Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 567: Anna VS Irene!
"Hey, have you seen table 1?"
"You mean the men’s section?"
"Yup! Sheva has just won his game! Again!"
"You don’t know the gist of it! He sacrifices his rook, you know?! The clip will be all over the Internet tomorrow!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"Man, it is crazy! And he did that against the second-best player in the tournament!"
"Psst... Don’t be too loud, or you will be kicked out of the building!"
It was two and a half hours since the fourth round started, and although everything still required dead silence to allow the players to concentrate on their own game, there was no way anyone could stop the whispers travelling from ear to ear.
At this point, everyone should’ve known already that Sheva had just won his game on table one.
Anna, who was also still concentrating on her game, was distracted by the gossip around her. Still, a smile beamed on her face when she heard what people were talking about.
’So, Sheva’s game is over, huh? As expected, no one should be able to stop him in this tournament.’ She muttered, her tone was proud. ’Now, I also have a game to deal with here. Let’s just hope that I can end this as smoothly as he usually showed me.’
If people saw her game, they would be surprised here. It wasn’t like Anna being arrogant when she said she hoped to end the game smoothly, because right now, she had the upper hand in this endgame phase, and everyone knew she was capable of dealing with the rest of the game, what with the advantage she earned up until now.
No, what people would find shocking, though, was that the opponent was none other than Irene Sukandar herself. Even though the legendary IM didn’t really play a lot of tournaments recently, she was still the favorite among the other competitors, yet somehow, after fighting for about three hours, it was Anna who was closer to the win in this game.
It began with the Queen’s Gambit Decline, and how Irene decided to go for the variation called the Semi-Tarrasch Defense. In this system, she had everything, from a solid system, flexibility, and the potential to launch a devastating attack later.
Of course, Anna herself didn’t even blink when she saw that the system was on the board. Even though it was one of the most reliable variations for the Queen’s Gambit Decline, it was also one that top players used the most, and she had also learned it in the past. So, yeah, this didn’t really catch her off guard.
Then, several exchanges happened, with pieces flying one by one off the board.
First, it was the black knight, followed by the white’s dark bishop. Then, a similar thing happened on the queenside, where another black knight was exchanged for a bishop. In the end, another exchange happened, leaving both players with one knight, one bishop, and two rooks on the board. Well, with a few other pawns as well, of course.
That was when the rock and roll stage began.
Both women went crazy in the endgame, starting to push their pawns like they were just a troop of suicidal soldiers, ready to go on a kamikaze mission. Then, Anna started to utilize her two rooks, letting them connect to each other on the seventh rank while also preventing Irene’s king from moving forward.
At this point, the computer engine also showed a great favor for the white piece, knowing that Anna’s rook activity possessed a greater threat here.
"Not just her rooks, though." Master Irfan spoke in the broadcast room. "Look at her light bishop. Even though it was forced to retreat a few moves ago, this time, that bishop becomes a strong sniper for Anna, staring straight at Irene’s king. That pawn on the F file will fall sooner or later, and once that happens, everything will move toward Anna’s direction."
"The computer engine also gives +3.5 for the evaluation, clearly showing that white’s pieces are on the better side right now," Sarah added, trying to get a better look at this game. "However, the game is still far from over. Anna also made some inaccuracies that give Master Irene a chance to fight back, and if Master Irene could see and take advantage of it, there is a chance for her to equalize the game again."
Irene also knew this fact, and that was why she was so calm even though the woman was under the fire right now. In her mind, as long as she survived, there would be a chance later, and that was when she would strike back.
’At least, I have to ensure that I get a draw today.’
That resilience, somehow, put great pressure on Anna’s side. Even though the young girl was determined to win, she also felt like she was walking on a thin rope here. One wrong move, and her head would be gone already.
The girl treated every single move carefully, not wanting to slip even for once.
She got that pawn on the F file, and after that, she exchanged one of the rooks to remove some variables. With one pawn advantage, she was determined to exchange everything here, using that pawn as a breakthrough to get a new queen later.
However, she was too greedy here.
When the girl noticed that she could take all of Irene’s pieces one by one, she didn’t hold back, chunking all of them with her rook. Little did she know, though, that the older woman was laying a huge trap on the back, ready to trick her into the abyss.
True enough, once one of the last two black pawns was taken, the evaluation bar propelled back immediately, getting dragged into an equal position again in one blink.
"Oh! What is going on here?!" Sarah blinked, staring at the board in disbelief. "One moment, we saw Anna on the verge of taking the victory, and now, it seems Irene is about to snatch it from her hand! This is pure madness! A masterclass defense from the International Master Irene Sukandar, pulling herself from the death door! The game is going to end in a draw!"
-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!
