CHAPTER 359: SHEVA VS DMITRIJ KOLLAR IS NOT OVER YET!

Kons67: I don’t get it. The men’s team has already lost. What is the point of playing?

Hilda99: Well, maybe because Sheva still has the chance to be the best performer in the tournament?

Froggies: Yeah, and losing will only hurt his chance and his streak, so it is better to maintain his momentum.

RolandGq3: Isn’t that pointless? I mean, what is the use of the individual performance if the team still loses?

After the euphoria that was brought by the women’s team finally subsided, the chat room shifted its attention immediately to the men’s team, which only brought disappointment to everyone there. Three defeats already, and even if Sheva was in a great streak, it wouldn’t change anything else, making it hard to watch the game until the end.

People also started questioning Sheva’s motive here, thinking that it would be better to save energy for tomorrow rather than dragging this pointless endgame until God knew when. They thought it was pointless, but all the hosts and commentators in the media booth knew why Sheva did that.

It was definitely out of spite, as the boy would want to prove to Novendra that he was better here. Even though Sheva was a quiet boy, he had a mean streak in revenge, always remembering all the suffering he faced. Yesterday, the boy still remembered clearly how Novendra spoke about bringing him back to the team would only end up in a disaster, so he wanted to prove that while the disaster indeed happened, it was not because of him, but because the man was too weak to prevent it.

Of course, this was not something that could be talked out loud, especially in a live stream with about 1000 people watching it. So, Bagas racked his brain quickly before giving an explanation, "Maybe, for us, it is not much different whether losing 0 – 4 or 1 – 3 to the opponent, as losing still means losing. However, from the player’s perspective, I can assure you that it affects players’ mentality differently. Losing 0 – 4 will only plant a seed of doubt in their mind, making them think whether they are a weak team or not. This is something that could destroy the team, so Sheva wants to prevent that from happening."

While he made up a decent and logical explanation, the boy still didn’t forget to glaze his best friend here.

"Yeah, I can attest that." Arfan smiled wryly. "We have already experienced that after losing against Serbia a few days ago, so losing in the same way would hurt the team a lot."

Of course, there was another reason why Sheva wasn’t willing to end the game abruptly. It was not something that could be seen clearly on the board or in the players’ expressions, not if those who watched it didn’t know better about the players there.

The biggest reason why the game was still going on was that Dmitrij Kollar also wanted to win here. Facing Sheva’s solid defense, any other player would rather try to offer a draw. However, Kollar was eager to break the myth of the boy in front of him, so he avoided the equal game at any cost, wanting to create an imbalanced position to sneak into Sheva’s defense.

’Yeah, this is the type of game that I want...’ Sheva couldn’t help but grin.

Honestly, with an opposite color bishop on both sides, more often than not, the game would end up in a draw. However, the knight’s presence was the game-changer, as its flexibility was enough to let both players maneuver into a tough spot that couldn’t be reached by the bishop’s rigidity. That was what both Sheva and Kollar held to their heart, the reason why they still believed that the game was winnable.

While the game had run for a while, though, Sheva himself was confident that he could still win it. Besides the fact that the stamina consumption today was better than in the game against Johan-Sebastian Christiansen, he also still had a trump card, and that was his disabled title. Once he caught something that could be used on the board, the boy wouldn’t hesitate to enable it again, forcing his brain to work harder than before.

However, that moment didn’t really come, even though he had been waiting for a long time.

50th move.

60th move.

70th move.

80th move.

Time passed so quickly, and even though it had been more than four hours since the game began, the chance that they had been waiting for hadn’t come yet. At some points, they also faltered, trying to get a quick draw by repeating a move. However, when only one move was left, either one of them would suddenly reject the offer, changing the direction of the game. It seemed that none of them were willing to give up the win today.

Sheva himself also realized that he was in a deadlock situation here. He couldn’t even remember when was the last time his pawn moved forward, and if 50 moves passed without any advancement, the arbiter could just decide the game as a draw. The venue also started to get quiet, as most of the games had already been done at this point. Only a few stubborn players like them, who still believed that they had a chance no matter how long it would take, were still here, trying to push their luck.

Knowing that he couldn’t go for too long anymore, Sheva took a deep breath before muttering inwardly, ’Oi, system, activate the title!’

[DING!]

[The title Endgame Master has been activated! Good luck, Host! May the force be with you!]

Honestly, if the situation were not dire, Sheva would’ve laughed sarcastically at how the system quoted the Star Wars movie. However, it was not the best time to do that, so he moved on immediately before staring at the board with full concentration.

The boost worked perfectly, as so many calculations now moved flawlessly inside his head. The boy even had to pause for a moment, getting overwhelmed by all the possibilities in front of him. However, after getting used to the unpleasant feeling, his mind was clear, and Sheva found an approach that would change everything.

’Oh, so that is where the spot that I have been waiting for!’