Chapter 125: A Difficult Game
Meanwhile, Bagas, who watched the game from his screen, couldn’t help but clench his fist, somehow having a similar feeling to Sheva right now. Still, he had a job of hosting the live streaming here, so he had to ask the question to help his viewers understand this situation.
"Master Irfan, I am a little bit confused here." Said the boy. "I mean, I know that it is good for Sheva to have this Mads Andersen burning his time like this, but this is still the eighth move of the game, a pretty early time to waste his time, if I have to say. The computer also said that the situation is equal here. So, why do you think Mads Andersen wastes so much time here? Is there anything peculiar on the board?"
That was a good question that was echoed by the viewers on the chat box. Hell, some haters even said that Bagas or Sheva paid the Danish Grandmaster to lose, and this was their subtle scenario to do so. Ridiculous, indeed, but that showed how big the problem was.
"Well, we cannot know what the players are thinking in front of the board, but in this case, I think I can make an educated guess here." Irfan coughed a little, trying to get his voice clearer from the mic. "You see, there are so many openings in the world, and it is basically impossible even for the best player to memorize them all. So, they compromise it by memorizing some famous works while also putting their effort into the openings they chose as their repertoire. It is a calculated risk, but once the opponent pulls something that he has never learned or seen for a long time, it would be enough to make the player flustered. This, I thought, is the case of Mads Andersen right now. Sheva managed to drag him into an unfamiliar territory, and he has to think carefully of every movement he makes, or he would step on a landmine."
That was a very good explanation, and even Bagas, who was a novice, could understand it clearly.
"Still, the situation is pretty stable for both players, right?" Bagas asked once again. "I mean, the advantage given by the surprise attack is not that much based on the computer line, right?"
"Well, yeah, because Mads Andersen himself is a fricking grandmaster, not just a mere 2100 – 2200 player who Sheva had always played in his two tournaments in the past." Irfan snorted amusedly. "Mads Andersen’s calculation ability is definitely top-notch, so there is no way he would be beaten by a surprise opening like this. Also, the Sicilian Defense Closed Variation is not that rare at the highest level. Even though it is not popular, a lot of people still take the time to study it. There is no way Mads Andersen is going to lose just like that."
Even though the explanation was logical, Bagas couldn’t help but feel disappointed. After all, by Irfan’s words, this time advantage shouldn’t mean anything for Sheva. Still, he couldn’t help but clench his fist, inwardly praying to whatever deity above.
’God... Please, let Sheva get a good result today...’
-0-
Time passed by pretty quickly, and without anyone noticing, it had already been one and a half hours since the game began. It had already reached the middle game phase, and both Sheva and Mads Andersen could be seen furrowing their brows deeply as they were entangled in a tough and complicated position.
The situation on the board itself changed pretty quickly. A lot of pieces had been falling already, getting traded by both players to gain an advantage over each other. Half of the board had already been cleared, leaving a few pieces that were getting ready for the endgame phase. However, even with all of that, the computer engine still didn’t bulge, indicating that the game itself was still equal.
Honestly, the situation wasn’t always equal like this. At some point, it spiked up to Sheva’s favor as Andersen took the knight onto the wrong square, blocking the queen’s path to develop itself. However, at that time, Sheva failed to catch the momentum due to being too cautious, finding himself thinking that there was no way a grandmaster like him would make that fatal mistake. It was unfortunate, as the +1.2 advantage only lasted for one move before the evaluation bar moved down once again, showing that the game was back to equal.
The same also happened for Andersen’s side, where at one point, Sheva made a slightly inaccurate move by putting his own knight in an awkward square without any protection, which made the evaluation bar spike down and showed that he was in the lead. However, it was just another false alarm, as right in the next move, the evaluation went back to normal again, showing that the position was still equal for both sides.
The players started sweating now, feeling the heat of the moment. Mads Andersen’s playing style was always solid and aimed to exploit all the mistakes that his opponent made, but right now, his keen sense seemed to betray him. He couldn’t even see any loophole in Sheva’s defense, as if the boy didn’t make a single mistake for the entire game. It was an unreal feeling considering Sheva was just a 2100-rated player, and honestly, after two hours of playing, the man started to lose his composure here.
Sheva was also on the same boat. After exchanging one piece after another, his priority suddenly shifted. He wasn’t trying to win the game anymore. No, he was eager to get a positive result, and although it wasn’t in line with his usual style, right now, any good result against a grandmaster like Mads Andersen was definitely a huge boost for his spirit.’
’Come on... I am so close...’ He unconsciously gripped the corner of his shirt, feeling the nerves start to get to him. ’I cannot make a mistake here. I need to be calm and steady. Yeah, calm and steady.’ He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind.
Yeah, in the endgame phase, any single mistake would be fatal for his neck. Sheva needed to be clear-headed and make all the best moves possible, or he could say goodbye to any point that he could earn. That was why he kept chanting those words over and over again inside his head like they were some sort of mantras.
Calm and steady.
However, it seemed that no matter how much he tried, his nerve still betrayed him, as after playing for such a long time, Sheva finally made his first mistake, and the evaluation bar suddenly spiked down in Mads Andersen’s favor.