"Good work today, Shev!" Bagas punched his shoulder lightly as they walked out of the venue. "Out of seven gas, you are one of only two winners today. Other than that, all the gas ended up in a draw. Nice, right?" He grinned widely, knowing that this was a good start for Sheva.
"Oh? Who else gets the win besides ?" Sheva crooked one of his eyebrows slightly, knowing that the other person would probably be his biggest rival in this tournant.
"Wait a sec, let check it..." Bagas slid through his phone quickly with narrowed eyes before finding what he was searching for. "Ah! Here it is! Mishra Abhimanyu beats Eline Roebers, the local girl, in 34 moves. You still rember him, right?" He glanced at Sheva.
"Mishra?" Sheva furrowed his brows deeply, trying to jog deeper into his mory. "The one playing in Reykjavik? The youngest ever to beco a GM in history?" He asked for confirmation.
"Yup! Yup!" Bagas nodded with a thumbs-up. "Still, you don’t have to worry about him. Unlike you, who beat Max Warrdam, his opponent, Eline Roebers, is predicted to be the punching bag of this section, so anyone who fails to win against her will definitely have a bad tournant!" He declared confidently.
Sheva just gave his best friend a side glance, speechless. It seed that the one who got cocky from his hot form was the people around him, not he himself. Hell, he didn’t even know anything about Eline Roebers, so there was no way he would dare to underestimate her.
"Anyway, you are done with the streaming already?" He asked, wanting to change the topic. The boy also looked up to the sky, just to find out that the sun hadn’t completely gone yet. Peeking at the venue, he added, "A few gas are still going on, right? I could see Ding Liren being surrounded by so players, even Magnus himself. Isn’t that good content?"
"Yeah, it is good, except that I don’t have the right to broadcast it," Bagas answered sourly. "You don’t know, the broadcast rights of this tournant are so fucking expensive! In the end, after a tough negotiation, I finally got the right with a low price, but only for the challenger section! And since you have already finished your ga, why would I continue watching those nobodies? To squeeze out my viewers? Damn, that would only ruin my reputation!"
Sheva just nodded silently while also pretending to understand his best friend’s rant. While doing so, he also walked faster, guiding Bagas, who didn’t really pay attention to the road as they went back to the resort they lived in. Even though so locals said that the temperature wasn’t that cold, for people who lived in a tropical area like him, any temperature below 10 degrees Celsius was a fucking freezing.
"Anyway, who is my opponent tomorrow?" Sheva asked with teeth chattering, his breath plud in the frigid air.
"Oh, you know him well," Bagas smirked, not even getting bothered by the weather. "Your last ga in Dubai Master three months ago, you rember that?"
Sheva raised one of his eyebrows slightly before sothing clicked inside his head. "Amin Tabatabaei?" He asked.
"Yeah, and he is also the highest-rated player in this section. That should be easy, right?" Bagas smiled knowingly.
This was also one of the biggest sources of his confidence. In Bagas’s mind, since Sheva had already managed to beat Amin, the highest-rated player in this section, a few months ago, everything should be under his bag. The boy still thought sotis that chess was a ga of statistics, so when Sheva managed to beat soone, he would still be able to do the sa over and over again in the future.
Sheva himself didn’t think so. He knew that Amin was a formidable opponent, and while the last ti they t, he managed to catch the Iranian GM off guard, this ti, it would be a different matter.
’Last ti, I outplayed him with the Modern Benoni. Then, should I stick with that strategy and go for a maverick opening, or should I try with a more natural approach and fight on equal ground? If I have to surprise him again, what kind of attack should I use?’
Nevertheless, Sheva knew that the ga tomorrow would be difficult, and his expression sohow turned solemn, starting to imagine a lot of things. Bagas also noticed his change, so he nudged his best friend gently and said, "Don’t overthink it. For now, let’s get sothing warm for our stomachs and relax. You win today, so at least celebrate it properly."
Sheva just smiled stiffly, yet still followed Bagas. It was funny because a mont ago, he was the one who led at the front. Well, he didn’t complain, as his best friend guided him to a small restaurant for an early dinner. They enjoyed Hutspot, a stew of mashed potatoes, carrots, onions, and stewed at, combined with sothing called Pannenkoeken, so sort of pancake that Sheva himself didn’t know how to describe its taste, yet still enjoyed it to the fullest.
After that, he went back to the resort, taking a quick, warm shower before finally starting to prepare for tomorrow. It was such a nice decision to take a breather, as this allowed his mind to bounce back to its best state once again.
Sheva also didn’t forget to check the result in the master section, just to find out that besides Ding Liren, the other ga ended up in a draw.
’So, Gukesh lost against the current world champion, huh?’ He muttered with a frown, checking that ga on his phone. ’Well, it seems, even with the boost from the Four Horsen title, Gukesh’s ability is still below the top level. I wonder how big the gap is compared to ...’
Well, this was just a short episode, because Sheva himself also knew that his focus now should be on Amin Tabatabaei. ’He is going to co with the desire for revenge, so he will not hold back anymore. It is clear that Sicilian Defense is going to be played, so now, what variation should I choose to respond... Hmm...’
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