Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 522: Nayaka’s Game

Nayaka took a deep breath, trying to contain his excitement. He glanced sideways, finding several tables away from him, Duta had been sitting and locked in, eyes on the chessboard. Shaking his head, he turned back to the board in front of him, trying to force himself to focus.

’This is the first game, so I cannot mess this up badly.’ He said to himself.

Glancing secretly at the other side of the board, he saw an oriental face with eyes closed, muttering something as if he was in the middle of a prayer or meditation. That was his opponent today, a Mongolian player whose rating was not that far from his.

Zoljargar Angar (1765) – (1844) Nayaka Buddhidarma

Even though there was about an 80 ELO rating difference, Nayaka didn’t dare to underestimate his opponent. He remembered very well what Sheva said about the grassroots level chess and how volatile it was.

’Most young players, just like you guys, have a low ELO rating because they lack opportunity, not because they are too weak. You search for them, and you will find that they only have one or two FIDE-rated tournaments as their experience. Hell, most of them didn’t even have one; they only play in their local tournament! That’s why their rating doesn’t reflect their true ability, so don’t you dare underestimating them, okay?!’

This was the first lesson that Sheva tried to imprint into their heads, and while Nayaka didn’t know about the others, this particular lesson really stuck inside his head. After all, it hit hard straight to his heart.

The boy always believed that he was a capable player, not in the same caliber as Sheva, of course, but at least close to a 2300-rated player like Anna or Claudia. The only thing that prevented him from reaching that point was his lack of opportunity, as his city was far away from Jakarta, where any FIDE-rated tournament was held in this country. He didn’t talk about the abroad one, because it was way too unrealistic.

The cost was always astronomical, and without any sponsor willing to pay for him, it was difficult to thrive further.

’Wait, why would I suddenly lament on the past like that?’ Nayaka shook his head strongly. ’Anyway, let’s just focus on the game in front of me first, and think about the useless matter later!’

After waiting for a while, the alarm finally rang, telling the players that the game could start. Nayaka accepted the handshake offer from his opponent immediately, and playing with black in his first game, he chose to be conservative, letting the other side choose the opening as long as it was not too excessive.

’The Italian, huh?’ Nayaka frowned after the game entered the third move. ’This is going to be a long and boring game.’ He couldn’t help but groan inwardly.

Having been training with Sheva for three weeks, of course, Nayaka would be infected by the older boy to get into a confrontational battle since the beginning, so it was understandable that he would shake his head at this slow opening. At this time, he also started regretting his decision not to pester the teacher to teach him more about any unconventional opening.

’Damn, why wouldn’t I ask him something like the Evans Gambit? At least, it would help my case right now! Oh, no, the Evans Gambit is for the white piece, right? What the hell am I thinking about?!’ He cursed inwardly.

What Nayaka didn’t expect, though, was that his opponent seemed not to want to go for an ordinary approach. Even though it wasn’t a maverick approach like the Evans Gambit, the Mongolian boy pulled the variation that not a lot of people use anymore, the Bird’s Attack.

Instead of challenging the center immediately, the white piece delayed it for a moment, choosing to push the C pawn and B pawn to support each other and kick out the black’s dark piece to the A7 square. Not only that, with three extended pawns on the queenside, it would be hard for Nayaka to get out of this situation unscathed.

’Hmm... I thought I had already seen everything from the Italian Opening, but it seems I am a bit too naïve, right?’ Nayaka frowned. ’At least, I have never seen Duta use this variation in the past. Well, that should be because he doesn’t know how to attack, right?’

Even in such a situation, he still had time to slander the boy, which was quite astonishing. While both boys grew closer in the last month, they were still rivals, so it was quite understandable for them to go for each other’s throats like that.

Back to the game, though, Nayaka didn’t really expect that he would get pushed back by the Italian Opening this early. In his mind, this system always led to a slow and positional battle, yet here his opponent was, having such a strong attack staring directly toward his wall.

The white queen and light bishop formed a line of battery, aiming straight at the pawn on F7 square. Two knights were ready to jump into the middle, wreaking havoc on Nayaka’s defensive wall. Then, even with a doubled pawn on the E line, the Mongolian boy still had compensation with the open F file, which was enough for the rook to put more pressure.

Compared to that overwhelming attack, Nayaka was forced to stay back, forming a cocoon to prevent any leak on his side.

The most important part, though, was his pawn on the F7 square. It was eyed by all of the white pieces, and of course, Nayaka put most of his pieces to surround that pawn as well. After all, if that pawn fell, it wouldn’t just be him missing one point of material, but his position would collapse instantly, which would also be the end of the game today. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’No, no, no, I cannot be pushed back like this. I need to force some exchanges.’ Nayaka racked his brain quickly, trying to think of a way to get out of this tough situation. ’Damn! This doesn’t get me anywhere! What the fuck should I do in this position?!’

-Author’s note-

Hey, everyone! Thank you for supporting my story! I have written a new one with the hope of getting a contract for that story as well, the title is ’The Rise of the Iron Wall!’. It is a football story, so if you like, please give your support by adding it to your collection and giving your power stone to that story! Thanks!