Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 568: An Unbelievably Stupid Draw
Indeed, Sarah could say confidently that the game wasn’t just back to equal, but a draw could be concluded right after this. After all, Irene managed to trick Anna into getting all of her pawns, and in return, the older woman sneakily locked down Anna’s king on the edge of the board.
Now, the game would end with a perpetual check, as Anna’s king could only escape to one square while Irene could repeat the move forever.
Of course, Anna saw this instantly. The moment the move was on the board, she groaned out loud, covering her face in regret and disbelief. She didn’t even care about the noise that she made here, just watching how everything unfolded in front of her eyes with utter shock.
"So, are you going to accept the draw, Anna?" Irene suddenly spoke, and the dimple on her cheeks when the woman smiled would be enough to melt even the most cold-blooded heart in the world.
However, Anna could only feel shiver when she saw this. In her mind, she couldn’t associate that pure, innocent smile with the devious mind that Irene had shown here. She was also still hazy, the memory of the game was fresh in her head.
’I am so close... Damnit!’ She cursed inwardly. ’If only I could be more patient... I wasn’t even in a time trouble, for God’s sake! This is ridiculous!’ Her tone was full of regret.
Unfortunately, the milk had been spilled, and crying over it would never bring it back. In the end, she just pouted at Irene with eyes full of grievance as the girl finally offered a handshake, showing that she had accepted the draw here.
"Heh, still too immature, Anna." Irene chuckled teasingly. "Everything went perfectly for your side, but you were too anxious, wanting to win as quickly as possible. In the end, you still caught such an easy bait, showing that you still need to learn how to stay calm for the entire game."
If anything, this only made the young girl pout harder, thinking that Irene was rubbing the fact that the woman escaped death in front of her face. Even though Anna knew that Irene had all the right in the world to brag, that didn’t mean she had to like it, especially since she was the one who choked here.
As for Irene... The woman sighed in melancholy, her gaze fixed on the young girl before her, her mood complicated.
’Am I really getting that old?’ She couldn’t help but question herself. ’To think that young people nowadays will be improving so fast in front of my eyes... If only she were more experienced, I am so sure that she will get a full point today.’
Yeah, even though the woman didn’t show it, she still felt the cold sweat on her back, feeling so relieved as she knew she had just escaped from a close call. The last attempt was also a desperate one, and honestly, if Anna didn’t take the bait, she would’ve resigned already, having seen no escape path for herself.
Thinking of Anna, then taking a glance at Laysa and Claudia on the other tables, Irene sighed once again, and somehow couldn’t help but mutter, ’Young people sure are scary, huh?’
After exchanging more pleasantry—well, more like Irene advised while Anna pouted—they finally left the table, and just like yesterday, the first place that Anna went into was the broadcast room.
Honestly, the setup of the place was ridiculous. In Sheva’s last few tournaments, Bags would only be provided with a single booth, and the boy also had to mingle among the other broadcasters to report the game. However, here, Bagas had his own room, complete with a set of sofas and a small refrigerator full of snacks. The treatment was so luxurious that it felt like the boy was a VIP guest here.
’Eh, in hindsight, his relationship with Sheva should make him a VIP, right?’ She couldn’t help but mutter.
Once she entered the room, the girl saw Sheva was sitting there, enjoying a chunk of bread while also having his eyes focused on his phone. Her heart fluttered for a moment, somehow feeling like the boy was quite handsome. However, she shook her head, announcing her presence immediately to her friend.
"Shev! It is good to relax, huh?" She greeted with a smile.
Sheva flustered for a moment, even about to choke here. However, he swallowed the bread immediately and replied, "Indeed, especially if you are in a bad mood. Here, have one. It has a strawberry jam in it." He offered one of the breads here.
Anna accepted it quickly, taking the spot next to the boy as if it were the most natural thing to do. She stole a glance for a moment, enjoying the bread like a squirrel before asking weakly, "Have you seen my game?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Sheva froze for a second before nodding his head a little. "Yeah, a pity. But your opponent is Sister Irene, so you don’t need to be that depressed." He tried to console her.
If anything, though, that only made her feel worse.
"I was so close! Just this much," Putting her index finger so close to the thumb without touching each other, "From winning, and bam! Everything was gone! I cannot believe that I got caught in such a rookie trick!"
Indeed, for professional players, it was embarrassing to get caught in that trick. Unfortunately, this was the reality for Anna, and she had to accept it no matter how bitter the fact was.
"Anyway, don’t think too much about it," Sheva said again, not even flinching at her whining. Then, after pondering for a second, he corrected himself. "At least, don’t think about it right now. Use the time to fill your stomach, relax, and ease your brain, because I can assure you that things will be more volatile in the women’s section after this."
His tone was solemn, making Anna curious about how the other games fared. When she saw the result on the other boards, though, the girl was so dumbfounded at what she found there.
"How could this be?!"
