CHAPTER 328: THE OPPONENT FOR THE SEVENTH ROUND!

Well, that was a story for after the Olympiad was over. Sheva saved the information on the back of his head, intending to visit it once again after he was back at home. For now, though, he still eyed the medal for the reserve board, so the boy’s focus was completely on the rest of this tournament.

It was night already, and all the Indonesian players gathered once again in the boys’ room. Well, not all of them, since some were still missing. Both Bagas and Sarah were still in their honeymoon period, while Sheva couldn’t see Novendra’s presence at all. It seemed that the man was still too high in his emotion, and Medina chased him away from the meeting before he could disturb it.

"So, how is your day at the planetarium?" Medina suddenly asked, smiling teasingly at the group of teenagers in front of her. This triggered a wave of bad memories, as right after that, both Laysa and Claudia whined together simultaneously.

"It is horrible, Sister Medina!" Laysa complained. "You don’t know how sweaty I was after getting out of that place! Urgh... Even my hijab got dirty instantly, and the place was so crowded by the students who were doing their homework!"

"Yeah! It would be better if you just picked up the Aquarium, Sister Medina!" Claudia added.

Seeing those two latching to Medina like this, both Sheva and Anna could only shake their head helplessly. Honestly, those two feared Medina through the core, yet at the end of the day, she would always be the first one they told their day to. Hell, sometimes, Claudia even forgot about Anna completely once she was engrossed by the chat with Medina.

’Well, that just shows that Medina is really the big sister of the team, right?’ Sheva muttered inwardly.

"Okay, everyone, listen to me, please!" Master Susanto suddenly raised his voice, making all the eyes turn to him instantly. Seeing this, the man nodded silently, satisfied with the reaction he received. "First things first, the next pairing will be announced in about ten minutes, so we can talk about the other things first. Anyone want to say anything here? Yes, Sheva?" He pointed his finger at Sheva.

"Can I say anything here?" Sheva asked first, wanting to make sure of the boundary of this discussion.

"Sure, just go all out." Master Susanto nodded, seeming to have a guess about what he wanted to say.

"Okay." Sheva took a deep breath, feeling a little bit nervous when he got everyone’s attention. However, his gaze was firm, showing the determination burning inside his heart. "I just want to make a case for myself. Currently, I have a huge chance to get a medal in the tournament, and the probability of my getting my final GM norm is also quite high. So, as long as I can maintain my performance, can you not replace me with the others?"

Yeah, this was the request that he had been thinking about for a while. Even though Sheva knew that Master Susanto wouldn’t just replace him when he was still in a hot streak, the boy was still unsure, so he had to confirm it first. Laysa, who was also on the same boat, was startled, and then she waved her hand excitedly at Master Susanto.

"Me too, me too!" The girl chimed in. "Master Susanto, Sister Irene, can you let me play for the rest of the tournament?"

Honestly, it was a bit too preposterous for two youngsters like them to make such a request. However, Master Susanto didn’t even take the time to think, just nodding firmly as if he already knew that this matter would be brought up in this discussion.

"Sure, you can do that." The man said, startling both teenagers. They didn’t expect that the decision would come so fast, like this. "But the premise is that you can maintain your performance. Once you are slipping, I don’t mind replacing you both immediately. Fair enough?"

Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitch when he heard that. It was definitely far from the word ’fair’. After all, this agreement only worked for him and Laysa, while the other, especially the veteran like Master Susanto, would never get any consequence, no matter how bad he performed. However, this was definitely the best thing he could get right now, so the boy just nodded in agreement.

Laysa herself was quite satisfied with this decision. She didn’t have a complicated mind, as the girl also believed that if her performance didn’t meet the standard, she had to be replaced by others.

"So, with that in mind, the lineup for tomorrow’s game will be quite simple." Master Susanto continued. "I will be on board 1, followed by Taher, Arfan, and Sheva behind me. I think you all have been expecting that, right?"

Indeed, even though no one admitted it, they all knew that Novendra would be benched in the next round. It was an important decision, as once a player started bleeding in this kind of tournament, it would be hard to stop. Right now, Novendra had already lost more than 20 ELO rating, so maintaining it at this level was more important than forcing him to play for the hope of him regaining his momentum.

"As for the women’s team, I am sorry, Claudia, but you have to sit with Bagas tomorrow, okay?" Irene smiled apologetically. "You have been doing well, but you have also been playing for four consecutive rounds non-stop. Take a day off tomorrow, okay? Your chance will come again soon." She patted the girl’s head fondly.

Claudia pouted slightly, not happy with it. She still felt like she deserved to be on the team, but Irene was also right here. This was the happy problem of a good team. They all had a great momentum, so it was hard to determine who would play and who would sit aside.

As they chatted, though, suddenly, all of the phones vibrated simultaneously. Their expression changed, knowing that the pairing for tomorrow’s matchup was out already. Without hesitating even for a second, they all picked up their respective phone before opening the website immediately, looking at who they would face tomorrow.

Men’s Section: Indonesia VS Italy

Women’s Section: Indonesia VS Poland