novelzi Chapter 645: The End of the First Round
Chapter 645: The End of the First Round
Chapter 645: The End of the First Round "Oh, you are out as well?" Laysa clicked her tongue in annoyance as she saw Anna coming toward her. "Damn, you are quick. I thought I would be the first one to end my game."
In return, Anna just snorted. "Don’t sell yourself short. At least, you are just a few seconds earlier than I."
Yeah, it was right after Anna finished her game, and coincidentally enough, Laysa was also in the same process, just beating her opponent on the other side of the venue. Even though they greeted each other so snarkily like that, the grin on their faces just showed how ecstatic they were right now.
"At least, our redemption path starts with a good result, right?" Anna chuckled. "Anyway, what is wrong with your opponent? I swear, the last time I took a glance at your game, the situation is not that desperate for him, right? Did he make more stupid mistakes?" She asked her best friend curiously.
Indeed, even though Laysa’s attack was so strong, Anna felt like the position was a bit complicated, and in that situation, the white piece could still pray that the black piece wouldn’t be able to capitalize on the advantage on the board.
"Well, no, he didn’t make another mistake." Laysa giggled. "If anything, I am also curious here. He suddenly resigned, even though I still think that he could survive a bit longer. It seems that he didn’t want to prolong his suffering today."
They chatted for a while, still wandering around the venue energetically. Hell, even though it was lunchtime already, they still didn’t feel hungry, not even wasting too much energy on today’s game. They just waited for the others to finish their game, and after that, they could go for lunch together with all the members of the group.
Well... That was the plan, before Bagas suddenly came and invited them two to join the broadcast.
"Okay, here with us today, the first two winners of the group! WGM Laysa Latifah and WGM Anna Marisa! This is definitely the ideal start for you both, so tell us, how do you feel after ending the game way quicker than anyone else, and with a win, nonetheless!"
Unlike Sheva, both girls didn’t really have any stage nerves in front of the camera. Laysa just took the small microphone that the boy gave and answered, "Of course, we are happy! I don’t know about Anna, but I am determined to get a good result after my disappointing tournament in Jakarta a month ago! Just wait and see, maybe I could climb higher!" She declared.
"Just as she said, I am also on my redemption tour here." Anna also added.
They chatted more for a while, mainly about the round today and how they analyzed their respective games. The number of viewers on the broadcast also spiked astronomically, what with two beautiful girls attracting more attention compared to any game in this tournament.
Jinxy10: Damn! Those two are the combination of beauty and brain! They are unstoppable!
Licyh26: Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!
Froppies: Oh, shut up, you pervert!
Just like usual, things exploded once the girls were in front of the camera. Well, at least, those two were used to it by now, and if anything, they were happy to get more exposure, so they just ignored those weirdos on the chat.
After a while, the short interview was finally over, and those two girls left immediately, not wanting to get entangled in the media room where all the weird personalities gathered. The moment they went out, though, some of their friends were also there already.
"Big Sis! You are here!" Claudia’s eyes lit up immediately the moment she saw her sister coming. "Guess what I get in my game!" Her excitement was bubbling as she wanted to share the good news.
Seeing this, Anna couldn’t help but gasp. "No way! You won against your opponent?!" Not like she underestimated her little sister, but Anna remembered Claudia’s first opponent was a strong German IM with an ELO rating of around 2450. However, at the nod of confirmation from Claudia, she knew that this was true, and the girl couldn’t be happier right now.
"Congrats, girl! You did a good job!" Laysa also joined the fun, rubbing the girl’s hair fondly.
"Oh, don’t mess my hair like that, Bitch!" Claudia grumbled while also wrestling with that bigger hand. However, based on the smile on her face, it was clear that she said it in her endearing way.
Behind Claudia, a boy was also standing. However, it was clear that his mood was quite foul right now.
"So, you lost your game, Duta?" Anna asked in pity.
"Yes, I didn’t even stand a chance." The boy just said grumpily.
Indeed, his opponent was a high-rated IM, so even if he tried to create something, in the end, all of his effort was futile. The boy had to be satisfied with a defeat at the beginning of his campaign here.
However, he wasn’t the only one. Right after that, Dita Karenza also joined them after suffering a defeat against the Chinese IM. Just like Duta, it wasn’t even a close game, as the woman was outclassed from the beginning until the end.
Then, Nayaka followed the path with another loss. This time, it was more painful, since the boy had a chance to win the game. It was a chaotic endgame phase, where the evaluation bar swung up and down so crazily. Unfortunately, when it mattered the most, Nayaka made a fatal mistake, blundering the protection on the promotion square that allowed his opponent to get a new queen.
In the end, so far, the group had three wins and three losses, with Devi being the last one to leave the venue. Among them all, only Duta and Nayaka believed that the girl would be able to do something, while the others didn’t really think Devi would be able to get a positive result against the third-seeded player of the tournament.
When they saw Devi coming out of the hall with a huge smile on her face, though, everyone was so stunned, with the two boys grinning widely at her.
"So, how is it?" Nayaka asked eagerly.
The girl just showed a V posture, her bright smile shining among them all before squealing happily, "I get a draw!"