Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 526: Sheva VS Benjamin Gledura! (I)

"Let’s have a good game." Sheva smiled, offering a handshake the moment he saw his opponent appear.

"Yes, let’s have a great game." The opponent, Benjamin Gledura, nodded stiffly, answering with a heavy accent while accepting the handshake.

It was the sixth round of the tournament, and all eyes were on their game instantly. While this was not the decisive game, it might as well be, because if somehow Sheva managed to get a win, he would be up for 2.5 points in front of his competitors, and chasing him with just three more rounds would be impossible.

That was why, even though Benjamin Gledura had a good performance so far, he was still nervous for today’s game. After all, the last time he won a major international tournament was about 12 years ago, when he dominated the European Chess Championship U10. While, even though he managed to win today’s game, the chance of him coming out as the tournament’s winner was still quite slim; at least, a good result would be enough to light up the hope inside him.

Unfortunately, Sheva came with the intention to kill the competition today, especially since his current state decreased a little bit to 78 percent. Even though it was still quite high, that meant the boost he received was gone, and while the boy was confident that he could still win, there was something missing inside him that he himself noticed immediately.

’Okay, I don’t need to worry. It is normal for my state to decrease in that manner. It would be weird if it could still stay at the high percentage like in the last couple of days.’ Sheva took a deep breath, trying to ignore that missing feeling. ’Still, if anything, I have to seal the deal as quickly as possible, before my state drops further than I could control.’ He thought, taking a note inside his head.

This was not him being paranoid, but a valid fear that could possibly happen. After all, the boy himself noticed that he couldn’t muster a better fighting spirit in this tournament, not when the system didn’t give him any mission. This was not his first big tournament anymore, and the opponents couldn’t really excite him. He still had a motivation to win it all, but other than that, there was no spark inside him anymore.

That was why he had to win the entire tournament before he couldn’t control his current state, or he would only fall into despair.

’Okay, no need to overthink it. Let’s just focus on the game.’

Right after waiting for a while, the alarm finally rang, signalling that the game could begin in the venue. The sound of pieces being moved and the clock being hit echoed throughout the building, replacing all the hushes and whispers that were still lingering in the air a moment ago.

Sheva also made his move immediately. Playing with the white piece, he had no reason to go for any opening other than the king’s pawn game. This was his bread and butter, something that he knew most of the variations like the back of his head.

Benjamin Gledura returned the favor immediately, going for the Sicilian opening. Seeing this, Sheva didn’t even hesitate or use his time to think, moving his C pawn immediately like it was a reflex. He went for the variation he was most familiar with, the Alapin Sicilian.

’It doesn’t matter what opening do I pick here, anyway, so why not go with the one I am good at?’ He couldn’t help but think of.

Yeah, this was also one of the results of his research yesterday. Benjamin Gledura was a versatile opponent, proficient at most of the mainstream variation lines in the chess opening theory. Once he looked at the man’s history, Sheva was surprised to see that the Hungarian GM had experience playing in so many systems, from the Italian Game to the Bird Defense.

So, facing this kind of an opponent, trying to catch him off guard was useless, and it would be better to go with the weapon he knew best how to utilize.

The game went quite slowly, and after the first exchange in the middle of the board, both players decided to back down a little, choosing to develop their pieces in their own territory. For a moment, the game looked like it was about to be slow or, for God’s sake, a drawish one.

However, at this point, no one believed that the game would end up in a draw. Everyone knew that Sheva hated taking a draw, so the audience just stayed still, waiting with the belief that this was the calm before the storm.

It wasn’t until the contact was made again that the evaluation bar finally moved. After accepting the knight exchange on C6 square, instead of moving his bishop away from the danger, Sheva used his other knight to jump forward, protecting the bishop while also threatening the opponent’s queen at the same time.

He didn’t want the bishop to move, as it stared directly at the black king, only being blocked by the pawn sitting at F7 square. It also served as a bait, forcing Benjamin Gledura to protect that pinned pawn. As a result, the Hungarian GM did exactly what he wanted to do, and the evaluation bar moved upward instantly.

’Wait... I should’ve had an attack incoming, right?’ Sheva blinked, finding something suspicious here.

It wasn’t like he found the best move or even noticed the opponent’s mistake immediately, but his tactical sense suddenly smelled something wrong in this position. The boy felt like he could start attacking his opponent, yet where he should start was the question here.

’It should be taking the knight first, right?’ He frowned, calculating inside his head. ’Yes, my aim should be those two weak pawns on the E7 and F7 squares. So, remove that protection first, and then go with the... Knight? Or should it be the bishop first? No, no, no, the knight first, and then... The queen? Taking the pawn on E7?’

There were so many lines flashing inside his head, and it took him quite a long time to decide which one was the best. In the end, Sheva just gritted his teeth, knowing that too much hesitation would only hold him back.

’Screw it! Let’s just attack first and think of the consequences later!’

-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!