Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 565: Sheva VS Tin Jingyao!
'A Caro-Kann, huh?' Sheva pondered, his finger tapping the table gently while the boy let his brain warm up slowly. 'Cannot say that I expect this. I thought he would go for something like Sicilian Defense today.' He mumbled.
Yeah, with all the intelligence that he gained, Sheva thought that Tin Jingyao would approach this game aggressively. However, it seemed that the man was not as reckless as he thought. Sheva glanced sideways for a moment, just to find out that the man also did the same.
For a moment, their eyes met, and Sheva couldn't help but snort, finding this situation to be interesting.
'Yeah, he doesn't have any fear in his eyes, but he still takes a careful approach. It seems he has something under his sleeve that makes him confident today. Let's see how he will go later…'
Of course, just because Tin Jingyao decided to go for an ordinary Caro-Kann, that didn't mean Sheva would let the Singaporean man dictate the tempo here. Without even thinking about it, the boy picked the most aggressive line of the opening, the advanced variation one.
He advanced his C pawn immediately, striking away the center field with the attempt to break that solid pyramid pawn structure from his opponent's side. When Tin Jingyao allowed that to happen, Sheva didn't hesitate, exchanged the pawn in the center immediately.
Much to his surprise, though, the Singaporean GM didn't take back the two pawns that protected it. No, instead, the man let the queen take back what Sheva had just taken, and now, there was a hole in the black's center territory.
'Not that it means much, of course, since this is just one of the theoretical lines that have been solved in history, but it is good that I don't have to worry over the control for the center anymore.' Sheva couldn't help but mutter.
With that in mind, he started developing his other pieces, taking most of them to occupy the center. First it was the bishop, and then two knights. Sheva took advantage of the fact that Tin Jingyao went into a passive mode to establish a strong foundation in the center.
Then, when he noticed that his opponent delayed castling, leaving the black king in a vulnerable position, Sheva didn't hesitate, striking straight on the kingside. It didn't help that Tin Jingyao's light bishop was trapped on that side, and even though it was easy for the Singaporean GM to create an escape route, it would be hard for that man to deal with Sheva's aggressive pawn later.
Not only that, but Sheva also put his queen on the G line quickly, and even though it didn't really control anything dangerous, its presence there was enough to put pressure on Tin Jingyao's shoulder, making the Singaporean GM hesitate to castle.
"Yes, that's the consequence of delaying your castle." Irfan nodded solemnly. "Now, Sheva is going to punish Tin Jingyao for that."
"I cannot help but wonder, though, Master Irfan," Sarah suddenly spoke, her tone curious. "I have seen a lot of Sheva's games in the past, and he also likes to delay the castle move, and sometimes even not do it at all for the entire game. So, what is the difference between that and this game?"
"A good observation, Sarah!" Irfan nodded in approval. Bagas himself felt pride in his heart even though it wasn't him who received the praise. "At first glance, it doesn't look so much different. However, if you look carefully, you will notice that Sheva often delayed castling for the sake of attacking, because he saw an opportunity that would be gone if he didn't take action quickly. As for Tin Jingyao, you cannot say the same here, because he doesn't have anything worth delaying the castle move. Now, he is going to be in trouble here…"
True enough, like a prophecy, Irfan's words became a reality, because right after that, Tin Jingyao suddenly made a shady move.
It seemed the man was panicked here. He saw that the kingside was under the fire, especially the pawn on the F file. So, instead of castling, he moved his king just one square to the F8 square, and right after that, the evaluation bar moved upward immediately.
"Oh! Thirteen moves! Just in thirteen moves, Tin Jingyao finally makes the first mistake of the game!" Bagas exclaimed excitedly.
Even without the help of the computer engine, the boy could see that the move was a mistake, let alone Sheva, the one who sat at the table. His eyes lit up immediately, but a frown formed after that.
'Wait… There is no way he would make such a mistake, right?' He pondered. 'I mean, he basically locks his own rook on the corner of the board! His king is also not in a safer position! Everything looks worse in just one move. There is no way he doesn't see that. Is there a possibility that he sees something that I don't?'
This was probably the biggest fear that any chess player had. It didn't help that Tin Jingyao still had a very stoic face, as if everything was according to his plan. Sheva pondered for even more than five minutes, trying to find something hidden in this position.
In the end…
'Screw it!' He gnashed his teeth. 'If he had a hidden advantage that I cannot see, he deserves it. But now, there is no way I would allow this blunder slide so easily!'
With that thought in mind, Sheva started to put more pressure on the kingside. The rook that he used to castle to the kingside helped a lot here, establishing his dominance over the F file. Then, two knights jumped ahead, ready to wreak havoc on the opponent's side.
Sheva didn't hold back anymore. He marched everything he had forward, leaving only some pieces behind. Hell, right now, the boy had four pawns entering the fifth rank already, with one of them about to jump to the sixth rank to lock down the opponent's king for… Well, forever.
However, after the game ran for a little bit more, Sheva finally let out a relieved sigh, somehow smirking at his opponent.
'You want to bluff me, huh? Unfortunately, this will not work here. Get ready, because I am coming after you!'
-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!
