Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 515: Reward! System’s New Feature!

After the second day was over, the tournament standings finally started to take shape. Just as everyone predicted, Sheva would try to take a lead since the beginning of the tournament, and now, he was comfortable enough to sit at the top with 2 wins out of 2 games. He was the only one who achieved a perfect record in both sections, which was why his name somehow emerged once again on so many chess platforms.

The Genius Strikes Again!

After Wijk Ann Zee, Will He Conquer Prague?

Not Just a Flash in the Pan! Adrian Sheva Dominates Prague!

The titles were always so exaggerated, and honestly, if it were a few months ago, Sheva would be flushed in embarrassment. However, at this point, he was immune to anything like that. Not only because he was used to it, but Bagas also revealed a dark secret of the news industry. They would always exaggerate things to force people to click, and the more exaggerated the news was, the better the data they achieved.

Right after that, Sheva stopped believing anything that the news report wrote again. If anything, he decided to put his focus more on what was in front of him, just like right now when he was preparing for the game against Mateusz Bartel.

'A very strong player, the silver medalist for the reserve board in the Olympiad last year, just straight behind me. I have always wanted to play against him, but I never expected the chance to come soon.'

What made the boy excited more, though, was that Bartel's playing style was definitely one of his favorites. The man was aggressive and uncompromising in any quick draw that the opponent offered, and his creativity was top-notch. This was definitely the opponent that Sheva wanted to see the most, and the game was bound to be explosive.

'Also, the guy is quite well-versed in most mainstream openings.' Sheva frowned as he recalled the information about that man. 'Sicilian? He could adapt to most of its variations. Ruy-Lopez or Italian? He could also play a rock-solid positional game. Caro-Kann? French? No, it is the same. Oh, he is also good at Dutch, so I cannot gain any advantage with that. Hmm… What kind of opening should I choose, huh?'

As he pondered deeper, his opponent finally arrived on the scene. The Polish GM came with his messy hair, and the eyes behind his glasses were still red, the sign that he didn't sleep well last night. It seemed that the man also researched everything about Sheva, not wanting to become another stepping stone for the boy.

"Nice to meet you." Sheva nodded, offering a handshake.

"Da. Nice to meet you, too." Mateusz Bartel nodded politely.

Right after that, Sheva activated his system immediately. 'Please, scan his ability for me!'

[DING! SCAN SUCCESSFUL!]

[Name: Mateusz Bartel]

Attacking 91

Defense 87

Calculation 86

Strategy 84

Intuition 88

Time management 88

Current State: 63%

'Holy shit… He is a perennial super GM?!' Sheva widened his eyes in shock. 'No wonder he always has a good result… It seems that he is waiting for a moment to step up into a higher league. Hmm… I should be careful here…'

Besides Yu Yangyi and Kirill Alekseenko, this was probably one of the most impressive stats that Sheva had ever seen in a player. However, even though he was shocked, Sheva still had the confidence to beat the man. After all, unlike Arjun, Pragg, or the other top GMs, Mateusz Bartel didn't have any title that could boost his performance.

Still, what intrigued him was the last data, which was the current state.

'It should be the reward I received yesterday, right?' Sheva pondered, recalling the mission he got against Jergus Pechac yesterday. After taking a quick glance at the clock on the wall, he thought, 'It is still 20 minutes before the game begins. System, explain to me what this data means.'

[The current state data refers to the player's state on the game day, which depends on a lot of things, from the winning or losing streak, the player's motivation based on who the opponent is, the player's carelessness due to good performance, the player's mental state, and so many more. Unlike the other stats, this one is not fixed; it always changes depending on the situation.]

Sheva couldn't help but nod, getting the gist of it. 'Well, knowing my opponent's state is definitely useful. Still, what does 63% represent?' He couldn't help but ask.

[80-100% means the player is in a great state, and all the stats will receive 5% boost.

60-80% means the player is in a normal state, with nothing changed in their stats.

40-60% means the player is in a poor state, and all the stats will have a decrease of 5%.

20-40% means the player is in a terrible state, and all the stats will have a decrease of 10%.

0-20% means the player is in an abysmal state, and all the stats will have a decrease of 15%.]

'Hiss…' Sheva blinked in astonishment. 'Is the punishment a little bit harsh? I mean, 15% decrease?' He couldn't help but ask.

He who had been benefiting from the stats boost knew exactly what it meant by that percentage. Even a small 5 percent difference could be a huge difference, enough to make a normal GM just a mere IM, let alone 15 percent. He couldn't imagine what he would do if somehow, he suffered from playing in an abysmal state.

[Don't worry, Host.] The host gave a reassurance. [Normally, the players' state only varies between normal and poor, with some who have a great motivation to be in a great state. Those whose state is below poor will feel the effect in their body, like sickness, excessive exhaustion, or something like that. They will never willingly play in that state, and if they insist, let alone their decreased stats, they could even suffer from health problems.]

'…Well, that is definitely the most reasonable one.' Sheva couldn't help but nod. He also remembered his state before passing out against Johan Sebastian Christiansen in the Olympia last year, wondering what his state was at that time.

[Your state should be borderline terrible and abysmal, Host. However, you were also under the influence of the 'Endgame Master' title, which negated the side effect of your state.] The system explained.

'Hmm… So, what is my state today?'