Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 422: A NEW GM IN THE TOWN!
’I win.’ Sheva muttered to himself, his eyes staring blankly at nothing.
’I win.’ He repeated that short sentence once again, as if trying to convince himself that it was real.
’I win.’ It seemed that his brain crashed out, and that was the only thing that could be registered in that exhausted machine.
"Shev!" Arjun suddenly raised his voice a little bit, snapping the boy from his own thought. When Sheva turned around, he could see that Arjun was offering another handshake, and this time, it was with his sweet smile as well. "Congratulations. You really are a great player."
Sheva could only nod numbly, not even knowing how to react there. He suddenly turned into an idiot, and if this were a cartoon, everyone would be able to see smoke coming out of his head. After a while, though, everything finally started to sink into his thick head, and a wide grin slowly but surely formed on his face.
’I win!’ He repeated that damn sentence again, but this time, with a strong consciousness inside his head. ’Damn! I become a GM?!’ Half of his tone was still filled by disbelief, as if this was something that was too good to be true.
Of course, while Sheva himself still had his reservations, considering he was in the middle of the venue, Bagas, who was in the media booth, didn’t have them. The fat boy lost control, starting to jump around and scream at his microphone like crazy.
"YES! YES! YES! HE HAS DONE IT! SHEVA HAS DONE IT AGAIN!" Bagas roared. "RING YOUR BELL, EVERYONE! BECAUSE WE HAVE A NEW SHERIFF IN THE TOWN!"
Hilda99: LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO!
Froggies: WE HAVE A NEW FUCKING GM! AND IT IS A STRONG AND YOUNG ONE! COME ON!
TaherYT: Congrats, Sheva! I hope you all the best.
IreneKS: A new GM, a new Chapter for the Indonesian Chess Community! Let’s hope we can get more in the future!
Amidst the chaotic chat box, some high-profile figures seemed to appear as well, from Taher to Irene; everyone was congratulating the boy. Indeed, what Irene said was true. This was a new Chapter in the country’s chess community.
Before this, the last time the country got a new GM was three years ago, when Novendra won a small tournament in Serbia. At this time, everyone was optimistic about him. However, Novendra’s performance in the last three years was really disappointing. Not only did he fail to climb higher, but his rating seemed to go down faster than ever, even to the point of reaching 2472, the same level as any ordinary IM.
It seemed that after he got the GM title, the man lost his drive for something bigger, content with the things that he had now. Well, not that anyone could blame him, because the country really gave him a lot of bonuses just for that title. From someone who had to fight for his life to make a living from chess to a national treasure who got everything in a snap, this was enough to change people. There were a lot of similar cases in football or basketball, so it was nothing strange for that to happen in chess as well.
However, for a country that was starving for a savior, Novenda’s decline in performance definitely disappointed everyone. That was why most of the people were already searching for the new child of prophecy, and now, it seemed that the one they were waiting for had finally arrived in front of them.
As someone who always chased a big moment, Sarah also moved quickly. The moment Sheva came out of the venue with his tired yet bright eyes, the girl didn’t hesitate to drag the boy to the media booth to join them.
"Okay, everyone! Here, I already have with me the hero of the day, the one and only, Adrian Sheva!" The girl said it as if she were announcing a prize or a giveaway.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for having me." Sheva smiled softly. "Hello again, Mister Sagar." This time, the smile was a little bit awkward, a little bit strained. After all, he just beat Arjun Erigaisi, and coupled with Pragg’s game yesterday, the boy had already beaten two of the Indian prodigies in this tournament alone. Now, facing Sagar, the man who also represented India, he couldn’t help but feel worried about the man’s reaction.
However, it seemed that his worry was for nothing, because Sagar Shah was far more professional than he had ever thought. The man just smiled genuinely before offering a handshake. "Congratulations, young man! Becoming a GM is not an easy feat! I have been juggling in this field for more than 20 years, and I could barely touch the edge of that sleeve, and here you are! Achieving something that would definitely go down in your country’s history!"
"Ah... Thank you..." Sheva rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Anyway, Sheva, say hello to the chat!" Bagas tugged his clothes forcefully, trying to get his attention. "Look at how crazy they are right now!"
Sheva clicked his tongue in annoyance, wanting to reprimand his best friend for his rudeness. However, he was utterly dumbfounded at the sight of the chat box going crazy. It moved so fast, showing how many people were chatting there. Hell, Sheva himself couldn’t even track the movement there, and when he saw the number of people watching the stream, the boy felt like his jaw dropped.
"27000 people?! Are you fuckign kidding me?!" Sheva couldn’t help but blurt out a curse.
"Hehehe... It is not a joke, I can assure you that." Bagas grinned widely, enjoying Sheva’s surprised gaze. "This is a legit number, I tell you. You just don’t know how massive this game is for people. Come on, just say something, our new hero!" He slapped his best friend’s shoulder playfully.
Sheva opened his mouth, yet words seemed to get stuck in his throat. He was unable to say anything, too overwhelmed by the love he received today. He didn’t even notice that Bagas, Sarah, and Sagar Shah started walking away from the camera, giving all the limelight to the boy.
In the end, though, with a hoarse voice, he finally spoke, "Thank you for your support, Guys. But this is just the beginning. Watch me, because I will go further than this!"
