CHAPTER 346: WIN THE GAME?!

"It seems that we are going to reach a conclusion of the game soon here," Arfan commented, watching the board on the screen with a hint of a smile on his face. "Sheva’s advantage in this game is too great, so it is time for him to cash it. He just needs to infiltrate the enemy’s territory through the kingside, and once he can stab him from behind, everything will be alright."

Kon43: Stab in the back? Damn, he sure has a way with his language!

Jimema17: Yeah! Yeah! I also notice that! Arfan’s way of delivering is too poetic!

Kjaoet87: He is the best guest that Bagas has invited to commentate here!

Arfan couldn’t help but smirk a little when he read that. While he himself was not as great as Sheva in chess, it was always good to receive such praise that he was better than Sheva and the others at something, especially when it was still related to chess.

’Maybe, I can make a career of it, huh?’ He mused. At this time, several big names who shifted into the commentary world suddenly flashed inside his mind, such as Daniel Naroditzki, Aman Hambleton, Peter Leko, and many more. However, after thinking about it, the boy shook his head quickly. ’Nah, I am still young, so it would be a pity to give up on chess completely.’

While Arfan was thinking about the future, the game was still in progress. This time, Johan-Sebastian Christiansen finally started to feel the pressure, having both hands in his head with a little groan. While the situation on the board hadn’t developed to a critical point yet, the man still felt like it would be soon before the worst scenario happened.

’No, I cannot just die standing stupidly like that. I need to do something here!’

Honestly, he came into the game with a huge pressure on his shoulders. After all, playing together alongside Magnus Carlsen was not as fun as it looked.

Magnus would always perform well in any tournament, so if the man ended up not winning, it would be because of his teammates, and Johan-Sebastian Christiansen was one who got criticized the most. After all, he wasted so many points against a far lower-rated opponent before, and his defeat against the IM from North Macedonia yesterday was like the final nail in the coffin. Now, he wanted to wash away his shame, yet Sheva seemed to resist stubbornly, even getting so close to getting his head.

’How could I be so unlucky like this?! Twice in a row, I meet players whose rating doesn’t reflect their abilities! Fucking hell!’ The man cursed inwardly.

In the next few moves, he got carried away with Sheva’s blitz playing style. He sped up unconsciously, taking a shorter time to make a move. If before, he would just spend 4 to 5 minutes in each move, now, it was only 2 or 3 minutes, which also surprised Sheva a little bit here.

This was a double-edged sword for Sheva. On one side, this gave him an advantage, as his opponent got caught in his rhythm already. However, now that the game had finally entered the 40th move, 30 minutes would be added to their clock. This would mess up his calculation earlier, and now, Sheva had no choice but to speed up more on the board.

’Yeah, screw the calculation! I still have 40 minutes left before the system is trying to kill me, so I’d better use it to my best ability here!’

Somehow, his opponent was unaware, though, that Sheva was not in good condition. If so, he would’ve just stalled his time for a little bit longer, hoping that the boy in front of him would collapse straight away. It was a bit cruel and unethical, but no one could blame him if he resorted to that strategy. After all, it was Sheva’s fault for coming into the game with a sick condition like this.

Right now, the headache has finally subsided a little. However, a new wave of sleepiness attacked Sheva, and it took his strongest will not to fall asleep straight away on the table. Hell, he had to use his hand to hold his head, or it would fall on the table already. Still, at least it was better than the constant pain that he suffered before.

’Yeah, I don’t know what happened here, but thanks, system.’ The boy muttered to himself. ’I will make sure to end this game as quickly as possible before taking a long rest after that, so don’t worry.’

Even though his condition worsened, his mind was still sharp as hell. When he saw his opponent dilly-dallying, he even indulged in it, not feeling worried at all. No, right now, the advantage was his, and whatever move that Christiansen made wouldn’t matter. If anything, it would only strangle the man to his own death, so Sheva just waited for the self-collapse to happen on the board.

’Still... How could I send this man to the shadow realm?’ Sheva hummed, pausing for a moment to calculate.

This startled Christiansen a little, and the man couldn’t help but frown, also trying to think about what Sheva found here. This was the best psychological warfare that Sheva had in his game. By playing so quickly, once he paused to think, it would make his opponent panic, thinking that he had found something on the board.

In the end, beneath the pain on his face, a little smirk surged, as a plan was formed inside his head. After recalculating once again, Sheva finally made his move.

’Screw it! Winning or losing, it all depends on this move!’

With his pawn being planted strongly on the A3 square, he decided to abandon the pawn that anchored the entire chain on D6, letting Christiansen take it. However, the surprise didn’t just end up in that, as right after that, he took the pawn on B3, sacrificing a full knight for a pawn.

"Oh! He sacrifices his knight!" Bagas jumped excitedly. "What is the idea here?!"

"It is quite simple, but somehow a little bit complicated, I tell you that." Even Medina got enthusiastic when she saw the move on the board. "Christiansen cannot take that knight, because it will open up the line to the promotion square. All he could do was bring his rook on that line, but Sheva’s rook is also ready to support from behind. His decision to sacrifice the D6 pawn will also be fruitful, as it allows his rook to sneak and infiltrate into the opponent’s territory next! The knight sacrifice will make him down by two points of material, but the initiative he gets will be too overwhelming to handle!"

Indeed, just like what Medina said, the tactic was simple here. Even she herself could spot it straight away, let alone those high-rated GMs. However, spotting it after the move was made was completely different than before it happened. Sheva had to calculate so many lines here to ensure that it was not a foolish sacrifice. That was why it was also complicated.

This time, it was Christiansen’s turn to get a headache. The man thought hard for so long, and even Sheva himself got anxious as his consciousness started to slip away. The boy was so close to reaching his limit now, and the only reason he survived for so long was through his sheer will.

Fortunately, it paid off in the end, as after trying to make a fruitless counterplay for the next few moves, Christiansen finally came to terms with the fact that he was losing in this game. Not finding anything worthwhile to try to get him out of the situation, the man finally resigned, offering him a handshake. That was when a huge stress was finally lifted from his shoulders, and a wide smile also formed on his face.

"Finally..."

And right after that, everything went dark, and his consciousness slipped away from the living plane.