CHAPTER 61: THE FIRST OFFICIAL RATING!

After this little episode was over, everything went back to normal for both Sheva and Bagas. Well, not completely, though. Now, there was another presence joining them at the Black Rook club, and as you expected, it was Sarah.

It happened a few days ago, when the girl suddenly requested to come into the club. She was curious about Bagas’s sudden interest in chess, and while the girl knew her boyfriend was just there to support Sheva, she also knew that there was no need for Bagas to always come to the club like this. There should be another reason for him to stay, and honestly, she was curious about that.

It was quite funny when she was introduced to everyone as Bagas’s boyfriend. Although the boy himself didn’t really play chess, his position as the club’s PR person and his friendly personality allowed him to befriend everyone, and the moment all the members knew about her presence, hell broke loose.

"Oi, Bagas, tell me the truth, what kind of witchcraft did you pull to get her?!"

"Have you sacrificed your entire family for her?!"

"Hell, no! It would be too obvious! I am sure it is some sort of life span or something like that!"

"Bah! You’re all just jealous of me having a stunning girlfriend! Go get one yourself!"

Yeah, the reaction was pretty funny there. Hell, even Irfan had his jaw dropped comically, not expecting the fat and goofy boy like Bagas to bag a beautiful girlfriend like Sarah. Of course, the girl behaved quite well and was still pretty shy here, which only gave a good impression among all the people in the team.

Sarah also brought another surprise here. To everyone’s astonishment, she hit it off with both Anna and Claudia instantly, with them acting like they were some sort of best friends the moment they started chatting with each other. Honestly, even Sheva, the siblings’ closest friend here, had a hard time getting them to stop being so cold around him, and here Sarah was, getting them wrapped under her palm. This might be because both Anna and Claudia were ecstatic to get another girl as their new member since, usually, they were the only female members in the team.

Still, this made everyone reassess their impression of Sarah. If before, she was just Bagas’s beautiful girlfriend, this time, they knew that she wasn’t one to be messed with.

"So, what are we going to do today? Still another sparing session?" Sheva yawned, stretching his stiff body after arriving at Irfan’s house safely. "Man, I cannot wait for the next internal tournament... I really want to get into a formal tournament again..." He whined unconsciously.

Not that Bagas would complain, of course. Even the fat boy knew that it would be better to play in a formal tournament again rather than just waiting here and practicing aimlessly every day. Unfortunately, it took a lot of money to send him to a tournament abroad, so they had to plan it wisely.

Or... Well, that was what he thought.

However, a week after Sheva and the others were back from the Vietnam tournament, Irfan called everyone to gather in his house again for an official meeting. It was quite strange since the internal tournament should be scheduled in a week after that. However, that wasn’t the strangest thing here. No, it seemed everyone was pretty much aware of what Irfan wanted to talk about, as they all bounced excitedly in their seat.

"Hey, is it finally the time?!"

"I guess! Damn, I finally have a chance to play in an official game again!"

"Is it finally our time to grind rating?"

"Try to win a game or two first, okay?"

Based on the chatter around him, Sheva could make an educated guess that a tournament was about to happen. However, for almost all of them to get this excited... How? It would cost a lot for Irfan to cover everything, and he was so sure that the IM wasn’t that kind to dry his own wallet voluntarily like this.

Sheva could also see Anna, Claudia, and, somehow, Sarah too, sitting together in the front row, whispering furiously before giggling with each other. It seemed they really had a good relationship here. As for Bagas, well, even though he hadn’t seen his best friend yet, the boy could imagine Bagas operating his laptop behind the screen, making sure that everything went as planned.

Before he could greet all of his acquaintances, though, Irfan suddenly arrived, walking forward while also raising his hand to gain everyone’s attention. Once silence fell and all eyes were on him, the IM finally started his speech.

"First of all, since this is a new month, let’s start this meeting with a recap of the official tournament result, which in the last month’s case, was held in Vietnam." The man addressed this matter first. "For the U2000 section, please give our warmest congratulations to both Sheva and Claudia, who managed to end up in the first and second place!"

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Thunderous applause could be heard echoing all around the room here, and Sheva had no choice but to stand up and thank everyone, showing his gratitude here. It would be awkward if he didn’t do it while Claudia had already done so.

"Unfortunately for Claudia, even though she had a good tournament, she still fails to cross the 2000 ELO rating threshold, stuck a few points behind with 1993." Irfan continued, making everyone wince and looking at the girl with pity. They all knew that crossing a threshold rating was probably the hardest thing in this sport. "Meanwhile, I also have the report about Sheva’s first official rating here..." Irfan smiled, startling Sheva for a moment.

"Um?! Me?!" The boy pointed at himself in surprise.

"Yeah, you. What do you think will be your first rating here?" The IM smiled in amusement.

Now, everyone also leaned forward, getting invested in this drama. After all, they knew Sheva had a monstrous tournament, so it would be interesting to know what ELO rating he would get from all of that. Seeing that Sheva had no intention to answer it, Irfan finally answered his own question.

"Sheva... Be proud of yourself... Irfan smiled as he trailed his words behind, letting the tension grow in the air. "Because your first ever official rating... Is...."

When Irfan paused again in such a crucial moment, Sheva had half a mind to throw the closest pillow at the IM’s face for doing this. Fortunately, he managed to hold back his intrusive thought, or he would get into trouble instantly. After a while, though, Irfan finally took pity on him—and everyone who was also curious about it, saying a series of numbers that was enough to blow everyone’s mind.

"1... 8... 7... 7!"