CHAPTER 322: THE INTERVIEW WITH SHEVA

"Hello, everyone, back to me here, Sarah, reporting the 44th FIDE Olympiad 2022 live from Chennai! Now, together with me is the miracle boy from our country who has done amazing so far in this tournament, Adrian Sheva! Tell me, how do you feel after winning the game tonight?"

Seeing the microphone was pointed at him, Sheva coughed a little, trying to hide his nervousness. Although he knew at this point that a post-game interview was needed after winning the game, that didn’t mean he had to like it. In the end, the boy just showed a stiff smile on the camera before answering the question.

"I am happy with my win." He nodded firmly. "Yesterday was a tough day for the team, and we need a morale boost urgently. Having one whole point in the bag this early is definitely beneficial for us all, and I hope that the others could follow my step to clean this matchup."

Sara nodded, satisfied with the answer. Then, she checked her phone and showed the game that Sheva had just played earlier. "You seem to be so eager to win in this game, playing the unusual opening while also moving so quickly to end this game as quickly as possible. In the end, you still have 59 minutes remaining compared to your opponent, who is already below 10 minutes, and that is quite impressive. What motivates you to play like this today?"

Sheva pondered for a moment before answering, "Nothing particular, I guess." He shrugged. "I mean, I can tell that this is my usual style, trying to drag my opponent into a dark forest and overwhelm them with everything I get in my bag. It is just a coincidence that I am very familiar with the Benko Gambit, while it seems to be my opponent’s first time seeing the opening on the board, so the game went quite smoothly for me."

Then, the interview ran for a while, with Sarah starting to ask the technical aspect of the game, like why did Sheva make a move in one situation, and what was he thinking in another situation, something like that.

It was impressive, honestly, for Sarah to be able to ask about the technical aspect of the game so fluently like this, especially considering her exposure to the game was not that high. While of course, Laysa and Taher also helped set up the question, the girl still managed to ask some good points and even understand the answer when Sheva tried to explain slowly, which showed that the girl also learned about chess before this event happened.

The interview lasted for about four minutes, and when Sarah got a thumbs-up signal from Bagas, who acted as the cameraman, to end the interview, the girl closed it all with an important question. "Lastly, do you know that you are one of the two last players on the reserve board who still have a perfect record?"

"Really?!" Sheva asked in surprise. It wasn’t the surprise of him being in that place, because he knew how amazing his performance in this tournament was. No, he was more surprised by the fact that someone else on the reserve board managed to achieve the same thing here. The man was having the best tournament of his life, probably.

"Indeed, we have Nogerbek Kazybek, the Kazakhstan GM who has also just won his game right a few moments after you." Sarah read the information on the phone to confirm her words. "Some players are also trailing behind, like the Polish GM Mateusz Bartel, who has 4.5 points out of 5 rounds, or Max Warmerdam from the Netherlands, who also has the same number of points as Bartel. What do you think about it? Have you set your eyes on the medal here?"

Sheva pondered for a moment, not knowing how to answer this question. While he loved more than anything else to say yes, Indonesia, just like any other Asian country outside, had the culture of being polite and reserved, so it was natural for him to try instinctively to avoid being an arrogant asshole. If somehow, Sheva bragged in front of the camera, it could backfire on his ass after the event was over, and he didn’t want to bear the consequence of it.

However, before the boy could answer, Bagas, who was also the cameraman, suddenly waved his hand up, signalling something to his best friend. Sheva frowned immediately, trying to decipher the abstract code that the fat boy made. However, when he saw the boy puffing his chest proudly while also having a smug smile that invited a punch to land on his face, Sheva understood quickly what Bagas wanted him to do here.

’So, you want me to brag? Fine!’ Even though Sheva didn’t really understand Bagas’s reasoning, he still trusted his best friend to take care of him in this situation. So, he didn’t hesitate before answering, "Yes, I am aiming at the medal in this tournament. I don’t care whether it is the gold, silver, or even bronze, but after getting to know all the players from each country who are on the reserve board, I know that I have the quality to be the top three here, so I hope I will get a chance to prove that until the end of the tournament."

JidiZet: Damn! That is an ambition if I ever see one! Keep fighting, young man!

Hilda99: Come on! Sheva for a medal, please!

Froggies: Let’s just hope that the others can also keep up and not fall behind too far.

Seeing the response in the chat room, which gave Sheva a huge support here, Bagas gave a big thumbs-up, signalling that the answer was well delivered. This was also in line with what the fat boy wanted, as now, if Master Susanto didn’t play him in the next round, the man would be the sinner here. Even though it was a dirty trick, Bagas was quite proud to be able to pull that off to help his friend here.

"Well, thank you for the interview, Sheva, and—wait a second." Sarah paused, frowning when she saw her boyfriend’s face lose color instantly. "Bagas? What happened?" Her voice cracked, looking worried over the boy.

Sheva also noticed that, and he also went to Bagas, who was still behind the camera. There, he could see that his best friend also carried a phone to watch the update of the other games, and when Sheva took a glance at the chessboard on the screen, a horror gasp slipped through his mouth unconsciously.

"Oh, no! Brother Novendra is making a huge mistake on the board! His opponent is going to win the game!"