"Mister Amin, we’ve t again." Sheva smiled as he saw Amin Tabatabaei approaching the table, standing up while also offering a handshake.
"Yes, even though I would say that I really don’t want to et you in this tournant," Amin responded with a small laugh as he took a seat and accepted the handshake. "Based on your performance yesterday, you should still be in your hot form, right? Can you show a little bit of rcy for ?" He joked a little while also adjusting the chess pieces in front of him.
"You are joking, Mister Amin. If I dare to do that, it would be who gets killed later." Sheva smiled politely, accepting the banter.
It was finally ga ti, and Sheva was more than ready to face any storm that his opponent was about to bring to his side. A few people could be seen wandering around, taking a quick glance while also exchanging so words with him.
Pragg also waved at him, but he was still putting his concentration on his own ga. After all, Pragg himself also had a difficult ga to handle. He would be playing against Levon Aronian, the veteran GM whose strength was still at his peak. It was crazy that while so old n had already started to decline, Levon was still able to perform like he was 20.
So fans also managed to sneak inside, chatting excitedly with their idols. Sheva was fortunate, though, that he was not the main target here. All the players in the master section were elites among the elites, so there was no need for casual fans to co to the challenger section.
This happened for a while until fifteen minutes before the ga began, when the security team finally ca and asked them to leave politely. Everything was so smooth and orderly, showing that most fans in this village were avid chess fans who knew how to behave on this kind of occasion.
’Well, at least, it wouldn’t bring distress to the players, so this is quite good.’ Sheva nodded in appreciation as he saw the security team herding the crowds like shepherds. ’At least, this is far better compared to Chennai.’ He himself shuddered at the thought of the Olympiad a few months ago.
After waiting for a while, the alarm finally rang, signaling that today’s war could finally begin. Right after that, fourteen chessboards on the big screen moved simultaneously, telling anyone in the venue the first move of the day.
For Sheva, he went with his usual route, the King’s Pawn opening. When he saw Amin return with the C5 move to initiate the Sicilian Defense, the boy nodded slightly, having expected this kind of response. However, as he countered the punch by moving the D pawn one square forward, it was his ti to be surprised, as Amin smirked a little before blitzing his way once again.
’So, he has already studied my Sicilian Alapin, huh?’ This ti, Sheva himself also couldn’t help but smirk, finding this situation to be interesting. ’Well, so what?! Can he really stop in my own ga? Bring it on!’
Indeed, Amin had already studied his ga thoroughly and knew exactly how Sheva would respond to this opening. Not that he needed to do much, considering this was the go-to variation for Sheva whenever he played the Sicilian Defense. However, this was also the opening that Sheva was confident with, no matter how prepared his opening was. After all, he dragged the ga out of the theory line quickly, trying to fight with the dynamic play that was also his favorite.
Both players blitzed their way through the opening stage, going through morization of this theoretical line. Sheva managed to plant a strong pawn on E5, but that was only for the long-term vision. For now, it didn’t really an anything, and Amin could get that pawn imdiately with just a square push on his F pawn.
However, the Iranian GM decided to take it slow, developing all of his pieces like a good student before castling on the kingside, and now, after 11 moves of the ga, both players are finally stumped, taking their ti slowly to think about the current situation.
’Hmm... The correct line should be to develop my knight to the C3 file first, as this will basically nullify the weakness of this Alapin variation. However, the attack will be too slow, and getting entangled in a positional battle for too long will only bring a headache. Should I try to lure him out?’
Sheva pondered for a mont, his eyes scanning the entire battlefield ticulously. One line after another kept flying inside his head, waiting for him to grasp it firmly. In the end, even though it was not the best and the one that he knew the computer would recomnd, the boy finally decided to take a risk.
’Yeah, screw it! Let’s try to bait him out!’ He huffed, moving his other knight to the G5 square. Even though the spot was directly under the black queen’s scrutiny, the knight wasn’t really that worried, especially since the white’s dark bishop was still protecting from afar. If anything, it would be Amin who had to pay attention, as now, almost all of Sheva’s pieces were ready to attack.
However... That was what it looked like at first glance. The computer didn’t agree, though, as it gave -0.5 for Amin’s advantage. Even though Sheva himself still thought that the ga was equal, that -0.5 evaluation could play a major role if he was careless.
’Bring back my knight and attack the weak dark diagonal?’ Sheva mused. ’No, it would be too long. First, get rid of his knight in the middle; it is too annoying. Then... Should I really take my knight out of that spot? Or could I just bring my bishop behind the knight? The position might not be as good, but then again, my queen and rook could also start to move, right?’
If Amin could hear his thought, the man would be ecstatic. After all, while Sheva’s attack was coming, his opponent also got a strong setup to send a quick counter that could land a decisive blow on Sheva’s face. In the end, the ga turned into a chaotic attacking battle, with both players abandoning their defense and deciding to end this matter with who would get killed first, and for that, the grin on Sheva’s face was way wider than usual.
’Yes... This is what I am looking for... Co on, Amin Tabatabaei! Show everything!’
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