Well, Pragg himself didn’t really notice that his friend was on the sideline, watching him getting tornted in this ga. No, he was too busy cursing Sheva and all of his ancestors while also wondering how the hell did he get caught up in this ss.
’It should be that bishop sacrifice, right?’ He covered his face, wailing about his own stupidity. ’Why the fuck do I have to do that?! I have everything under my control, and I throw all of them away just for this shitty situation! Stupid !’ If this weren’t a serious ga, he would’ve slapped his own forehead several tis at this point, probably even laughing at his own stupidity.
Yeah, even Pragg himself found that the mistake was stupid. Of course, the boy didn’t know that he was led to this point by Sheva’s subtle manipulation, so he always thought everything was due to his recklessness. That was why the mistake really hit him hard. He hadn’t made any move in the last fifteen minutes, spending all that ti crying in misery.
This was the cruelty of chess. The sport lasted for more than three hours, but not a lot of action really happened in between. Most of the ti was spent by both players in silence, thinking of so many things in the world, not just the ga in front of them. If they were in a bad position, they could be trapped in a spiral of depression, getting caught in this chaotic vortex without a way out. This was exactly what Pragg was suffering right now, having already lost all of his will to continue the ga.
’Oh, screw it!’
Having seen the scene of his defeat, Pragg gritted his teeth before starting to make a move again. Right now, he was chasing a miracle while also trying to show his attitude. The ga could be lost, but admitting defeat abruptly like this was not an option. No, he still had several routes that he could try, and now, it was ti to unleash all of his resourcefulness.
’Okay, Shev, you want to defeat right here? Don’t think that I will give you that win so easily!’
Indeed, Pragg really didn’t give Sheva an easy ti. He tried his best to make everything complicated, and Sheva’s execution in this ga was crappy as hell. The Indonesian boy made several small mistakes, which didn’t really give away all of his advantages, but enough to slow down his montum.
After exchanging queens, things even started to get blurry. While indeed, the computer engine gave a clear -3.2 evaluation for black’s advantage, the ga itself was still complicated.
The situation was still Sheva with a rook, a bishop, a knight, and five pawns fighting against Pragg with two rooks and four pawns. Material-wise, Pragg was down by two pawns. However, Sheva’s two pawns advantage was in the sa line as the other two, creating two doubled pawns, which was definitely not an easy task for Sheva to take advantage of that.
Things got even more dangerous for Sheva, especially when Pragg ford a rook battery on the G file, and in the next turn, Sheva’s bishop would have to die to protect the king. This made the boy pause, trying to assess the overall situation with a clearer head.
’My bishop is unsavable, so I don’t really see any point in trying to save it. However, I have to ensure that my king has a way to get out of the chasers, or he could just give a check forever and force a stalemate.’ He thought to himself. ’First, I need to get it out of the crossfire. I cannot get it back, because that will get killed instantly. No, I am not an idiot. Then.... Wait a second!’ He blinked repeatedly, as if sothing clicked inside his head. ’I don’t even need to get it out of the danger zone imdiately!’
An idea was ford inside his head, a really dangerous one. If Sheva failed to convert it, he would be the one who got killed, and the consequence would be severe. It wasn’t just losing against a 2600-rated prodigy anymore, but choking an almost-winning ga for nothing. If this failed, he would be a laughing stock for the rest of the tournant, and the reputation he and Bagas had built painstakingly would have been thrown away for nothing.
If Bagas knew Sheva’s thought, he would be screaming at his ears right now, telling the boy to abandon that dangerous idea quickly. However, the temptation was too strong in this case. Against the first friend that he made in the chess community, Sheva didn’t want to win in an ordinary way. No, he wanted to showcase his talent to the world, and now, the chance was in front of him.
’Fuck it, I am going for it!’
With that thought in his mind, he abandoned the king completely, going all out for his attack. First, he brought the rook to the second file, giving a check to Pragg’s king. Then, after seeing the enemy’s king was in a safe zone, instead of doing the sa for his own king, Sheva started to push his pawn forward, marching toward the promotion square like a bulldozer. In this scenario, Sheva really sacrificed everything, abandoning his bishop and at least two pawns for a chance of promotion.
Pragg thought hard when he saw this. The Indian prodigy knew that, despite the fact that he could get a free pawn and bishop for nothing, his position wouldn’t get better. However, he himself couldn’t find a way to get out of the situation. No, the best thing he could do was to be Sheva’s backdrop, allowing the brilliant play to happen on the board.
So, Pragg just let Sheva do whatever he wanted, from sacrificing the whole bishop to the rook, and now, forcing a battle between his knight and Pragg’s rook. In the end, though, Sheva’s two advanced pawns were too strong, and even if Pragg sacrificed his whole rook to stop them all, Sheva still had a strong free pawn on the H file that was untouchable, and once that particular pawn started to make a run, everything would be over.
So, with a heavy heart, Pragg finally offered a handshake, but not before giving the boy in front of him a piece of his mind.
"Yeah, Sheva, you bastard! You really try to embarrass here!"
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