CHAPTER 216: THE END OF THE GAME!

"Yes! That’s it! Niclas Huschenbeth resigns, giving another point for our miracle boy, Adrian Sheva! Another upset produced by our boy, and with the two points out of two rounds, he is currently joining some of the other top players who have just won the game today!"

Bagas could feel blood rushing through his head, making even Irfan feel afraid that he would pass out due to enthusiasm. A little bit exaggerated, maybe, but Bagas believed that this was the most appropriate reaction he could have right now.

He could still remember his most important job as a host—according to him, at least—and that was to hype the crowd whenever Sheva won a game, and since the opponent in this round was a top-rated one, this was definitely the best way to do that.

"This game really showcases Sheva’s best attributes in chess, from his tactical awareness, his bold approach, and even his sharp calculation. Even though he beat Idani Poouya in Reykjavik, I think, this is the best game that Sheva has ever played in his life." Irfan added with a little sigh, somehow feeling old after the man witnessed this upset.

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Bagas asked, eager to hear more as the professional here wanted to praise his best friend.

"You see, against GM Idani Pouya, Sheva’s game was still pretty shaky, and you cannot help but doubt whether he could hold on for the entire game or not," Irfan explained. "However, in this game, you can see that he has matured a lot. Except for one slip blunder that I could argue to be too harsh to judge, he is very calm in his attack, giving a huge reassurance that everything is under his control. This is something that you hope to see from a veteran player, not someone who is still pretty green in this game."

Bagas somehow smiled smugly as if it was he who received the praise here. "With this win, in total, Sheva has already collected two points, while regarding ELO rating, he also gains 20.6 points here. If he could maintain his performance, who knows, maybe he could get his second GM norm in this tournament."

Yes, GM norm!

Honestly, besides gaining experience and climbing the rating, this was the secret purpose that all three of the players here wanted to achieve. Of course, they would never say it out loud, not wanting to sound preposterous. Still, Bagas felt the need to hype it up, making a narration that could attract more attention from the public.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Sheva took a deep breath, wiping the sweat on his face with a smile also formed there. This was clearly the best day of his life. Not only did he win against a top-rated player, but the process was also quite smooth, and while it sounded disrespectful, he would say that it was a pretty easy game.

’System, check my status.’ Sheva muttered inwardly.

[DING! The scan is successful!]

[Name: Adrian Sheva]

Attacking 83 (+1)

Defense 74

Calculation 79

Strategy 74 (+1)

Intuition 73

Time management 77

’As expected,’ Sheva nodded in satisfaction, feeling relieved that his hypothesis was right. ’The chance of my statistics improving is higher against a stronger opponent, and it always depends on what kind of plan did I use to win. This game, I rely on my attacking skill and strategic mind, and that’s why those two stats got improved.’

Not only that, though, Sheva also confirmed one important thing here.

’High statistics only reflect on the player’s average ability. In a game, those stats are little to use, as everyone could have a bad day like Niclas today. Hell, even for a low-rated player like me, if I have a decent day, my chance to get a good result is still pretty good.’

This was such a big deal for Sheva, as the new fact he learned today really eased his insecurity. Yeah, he wouldn’t deny that the high statistics the boy saw on the top players here intimidated him. Hell, Sheva even had a worry inside his head that he would never be able to win against them since his rating was way lower. Fortunately, those stats were not an ironclad fact, as everything could still happen on the chessboard.

’Oh, well, let’s just celebrate this win later.’ Sheva muttered to himself. ’For now, let’s see how Anna and Sister Medina are faring. It would be a perfect day if they could win this game too. Also, gathering information about the other players seems to be a good idea.’

With that in mind, Sheva started strolling around, staring at one table after another to get a better look at the games that were currently happening here. Some were enough to make him frown due to the complicated position, while the others only made him shake his head in exasperation due to the horrible blunder on the board.

He also stopped for a moment at Medina’s game, and honestly, even though she was not at a disadvantage, Sheva shook his head disapprovingly, not liking the way the woman played here.

’She is usually so fierce in our games, so why would she be so conservative all of a sudden?’ He muttered inwardly, looking at Medina questioningly.

Yeah, even though the situation looked complicated, Sheva could deduce with his quick mind that the Italian Game that Medina played was pretty conservative here, and with a little bit of calculation, as long as both players didn’t make any mistakes, in the next few moves, they both would agree on a draw.

Sheva himself didn’t mind a draw result. However, he knew Medina’s aggressiveness, and looking at Medina’s timid style in this game, somehow, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. It was as if she was replaced by a completely different person, not having enough determination to make an upset and steal a point or two against the top players here.

Still, the boy didn’t blame her, as her opponent was someone with an ELO rating of 2610. For Medina, whose rating was just around 2350, getting a draw was definitely a good result here. This was just the strategy that most veterans used in an open tournament, taking a quick draw against the higher-rated player while also trying to maximize the rating gain against the lower-rated one.

’Oh, well, there is nothing I could do about it.’ Sheva shook his head. ’Now, let’s see how Anna’s game is going...’