Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 571: Sheva VS Master Susanto!
"Okay, folks! The second game of the day, and we have some interesting matchups here!" Just like before, Bagas opened the broadcast with his usual cheerful greeting.
It was a wonder how he could do that when everyone was dead tired, and the weather outside was so hot. Honestly, just walking down the street to get their lunch was already torturous, and now, after having their stomach full, the only thing they wanted to do here was just to go and have a nap, not play chess.
"In the women’s section, the top-seeded from Mongolia, Bathkuyag Munguntuul, will have to face the challenge from our talented youngster, Laysa Latifah!" Sarah announced. "This will be the first time they play against each other, and with the top spot at stake, this game is bound to be slow and full of cautiousness."
"Then, we have an iconic match in the men’s section," Bagas continued, "With our best player in the country, Adrian Sheva, will face the former best one, the current second-best player in the country, GM Susanto Megaranto. They fought alongside each other in the Olympiad last year, and surprisingly enough, this is going to be their first match ever!"
Froggies: DAMN! Let’s fucking goooo!
Hilda99: Come on, Brother Sheva! Just beat them all!
Hory66: Hey, it has been a long time since we have seen you, @Hilda99!
RonaldOSIu007: If anything, I am more concerned about the women’s section. There is no absolute favorite in that section, right?
The moment the broadcast chat opened, all the viewers flooded in there, talking about everything in this round without having any focus on it. The number was also quite big here, as this was where the tournament started to climb to the peak.
Even though in the women’s section, everything was still blurry, in the men’s one, it had already taken a great shape, with Sheva, as usual, being the leader of the pack. If nothing went wrong, he would even be able to secure the ticket to the World Cup in the seventh round, which made the rest of the tournament pointless for the others.
In the venue, as Sheva took the chair at table one, his opponent, Master Susanto, had been waiting for him there. The moment the boy arrived, Master Susanto rose immediately, offering a handshake with a smile. Honestly, this was the treatment that Sheva would never think of coming from the legend himself.
"This is going to be our first-ever official matchup, you know?" Master Susanto grinned widely, trying to ease the tension here.
"Oh, I know. People talk a lot about us." Sheva also smiled in reminiscence. "Still, I cannot believe it will take this long for us to fight against each other."
Memories flashed in his brain as he recalled the past and how often he encountered the man in front of him. From the Jakarta International Chess Festival, to the Olympiad, then to accompanying the three students to Uzbekistan, and yet, they had never played against each other officially in the past.
Sheva himself also felt something else right now. Even though this wasn’t the first time he felt this way, the boy still found it unbelievable that he had gone from a newbie to someone with a high status like this just in a year.
Hell, last year, he still had to listen to Bagas speaking in awe about Master Susanto’s crazy achievement in the past, and yet here he was, getting a royalty treatment from the man himself.
’Damn, I know that with the system, I am destined to reach greatness, but when it is already in front of my eyes, I still find this unthinkable. If not for the system... Maybe, I would still only live from one paycheck after another, having to be suffocated in our old home in Tambora. Life sure is crazy and unpredictable, huh?’
While he was reminiscing, the bell suddenly rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. He forced his hazy brain to get back on track immediately, especially since Master Susanto had already offered a handshake.
"I know that you are the most talented player in the country, but don’t think you can walk past me so easily, Sheva." Master Susanto launched his psywar with a shit-eating grin. "You have been flying so high recently, so let me, the veteran here, bring you back to earth!"
"Ha! I like that one!" Sheva couldn’t help but laugh. "I would like to see you do that, Master Susanto, but I will definitely not give you an easy time today!"
Right after the handshake was made, both players started to blitz their way to the opening stage. Knowing that Sheva always avoided the 1.d4 opening, and knowing that Taher’s ridiculous theory about Sheva being weak at the 1.e4 opening was proven to be wrong, Master Susanto went with a conservative Queen’s Pawn Opening, wanting to go for a solid approach.
Sheva himself accepted the challenge with open hands, just to have a big frown on his face when the third move was on the board.
’Catalan? Really?’ The boy clicked his tongue in annoyance. ’How long has it been since I faced one? Hell, I cannot even remember that!’
The Catalan Opening was one of the most solid approaches in the 1.d4 system, combining the queen’s gambit approach with the kingside fianchetto. This opening favored players who liked positional warfare, enjoying the tough middlegame where the position was cramped all over the board.
Sheva disdained this opening, though, not only because of its rigidity, but also for the heavy theory in this system. Hell, the first nine or ten moves could end up as a theory in this system, which didn’t give any room for creativity.
This was definitely the worst nightmare for a player who tended to go tactical like Sheva.
’Oh, well, if you think you can stop me with this little trick, you are more naïve than I thought, Master Susanto.’ Sheva snorted. After playing for several moves, he started to make a move, creating the first imbalance of the game. ’Now, this is the first time we play against each other, so let me see how good your adapting ability is!’
