"The modern Benoni?" The move that Sheva pulled not only caught Amin off guard, but even Irfan in the broadcast room also frowned, clearly not liking the decision that the boy made. "Why is he going for this variation?" He couldn’t help but question it.
"Is there anything wrong with it, Master Irfan?" Bagas asked imdiately.
"Well, you can see clearly by the evaluation bar that it gives 1.2 imdiately for the white piece, right? That should be enough to show how bad the variation is." Irfan pointed out bluntly. "To put it simply, this variation often leads the black piece into having a very tight space, and the pawn on the D6 square more often than not becos an easy target for the opponent. If Sheva is not careful, it will be him who gets devoured in this ga." He explained, voicing his concern.
However, he was probably the only one who was worried here. Anyone else, from Bagas, Sarah, to all the viewers, just took a note of it on the back of their heads before shrugging it off casually. It wasn’t like they didn’t trust Irfan’s professionalism or that they intended to disrespect the man here. However, Irfan was always a worrywart, fussing over anything that Sheva did on the board.
Of course, no one blad him for doing that. After all, as a veteran player, Irfan always preferred a stable performance. If sohow Sheva lost even a ga with his unorthodox choice, so people would side with him instantly. The problem, though, was that Sheva had never lost even a single ga when he went berserk like this, making people think that sotis, Irfan really worried for nothing.
Also, this was the trust that everyone had in Sheva. The boy had already made a na for himself from this kind of playing style, so even though the computer engine didn’t really favor his position, everyone still believed that the tables would turn soon enough.
Of course, Amin also knew about Sheva’s reputation and track record. That was why the Iranian GM treated this ga carefully. However, he also didn’t dare to waste too much ti, knowing that Sheva always liked to put pressure on the opponent’s clock. Once he got caught in that vortex, Amin was not very sure whether he would be able to get out of it or not.
As they were playing, the ga also caught so attention, mostly from the players. After all, with Sheva having no business to try hard today, everyone thought it would be a quick draw. However, when they checked board 1 for a mont, everyone was so stunned to see Sheva going on a different route than anyone thought.
’Modern Benoni? That is not even a good variation!’ Pragg felt the corner of his mouth twitching when he stole a glance at Sheva’s scoresheet. ’I know he is weird, but not that weird!’ He stole a glance at Arjun, who also ca and observed the ga, and when their eyes t, they couldn’t help but snort. It seed that Sheva’s opening choice really left them speechless here.
Not just them, but so of Sheva’s opponents in the earlier round also ca around. Alexandr Predke widened his eyes in disbelief, while Aravindh leaned forward curiously. It was clear at this point that the Indian GM was interested in this opening as well.
No one really expected that in board 1, where any result didn’t really matter anymore, both players would still try hard to get the upper hand against each other.
Still, all the commotions around them were hardly enough to distract Sheva and Amin’s minds from the ga. Right now, they were completely imrsed in the chessboard in front of them, thinking of all the lines and possibilities that could occur in the future.
Just as Sheva had expected, even though Amin was taken aback by his opening choice, the man managed to recover quickly. As a man whose rating was so high, even so close to the 2700-rated club, Amin knew his way through the opening stage. Even though he wasn’t so familiar with the Benoni Defense, the man could guess the principle behind it, making all the perfect moves to respond to every challenge that Sheva raised.
First, the Iranian GM began by occupying more space in the black’s territory, not giving any room for the boy to create a play. Then, he also started targeting Sheva’s weak pawn on D6, forcing the boy to spend more resources to protect it at all costs. There was no way. Sheva couldn’t really abandon that pawn. After all, it was the anchor of his pawn chain, and once it was taken, his defense would crumble instantly.
More than that, though, Amin also started attacking Sheva’s kingside, manipulating it in such a way that the boy had to give up the protection of his king to neutralize the incoming invasion. Amin really showed his genius mind in offense, playing a perfect ga that negated Sheva’s surprise elent in the opening stage.
’Yeah, I should’ve expected sothing like this, but damn, he is good.’ If this were not a serious occasion, Sheva would let out a low whistle, impressed with Amin’s ga. However, there was still no single hint of worry flashed on his face. No, if anything, it was clear that Sheva was excited. ’We both play a dangerous ga here. Still, I am confident that I could neutralize his advantage soon. The decisive point of this ga would be who is going to lose patience first, and I am sure it wouldn’t be !’
True enough, in the next few moves, Amin’s advantage suddenly disappeared. It started with him wanting to exchange the knight with Sheva, whose piece sat strongly at E5 square. However, this was an unnecessary move, since Amin could put more pressure on that knight by advancing his F pawn first. It seed that Amin didn’t really dare to go all out, still choosing to be reserved in the last second.
A mont later, Amin finally realized that his advantage was gone. He let out a deep sigh, yet no regret could be traced on his expression. If anything, his face hardened, and Sheva sohow caught the man glancing at him secretly. Noticing this, the boy was taken aback for a second before a small smirk ford on his face.
’It seems that he is still far from being done, huh?’
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Author’s note: Hey, everyone! I just write a new novel as an entry to the WSA 2026 competition, with the title of ’I Am the God of Football in the Fantasy World’. Please, help support this new novel by adding it to the library and leave your comnt in it. Thank you!
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