"So, this is going to be our 14th official matchup, huh?" Laysa grinned as she offered a handshake. "Remind again, what is our current record?"
Anna snorted coldly, yet still answered the question. "Four wins for you, three for , and six ends with a draw. Don’t worry, though. The record will be equal again after this ga."
"Atta girl! That’s the spirit!" Laysa clapped excitedly, knowing that the ga was bound to be spectacular.
Anna smiled, but the aura surrounding her was lethal. The girl clenched her fist so hard that it turned white, and honestly, if gaze could kill, Laysa would’ve already been under the six feet.
Just as they said, this was going to be their 14th official ga against each other, and surprisingly enough, Anna was the one who was behind. The gap was just one win, of course, but that just showed how dangerous Laysa was on the board.
However, that record didn’t really an anything today, as they were going to have a fight of their lives. It was far more important than any final of the national tournant they fought or any international ga they had against each other. No, this ti, the stake was higher, the chance to get advanced to the World Cup half a year later.
Even though it wasn’t fixed on the table that whoever won this ga would advance, the one coming out with the victory would have a bigger chance, probably only having two or three competitors left to determine who got the ticket.
More than that, both players were currently in form, winning the last two gas they played. That was why the record didn’t really matter right now, because everything could happen.
The mont the alarm rang, the two young girls stared at each other one last ti, and the smirk on each other’s faces was clearly the sign that the war had finally started. Laysa, holding the white piece, didn’t hesitate to make the first move, pushing the C pawn two squares forward before slamming the clock quite loudly, startling the players at the next table.
’So, she is going for the English, huh? Typical.’ Anna snorted before moving her G pawn one square forward, ready to fianchetto her dark bishop on that long diagonal.
Yeah, this was not the first ti Anna saw Laysa going for the English Opening, so she wasn’t really that surprised the girl would pull it up in this round. The girl still had her worries, though, since her record against Laysa with the opening was not quite good.
Out of the three gas they played, two ended up in a draw, while Laysa managed to edge her in the last ga to get the win. That was also probably why Laysa picked this opening, trying to build up her confidence since the beginning of the ga.
Those two moved fast, and in just a minute, they had already reached the fifth move of the ga. The position was exactly the sa, as this was one of the best ways to fight against the English.
The na was the Symtrical Variation, where the black piece mirrored all the white’s moves, seeking a solid and balanced ga. Against Laysa, it would be stupid to go all out, and the best strategy here was just to stall ti as long as possible and wear Laysa’s patience thin before striking back in the endga phase.
Laysa scowled when she saw this, looking at her friend in disdain.
’Really? Another symtrical? Do you want to get a draw this bad, Anna?’ She couldn’t help but mutter.
Out of all the variations in the English Opening, this was definitely the one that provided the most solid setup, which also ant it wouldn’t have any significant high and low in this ga. So of the best players in the world even used this variation whenever they wanted to get a draw, taking advantage of the opponent’s impatience to force several crucial exchanges to take everything off the board.
This was also the variation that got them into a draw twice in their record, which was why Laysa looked down on her friend for this. Still, she didn’t have any intention to take an easy draw today, wanting to push further to see whether she could crack Anna’s defense or not.
’You want to have an endga battle? Fine, don’t think I am just a paper tiger!’
However, it seed she misunderstood Anna a little bit here. The girl in front of her didn’t want to get a quick draw. No, even with the drawish line on the board, she still chased the win, starting with moving her rook one square aside to support the B file, ready to advance further from that direction.
True enough, in the next few turns, Anna exploded.
She marched her pawns on the queenside, even giving up the A file and letting Laysa have both her rooks controlling that side, while in return, she took out all the space for Laysa’s pieces to move later.
It was an exchange that the computer liked, even giving Anna -0.7 for her intuitive offense ga.
Of course, that didn’t an the girl noticed that. In fact, both girls still thought that the situation was equal, with neither of them having a great advantage. Anna, particularly, kept staring at the A file, knowing that one mont of slip would be enough for her best friend to punish her mistake.
’No, no matter how much I want to play aggressively, I still have to look over my rear. This is still a fifty-fifty situation; if I show her an opening, she would definitely kill instantly.’
Funnily enough, Laysa’s train of thought was completely the opposite.
’If I give her an opening, she would definitely try to kill , right? Can that be the opportunity that I am looking for?’
The hijabi girl kept fidgeting with the pawn she took from Anna’s side a while ago, pondering whether throwing a bait was worth the risk or not. In the end, though her impatience won the inner battle, she finally took action.
’Screw it! This is definitely the best way to attack! Let’s be confident and not show any weakness here!’
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