Chapter 137: Sheva VS Gukesh!
Well, even though Sheva himself was not confident he could gain an upper hand against Gukesh, the boy still took his time to prepare for the game. He tried to deepen his understanding of his opponent’s style while also figuring out some obvious patterns in the boy’s playing style.
One thing that he paid attention to the most, though, was that Gukesh always had a strong opening preparation. The Indian boy always blitzed his way through the opening stage, always making his first ten or fifteen moves in under ten minutes. This meant either the boy knew what he wanted to do from the beginning or his understanding of most openings in the world was flawless. Whatever the reality was, though, all of them spelled trouble for Sheva.
’Hmm... Should I go with the flow and jump into Gukesh’s preparation? Or should I try to surprise him with an inconvenient opening and try to catch him off guard? Choice... Choice...’ He pondered with a hand on his chin. ’Taking a risk for the inconvenient opening is good if it could really catch him off guard, but if I take the wrong opening, it would be him who is gaining the advantage. But going with the flow will also be a suicidal move. It is like I am willing to enter a predator’s lair voluntarily, right?’
Unfortunately, up until he stepped into the venue the next day, Sheva still couldn’t find an absolute way to at least limit Gukesh’s strength.
Well, it was not surprising, considering Gukesh himself was one of the best young chess players in the world, and a lot of big media had already put his name on par with the other top players like Alireza Firouzja, Fabiano Caruana, or even Magnus Carlsen. Even though the Indian boy was still far from being on the same level as them, at least, this was the media’s way to acknowledge his potential. It would be strange if somehow, Sheva managed to find a way to limit those top players’ strength completely.
’Oh, well, it doesn’t matter.’ Sheva shook his head, walking straight to the table he was assigned to play today. ’Let’s see how it goes first. If something unexpected happens, I could react accordingly. It would be a test for my adaptability.’
With that thought in mind, Sheva went straight to table 3, where Gukesh was already waiting for him. He could see that although his opponent’s height was just average—at least shorter than him or Pragg—the aura radiated from inside his body was the strongest that Sheva had ever seen, enough to make him feel intimidated for a second.
Not only that, the fact that Gukesh spent the first few minutes meditating instead of staring at the chessboard to remember something or even analyzing something, just like how any other player usually did, was enough to send a strong message to Sheva and anyone else who would become his opponent, that the boy was here for business, not just messing around. Honestly, this was enough to waver anyone’s fighting spirit, giving the boy a psychological advantage pretty early.
’Damn, is this how he beats the other players whose mental fortitude is lower than his?’ Sheva couldn’t help but grunt as he took a seat too. ’It is crazy how he beats his opponent before the game could even begin...’
To distract himself from thinking too much about Gukesh, Sheva decided to turn around, observing his surroundings for a moment. His arrival was so close to the time when the game was about to begin, so almost all the tables were already filled with players who were ready for the war. Across his table, he could also see Claudia concentrating on her own board while her opponent, Max Warmerdam, could also be seen chatting with the other players.
Well, not just him, it seemed that there were a lot of players who were still chatting around instead of sitting on their assigned table. It was understandable, though, as they probably were regular participants in this kind of tournament, so being acquainted with each other was pretty normal.
’Not that I am much different here, since I also befriended Pragg.’ Sheva muttered to himself. ’Oh, well, not like it is my problem. For now, let’s focus on the game in front of me first.’
After waiting for a while, Gukesh suddenly opened his eyes, startling Sheva a little bit. Then, Sheva widened his eyes as right after that, the alarm rang loudly, the sign that the fifth round of the tournament officially began.
’Damn! Is he really meditating or counting every second that passes before the game began?’ He muttered, impressed. If not for the fact that silence suddenly fell on the entire hall, Sheva would let out a low whistle, showing his appreciation. ’Damn, if this is a deliberate move to intimidate me, I have to give him a hat’s off for this ridiculously effective psychological game.’
While Sheva himself was still daydreaming about Gukesh’s meditation skill, though, the Indian boy had already made his first move. He pushed his D pawn two squares forward before waiting for Sheva to return the favor.
Sheva himself didn’t think for too long. This had already been within his expectation, as for the last five games Gukesh played with white, four of them started with 1.d4. Sheva reacted immediately, going for his best weapon in his arsenal: the Dutch Defense. Although he expected that Gukesh wouldn’t be too surprised about his choice of opening since he had already used the same one against Pragg, Sheva was still confident about this, knowing that the Dutch Defense had never betrayed him.
True enough, Gukesh had already been prepared for this, as he blitzed his way through the opening stage in a second, not even pausing and using his time to think. Everything seemed to be within his preparation, which only made Sheva admire the boy more.
’Damn, he even prepares himself against me, a 2100-rated player?’ He whistled inwardly. ’No wonder he could be this successful at such a young age. There is really no coincidence in the world, huh?’