"Hey, good luck, everyone!"
"Don’t be too nervous and don’t rush things up, Nayaka! Just play steadily and wait until your opponent makes a mistake first!"
"Duta, you are the opposite! Try to take the initiative! Don’t be a coward!"
It was about 3:30 PM already, and so part of the sun had already been below the horizon. However, in the venue, the crowd was getting bigger, as this was going to be the decisive round of the tournant. The main focus was, of course, on the U17 section. Not only was it the highest-rated one among all the sections here, but the competition here was the tightest.
Two Indonesian players were still competing for the number one spot, and a local boy also tried to sneak into the list and bring glory to his ho soil. The stake was quite high, and even though the tournant itself wasn’t that high-level, it still attracted a lot of people.
Sheva himself also watched his proteges walk into the venue with the nervousness built inside him, probably feeling more anxious than the players inside. He tightened the mask that covered his face, avoiding the crowd so that no one would notice his presence here. This wasn’t him being narcissistic, but his reputation was quite strong in the chess community right now, and if soone noticed him here, they all would surround him instantly, not giving him any room to breathe.
’No, even though the chance is slim, let’s not gamble with this. Today is their day, I don’t need to make it about myself.’ He muttered.
anwhile, the three teenagers also walked into the venue with a new spirit. While they had already expected Sheva’s presence today, when they saw him really being here, this ward their heart, making them truly believe that their teacher really cared about them. As their gaze fell on Sheva, whose presence started to disappear among the crowd, their expression turned solemn.
"We cannot disappoint him, right?" Nayaka muttered lowly.
"Hey, I am not disappointing him! If anything, I make him proud, okay? Don’t you see that I am the first one to secure the trophy among us?" Devi clicked her tongue in annoyance, ruining the somber mood here. "If anything, it should be who said that! Your position is still not uncertain, so don’t disappoint him with a bad result, okay? Especially you, Duta!" She pointed her finger at the younger boy.
"I know..." Duta just nodded gravely.
Indeed, out of them all, his performance was the worst, and if not for the miraculous win in the last round, he would’ve been out of the race already. Now that he was back in the competition, even if his opponent was the top-seeded player of the tournant, the boy didn’t intend to let that go so easily.
"Oh, speaking of that Russian guy, don’t fall into his little trick to exchange everything." Nayaka reminded his younger friend. "At so point, in a positional battle, he will try to force an exchange as if the ga is in a deadlock and he is doing the ga a favor for taking a draw, but if you look carefully, it is just his attempt to escape because he sees a good move for you. If he tries to do that, just pause and think for a mont."
"... I understand." Even though the suggestion was quite a bit strange, Duta still nodded, accepting the advice.
"Good." Nayaka nodded in satisfaction. As he saw most of the players were already in their assigned chairs, he glanced at Duta one last ti and said, "I will bring the first-place trophy back ho, so make sure you get the second place, okay?"
Duta was stunned for a mont, but in the end, he just snorted amusedly. "Yeah, yeah. Just don’t slip in a crucial mont, because I still need you to hold him back so that I can snatch the first position from you."
"Ha! As if!"
After throwing banters at each other, they both grinned, bumping their fists before starting to walk to their assigned table. For Nayaka, since he fought for the number one spot, it was understandable for him to get table 1. Then, straight behind him, Duta sat on table 2, where his opponent had already waited for him.
Those two tables were surrounded by so people already. No, they were not fans, since this was just a small tournant. If anything, those were the coaches of the other players here, and they just wanted to assess the top players in this tournant, and were probably also eager to witness the birth of the new champion.
It would be a lie if Nayaka and Duta said that they were not nervous. After all, in Indonesia, most of the gas were played in a closed environnt, with so few of them having sothing like a live audience. However, they took a deep breath and tried to put their focus back on the board, not wanting to get distracted just a few minutes before the ga could start.
None of them cared enough about Devi because not only was the girl’s ga a little bit far from their place, but she had already secured the title for herself. Coming to her right now would only make them feel more pressured, so for their sanity, they just let her wreak havoc in her own section.
’Yeah, rather than caring for her who has already succeeded, I should rather use my ti to think about the ga in front of right now.’ Nayaka took a deep breath one more ti. ’My opponent has just won a ga in 3 and a half hours before, so he shouldn’t be in his best state. However, it is a championship ga, so there is no way that would bother him that much. Let’s just play a steady ga and see how he would approach it.’
With that thought in mind, so opening variations flashed inside his head as he tried to pick the best one to use right here. Unfortunately, before he could convince himself to use one of them, the bell rang, showing that the ga had just begun.
’Oh, screw it! Let’s just do the usual!’
-Author’s note-
Hey, everyone! Thank you for supporting my story! I have written a new one with the hope of getting a contract for that story as well, the title is ’The Rise of the Iron Wall!’. It is a football story, so if you like, please give your support by adding it to your collection and giving your power stone to that story! Thanks!
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