CHAPTER 360: ENDGAME MASTERCLASS! WINS THE GAME AGAIN!

’Oh, is he finally going to make his move?’ Dmitrij Kollar raised one of his eyebrows slightly when he saw the big frown on Sheva’s face. ’Come on! Let me see how you would deal with this situation!’

Before this game, Dmitrij Kollar had been learning almost everything about Sheva. Initially, it was due to his curiosity following the commotion two days ago. He could recall the brief interview with Magnus Carlsen, where the GOAT himself was asked about the Indonesian player who had passed out in the middle of the game.

"I don’t know what is going on with him, but to think that he could pull such a game even when he is not in his best state... I think that he is a very creative player, and he will probably go further in his career."

There were not a lot of young players who could get that praise from Magnus Carlsen himself. In the last couple of years, maybe only Alireza Firouzja, Duda, Abdusattorov, Nihal, and Pragg were praised highly by Magnus, and most of them were already in the big league right now, with only a few youngsters being so close to the 2700-club. This showed that Magnus also had a vision on talent, and since Sheva got caught in the man’s radar, it was almost guaranteed that Sheva’s career would be flying higher in the future.

Knowing that, Kollar finally researched almost all the games that Sheva played in this tournament, wanting to know what was so special about the boy. The result didn’t disappoint him, as the man couldn’t help but admire Sheva’s insane playing style.

’Yeah, he comes in every game with the do-or-die mentality.’ He muttered, concluding his research. ’He has never aimed for a cheap draw. Even if everything looks bleak, he would make some subtle mistakes or bold moves to bait his opponent, and once the bait got caught, that is when he would strike back like a hungry predator. He is a dangerous player.’

The game between Sheva and Johan-Sebastian Christiansen still lingered in Kollar’s head. It was such a beautiful attack, with Sheva controlling the kingside so decisively before shifting his attack on the queenside, planting a pawn deep into the opponent’s territory before starting to sacrifice everything. While Kollar still believed that he was a better player here, the man had to admit that Sheva had a more dangerous killer instinct in the game.

However, Dmitrij Kollar had a plan for this.

’If the game entered a stalemate situation for too long, he would start to lose patience and try to create something.’ He recalled all of Sheva’s games that he reviewed last night. ’The mistakes will be so subtle that I would find it hard to capitalize, and if I failed, it would be me whose head would be rolling on the ground. However, it couldn’t be denied that the mistake happened, so if I could capitalize it perfectly, everything would be alright.’

Yeah, the plan was simple. Drag the game to a drawish position and wait for Sheva to get anxious. As long as it was not a completely dead draw, the boy would still show his ambition to win, so that was when he would send a quick and deadly counterattack.

As for getting a draw result, while Dmitrij Kollar would be fine with it, the man still wanted to try to push his luck here. With the 300-rating difference between those two, it would hurt his rating a lot if he didn’t win, so Kollar still had his eyes on the game even if the team itself had already won.

The strategy was dangerous, and there were a few occasions where Kollar felt like he had given the advantage to Sheva. However, the endgame with the opposite color bishop for both sides made it difficult for them both to advance their pawns. Hell, at one point, the man even thought that the game would end up in a draw, and he would be satisfied, knowing that he managed to slow down the player with the greatest form so far in this tournament.

After dilly-dallying aimlessly for about three hours, though, what he was waiting for finally came. Using almost 15 minutes to think of one move, Sheva finally made a huge decision. He made a pawn break on the kingside, letting the black’s pawn on the flank to infiltrate deeper so that it could go closer to the promotion square. After the 90th move, the balance of the game finally shifted once again, and the possibility of a draw got smaller instantly.

’Yes! This is it!’ Kollar’s eyes lit up instantly when he saw the move. ’My chance has come!’

Without hesitation, he started pushing the pawn on that side, getting as close as possible to the promotion square. Of course, he didn’t promote straight away, as the promotion square was protected by the light bishop from 800 miles away. No, the man didn’t suffer from tunnel vision, still assessing the position with a clear head.

What he didn’t know, though, was that he had fallen to Sheva’s trap. The boy knew full well that this was about to happen, so as long as his bishop still controlled the H1 file, nothing significant would happen. Hell, if anything, it would be Sheva who had a chance to strike back.

Knowing that his king and knight were so close to that pawn, Sheva also chased it from behind. The king also played a massive role in shouldering the opponent’s king, not allowing it to help the pawn and bishop on that side. In the end, Sheva managed to force an exchange; one pawn and one knight for one pawn and one bishop.

However, this was a big blow for Kollar. His pawn was so close to being promoted, and it was all the threat he had in this game. Now that it was gone, his chance to win had vanished instantly. To make it worse, the game didn’t end up in a draw, as it was his bishop that was gone. Now, with a bishop and three pawns against a knight and two pawns, Sheva’s chance to win got bigger instantly, as the boy could launch a counterattack after this.

’Yeah, fuck! I screw up big time here!’ Kollar cursed inside his heart.

Of course, it was still a difficult endgame to execute. He kept defending his position well, not allowing his pieces to get taken easily. Unfortunately, Sheva also pushed the right button, knowing where the weak joint was to attack. In the end, he forced a zugzwang, putting Kollar in a lose-lose situation.

If he moved his knight, one of his pawns would fall straight away. But if not, his knight would be trapped on that spot, and nothing could be done to save that poor horsey. After thinking for a while, Kollar could only shake his head in pity, knowing that he had just become another stepping stone for the boy in front of him.

So, after playing for 116 moves, the man finally resigned, giving another point for Sheva.