Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 471: A Draw is Not That Bad, Right...?

[DING!]

[Are you sure you want to activate the title ’Endgame Master?]

[Warning!!! With Host’s current situation, Host will only be able to maintain the state for 75 minutes! Please, be careful with this title!!!]

Honestly, the three exclamation marks scared Sheva a little bit. However, this wasn’t the first time he used the title, so the fear was not that strong, especially compared to his desire to win. So, the boy just shrugged it off nonchalantly before silently nodding his head.

’Let’s fucking do this, System!’

[DING!]

[The title ’Endgame Master’ is activated! The host’s concentration will increase by 30 percent from that! Good luck, Host!]

Right after that, the world seemed to slow down in his eyes, and Sheva could even see every change around him, like Sindarov’s fist getting tightened and his body leaning very slightly forward, showing a hint of nervousness. This was not something that Sheva would be able to see, and Sindarov himself probably didn’t notice the change in his behavior as well.

This was the side effect of the title, allowing him to observe such a micro expression in more detail.

’Okay, let’s not waste my time in this fucking shit!’ Sheva shook his head strongly. ’Now, the real battle will begin!’

With that in mind, so many calculations suddenly ran through his brain as his eyes scanned throughout the entire chessboard. Even Sindarov himself couldn’t help but shudder, feeling like Sheva was a completely different person here.

’What is this power-up? This is the real world, not an anime one! Please act like it!’ He cried inwardly.

However, much to Sheva’s surprise, even though he could see Sindarov was intimidated, the boy still put up a fight, doing everything correctly without making even a single mistake. The Uzbek teen played like a computer engine, executing the plan perfectly from the start to the end. This put Sheva in a difficult situation, as there was no way he would dare to throw a bait in this situation.

’No, that is way too risky.’ Sheva shook his head, rejecting the idea inside his head quickly. ’Let’s wait for a moment and see how things develop first. I can still see the fire in his eyes; there is no way he will go for an easy draw here.’

After this, the game went quite slowly, with both players starting to spend their time more effectively. Sheva managed to navigate his rook on the A file all around the world, ending up in H5 opposite of its original line.

He completely abandoned the queenside, knowing that there was nothing else that could be developed there. Sindarov is also doing the same, exchanging all the pawns there and concentrating the rest of the battle on the right flank of the field.

"Hmm... This is a difficult situation." Laysa frowned, having both her hands crossed in front of her chest. "The current position doesn’t allow both players to create something, but without any breakthrough, the most possible outcome will be a draw. Even though it is not bad..." She trailed her words behind.

Well, the girl didn’t have to finish her words, as her concern echoed throughout the entire chat room.

Froggies: Damn! He is just one win away from the record! This is so frustrating!

Kgnarl6: Who the fuck is this Sindarov?! He isn’t even the best player in his country!

Lilius: This just shows that Sheva’s level is still at this point, right? Even a mere player like Sindarov could stump him like this, let alone the elite ones... 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Anna felt the corner of her mouth twitching when she read the last comment. "In fact, it is not that rare for an elite player like Magnus Carlsen or Fabiano Caruana to get a draw against 2600-rated GMs like this. You have to know that most high-level games end up in a draw, so Sheva’s achievement of 19 wins in a row is way rarer than you could think of. Moreover, you have to remember that even though the game ends up in a draw, Sindarov is, on paper, the higher-rated player, so this is quite normal. It is just... Our expectation of Sheva is way too high in the beginning."

"Indeed, I can attest that." Laysa nodded solemnly; all the playfulness was gone from her expression. "We are getting spoiled too much by Sheva’s achievement, getting one win after another so easily. You might think that it is an easy feat to achieve by any elite players, but even Magnus Carlsen himself has never achieved something like that."

"Also, one more thing," Anna added hastily. "We might expect Sheva to win all the games to get the first place, but in a tournament spanning over 14 rounds like this, as long as he doesn’t lose to anyone else, 4 or 5 wins are enough to make him the absolute winner. I mean, even if he draws the rest of his games, with the four wins he gets before, his final point will already be 9, which is enough to make him the number one of the section."

Both girls kept talking about this, wanting to portray Sheva’s achievement as something that was beyond unbelievable. This was to combat those haters who acted like the end of the world when Sheva failed to win the game.

Yeah, they both had already deemed the game to be a draw, finding no way Sindarov would mess up the situation. Even though they still had hope, it was better to be realistic, and Bagas also caught the signal here. He also shifted his tone, trying to guide the chat to think that this was not a bad result.

"After five days of playing, it is normal for Sheva to get tired like this. Also, this draw is quite good for Sheva’s motivation, because winning all of his games will definitely numb his feelings for the game, right? This will bring back his fighting spirit for the next game, and we can expect something good to happen in the future."

Before anyone could say anything more, though, their attention shifted back to the game again, as something unexpected happened. Bagas had his jaw dropped for a moment before he regained his consciousness, grabbed the microphone, and shouted, "OH! WHAT IS GOING ON! IT SEEMS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR IS HERE! SINDAROV IS MAKING HIS FIRST MISTAKE OF THE GAME!"