CHAPTER 69: A SPARRING GAME AGAINST LAYSA (II)

Tak!

Tak!

Tak!

More than four minutes had passed since the game began, and tension rose astronomically as both players almost reached the conclusion stage. Everyone held their breath unconsciously, wanting to see how the game would be revealed in the end. Although they couldn’t really understand what was happening on the board, that didn’t dampen their enthusiasm. If anything, chatters and whispers of discussion could be heard from all around the table, not enough to be heard clearly by the players, but still pretty loud for both Sheva and Laysa to notice it.

"Anyway, who do you think will win?"

"Are you crazy?! Of course, it would be Laysa! I mean, have you forgotten what she had done to us?!"

"I mean... I don’t know... Although I admit that Laysa is strong, this is Sheva that we are talking about, right? Our miracle boy?"

"Still, if you look at the computer’s evaluation bar, it is clear that Laysa is having the advantage here."

"Really?!"

"Damn! Even though I still couldn’t get why Claudia is having a good evaluation here, I am sure she, the more professional one, will be able to notice that too."

"It is quite hard to convert, though. She needs to be more careful if she doesn’t want to face his guillotine."

"Hell, yeah!"

Indeed, based on the computer’s evaluation bar, Sheva’s position was currently at a disadvantage. Sheva himself still didn’t know where his disadvantage lay, and since when did he suffer here? Her queen was still in a pretty safe and active square, while both of his rooks were ready to create a battery to put more pressure on the black king.

The only difference here was the fact that instead of having two rooks, Laysa had already sacrificed one of them for Sheva’s bishop and a knight. This way, even though there was an unbalanced position with his opponent having more minor pieces, Sheva was still quite sure that the position was pretty equal for both sides.

*Author’s note: If you want to visualize the position better, check the comment below.

Honestly, if only Sheva could see the evaluation bar himself, the boy would be surprised at how accurate he was in playing this Scandinavian Defense. After all, this was the first time he had played against this opening, and unfamiliarity was definitely the worst opponent for any chess player. However, he played every theoretical move perfectly without making even a single mistake, catching Laysa off guard.

’He adjusts himself into this situation?’ Laysa frowned for a moment; a real frown compared to the other fake ones that she usually wore. ’I know he is a talented pie, but I don’t expect it to be this talented. Man, I will have a lot of fun here!’ She grinned.

They kept going on for a while, shifting and moving their pieces so quickly without even thinking for a second. In a blitz game, the less they calculated, the more the advantage they would gain in the time scramble situation. That was why intuition was very important here.

Still, Sheva’s situation kept getting worse. He was getting overwhelmed by Laysa’s knight and bishop, who were in a very good position, staring at his king’s escape route. Even if he set a battery for both his rooks, it seemed that this wouldn’t change the game too much. The evaluation bar from the engine showed -2.4, indicating that the momentum was on Laysa’s side.

However, Sheva still maintained his composure, continuing the game without entertaining the thought of resigning here. He knew that in a blitz game, everything could happen, so what he had to do was to improve his position first while also waiting for Laysa to tilt due to the time shortage. True enough, slowly but surely, Laysa kept making inaccurate moves, giving up all the advantages she had accumulated since the beginning of the game.

Laysa seemed to notice that too. It was clear that she got sloppier in the time scramble, and Sheva took advantage of it quickly. He who had been defending his position for almost a whole game started to fight back, taking all the pawns on the F, G, and H files without any mercy. Not only that, Sheva also pushed back Laysa’s bishop to the eighth rank while her knight was stuck in the middle of the board, having to act as a shield to prevent her C pawn from getting taken by Sheva’s queen.

*Author’s note: If you want to visualize the position better, check the comment below.

Everyone gasped immediately when they all realized that the tables had turned now. The advantage Laysa had was gone, and now, it was Sheva who was taking over the game. It seemed that both players also noticed that. Laysa tried her best to defend her position, but with Sheva having three pass pawns on the F, G, and H files, he went for the best way to capitalize on it all. He simplified the game by exchanging the queen, turning it into a rook and four pawns versus a knight, a bishop, and three pawns.

’Come on...’ Sheva clenched his fist unconsciously, glancing sideways toward Laysa, who was also concentrating hard. ’Just stay calm and don’t make a mistake. If I am calm enough, victory is guaranteed to be mine. No need to think about her pawn. Once we both get a new queen, I can still force an exchange again, and everything will be over...’

It seemed that Laysa also noticed that. So, instead of continuing the game, she finally heaved a sigh and offered a handshake. "I resign." She smiled, triggering dramatic gasps from all the people around her. "Good game. It seems that Anna is right. You are really a genius at chess. But don’t be complacent. I will get you back in the future." Right after that, she rose from her chair and walked away immediately, leaving the dumbfounded Sheva on the spot.

"OH! SHE RESIGNS!"

"Sheva defeats the demon queen! Hell, yeah!"

"Take that, you bitch!"

"Good job, Sheva! Just knock some sense into her head!"

"Still, she would start pestering him again in the future, right?"

"Damn, you are right..."

Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching again when he listened to the commotion around him. It seemed that everyone here had quite a healthy amount of fear toward Laysa. Still, one thing is for sure, though, after winning the game against Laysa, a thought seemed to slip inside his mind.

’So, that is Laysa Latifah, the second-best girl in the country and also Anna’s rival, huh?’ He muttered to himself. ’Damn, if she is this good, I wonder how strong the other titled players outside are... It seems that I need to improve my rating as quickly as possible if I want to challenge them all...’