Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!

"Yes, that's it, folks…" The relief tone in Bagas's voice could be heard echoing the live broadcast, especially after the stressful game between Sheva and Hans was over. "After three hours and fifty-three minutes, after playing for 81 moves, both players finally agreed to a draw result, and in the end, Sheva reached 6.5 points out of 9 rounds, getting into the top fifteen players in the last standing!"

"Not a bad achievement, especially since this is his first tournament there." Irfan gave a nod of acknowledgement. Then, after pondering for a moment, the man shook his head quickly, feeling something was wrong with his words. "Well, let me fix it. This is not just a 'not bad achievement'. No, this is a fan—fucking—tastic one for Sheva! This is his first-ever tournament in Reykjavik, and he is playing as a low-rated player! He should've stayed at the bottom pack, playing against other low-rated opponents there. However, no! He defies his fate, breaking through the door of the elites, and finally delivers a miraculous result that is second to none, probably in the history of the tournament itself!"

"2643-rated performance! Five wins, including against Iranian super grandmaster Idani Pouya! Three draws! And only one defeat! A performance worthy of a grandmaster! What a tournament he has! Remember his name, because his storm is not over! Let's give a round of applause for our new superstar, Adrian Sheva!"

RonaldOSIu: Well done, Boy! Our generation's Magnus Carlsen!

MessitheGOAT: Hell fucking yeah! He rocks!

Hilda99: I am in tears! I have been here and supporting him from the very first day, but I have never thought I would be able to see a good result so soon!

Frwoggies: Hey, what is his newest rating? He should've climbed higher, right? He should've crossed 2250, right?!

Hilda99: Wait a second, I know the website to calculate his rating!

Hilda99: Holy shit!

Hilda99: In total, Sheva gains 193 points just in this tournament!

Hilda99: Almost 200!

Hilda99: He also crosses the 2300 threshold!

Frwoggies: Let's fucking go!!!!

Everyone on the live broadcast celebrated Sheva's historical result, knowing that he set something unprecedented for Indonesian chess history. So many congratulations and greetings were sent, and after skimming them one by one, Bagas could feel his eyes go teary, knowing how hard Sheva's journey was to achieve this all.

The main protagonist himself didn't really know that he was in the middle of attention here. No, after accepting the draw result, he was still stuck on the table, listening to Hans Niemann, who wanted to analyze the game together. The boy could only smile helplessly as he saw how animated the American grandmaster was when he chatted.

"I mean, I get that I had a chance to create an imbalance at some point, but I didn't feel comfortable with exchanging both bishop and knight for your rook. I cannot see that I could get something over that exchange." The man said with a frown, staring intently at the board.

"Exactly why I didn't take that threat seriously," Sheva answered. "While yeah, my king was in danger, but it is not something that you could take advantage of easily. On the other hand, once I managed to neutralize, it would be me who was thriving with two rooks on the board."

"That makes sense! But I made a mistake by offering a queen exchange! It is still in a good position, controlling the A1 to H8 diagonal perfectly! I just didn't like your queen's position too, and that was why I offered the exchange. It seems that I made an error in my judgment there."

They chatted for a while, discussing almost everything that was happening in the game. In the end, after deciding to exchange contact with each other, Hans rose from his chair, walking away first while leaving Sheva alone on the table. At this point, almost all the spectators who watched the game from close distance were already gone.

After taking one last deep breath, Sheva turned around, scanning the entire venue to see the current situation. It was not a surprise that the building was half-empty already, with most of the players having already finished their games. After all, four hours had passed since the game began, and it was definitely not a normal timespan for a chess game to run.

He then turned his attention to the sheet on the table, looking at his note just to see a two-column table where he had written all the moves that had happened on the board against Hans earlier. There, the boy noticed that he had played for more than 80 moves, and honestly, he was relieved that Hans decided not to pursue this matter anymore.

Honestly, this was probably the second-longest game that he had ever played, only topped by his time against Arfan in Jakarta. Sheva also felt a little bit of déjà vu here, as at that time, the game happened in a doubleheader too, in the second game of the day. Even though today's game was shorter, the exhaustion he felt was slightly greater. After all, playing against a grandmaster was no joke, and he had to put his brain on 100 percent focus for the entire game. One slip, and he was sure that his life was over.

'Man, thanks god, this is over…' He took a deep breath, feeling relieved. 'Where are the others, I wonder?' He turned around, trying to search for any of his acquaintances. After scanning through the empty building, he found Claudia standing on one corner of the wall, seeming to wait for him to notice her. The boy snorted a little, getting up from the chair and waving his hand at the girl.

"Hey, you've been waiting for so long?" He asked casually.

"No, not really. Just about two hours here." She answered sarcastically. However, there was no heat in her tone, clearly telling that the jab was meant to be a joke. "Congrats, by the way. You did a good job, and now, you are already on a lot of people's radar. Get ready to receive some interview requests, okay?"

Sheva's face turned pale immediately when he heard that. However, at the sight of the girl giggling, the boy's expression softened, and inwardly, his brain also started to cool down after a very long and arduous day.

'Yeah, fortunately, the tournament is over… Now, I can finally rest peacefully...'