novelzi Chapter 644: Anna’s Easy Game
Chapter 644: Anna’s Easy Game
Chapter 644: Anna’s Easy Game Anna took a deep breath, glancing around while also trying to stretch her stiff body.
Right now, she was still in a good position, what with her threat starting to get through the opponent’s side. She herself was playing against Rafael Adams right now, a handsome boy with mesmerizing blue eyes and blonde hair that struck him as a model instead of a normal chess player.
It was clear from the beginning that her opponent was not at the same level as her. Playing in an aggressive line of the King’s Indian Defense, Rafael Adams had already made a mistake in the ninth move of the game, probably forgetting the theory line of this variation.
He played so badly in this game, making so many mistakes that only gave Anna a chance to win the game easily. From trying to play aggressively by marching all of his pawns on both sides forward, letting the girl consolidate pieces in the center, to the point that her D pawn somehow managed to sneak into the sixth rank, everything added up to the girl’s advantage.
It was still the 18th move of the game, and yet, Anna was already in the lead, what with the computer engine giving +1.5 for her evaluation.
’At least, this game is a good warmup to shake off the jetlag I have from the flight yesterday.’ The girl shook her head slightly, still suffering from a slight headache today. ’Now, I wonder how the others are faring...’
While waiting for her opponent to make his move, she started to stroll around, wanting to check all of her compatriots in this building.
The first one the girl saw was, of course, her best friend, Laysa. Their rating was quite similar, so it was no wonder their assigned table would be so close to each other.
Her friend’s opponent was a Caucasian boy with a comical rectangular face as if he was out of a cartoon world, and seeing Laysa not even in her seat, Anna couldn’t help but raise one of her eyebrows slightly, glancing at the chessboard on the table.
’Hmm... Not bad... She is so lucky that her opponent fell for this trick. Now, it is only a matter of time before his downfall will come...’
Anna herself wasn’t surprised that Laysa hit the accelerator from the start of the tournament, since she also had the same intention here. They had been performing horribly in the last tournament in Jakarta, making them insecure about admitting that they were Sheva’s students. After all, Nayaka, who was younger, was able to snatch the number two spot in the men’s section, making their achievement so pale compared to his.
Now, having another chance to play in a high-level tournament with Sheva witnessing from behind the scenes, there was no way they dared to slack off here.
’Hmm... Not bad... What about Sister Dita?’
Honestly, Dita Karenza was the anomaly that Anna couldn’t really figure out. After getting to know the older woman more since their last tournament, they had been playing against each other a lot in their training session, and honestly, Anna could say that Dita was not that strong a player.
Her positional game was shaky, and her attack seemed to always leave a hole or two on her own territory. There was no notable strength that Anna could see from the woman, and yet, somehow, the older player was always able to overturn any situation on the board.
Hell, their current record showed it all, with Dita on the edge with 18 wins, 11 draws, and 15 losses so far. Albeit most of them were blitz games, they still counted them for reference in the future.
’Sister Dita’s opponent should be an IM from China, right? She might be good, but will she be able to survive?’
A valid question, which was answered immediately when she saw the board. Unlike her or Laysa, who were thriving, even though only one and a half hours had passed, Dita had already found herself getting cornered. All of her pieces were struggling to get out of the eighth rank, and her pawn structure was so abysmal that it only took time for her opponent to take them all.
’Poor Sister Dita. Still, she always has a slow start, so maybe this doesn’t really mean anything.’
Anna kept strolling, even pausing for a moment when she was close enough to her little sister’s game. Claudia was also surviving against an IM from Germany, so the big sister didn’t have any complaints here.
Once she was back at her own table, the girl couldn’t help but raise one of her eyebrows here. It seemed the boy really tried to risk it all, letting her D pawn get into the seventh rank and just one square away from getting promoted. In return, his pieces looked so strong, gunning straight from all directions toward her king.
’This looks scary, but I don’t think I need to worry about her attack.’ She hummed lightly. ’If anything, my defense is still as strong as ever. As long as I didn’t do anything stupid, I would be okay. Let’s just take it slow and suffocate him patiently until he meets his own death.’
The strategy was simple. Anna didn’t go straight to threaten a checkmate or something big like that. No, she improved her position slowly, letting Rafael Adams make more mistakes before taking advantage of them all.
Of course, the process wasn’t that smooth. She also made some mistakes that made the computer engine hold its breath, as if she were about to throw the game completely. Fortunately, Rafael Adams seemed determined to lose today, as he also doubled down on all of her mistakes with his own.
The process was so slow, and it took 45 minutes more before the decisive action was on the board. In the end, once Anna was sure that she could just go straight to her opponent’s heart, she unleashed the unstoppable attack, even sacrificing her bishop and knight to open up the path for her other pieces.
The computer Engine also went up, not even giving any room for the black piece to counterattack. With a mate in ten moves, although it was hard for the girl to find, this was still doable, as long as she stayed patient.
After thinking for a while, Rafael Adams seemed to notice his dire position as well. Not being able to find any way to escape, he finally made a move that Anna had been waiting for since the beginning.
The boy offered a handshake, resigning from the game.