Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 417: Before the Decisive Game

Sister Irene: Hey, Shev! How are you doing? I know that you are probably tired of hearing this, but good luck! Don’t be too pressured, and bring one more GM title back home!

Mom: My dear Son, I hear that you are making a big fuss in Dubai. Why did I only hear it from Bagas? :)

Dmitrij Kollar: Hey, Brother! You should be one win away from the title, right? Just go for it! Arjun is not an easy opponent to deal with, but I believe in you!

Brother Taher: Your talent really scares the shit out of me. Who would’ve thought that I would witness a true genius become a GM before me? Nevertheless, good luck, Shev! Bring the glory back home!

...

Before he went to the venue, just like the usual, Sheva checked his phone one last time in case something emergency appeared. In fact, he wasn’t the only one who did that. All the members of the group also had this habit before they would entrust their phones to Bagas. After all, bringing a phone to the venue was forbidden and could be accused of cheating, so no one wanted to risk it for something stupid.

What Sheva didn’t expect, though, was the overwhelmingly positive messages that he received today. It wasn’t just one or two; his phone basically told him that 15 people sent their heartfelt encouragements for him today. Some, he had already expected, like Irene and Taher, while the others came from completely unexpected people, like Dmitrij Kollar, a very strong GM from Germany, whom he faced in the last Olympiad.

’He doesn’t play here, and we are not even from the same country! Why would he follow my journey?’ Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching a little. ’Oh, well, let’s address it for later. It is not urgent, anyway.’

As he gave his phone to Bagas, his best friend couldn’t help but smirk, sending a light punch to his shoulder. "So, are you ready?"

"When have I ever not ready?" Sheva snorted as if he was offended by the suggestion.

"Bah! That is how you should react!" Bagas chuckled lowly, patting his best friend’s shoulder quite hard. "Just go out and do your best! Leave everything off the board on Sarah and me!" He patted his chest proudly.

With the overwhelming support that he received, Sheva came to the venue with a blooming confidence. Although today’s matchup was tough, he was so sure that everything would go his way.

’Arrogance and overconfidence are bad, but with them on my back, I couldn’t help it, right?’ He smirked unconsciously.

The moment he arrived at the scene, the building had already been jam-packed with people. Hell, Sheva even had a difficult time trying to get through the crowd, as everyone seemed to be curious about the game in board 1. That was the place where Sheva would fight against Arjun a moment later.

This reaction was understandable. After all, those two were the only ones who still had a perfect record, four out of four. In a tournament with so many elite players fighting, that achievement alone was something that could be bragged about. Moreover, those two had quite high reputations here.

For Arjun, everyone basically knew him as one of the best youngsters in the world. This was not just media propaganda coming from India, but a fact that all the top players recognized. As for Sheva, while his rating was far below, he was practically in the center of the limelight right now. His absolute win in the Olympiad was enough to make everyone remember his name, and now, with four consecutive wins, including against the top-seeded player Alexandr Predke and the third-seeded player Praggnanandhaa, no one in the chess community didn’t know his name.

The crowd was basically waiting to see whether Arjun, as one of the best prodigies, would be able to tame Sheva’s madness, or Sheva, who was still in the middle of his rampage episode, would be able to claim another high-rated player as his victim.

"Damn, everyone sure is going crazy, huh?" Sheva couldn’t help but mutter, trying to ignore the stares as he sat in his chair.

"Yes, and it is because of you," Arjun whispered back with no malicious intent. "I have been a top-seeded player in so many open tournaments, but this is the first time I have received such crazy treatment, you know? If I didn’t know better, I would think that I am in the middle of the Olympiad right now." He complained.

"Haha! Not expecting you to complain at me like this at all!" Sheva chuckled lowly. "Thought you have a problem chatting with new people, honestly." He added. It was a reasonable guess. After all, unlike his wild playing style, Arjun’s personality was so gentle and quiet, and since he was always seen with Pragg, the boy didn’t really speak too much, always letting his extroverted friend take over the conversation.

"Well, you are not new people." Arjun just mumbled lowly, yet still loud enough for Sheva to hear it. Well, this quiet confession was enough to make Sheva’s eyes light up instantly, as this was Arjun’s way of saying that he also considered Sheva a friend here.

"Anyway, don’t think that saying that will lower my guard, okay?" He said jokingly.

"I would never dream of it," Arjun replied with a little snort.

They were waiting for the game to start, and while doing so, they didn’t forget to check each other first. Sheva had already done his homework about Arjun, and he knew what he should do today. As for Arjun himself, the Indian prodigy was ready to go for an all-out war today.

’Pragg said that he is a lot like me, always chasing for the win, no matter who his opponent is. That means he will go for a decisive blow since the beginning of the game, and with his proficiency in weird and unorthodox openings, I have to be careful from the start. I cannot let him lead me with his tempo. No, I have to take the initiative!’

With that in mind, Arjun’s gaze hardened as he went into his focus mode. Sheva smirked when he saw that, before taking a deep breath, trying to get himself immersed in a similar state. The moment the alarm rang, both players shook hands immediately, ready to make an explosion.

"Let’s have a good game!"