Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!

"What is going on here?!" Bagas exclaimed in surprise; the frown formed on his face was a clear indication of his distressed state. "How could Sheva make a mistake in this kind of situation?!" He asked rhetorically.

"Oh, it is quite harsh here…" Irfan shook his head, clearly seeing where the mistake was. "Sheva's situation is not good right now. Facing a wave of attack from two sides, the rook battery and the pressure on the F7 square, he has to choose which one he should focus on. In the end, he probably feels that the rook battery on the D file is more threatening, and that is why he chose to defend that. Unfortunately, it seems that the engine doesn't agree with his decision."

Bagas nodded like a pecked chicken, pretending to understand the situation here. He also read the moves suggested by the computer line, and while he couldn't understand the content at the fullest, the boy could at least have a gist about it for future documentation.

"So, any reason why the engine seems not to agree with his decision?" He inquired further.

"Well, it is pretty easy to understand." Irfan coughed a little, enjoying the cold drink that he had brought for this round. "You have to know that we have already entered the endgame phase, where every imbalance matters for any of them. This time, Hans takes the initiative here. By pinning Sheva's F7 to the king, Hans basically forced Sheva to 'sacrifice' his rook and a pawn for just another bishop and a knight.

*Author's note: If you want to visualize the position better, check the comment below.

While in hindsight, the exchange was fair and equal, with two strong rooks on the D file still staying there, Hans's chance to break through Sheva's defense and win this game was quite open. The American grandmaster just needed to calm down and stay composed, not getting too nervous to execute the plan.

Of course, Hans knew about that. He was already considered a veteran player even at such a quite young age, so the boy knew that composure was everything, especially in a critical moment like this.

However, to everyone's surprise, Hans didn't just let his knight jump to the G5 square and threatened Sheva's F7 pawn there. No, instead of doing that, the American grandmaster slid his queen to the E6 square, offering Sheva a queen exchange out of nowhere. This move not only confused everyone else, but even the computer engine also didn't know what the man was thinking here.

True enough, the evaluation bar dropped back to 0.0, making the position equal again.

"Oh! Hans didn't see Sheva's mistake!" Bagas exclaimed in surprise and excitement. "He didn't see it! This is Sheva's chance to rectify the situation! Come on!"

Funnily enough, Sheva himself didn't feel like he had just gotten a second life here. Hell, if anything, he didn't think that he was at a disadvantage a moment ago. Now that Hans failed to capitalize his mistake and there was no drastic change on the board, he didn't think too much about this short period, just focusing on what he should do next.

In the next few rounds, he also started to improve his position. First, Sheva put his knight on the E4 square, getting anchored by his light bishop. This forced Hans's rook on D2 to move away, and in the end, when Sheva also put his rook on the D file to try to exchange one of them, the American grandmaster decided to move the rook battery to the C file. Even though he still had the rook battery, the C file wasn't quite strategic, so the computer wasn't impressed by his position anymore.

Then, the next mistake happened on the board, where Sheva lost his patience and took Hans's queen, initiating the exchange. The evaluation bar spiked up one more time for Hans's advantage, and this time, the same scenario took place like a déjà vu. Hans blitzed his way to take back the queen, and once again, the evaluation bar went back to neutral.

It moved up and down so quickly, giving all the people who watched it from the computer a heart attack.

"Oh, no! Sheva makes another blunder!" Irfan exclaimed in horror. "Hans doesn't need to take his queen first, but take the pawn on the F7 with check! This will lure Sheva's king out of his safe zone, and then, he could take back Sheva's queen with another check! Hans is going to destroy Sheva's defensive wall! No, he wouldn't! Hans spends thirty seconds and blitzes his way, taking back the queen immediately! Now the position is equal again!"

*Author's note: If you want to visualize the position better, check the comment below.

A second later, it seemed both players finally realized what they had just missed on the board. Sheva suddenly took a deep, relieved breath, while Hans himself groaned on the spot, putting both his hands on his head frustratedly.

For the audience, though, this game was a spectacle to be seen. The ups and downs on the board could drive anyone mad, but none of them complained that this game was unattractive. Both players really showcased their strong desire to win, giving the audience an absolute thrill for the last round of the tournament. They both really lived up to their new nickname, a madman on the board.

'No, no, no, I cannot do this all the time.' On the table, Sheva shook his head repeatedly, finding this situation unacceptable. 'I can be lucky for the first time, but second? Third? There is no way he would tilt that many times in one game. I need to stabilize my position first before striking back. That is the only way I could survive in this game.'

Right after that, he started to build another wall. First things first, Sheva put back his light bishop to the eighth rank, protecting the F7 square that had been targeted by his opponent for a long time. Then, after exchanging pawns on the B file, he also let his knight jump several times, putting it in a strategic square. Not only that, the boy also forced another exchange, this time his bishop with Hans's knight. This left both players with only two rooks and a minor piece, turning the endgame into a simpler yet somehow more complicated case.

Then, the two teenagers finally noticed that they had entered the 40th move of the game, and at the glance they sent to each other, the two boys turned solemn as they realized the implication behind it.

'Now, the real fun is going to begin…'