Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 456: The Scotch Opening?!

"The Scotch Opening?"

In fact, it was not Sheva who voiced the doubt first, but Medina. The woman was taken aback slightly, never expecting such a beginner’s opening to appear at this stage, let alone being initiated by a player of Max Warmerdam’s caliber, who was famous for his dynamic and tactical approach.

"Hmm... If I remember correctly, Sheva is not that unfamiliar with this opening, right?" Bagas pondered, trying to dig deeper into his memory. "Is it in Biel or Reykjavik? I couldn’t remember clearly, but he had played against this opening once in the early round, against a lower-rated opponent."

"Yes, I also remember that." Medina nodded, still staring at the board in disbelief. "However, to see the opening in such a high-level game... I am too speechless to speak out my mind here."

Yeah, in her mind, the probability of the Scotch Opening being played here was so close to zero. After all, it was too simple, often leading to a situation where the black piece could easily equalize the position. Not only that, its theory had been studied from A to Z, making it impossible to introduce any improvisation.

However, the surprise didn’t stop just like that.

No, after initiating the opening and seeing that Sheva took the pawn, instead of going for the gambit that any players would usually pull to create a more dynamic position, Max Warmerdam took back the pawn, leading to a very simple game that could end up in a draw. When he saw this, Sheva was so stunned that he paused, raising his head slightly to see his opponent’s reaction.

’Yeah, either he is confident with his endgame technique, or he is aiming for a quick draw. Damn...’

Facing the possibility of a boring and dreary game, Sheva could only grit his teeth and tackle the problem in front of him one step after another. Knowing that he wouldn’t get any complicated position, the boy didn’t hesitate, blitzing his way through the opening stage—and the midgame stage to some extent.

Even though at first, the game looked dull, Sheva managed to get a good position, crossing the fourth rank and starting to occupy Max Warmerdam’s territory with his pawns. Not only that, but both of his bishops were in a very good position, sniping from afar. Just in terms of position, it was clear that Sheva had the initiative here.

Still...

"I don’t understand, Sister Medina," Bagas asked with a hint of confusion. "This position, if it were me, I would say that black is on the lead. However, why does the computer engine still think that it is equal?"

It was a valid question. The evaluation bar barely moved, standing still coldly even though Sheva’s attack was quite good. For any amateur players—no, not just amateur, but even for any titled players below GMs—most of them would think instinctively that the position favored black. Medina was also the same, pondering how to answer it while also narrowing her eyes suspiciously, trying to grasp the unknown from the cold chessboard on the screen.

"I... Think, I understand..." After a while, she finally spoke in a slow tone. "While the threat that Sheva possesses looks great, it is basically a paper tiger."

"A paper tiger?" Bagas frowned.

"Yes, it looks threatening, but nothing could pierce Max Warmerdam’s defense." She stated. "Those two chain pawns on C and D files? They are fragile, and once the bishop manages to infiltrate from behind, their advantage will be gone already. That dark bishop? It is quite a tricky one, but Max Warmerdam could just sacrifice his rook, getting the bishop and one pawn in return. Even though he will be down by one material point, the threat will be neutralized, and Sheva will lose the edge he gained earlier. If anything, once he manages to get out of this situation, Max Warmerdam will be the one who gains a strong foothold, what with his number of pawns that overwhelms Sheva’s."

The explanation was long, and half of it just got through Bagas’s ears straight away without even visiting the brain. However, the boy still got the gist of it—even if it was just barely.

"So, the current situation is that Sheva’s attack is good, but Max Warmerdam’s defense is greater, right? Also, Sheva is still entangled with the possibility of a counterattack, preventing him from getting all out with his sword. That should be it, right, Sister Medina?"

Medina could feel the corner of her lips twitching slightly when she heard that. Although Bagas was not a real professional player, the boy had a knack for simplifying all the technical ’mumbo-jumbo’ explanations from the expert that could give the viewers a huge headache.

’Maybe, this is something that he has perfected after being a host for a long time, huh?’ She muttered inwardly.

Back at the venue, Sheva couldn’t help but yawn, stretching his stiff body after sitting still like a mountain for more than one and a half hours. Even though the gesture could be seen as rude, he couldn’t help it. Most chess games indeed lasted for so long, and after three months of only playing rapid and blitz, he still tried to adjust to the slow rhythm of standard chess.

After taking a sip from the bottle of water that he brought, the boy shook his head strongly, trying to regain his concentration. ’Man, this is going to be a long day...’ He smiled wryly.

Fortunately, Max Warmerdam didn’t really care about his rude gesture. If anything, the man didn’t pay attention, as his attention was still on the board. He approached everything very meticulously, not daring to make even a single bold move during the game. Somehow, this frustrated Sheva more, as he wanted to have an explosive battle, and everything didn’t go in the direction that he wanted since the start of the game.

In the end, Sheva didn’t have any choice. After several exchanges were on the board, after half of the pieces had fallen already, he finally took a deep breath, and with the seriousness that startled Max Warmerdam for a bit, Sheva finally muttered inwardly, ’System, please, activate the title.’