Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 372 - 2 - 1?!

At this point, almost all the important games that could decide the entire tournament had already been played. In the men’s section, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and India’s 2nd team had already declared themselves in the top 3, and what was left was the unimportant game on the middle to bottom tier of the standings, which no one would watch except if they were fans of those countries involved.

However, the same couldn’t be said for the women’s section. All the eyes were on table 3, where Ukraine and Indonesia were fighting tooth and nail for the last two spots on the podium. Almost all the players got attracted by the gravity of the situation, and some of the top ones even came to watch the games.

Sheva could see that Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So were whispering in the back, while the Indian youngster gang, like Gukesh, Pragg, Nihal Sarin, and Arjun Erigaisi, also gathered to discuss what happened on the board. This was probably going to be the last matchup of this Olympiad, so everyone wanted to witness how this legendary encounter would end.

Well, Sheva himself didn’t care about that sentimental issue. No, he wasn’t here to create memories. The boy was here to witness history, as for the first time ever, Indonesia was going to be on the podium at the highest level in the chess world. It might only be the third place, but for a barren country like Indonesia, this was everything they could hope for, and probably even more. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

As for the possibility that Indonesia would lose, he didn’t even think about it. No, the boy was confident that although one game was lost, the other three games would be able to cover it up immediately. That was why, when he saw Medina resigning against Mariya Muzychuk, he was able to stay calm.

"No need to cry, Sister Medina. You did a fantastic job today." He said, patting Medina’s head calmly without even looking at her face. The woman should be quite frustrated with her result to the point that she was about to cry, so it was rude to look at her directly. "Just stay here and watch how the others get revenge on you." The boy added.

If anyone who knew Medina watched this, they would be dumbfounded, not expecting Medina to be so emotional right now. The woman had her eyes red with a trace of tears on her cheek, showing how frustrated she was with the current situation. This was the side of her that not a lot of people had the privilege to see, definitely.

However, Sheva didn’t say anything about it, not even teasing her, which was something that he usually did. No, he knew full well that Medina was weighted by the guilt of losing the game, as if somehow, the team failed to win it all, she would always look at herself as a sinner. No, that was not something that everyone wanted to see.

Fortunately, those two girls didn’t disappoint.

The first one who thrived in this situation was Laysa. Well, she herself was completely dominating her game since the beginning, so everyone just waited because they all knew that one point would fall for the Indonesian team.

"Don’t worry, both Anna and Laysa will show you just how capable they are," Sheva said once again, emphasizing the capable part more. After trying to survive for 3 hours and 17 minutes and for about 47 moves, Nataliya Buksa finally resigned, not wanting to get checkmated on the board.

Seeing this, Sheva clenched his fist tightly, and Medina also cheered up a little bit.

"Nice one, Lay!" Sheva whispered, trying to contain his excitement as this was still in the hall. However, he didn’t forget to give the girl a high-five, which was accepted with the same enthusiasm. "Good job! We really need that win!" He praised the girl once again, but also subtly glanced at Medina next to him.

"Of course, who do you think I am?" Laysa snorted smugly. She also noticed the glance, so the girl didn’t forget to add, "Don’t worry, Sister Medina. Everything will be fine here." She also didn’t tease the woman, which was rare considering her playful nature. However, Laysa was just blunt and playful, not a complete jerk. She could recognize that Medina was so down after losing the game today, so it was not the time to tease her.

After Laysa’s win, Anna also followed her friend’s step. In a brutal rook endgame, she outmaneuvered Anna Ushenina after the woman in front of her made a huge blunder, capitalizing on it all in one swoop. The girl really showed her mastery over the rook endgame, shutting down the lane for the opponent’s king to support while also defending two pawns at the same time, not giving her opponent a chance to come back.

It was so satisfying to see the king stuck in the middle, not being able to come closer to Anna’s pieces. With her opponent only shuffling her rook back and forth aimlessly, it was easy for the girl to convert the advantage into a win. She just needed to get her king involved in this endgame, and with the king’s support, one of her pawns was destined to be promoted as a queen.

The endgame was clean, and everyone was impressed with Anna’s technique. In the end, after trying to make a counterplay without any result, Anna Ushenina resigned too, giving Anna the needed win in this Annas matchup.

"Yes!" Laysa squealed with a huge smile on her face. "See, Sister? I told you that everything will be fine!" She said to Medina.

"Good job, Anna." Sheva gave the girl who had just won a high-five. "You really captivate everyone here. Look, even those top names also give their approval." He mentioned. True enough, Wesley So, who had been watching the game, also gave Anna a small nod, as if acknowledging her presence here. This alone was enough to make the girl blush, as if she had been noticed by her favorite artist.

However, Medina still felt uneasy here. After all, there was still one game remaining, and anything could happen there.

’Come on, Sister Irene... Don’t be a sinner like me, please...’