Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 473: The Reaction Aftermath

"Hey, hey! Is this the man who has just failed to win?!" Right after the video call was connected, Sheva could hear the annoying tease from Laysa. "How is it? Any regret of failing to break the record?" The gloating tone was enough to make Sheva frown.

It was fifteen minutes after the game was over, and Sheva didn’t wait for Bagas to end his streaming as the boy left first, feeling too exhausted after almost reaching his limit. He didn’t forget to call Anna first, though, just to find out that Laysa was also there, answering the first before he could even say anything to Anna.

"What do you mean by record?" Sheva frowned, clueless.

"Wait, you don’t know?!" Laysa gasped, stifling her giggle. This only made Sheva scowl more, as right now, the girl on the screen really rubbed his skin the wrong way.

"Laysa, don’t tease him too far, okay?" Anna grabbed the phone forcefully, and within a second, Sheva was able to see the girl he was waiting for on the screen. "How are you doing? Are you okay? Don’t worry, one draw doesn’t make you weaker, you know that, right?" Anna asked, her tone was full of concern.

Sheva could feel his heart warm as a smile spread unconsciously. "Don’t worry, I am okay. Javokhir Sindarov is a formidable opponent, so getting a draw against him is not something embarrassing." He brushed it off nonchalantly. "Also, what is this record that Laysa is talking about?"

While he knew that Laysa was mocking him, Sheva could also figure out that the basis was real, not just a cheap gaslight from the girl.

To his surprise, though, Anna suddenly let out a deep sigh and scowl of annoyance, and Sheva could also hear the giggle coming out of Laysa, who should be next to her. This only made him curious, as, even though Laysa’s teasing suggested that it wasn’t a career-ending record, Anna’s sigh was a big sign that this would definitely annoy him.

"It is nothing..." Anna sighed once again. "It is just... You are just one game away from tying the record of the most consecutive wins in chess history." She stated as a matter of fact.

"Ah, that’s it..." Sheva nodded silently, inwardly breathing in relief since this wasn’t a big matter.

One second...

Two seconds...

"Wait, what?!" Sheva slammed the table nearby in shock, having his jaw dropped in realization. "Say that again, please?! What record did I just miss?!" His tone was full of disbelief, trying to convince himself that he misheard something in the process. Unfortunately, the next explanation from Anna broke the illusion instantly, shattering it into pieces.

"You are not hearing it wrong." The girl’s voice was so tired, followed by a little laughter from Laysa in the background. "You are just one win away from getting 20 consecutive wins, the record that Bobby Fisher has been holding for... I don’t know, he did that in 1970, by the way, so you can imagine how long the record stands, right?"

Well, only the first half of what she said was registered through Sheva’s head, as he was too stunned to react.

"Shev?" Anna’s voice came again, this time with a hint of fear. "You okay there? You haven’t said anything else..."

After a while, though, the first reaction he gave was a cry, as he shrieked instantly on the phone. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! HOW COULD IT BE?! WHY IS IT THAT NO ONE GIVES ME A HEADS-UP ABOUT IT?! NO, LAYSA! IT IS NOT FUNNY!" His voice rose once again at the giggle that was louder in the background.

"No... No, no, I am sorry... But..." Laysa grabbed the phone again, and Sheva could see that she was losing her breath from too much laughing. "Your reaction... It is so epic! The sheer panic, the denial! It is a pity that we didn’t record that! Hahaha!"

Sheva slumped instantly on the bed; all of the energy left inside his body was drained into the air after that. He also groaned quite loudly, not even bothered by Laysa’s laughter anymore. Honestly, Sheva even felt like he deserved all the laughter at him, as he was probably the only one clueless about it.

"Still... How could Bagas not inform me of something important like that?!" Sheva clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Don’t blame him too much, Shev." Anna smiled gently at him. "This is something that we decided to conceal from you. I mean, we don’t want to put more pressure on you. At least, more than what we have already put through your shoulder. Also, it is just one draw and against a 2650-rated player, nonetheless. It is a good result already, so don’t dwell on it too much, okay?"

Sheva could only nod with a wry smile, knowing that Anna was right. However, he also took a note on the back of his head, reminding himself that he would settle the score with Bagas later.

"Anyway, tomorrow is your day off, right?!" Anna’s tone suddenly turned into a cheerful one. "What are you going to do? Does the organizer arrange something? I heard that the village is quite beautiful, right? Send me some pictures later, will you?" Her tone was full of longing and excitement.

"And that...." Laysa suddenly rose from her seat. "Is my cue to leave, or I will be a third wheel. Don’t stay too long, okay? Also, don’t do what I wouldn’t do!"

"L—Laysa!" Anna’s face flushed red in embarrassment. As Laysa’s chackle gradually disappeared, the girl could only shake her head in exasperation. "Sorry, you know how she is, right?"

"Don’t worry, I know full well about her." Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Still, now that they were alone, both Sheva and Anna could chat quite relaxedly, talking about everything with great enthusiasm.Anna asked about life in Wijk Ann Zee and how it felt to be around so many great players, while Sheva inquired about anything about her, from her school life to Claudia’s situation.

Most of the topics were pointless, yet somehow, this was enough to ease the tension from Sheva’s shoulder. The boy himself didn’t notice, but somehow, this gave him a chance to unwind after a tense first five days of the tournament.

’Oh, well... At least, I am still the number one...’ He muttered to himself. ’After this, things will definitely be way more difficult for me. Let’s just try to maintain the same level of performance for the rest of the tournament.’