This was basically the declaration that they acknowledged Sheva as their leader. Even though Master Susanto and Novendra were still the highest-rated players in the team, Arfan and Taher recognized that it wouldn’t be long before Sheva snatched that title away and left everyone to dust. So, it was better to pledge their loyalty now when the boy was still at the bottom, making it sound far more genuine rather than later.
Sheva himself was touched by this. He knew that if they wanted, they could’ve just tried for a draw without risking anything else. After all, today was the last day, and their opponent was all 2600-rated players. Taking a quick draw would be enough to get a little bit of rating, so they didn’t need to risk anything here.
However, since they offered, of course, Sheva would never refuse the help, so he decided to be blunt here.
"Yeah, I still want to push further today." He admitted frankly. "I still have my eyes on top 15, so please, help hold on to your ga and don’t lose, okay?"
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