novelzi Chapter 633: Winning Another Tournament!
Chapter 633: Winning Another Tournament!
Chapter 633: Winning Another Tournament! "Oh! Sheva completely abandons his pawn on the H file! He lets Boris Gelfand take that pawn freely! What do you think he is planning right now, Master Irfan?" On the live stream, Bagas asked as he raised his eyebrows slightly at the screen in front of him.
While normally, he would think that Sheva had some sort of plan for this kind of move, he couldn’t say the same right now. No, the boy was so afraid that his best friend would collapse, starting to make one mistake after another.
Fortunately, it seemed that he was worried for nothing here.
"In fact, this is a smart move by Sheva," Irfan explained carefully. "You see, once Boris Gelfand takes that pawn, he will forever be locked on that H file. Yes, he can go back to the third rank, but that just puts the rook in an awkward position. No, if anything, that move would only waste more tempo, bringing Sheva a slight advantage in the game. This is definitely a calculated sacrifice by Sheva."
Unlike yesterday, this time, Irfan seemed to be quite loose in praising Sheva. It seemed that he had been thinking about what Bagas said yesterday, and the man realized that he had been harsh with Sheva in this tournament. Now, he wanted to make it up, giving the praise when the boy truly deserved it.
"This is definitely not the first shady move that he makes in this game, right?" Bagas couldn’t help but ask.
"Oh, you mean that king’s move earlier?" Irfan figured out immediately what the fat boy wanted to ask. "I tell you what, yes, it looks like a bad move, removing his chance to castle for the rest of the game. However, that is a necessary move to protect that pawn on the D file. Also, most of the pieces in the center are off the board already, so the threat there is much less. In fact, I can tell you that the king’s move earlier is the best way to put it into safety."
Bagas hummed lightly, yet still couldn’t hide his worry here. Sheva really gave him a heart attack today, what with so many moves that defied the basic principle of chess. However, based on what Irfan said, it seemed everything was still going on perfectly, with all the moves that Bagas was worried about turned out to be a perfect tactical move.
’It seems all those GMs on the internet are right.’ Sheva couldn’t help but smile wryly. ’Once a player is at the high level, they can just ignore all the basic principles of chess and do whatever they want.’
Sheva himself didn’t know that he was being talked about outside. Well, he knew, but the boy didn’t know what the topic was. Right now, his focus was completely on the game, as Boris Gelfand decided to take that bait pawn after thinking for more than 15 minutes.
However, that still didn’t give him a sure-win advantage. No, if anything, this just gave him a slight initiative, as the computer engine gave him an edge with +1.1 as his advantage. Sheva still had to work his ass off to clinch the win and also the championship for the tournament.
Fortunately, as time went by, his patience was restored. He didn’t move hastily again, and while his mood was still quite down, at least, his brain could be asked for cooperation. He could still think clearly, not making any stupid move that would only get himself killed.
Later on, when he was about to meet another deadlock, Sheva made another provocative move. This time, he exchanged one of his rooks with Boris Gelfand’s bishop, losing more points of material in this game. Coupled with the H pawn earlier, the boy was down by three points of material right now, and yet, somehow, his advantage grew further to +1.9.
"This is risky, but I have to say that Sheva is smart here." Irfan couldn’t help but praise the boy. "Compared to his rook earlier, which was getting cornered and couldn’t barely move, that bishop is definitely stronger, gaining a foothold to protect the pawns behind him. Now, not only did Sheva take that troublesome bishop, but he also forced a doubled pawn for Boris Gelfand, and that’s not something that the man wants to have in this situation."
Even though it was awkward to have an endgame with a rook and a knight against two rooks, Sheva still charged forward confidently. Compared to Boris Gelfand’s pawns that were still stuck on the back or couldn’t even move due to the doubled structure, Sheva’s soldiers were basically way stronger.
The two in the center were ready for a kamikaze plan, sacrificing themselves if necessary to get the other to the promised land. They both were so close to getting promoted, and this put more pressure on the Israeli man’s shoulders.
’Yes, just like that.’ Sheva couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction when he saw Boris Gelfand’s stressed state right now. ’Just suffer silently there, and I will wait until you finally accept your death. Don’t let me wait too long, though, okay?’
Boris Gelfand couldn’t really hear Sheva’s inner thought. However, it was clear that he didn’t have a great time here. His clock was also ticking down, slowly getting to zero. They were still at the 27th move, so it would take a long time before any additional time could be given.
Of course, that didn’t mean the man was going to give up. No, he still kept trying, increasing his speed a little to battle with the time pressure here. However, it was clear that he was not suitable for a blitz game at his age. The more he moved, the more mistakes he made. Everything only tightened the rope around his neck, not giving him any chance to breathe.
In the end, the man finally made a fatal mistake. Under a check from Sheva’s knight, his king only had two squares to move. It was a 50-50 move, and unfortunately, he picked the wrong one.
Instead of prolonging the game, the evaluation bar rose astronomically, showing M3 on the board. Even if Sheva couldn’t see it, the boy found the blunder immediately, and he couldn’t help but let out a deep, relieved sigh.
’Now, the tournament is finally mine...’