Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 474: A Rare Day Off

"What the hell are we doing here?"

Tak!

"You tell me. I am not even the one who suggested this, right?"

Tak!

"I should’ve gone with my sister and my mom, but they are going for a shopping spree right now."

Tak!

"So, you are here, stuck with me? Why wouldn’t you go with the other elite players? I heard the organizer holds a quite interesting activity, right?"

Tak!

"Nah, not really interested."

Tak!

It was a day off for the Tata Steel Tournament, and honestly, Sheva didn’t know how he got stuck here with Pragg, in this resort, during a chilly afternoon, playing a quick chess against each other casually. It was sad that, on such a beautiful day, where the sun somehow appeared on such a rare occasion in the middle of winter, they both just sat lazily like two unemployed old men on a bustling street market.

Well, Sheva himself didn’t really mind that.

He had been sleeping for quite a long time last night, recovering all of his energy after it had been consumed by the title’s side effect. Now that he was done with his breakfast and short exercise, it was time to practice again, and Pragg somehow was here to become his punching ba—Cough!—Sparing partner.

As for why Pragg was here instead of joining the group activity held by the organizer, it seemed that the boy himself was not satisfied with his current result. Even though it was definitely above the average with one win and four draws, the boy still felt like he could win some of them, and that was why he punished himself by practicing more on this day off.

"Your opponent tomorrow should be Nordibek Abdusattorov, right?" Sheva asked without even turning his head up. "You are in a tough time. He has just beaten Magnus yesterday, right?" A hint of gloating could be heard in his tone.

"Of course, I know that." Pragg just snorted, picking up his pieces before moving them quickly to the other side of the board. "Anyway, I heard that your winning streak is over, right? 19? Not bad... It is a pity that you missed a nice tactical approach yesterday." His tone laced a hint of mockery, attacking Sheva back.

Sheva himself blinked for a moment, yet he wasn’t really that provoked. If anything, he returned with the same heat. "Don’t worry, I will start the streak again with your sister as the first tomorrow."

The game happened for a while, with them both throwing banter at each other back and forth. After a while, a new person suddenly appeared, sitting straight next to Pragg. The person was none other than Gukesh Dommaraju, the other Indian prodigy in this tournament.

The boy threw his body on the sofa with a long sigh, taking a quick glance at the board before asking incredulously, "Pragg, how could you lose that badly?"

Pragg choked for a moment, while Sheva stifled his laughter. "See? Even Gukesh sees the game clearly! Just give up, brother!" He smiled smugly.

"Oh, shut up, will you?!" Pragg’s temper flared a little. Then, he also turned to Gukesh with a glare. "Also, I don’t want to hear anything from the dead last, okay? Try to win some games first, and then we can talk!" His tone was full of arrogance. This time, it was Gukesh who was triggered by the comment.

"It is just a coincidence! I haven’t locked in for the first two rounds!" Gukesh tried to defend himself. "Also, don’t get cocky with your achievement! Let’s just see how you fare against the top dogs!"

"Yeah, excuse, excuse..."

They kept bickering for a while, wasting their afternoon messing around aimlessly. It seemed that Gukesh himself also avoided the group activity, opting to stay in the resort and enjoy his rare free time here.

This time, Sheva also got to know Gukesh better, challenging him a few times. To this day, he still remembered that the boy was the last one who beat him in standard chess, so he had already eyed the Indian prodigy for a long time. Of course, while that game itself was important for Sheva, for Gukesh, that was just another Wednesday, so the Indian boy had already forgotten about it. He didn’t know why Sheva looked at him with so much hostility in his eyes.

As time went by, though, the occasion suddenly turned into a serious one. Sheva started to think hard, and Gukesh and Pragg also frowned whenever it was their turn to play.

’Damn! As expected, Gukesh’s defensive resource is crazy! Even in a blitz game like this, he could still think of the best way to repel my attack! It seems that around him, I have to be bolder...’ Sheva thought.

Meanwhile, Gukesh also had a similar thought inside his mind. ’How could someone improve so much just in a year?! This is crazy!’ He glanced at Sheva in awe. ’Even though he is still around 2500, his real skill should be close to 2700, right? Once he accumulates more tournaments, he will be standing next to me soon enough. I’d better watch his journey carefully, or I will get caught off guard later.’

Pragg was also immersed in the game, inwardly frowning. ’Gukesh is still Gukesh, but now, Sheva could match his intensity and fight back? It seems I need to improve myself as well, or he will just pass me in the future and leave me in the dust.’

What started as a game to unwind suddenly became some sort of motivational event for them, helping those three prodigies ignite the spirit inside themselves.

They kept playing for a while, and it was not until someone called both Gukesh and Pragg that this small episode was finally over. It seemed that those two were about to hang out and have dinner together with the other Indian players, so they had to leave Sheva first. However, before doing that, Gukesh didn’t forget to express his current feelings.

"You should be eager for revenge against me, right?" At Sheva’s startled expression, the boy couldn’t help but smirk. "Honestly, with your current ability, the chance is quite open, and you will only become way scarier in the future. However, don’t think that I will just stand still and wait for you, because I will also keep getting better! Try to climb higher, because I will only wait for you on top of the mountain!"