CHAPTER 323: FINALLY WIN THE MATCHUP!

Novendra groaned in frustration as he realized, just like everyone else, the fatal blunder he had made. The man didn’t know how, but he felt like the universe was conspiring against him in this tournament. All the bad results he suffered, coupled with the infuriating juniors who didn’t know how to respect the veterans on the team, were enough to make his head explode on the spot.

’Fuck this shit!’ If he weren’t in the middle of a formal game, Novendra would’ve slammed the table hard before walking away in anger. ’I don’t even need to take a second guess here. I know what the others would say behind my back after this. Oh, look at that GM! Washed! How could he become a GM? How could he be on the team? Replace him! Sheva is better! Bastard!’

Yeah, right now, he was consumed by his own anger, and the man started imagining the wildest scenario possible if he lost this game. Well, his imagination wasn’t really that far from reality, per se, as the chat room that Bagas navigated exploded immediately when they saw the blunder that he made. However, at this time, the man didn’t really know about it, so he was saved from the provocation that would make his blood boil more.

The blunder that he made was indeed quite fatal. In a drawish endgame where everything was equal and a lack of threat, he put his rook on the wrong square, allowing the opponent to plant his bishop deep into his territory, anchoring the pawn chain that was so close to the promotion square.

The move also blocked his own rook from protecting the only pawn that had a chance for promotion, and it shut down any room for Novendra to breathe without getting himself killed. It was such a pity that he died not from his opponent’s strength, but due to his own stupidity.

’Oh, for God’s sake! Why am I being so unlucky here?!’ Novendra gnashed his teeth with full hate. ’Can I have a little break here?!’

Unfortunately, that hope was a little bit too much. Having seen a chance to tie the score, Normunds Miezis, the Latvian GM whom Novendra was currently playing against, didn’t want to let it slide. The man navigated his way precisely, showing an endgame masterclass that gave Novendra no room to make a counterplay.

"This is definitely a lose situation for Brother Novendra." Taher shook his head in resignation as if he were a doctor who had just doomed his patient to die. "In terms of difficulty, this endgame is not that hard to convert to a winning game, especially for a GM with 15 minutes on the clock. I would be more surprised if Normunds Miezis made a mistake here."

"Speaking of tying the score, it seems we don’t have to worry too much here, as Arfan also started to gain an advantage in his game." Laysa chimed in. "There are some complications in the process, and the protection on his kingside is pretty weak. The opponent’s rook is also in a good position, staring directly at the H file. However, other than that, none of his attacks is close enough to be dangerous for Arfan. If anything, the fact that his opponent hadn’t castled yet is going to haunt that man so badly soon, and there is no way Arfan will fail to capitalize on this advantage."

Sheva sighed inwardly when he saw that someone was finally able to gain an advantage here. It would be a pity if none of them managed to win, with Novendra being the only one who lost the game, nullifying the point that Sheva gained through hard work. No, that would be a nightmare for him.

’Yeah, it seems that Brother Novendra is going to be out of the team in the next round.’ The boy muttered to himself. ’Even though I am not the leader, there is no way a player with such a bad form could be allowed to stay that long and become a parasite for the team, especially since he has been given a lot of chances to recover. Even Master Susanto is not that stupid to do that.’

The boy watched from the sideline as the three games progressed, not noticing that Bagas and Sarah were back already in the media booth after interviewing him earlier. Well, only two games were on his radar, as Master Susanto’s game was basically dead. In the opposite color bishop, there was no way an advancement could be made, so both players could only run their bishop back and forth aimlessly.

It seemed that Master Susanto and his opponent also noticed that, as after dilly-dallying for about five minutes more, they both finally shook hands, agreeing with the draw offer made by each other. The game didn’t really affect the final score of the matchup, so none of them were sad or dissatisfied with the result. Only some viewers who watched from the internet showed their feelings in the chat room with their colorful words, and Bagas just let those slide, knowing that he couldn’t always block all the criticism that the players received there.

Jinxzi3r: Damn! Is he being serious here? I haven’t seen Master Susanto playing for a win even once in this tournament!

Brachzet56: Yeah! It is almost like he doesn’t have any motivation to win his game!

Keralos08: Maybe... Is that the case?

Johs69: Well, at least he is still better than Novendra, right?

Fortunately, there was no more surprise on the table. Even though it was a pity that Novendra lost—the man stormed away to the hotel immediately, too embarrassed to greet the others first—at least, Arfan was getting closer to the win that would seal the deal. However, the boy also gave a little heart attack from time to time, what with his execution that was full of flaws. Arfan was lucky that his opponent was under greater pressure, failing to notice the mistake that Arfan made so many times in the time scramble.

In the end, with a pawn being so close to the promotion square and being pretty much unstoppable, the opponent finally offered a handshake, giving the last and most important point of the game to Indonesia.

Indonesia 2.5 – 1.5 Latvia