Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 431: The Long-Awaited Blunder!

"Oh! Oh! He finally slips!" Bagas shouted on the microphone when he finally saw the evaluation bar on the screen move up. "After waiting for so long, Sheva is about to reap the fruit of his patience! In the 39th move of the game, where everything seems to be bleak, Aravindh finally commits a big move that will lead him into disaster!"

Froggies: Let’s fucking goooo!

Hilda99: The streak is still going on! It will be 15 wins in a row!

RonaldOSIu007: Damn! That is one hell of a streak! As expected from our genius!

Yeah, while no one really said a thing about it, almost every single being who watched the broadcast was worried that the game would end up in a draw. Of course, it wasn’t that bad, per se, considering Aravindh, with an ELO rating of 2616, was a better opponent on paper for Sheva. However, the boy had already set a quite high standard, beating way stronger players in the last few games, so people somehow unconsciously put a greater expectation on him.

Moreover, just like the chat said, Sheva was currently in a hot streak, winning every game he played since the Olympiad began to this point. It was quite rare for someone to have 15 wins in a row like this, even for the highest-level players in the world. Everyone was eager to know just how far Sheva could push the boundary, and it seemed that today was not the day when everything was over for him.

"Honestly, it is a tough mistake from Aravindh." Sagar shook his head in pity. "The time pressure really gets into his head, making him believe that simplifying everything is the solution. Unfortunately for him, the trade works to Sheva’s favor, and this time, he would start to exert his dominance for the rest of the game."

Yeah, in his mind, Sagar Shah had already blamed the mistake on Aravindh’s poor time management. After all, the young man wasted so much time in this game to the point that even he himself, a very calm and patient man, started losing his mind watching Aravindh doing nothing but burn his time for more than thirty minutes earlier.

The real blunder itself was quite simple. In a scenario where both players still had a bishop and a knight, if one wanted to force a draw, the best possible scenario was to exchange the knight. After all, the bishop’s movement was too rigid in the endgame, and the pawns could just block its way all over the board.

However, eager to simplify the position, Aravindh exchanged his knight for Sheva’s bishop. This was a huge blunder, especially since Sheva’s knight was still quite active in the last couple of moves. If anything, Aravindh’s bishop was completely isolated on the edge of the board, needing a few moves to get out of its embarrassing position.

Honestly, the mistake was simple, and if Aravindh had more time to think, the man would be able to see this clearly. Unfortunately, with two minutes on the clock and with the temptation of the additional time in the next two moves, he rushed things too quickly, offering an exchange that led him into this disastrous situation.

Now, with the opponent’s bishop not being able to move freely, it was time for Sheva to push forward, and after pondering for a moment, the boy decided not overthink it.

’Yeah, let’s not waste too much time.’ He thought inwardly. ’Let’s still pull the same strategy, putting more pressure on his time. Sooner or later, his position will crumble, and that would be my chance to sweep everything under the rug.’

With the game having already passed the 40th move, both players were given 30 minutes additional time. However, since Sheva played quite fast, the time on his clock was quite bloated, with the boy having 77 minutes left to execute everything inside his head. Of course, there was no way he would waste that much time in this endgame. If anything, Sheva had already made a plan inside his head that he would keep playing very fast, not wanting to give Aravindh any time to breathe.

Aravindh himself got a second life after he received that additional time. However, the man didn’t dare to relax even for a little bit. If anything, his expression turned grim, as with more time on the clock, he finally managed to ponder about the last few moves that he made, and the man came to the realization of the blunder that he made.

’Oh, God, why would I do that...’ He covered his face in regret. ’I could’ve just moved my knight back and forth rather than trading it for nothing, and then, the only thing I need to do is just fucking wait! Hell, if I am calm enough, I could maybe have a chance to win it all! But I throw everything completely with just one move! What the hell am I doing here?!’

Seeing Aravindh in this state, Sheva was unfazed. He didn’t feel any pity or sympathy. If anything, the boy was ecstatic, hoping that his opponent would fall deeper into the depression hole. After all, they were still competitors right now, so the more Aravindh got entangled in the mess inside his head, the better the overall situation would be for Sheva.

’Come on, make your move! No matter what you do, I will always be ready to kill you!’ Sheva sent his sharpest glare, adding more intimidation on the opponent’s side.

Everything spiraled downhill for Aravindh. Sheva managed to gain a strong advantage with one advanced pawn ready to rush forward, turning the endgame into four pawns and a knight against three pawns and a dark bishop. Don’t underestimate that one pawn advantage. Even though it was only one, in the endgame, where everything was cleared already, this was a major advantage. Hell, even the computer engine gave +5.7 for Sheva’s advantage, showing how strong his position was.

Of course, Aravindh didn’t want to resign straight away. He put up a tough fight, never giving up until his last breath. Some of his moves were even difficult enough to handle, forcing Sheva to pause and think hard about it.

However, that was it.

The man’s life was about to end, so Sheva just indulged him in his shenanigans. The boy also executed the endgame with a clean technique, always protecting the pawn with his knight and king standing side by side throughout the entire board. In the end, after that advanced pawn was just one square away from the promotion spot, Aravindh finally found that he couldn’t do anything else here.

The young Indian GM let out a deep sigh, offering a handshake with a reluctant smile.

He resigned, giving Sheva his sixth win in this tournament.