CHAPTER 215: WHO IS GOING TO BE KILLED FIRST?!

Meanwhile, in the broadcast room...

"Oh, no! Sheva makes a blunder!" Bagas yanked his hair in distress, somehow getting nervous when he saw the evaluation bar spike down to Niclas’s favor. "This is definitely not the most ideal situation for our boy, as we are about to enter a crucial stage here! One mistake, and it could be fatal!"

On the other side of the world, though, Irfan, who was invited as the online commentator here, frowned, finding this situation to be complicated. "This is not as easy as you say, Bagas." He interjected.

"Um?" The fat boy was startled by the man’s words. "What do you mean by that, Master Irfan?" He asked in a tone that would arouse the audience’s curiosity. It was clear at this point that he was a professional at his job, knowing the best way to keep his viewers engaged.

"You see, while I can understand why the computer favors Niclas Huschenbeth’s situation here, I don’t think that Sheva is in a dire situation." The man paused for a moment before continuing his explanation. "I know that with the black pawns’ advancement in the B and C files, everything looks pretty dangerous for white here. The only way to defend this is for Sheva to move his knight back twice in a row, putting it to the C1 file while also getting ready for the black knight to jump into the A3 file. However, after that, I couldn’t find a way for Niclas to continue this attack, as his other pieces seem to get isolated on his own territory."

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

Bagas could only nod silently, not even understanding a single bit when Irfan started to explain the moves. Fortunately, the live broadcast allowed the veteran IM to demonstrate the move, making it easier for the audience to understand the current situation.

"So, even though the advantage is on Niclas, it is still hard for him to capitalize on it?" Bagas asked for confirmation.

"Indeed, and—OH! What is going on here!" Irfan suddenly widened his eyes in shock when he saw the move that Niclas made, and Bagas followed this action when the evaluation bar moved back to show that the advantage was back on Sheva’s side. "I don’t know what is inside Niclas’s mind here, but it seems that he is too cautious here! Instead of moving his queen to the A file, he overthinks Sheva’s threat, wanting to exchange his poor bishop with Sheva’s knight! But this is definitely a blunder from his side!"

"Yes! What kind of blunder is it? Can you explain to us, Master Irfan?" At this point, everyone could hear Bagas’s shaky voice, and it was clear that he got excited over the situation on the board. Even though the boy couldn’t understand the complexity of the game, he still trusted the computer engine very much, knowing that it wouldn’t lie to him.

"Well, the computer wants Niclas to get his queen on the A file, staring directly at Sheva’s king. However, it seems that Niclas is too nervous about his own defense. He should want to exchange—no, not an exchange, he knows that Sheva would never do that in this kind of position. He just wanted to let his bishop out of its embarrassing position. However, he lost the tempo advantage here, and Sheva is going to punish him either with the knight sac or the pawn break on the H file. True enough! The move is on the board~!"

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

Irfan clapped excitedly when he saw Sheva pushing his H pawn one square forward, trying to make a break through on the opponent’s kingside and destroy the opponent’s defensive wall. Even though the computer really wanted the boy to sacrifice his knight to the F5 square, Irfan still preferred this situation, as the attack was still sharp without having to take any unnecessary risk.

Still, Sheva’s happiness didn’t just stop at this point, as in the next turn, Niclas made another mistake. It seemed that the German GM started tilting here, finding that he couldn’t fix the leak he created earlier. He moved his bishop again, but this time, the man slid it to the E5 square, getting supported by the rook on the E8 square.

At first glance, the bishop’s position seemed to be dangerous, as it stared directly at Sheva’s king. If Niclas’s queen was at the A file just like what the computer suggested earlier, Sheva would be in danger right now. However, it wasn’t the reality right now, as without any support from the other pieces, the bishop’s two moves in a row seemed to be a waste here.

Of course, after seeing this kind of juicy meat getting served in front of him, there was no way Sheva would be quiet here. Even though at first, he thought it was just a bait, this was a little bit too good to be true, so he gritted his teeth and just followed the earlier plan, not caring about Niclas’s strange movement.

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

In the end, he managed to exchange one of the pawns on the kingside, opening the H file for Sheva to infiltrate. Seeing an avalanche ready to be launched in his direction, it seemed that Niclas started to panic here. In desperation, he sacrificed his own bishop to open up the defensive wall on Sheva’s king, and after that, the man also didn’t forget to move his queen on the A file, trying to get closer to Sheva’s king.

However, it was definitely too late for him to save the game, as Sheva was determined that he wouldn’t let this go.

’Come on! Resist more, you cannot go away from my palm here!’ Sheva clenched his fist enthusiastically. If somehow, he won this game, it would be his second victory against a 2600-rated player after his match against Idani Pouya in Reykjavik, and this was definitely a good reason to be excited.

Niclas had his hands on his head, trying to think hard to save this situation. It was clear that he was so frustrated here, yet unfortunately, there was nothing that he could do right now. His situation was pretty much dire, and every move that he made would only put him closer to the death door.

In the end, though, as the evaluation bar showed that Sheva had a checkmate in 13, Niclas finally gave up, offering a handshake with a reluctant smile. He resigned, giving Sheva the second win of the tournament.