Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 589: Anna VS Laysa!
"So, this is going to be our 14th official matchup, huh?" Laysa grinned as she offered a handshake. "Remind me again, what is our current record?"
Anna snorted coldly, yet still answered the question. "Four wins for you, three for me, and six ends with a draw. Don’t worry, though. The record will be equal again after this game."
"Atta girl! That’s the spirit!" Laysa clapped excitedly, knowing that the game was bound to be spectacular.
Anna smiled, but the aura surrounding her was lethal. The girl clenched her fist so hard that it turned white, and honestly, if gaze could kill, Laysa would’ve already been under the six feet.
Just as they said, this was going to be their 14th official game against each other, and surprisingly enough, Anna was the one who was behind. The gap was just one win, of course, but that just showed how dangerous Laysa was on the board.
However, that record didn’t really mean anything today, as they were going to have a fight of their lives. It was far more important than any final of the national tournament they fought or any international game they had against each other. No, this time, the stake was higher, the chance to get advanced to the World Cup half a year later.
Even though it wasn’t fixed on the table that whoever won this game would advance, the one coming out with the victory would have a bigger chance, probably only having two or three competitors left to determine who got the ticket.
More than that, both players were currently in form, winning the last two games they played. That was why the record didn’t really matter right now, because everything could happen.
The moment the alarm rang, the two young girls stared at each other one last time, and the smirk on each other’s faces was clearly the sign that the war had finally started. Laysa, holding the white piece, didn’t hesitate to make the first move, pushing the C pawn two squares forward before slamming the clock quite loudly, startling the players at the next table.
’So, she is going for the English, huh? Typical.’ Anna snorted before moving her G pawn one square forward, ready to fianchetto her dark bishop on that long diagonal.
Yeah, this was not the first time Anna saw Laysa going for the English Opening, so she wasn’t really that surprised the girl would pull it up in this round. The girl still had her worries, though, since her record against Laysa with the opening was not quite good.
Out of the three games they played, two ended up in a draw, while Laysa managed to edge her in the last game to get the win. That was also probably why Laysa picked this opening, trying to build up her confidence since the beginning of the game.
Those two moved fast, and in just a minute, they had already reached the fifth move of the game. The position was exactly the same, as this was one of the best ways to fight against the English.
The name was the Symmetrical Variation, where the black piece mirrored all the white’s moves, seeking a solid and balanced game. Against Laysa, it would be stupid to go all out, and the best strategy here was just to stall time as long as possible and wear Laysa’s patience thin before striking back in the endgame phase.
Laysa scowled when she saw this, looking at her friend in disdain.
’Really? Another symmetrical? Do you want to get a draw this bad, Anna?’ She couldn’t help but mutter.
Out of all the variations in the English Opening, this was definitely the one that provided the most solid setup, which also meant it wouldn’t have any significant high and low in this game. Some of the best players in the world even used this variation whenever they wanted to get a draw, taking advantage of the opponent’s impatience to force several crucial exchanges to take everything off the board. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
This was also the variation that got them into a draw twice in their record, which was why Laysa looked down on her friend for this. Still, she didn’t have any intention to take an easy draw today, wanting to push further to see whether she could crack Anna’s defense or not.
’You want to have an endgame battle? Fine, don’t think I am just a paper tiger!’
However, it seemed she misunderstood Anna a little bit here. The girl in front of her didn’t want to get a quick draw. No, even with the drawish line on the board, she still chased the win, starting with moving her rook one square aside to support the B file, ready to advance further from that direction.
True enough, in the next few turns, Anna exploded.
She marched her pawns on the queenside, even giving up the A file and letting Laysa have both her rooks controlling that side, while in return, she took out all the space for Laysa’s pieces to move later.
It was an exchange that the computer liked, even giving Anna -0.7 for her intuitive offense game.
Of course, that didn’t mean the girl noticed that. In fact, both girls still thought that the situation was equal, with neither of them having a great advantage. Anna, particularly, kept staring at the A file, knowing that one moment of slip would be enough for her best friend to punish her mistake.
’No, no matter how much I want to play aggressively, I still have to look over my rear. This is still a fifty-fifty situation; if I show her an opening, she would definitely kill me instantly.’
Funnily enough, Laysa’s train of thought was completely the opposite.
’If I give her an opening, she would definitely try to kill me, right? Can that be the opportunity that I am looking for?’
The hijabi girl kept fidgeting with the pawn she took from Anna’s side a while ago, pondering whether throwing a bait was worth the risk or not. In the end, though her impatience won the inner battle, she finally took action.
’Screw it! This is definitely the best way to attack! Let’s be confident and not show any weakness here!’
