NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156: Before the Game
The tournament had basically reached a final stage here, and since the winner hadn't been determined yet, the tension on the front side, where all the favorite players gathered, was quite high. The silence was palpable there, and Sheva was sure that if he let out a single word to escape from his mouth, someone would slide his throat to silence him on the spot.
Sheva also noticed the pairings for the last round, and this was probably the first time he felt that this was a high-rated tournament. In table 1, the two Indian geniuses, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, would have a civil war against each other. They both had 6.5 points, currently leading the standings together with Max Warmerdam from the Netherlands. This was probably the most anticipated matchup, as everyone believed that those two were the best players in this tournament.
Meanwhile, in table 2, the Dutch prodigy would face the Danish grandmaster, Mads Andersen, in a match that was no less important than the first one. Although Mads Andersen, with 6 points, had a slim chance to win, he also didn't want to be the stepping stone for Max Warmerdam to win, as the Dutch grandmaster currently had the same points as the Indian duo.
In Table 3, a clash of generations happened, as the veteran Gupta Abhijeet was challenged by the young monster from the USA, Mishra Abhimanyu. Gupta Abhijeet couldn't let his concentration slip here, as Mishra Abhimanyu had already proven that he was a formidable opponent. One moment of concentration lost, and the 12-year-old grandmaster would have his head mercilessly.
Then, looking at table 4 where he was assigned to, Sheva somehow felt like he was an intruder here, as if he didn't belong in this spot. Well, that was understandable, since the inferior feeling toward the higher-rated players still lingered inside his heart. However, it seemed that Hans Niemann, his next opponent, didn't really care about his status.
"Hey, Man! I have been wanting to chat with you after your win earlier!" The American grandmaster greeted him enthusiastically, as if they were old acquaintances.
Compared to the dead silence on the other tables where all the players were concentrating for their next game, the situation in table 4 seemed to be less serious, as if both Hans and Sheva were going to hang out at the café nearby.
"The King's Gambit, huh? Man, you are crazier than I have ever imagined! I mean, sure, Idani Pouya is a weak player, but that is because I am a grandmaster already! But you?! You are just a 2100-rated player! To pull out something like that, you sure have the gut!"
"Urgh… Thank you?" Sheva said, a bit overwhelmed by Hans's enthusiasm. He also winced a little at how the man in front of him spoke about Idani Pouya. While indeed, Sheva just beat the Iranian man, that didn't mean he would speak badly or look down on the man in such an open place like this.
However, it seemed that Hans didn't really have the reservation that he possessed here.
No, the boy seemed to be quite chatty, talking about everything from Sheva's last game to his experience playing against a lot of top players in the USA. The amount of information that Sheva had received yet had never been asked before was quite overwhelming, and Sheva himself had to suspect that this was his opponent's strategy to distract him before the game.
That… Or Hans was just a chatty person by nature.
'Still…' Sheva pondered inside his head. 'With how he describes a lot of top players, it wouldn't surprise me if somehow, he got caught in a beef with some of them. Let's just hope he knows how to control his mouth in front of the media, huh…'
After waiting for a while, the game was finally about to begin, and all the arbiter had already done their last check before ringing the alarm. Hans also noticed that, as the boy offered a handshake one last time before entering his concentration state. "May the better player win the game, okay?"
"Sure." Sheva accepted the handshake firmly.
A moment later, the alarm finally rang, signaling the start of the last round of the tournament. Playing with the black pieces, Sheva wondered what kind of opening Hans would choose, especially after the American grandmaster saw him pulling out the King's Gambit out of nowhere last round. He had a bad feeling that Hans would consider his opening choice as a provocation and tried to return the favor.
True enough, just in the first move, the man had already made a pretty uncommon decision here. Instead of pushing his pawn, he let his knight on the G1 square jump into the F3 square, basically giving the center side of the board to Sheva's hand. \\
'The Reti Opening, huh?' Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching at another uncommon opening. 'If he wants to catch me off guard, I have to say that he is pretty successful here.'
The Reti Opening, named after grandmaster Richard Reti way back in the past, was a flexible and hypermodern chess opening that began with 1. Nf3 followed by 2. c4. It emphasized controlling the center with pieces rather than pawns, allowing for versatile development and transpositions into various other openings.
Despite its strengths, the Reti Opening wasn't widely used at the top level because many grandmasters prefer more direct, classical openings that lead to clearer pawn structures and plans. Its hypermodern nature can sometimes allow opponents to seize early initiative if not handled precisely, making it less appealing for players seeking straightforward, concrete positions.
As a result, it remains a more popular choice among club players and those looking to catch their opponents off guard, just like what Hans Niemann tried to do here.
However, Sheva wasn't bothered by it. No, if anything, the boy reacted fast, showing his opponent that the strange opening choice didn't bother him too much. He glanced at Hans Niemann sideways, looking at him with a little smirk as the boy muttered, 'Well, if you want to catch me off guard, you have to do better than that, Man…'