Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!

"Oh, no!" Sheva slammed the table, widening his eyes in utter disbelief. "Her advantage is gone immediately! Now, the game is back to a draw again!" Not just him, but even Anna, Bagas, and Sarah were also shocked by this development. However, the last two weren't that apt at analyzing chess positions, so they asked Sheva immediately what was going on here.

"Why is the move considered a mistake?" Bagas asked. "I mean, it looks like an ordinary one for me, trying to kick out that knight from the G4 square."

"Well, I couldn't say that you are wrong here, but unfortunately, most of the mistakes made in the endgame phase are move that looks like ordinary ones like this, yet opening up a hidden danger that could be used by the opponent in the later stage," Sheva answered solemnly. "As for this case… Let me think about it…"

Sheva didn't answer the question immediately. Instead, he racked his brain quickly, calculating all the possible moves on the board. While of course, he could just follow the line that the computer engine suggested, the boy still wanted to provide a better explanation for the viewers on the live stream. He wasn't the only one here, as Anna could also be seen frowning with her eyes locked on the screen.

After a while, it was Anna who broke the silence with a long sigh. "It should be the knight, right?" She asked Sheva.

"Indeed, Vaishali's two knights suddenly get into a very strong square, supporting each other in Laysa's own territory." Sheva nodded solemnly, also figuring out why the move was considered a mistake. "Now, those two pieces will occupy Laysa's territory for such a long time, and if she wants to get rid of one of them, she could only do that by exchanging it with her strong dark bishop. Whatever choice she makes doesn't matter, as the game will still be back to the equal state."

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

Both players on the board also seemed to notice that mistake. Although it took a while for Laysa to realize her inaccurate move, once the girl saw Vaishali's eyes light up, she double-checked everything and found out the huge mistake that she had made, and the girl couldn't help but groan on the spot. All the advantage that she had stacked carefully was gone in a snap, and now she had to fight again for her own survival!

As for Vaishali, the Indian girl spotted the mistake immediately, and no matter how much she tried to hold back, she couldn't maintain her poker face at all. The light in her eyes was brighter than she had ever shown today, and her mind started to work fast in thinking of how to deal with Laysa's mistake.

Today was pretty difficult for Vaishali, and she had been pushed back further than she would like to. Laysa also played perfectly so far, and she couldn't find a way to make a breakthrough without risking her own position. It was such a stressful game, so when such a rare chance appeared from the sky like this, she couldn't waste it away so easily.

'Her only choice is to take out my knight with her dark bishop, but she would never do that since that bishop is quite strong. No, she would take my pawn on the H file, and then, I could exchange my knight with her light bishop and activate mine immediately! Yes, I can do this!'

Vaishali was still quite fixated with her obsession to free her light bishop in such a poor diagonal on the B7 square, and indeed, she put all of her effort into making that happen. The girl also didn't think for too long about it. Although she would like to calculate the line more carefully, she didn't really have that privilege, as the girl only had 6 minutes left on her clock.

However, it seemed that something went wrong with her calculation.

Vaishali was too eager to take Laysa's light bishop and activate her own, and as a result, she threw away one of her knights that was quite strong, sitting deep into Laysa's territory for white's light bishop that was… Well, to put it simply, also in such a terrible situation. Right after that, the evaluation bar spiked up once again, showing that Laysa's advantage was back after it had disappeared a moment ago.

'Yes!' Laysa felt her pupil dilate a little due to the excitement. She had been thinking of a way to get rid of that knight without having to exchange her dark bishop, and yet, somehow, Vaishali offered it with a silver plate. Of course, the girl would never say no to such an easy meal like this. 'I can also activate my king here! What a great assist! Thank you very much, Vaishali!'

This time, it was the Indian girl on the other side of the table who groaned weakly, finally recognizing the mistake that she had just made earlier. Now, she would be under more pressure, and the girl doubted that luck would strike her twice today.

However, it was still in the 27th move of the game, and both players had already entered the time scramble situation. Laysa only had three minutes on the clock, and while Vaishali was a little bit better, it was only by one and a half minutes, as the Indian Girl still had 4 minutes and 30 seconds on her clock.

Knowing that, both girls started blitzing their way, trusting their instinct more. Of course, just like any other game run by two non-GM players, so many mistakes are bound to happen on the board. The evaluation bar seemed to have a heart attack, moving up and down so quickly. They both missed so many tactical opportunities, and everyone who watched this game couldn't help but yank their hair in exasperation, somehow wanting to get rid of those girls and decide to play the game by themselves.

However, in the end, the advantage that Laysa had painstakingly built since the beginning finally played its role in this stage. Her position was so great that no matter how many mistakes she made, the evaluation bar never really crossed the middle ground and went into the black's territory.

In the end, Laysa even managed to trick Vaishali into taking her pawn, and right after that, the girl skewered that king to take the black's light bishop. That was when the Indian girl knew that she had no chance to come back in this situation, so she resigned on the spot.

Laysa Latifah 1 – 0 Vaishali R