novelzi Chapter 650: Claudia VS Bu Xiangzhi! (I)
Chapter 650: Claudia VS Bu Xiangzhi! (I)
Chapter 650: Claudia VS Bu Xiangzhi! (I) "Oh, what do we have here? The Tarrasch Defense?" Sheva blinked his eyes as he stared at the chessboard with the corner of his mouth twitching madly. "Man, this is going to be a difficult game for Claudia..." He mumbled lowly.
Unfortunately, the boy was connected to the microphone, letting all the viewers in the chat room hear that.
RonWizarad41: Damn! Even Sheva said that! It seems she is in big trouble!
Light0: Bah! What does he know about this?!
Froggies: Are you an... Idiot? He is Sheva, for God’s sake! Of course, he knows the system!
Bagas himself choked for a moment, trying to hold back his laughter while reading the chat. Sheva also sighed helplessly, knowing that he had completely slipped here. Now, he had to sweep his mistake, or things would spiral out of control.
"So, what makes you think that this is a problem for Claudia?" Bagas, being a helpful friend he was, asked.
"Well, it is not like the opening itself favors the black piece immediately, but Claudia is definitely not used to playing this system," Sheva answered. "This Tarrasch Defense is one of the more aggressive variations of the Queen’s Gambit Decline, creating an awkward tension in the middle with four pawns staring at each other since the beginning. It is a less aggressive one compared to Albin Counter-Gambit, but in return, besides more active pieces, black will have a stable position, not having to risk a lot."
"So, the initiative has already shifted to Bu Xiangzhi even though we are still in the third move of the game?" Bagas asked once again, this time with a hint of worry in his tone.
Even though he wasn’t as close to Claudia as his best friend, the boy still treated the girl as the group’s little sister, and he would always be worried if she was stumped in the middle of the game like this.
"I will not say that it has completely shifted to Bu Xiangzhi’s side, but you know what a top player can do. They just need to stay aggressive and push the right button, and the moment Claudia slips, even just for one move, he will not hesitate to punish her straight away."
At the venue, Claudia was also having a bad time. The girl rubbed her forehead a little bit, feeling a little bit of a headache over the situation on the board.
’This is definitely not an opening I have ever played before!’ She groaned inwardly.
However, with a light slap on her cheek, the girl was able to wake herself up from the state of despair, convincing herself that this was not the end of the world.
’No, no, I can do this.’ She said to herself. ’I just need to think carefully, and everything will be alright. It doesn’t matter if I have to take more time. I have already anticipated getting into time trouble, anyway. No need to panic. Just slow and steady like Sheva said, walking at my own pace.’
At least, this self-suggestion technique worked, since she didn’t rush things up for the next moment. She thought about everything carefully, treating the game like she was trying to escape from the thin wall.
Facing the opening she had never played against, the girl did very well. She first thought of whether to accept the center pawn that Bu Xiangzhi sacrificed as his gambit or not, and after careful consideration, Claudia accepted the gambit without hesitation, breaking the early deadlock in the center of the board.
The reason was simple. While yes, accepting the gambit meant she had to walk straight into Bu Xiangzhi’s rhythm, it was still better than walking in the dark. That would be her state if she dared to decline the gambit, as the situation would be more complicated and unfamiliar for the girl.
Then, a few more pieces went off the board, starting with a quick exchange between Claudia’s knight and Bu Xiangzhi’s dark bishop. After that, some pawns followed, and just in the first 13 moves of the game, the queenside was cleared already, with the Chinese GM controlling that side in a dominating way.
The decisive exchange, though, happened a few moves later.
After staying active for a while and giving so many checks to Claudia’s king, Bu Xiangzhi finally decided to exchange the queen here, throwing the strongest piece off the board. This was not without any consideration, since he himself managed to drag Claudia’s king out of his comfort zone.
With this exchange, the girl had basically just sacrificed her right to castle, and it would be so hard to put that king into safety without locking away the rook on the corner for... Well, forever.
That was when Claudia started to slow down, wanting to use her time wisely to think of more possibilities rather than just finding out which one would be the best move by the computer engine.
’So, what should I do now? I mean, why in the hell would he want to go so quickly into the endgame phase against me?’ Claudia frowned as she thought carefully of the situation on the board. ’Is he looking down on me and thinks that even with such a bleak endgame, he would be able to win this?!’ Her thought was so wild right now.
However, she wasn’t wrong in this case.
Bu Xiangzhi indeed went for a quick endgame because he didn’t want to get stumped for too long against a low-rated opponent like Claudia. He didn’t believe that the girl could survive in this delicate phase for so long without any mistake, and when the girl slipped, it would be his turn to take over the game.
30 minutes...
60 minutes...
90 minutes...
Time passed so slowly, with both players not wanting to rush things up. Hell, after a quick opening phase, the game slowed down so much that after one and a half hours of playing, they were still only on the 16th move of the game.
Everything was still equal for both sides; no one really wanted to take the initiative here. However, after a while, it seemed that Bu Xiangzhi started to spread his net, as he suddenly made a deliberate mistake, enough to make Claudia’s eyes shine brightly.
’Oh! This is my chance!’