CHAPTER 358: THE BOYS’ DISASTROUS ENDING!

"And there it is, Folks!" Bagas shouted as if he were the commentator of the World Cup’s final, giving the report of a last-minute goal in front of a million spectators. "Two best friends! Two rivals! Standing side by side, letting the world know their names! Two wins at the exact same time! Both Laysa and Anna have fulfilled their duty, bringing back the glory for Indonesia in this round!"

Hilda99: Let’s fucking goooo!

Kons67: Damn! Before this, I always thought that Bagas was annoying and not suitable to host a chess game. But this? This is a fucking poetic!

Tobi79: Yeah, that is so fucking beautiful! Well done, young man!

The chat broadcast also exploded with excitement, with some celebrating the two simultaneous wins while others were praising Sheva for his linguistic talent. Nevertheless, the festive atmosphere couldn’t be denied there, as everyone was so happy with this result.

"The two wins from Anna and Laysa will bring the team to the lead with 2 – 0, and except if Sister Irene and Sister Medina lose both games, we will secure our victory and bounce once again to the top 4 of the standings," Claudia explained how big the impact of this result was pretty quickly. "Not only that, but individually, they are also on a historical run right now."

"Oh? How so?" Bagas asked, intrigued. He would always be happy to do a hyping job, so this was his bread and butter.

"With this win, now Laysa has 7 wins and 3 draws in her record, while Big Sis has 6 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. Both of them are the candidates to get a medal in their respective boards, with Laysa being the player with the biggest chance to get a gold medal on board 4, while Big Sis could still snatch the bronze medal for board 3." She spoke in one breath. "Moreover, they have also officially met the threshold to get their IM norm, and while they still need to meet the other requirement, at least, we can say that Laysa and Big Sis are one step closer to becoming the third and fourth women to earn the IM title in Indonesia!"

Froggies: Damn, so proud of you two, girls!

Hilda99: I have been watching them since they were children, so I know how capable they are. Still, to think that they are fulfilling their potential like this... Awesome!

Everyone was celebrating the win that brought Indonesia’s women’s team closer to the top. Hell, some of them even dared to dream further, wanting to see the team enter the podium. As for snatching the gold medal for the team, no one had hope about that, especially since the current leaders were India’s first team and Georgia, the two teams that beat them in the past. With one round left, they had no chance to overtake those two powerhouses, but for the third place...

’The current numbers 4 and 5 are Poland and France, and we have already beaten them both in the past.’ Claudia muttered in a hopeful tone. ’If one of them somehow slips in just one of the last two rounds, it would be enough for us to overtake their position. Let’s just hope that the Chess God is still siding with us...’

While everyone was so focused on the women’s team, the situation on the men’s team was far more dire. Compared to the glamorous ladies, the men were getting beaten black and blue by the German team. The European powerhouse really showed the huge difference between a strong team and a weak team that could only rely on luck and one player.

Three hours had passed already, the standard total time of a classical game without any increment or additional time, and three of the four players on the men’s team were eliminated already.

Facing the young monster Vincent Keymer, Master Susanto could only smile wryly as he got slaughtered with no mercy. The man didn’t even last for 25 moves, having been forced into a situation where he had to sacrifice his queen or almost all of his pieces to survive. In the end, he was the fastest to lose, with only around 1 hour and 45 minutes.

The second one who had to surrender to his opponent was Novendra. For him, Sheva couldn’t offer any comfort. Hell, if anything, the boy didn’t mind him losing, even though it would drag the team down. After all, with the conflict arising last night, the more Novendra fell, the better Sheva’s position would be.

This time, against Mathias Bluebaum, who was at the same age as Novendra, the man survived a little bit longer, almost touching the 40 moves threshold to get the additional time. Unfortunately, his time management was terrible in this game, and the closer his clock got to zero, the more panicked he became. Bluebaum didn’t even have to make any complicated tactical maneuver; he just waited for Novendra to self-destruct before sweeping everything under the rug.

It was a brutal game, and just like his compatriot, Vincent Keymer, Mathias Bluebaum executed the endgame perfectly once the opportunity was there.

As for Taher, the one whom Sheva hoped the most, it seemed that an IM also had his own limit, especially against a GM. Playing against Rasmus Svane, a young GM with an ELO rating of 2649, he managed to stay for so long, even holding the man to the additional time with his ironclad defense. Unfortunately, it crumbled in the most crucial situation, letting all of his pawns be slaughtered by the enemies.

In the end, with a rook against a dark bishop, a knight, and three pawns, Taher didn’t have any choice but to resign the game, sealing the defeat for the men’s team.

Everything should be over right now, with the victory settled for the German team. No matter what result Sheva achieved against Dmitrij Kollar, he wouldn’t be able to change anything. However, in such a long endgame, the boy was unwilling to resign or offer a draw.

’No, even if it is futile, I still have to fight!’ His determination burned brightly. ’An absolute defeat will hurt our dignity. No, I cannot let that happen! I have to fight until the end and win my game!’