Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 564: The Fourth Round’s Pairing!

"Hey, hey, hey, everyone! Good morning!" Bagas started his live broadcast with the usual cheerful greeting. "We are back at the Grand Century Hotel to witness history, and today, we are already halfway through the tournament! The third day, and the fourth round will start soon enough! Together with me, my partner, Sarah,"

"Hey, everyone!" The camera panned to the beautiful girl who waved cheerfully.

"And the expert himself, Master Irfan Aditya!"

"Good morning," the man said, his smile more reserved and polite.

"This morning, we are going to follow four important matchups! Two from the men’s section, and another two from the women’s section!" Bagas continued. "In the men’s section, table one, we will have the matchup of the day! The best from Indonesia! Adrian Sheva! And the best from Singapore! Tin Jingyao! Will have to fight against each other for the leader spot of the tournament!"

"That is a heavyweight match, probably the best one that this tournament could offer," Irfan commented solemnly. "Both players are probably the two most talented players that Southeast Asia has produced in recent years, and they are on track to stand alongside GM Le Quang Liem from Vietnam as the best who come from Southeast Asia. This is going to be a match that would determine who has the best potential to rise further in the future."

Bagas nodded solemnly even though he himself didn’t find any correlation between this game and who had a higher potential. Still, this was an important skill that he developed in a year of hosting chess games: the ability to nod solemnly as if he understood what the expert said, without looking foolish.

"Then, in Table 2, we are going to have another crazy match! This time, it is between two of the best that Indonesia has ever produced! Master Susanto Megaranto and Master Priasmoro Novendra, both with 2.5 points, will go for each other’s throat for the right to challenge the leader of the tournament in the next round!"

"Once again, another heavyweight match," Irfan added. "Their performance might be declining in recent years, but those two are way too talented stay too long in the mud. No, they both are aiming for a momentum so that they could rise higher, and for a GM, once the momentum is in their grasp, they could be unstoppable for so long. This is going to be an important game for them."

Bagas nodded once again, but after listening to Irfan’s analysis, inwardly, he couldn’t help but think, ’It would be better if Master Susanto won. With how Master Novendra treated Sheva last year, I don’t want to have anything to do with him.’

Of course, he would never say that out loud. As a host, his job was to stay neutral, and he would deliver it.

"Then, we have the women’s section," Sarah took over the conversation immediately. "There, the two favorites of the tournament, two experienced IMs, Batkhuyag Munguntuul from Mongolia and Aulia Medina Warda from Indonesia, will fight for the top spot of the section!"

"Now, this is going to be interesting." Irfan smiled. "Those two are also currently in their best form, starting the tournament with three wins out of three games. Also, they have been fighting against each other for a long time at the Asian level, so this is just basically a duel between two players who are familiar with each other. Let’s just hope that Medina can establish an initiative in the beginning and gain a quick advantage, so that she can push further in the later stage."

Unlike the preview between Master Susanto and Novendra, where Bagas had to restrain himself to keep the show neutral, this time, Irfan was allowed to show his support for Medina. After all, this was Indonesian live streaming, so it was understandable that they would favor Indonesian players more than foreigners.

"And lastly, we have another civil war here." Sarah continued. "Two players from different generations will have a brutal duel this morning! The legendary IM, Irene Kharisma Sukandar, is going to play against a young and talented WGM, Anna Marisa, to keep their hope for the first spot open!"

"Truthfully, I cannot think of anything about this game," Irfan spoke again. "Anna is the one whom I taught for a long time, so I know how talented she is. Will she be ready to beat her senior, though? It is a different matter. Also, while at first glance, Irene looks like the favorite here, you have to remember that she hasn’t played that many games in recent years, so we don’t know whether she could maintain her form for the rest of the tournament or not. Either way, this is going to be a difficult task for them both, because a draw would only push them away from the title race of the tournament."

He wasn’t the only one who thought so. Most players whose points were still behind the leader of the tournament realized that they couldn’t hold back anymore. They realized that only the first place got the ticket to the next World Cup, so they couldn’t just play a half-ass game, take a draw, and expect that they could snatch the first place here.

That was why, with the heavyweight pairings in this round, everything was bound to be explosive here.

"Now, we see that all the players are getting ready in their seats, with the arbiter also checking everything to make sure that no technical issue would happen and disturb the game." Bagas continued. "Today might not be the final day, but it is probably the most important one to establish a lead in both sections. If both games on table one ended up in a draw, the rest of the tournament would be way more volatile, as everyone still has a chance to snatch the number one spot. That is definitely what most players in the venue hope for, I guess."

"Indeed, one player’s dominance will always be the worst nightmare for the other players in a tournament." Irfan nodded. Then, right after that, the alarm rang so loudly, and once the first move was on the board, the man added, "And here it is, folks! The fourth round of the tournament finally begins!"

-Author’s note-

Hey, everyone! Thank you for supporting my story! I have written a new one with the hope of getting a contract for that story as well, the title is ’The Rise of the Iron Wall!’. It is a football story, so if you like, please give your support by adding it to your collection and giving your power stone to that story! Thanks!