Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 539: Closing Ceremony!

"The third place of the U17 section, let’s give a round applause for Javokhir Bozorov to Uzbekistan!"

As the announcer spoke the name, an Uzbek boy who looked quite similar to Javokhir Sindarov, the strong GM who managed to force a draw against Sheva in the Tata Steel Chess a month ago, rose from his seat. It was followed by the polite cheers from all the people here, yet anyone with clear eyes could see that the boy was unhappy.

Oh, he was smiling politely, even joking around with the organizer at the podium. However, his expression was so sour, as if he just swallowed a whole lemon for himself.

"Heh, that’s your expression when your name is called for the gold medal in the last Olympiad, Shev," Bagas whispered, nudging at his best friend teasingly. Sheva himself felt the corner of his mouth twitching, yet he ignored that, just following the others as he applauded the boy on the podium.

"Oh? Why would Brother Sheva feel so sour after winning the gold medal?" Devi overheard the conversation, asking curiously. She had the trophy for first place for the G17 section in her hand since the result of that section was announced beforehand.

"Oh, you don’t know this, but he was quite salty at that time," Bagas explained with a hint of exaggeration in his tone. "I mean, can you imagine that you swept the entire section just for your teammates to be a burden? He didn’t say anything at that time, but I am so sure that he was cursing everyone from Master Susanto to Arfan for holding him back."

"You know what, I can see that." Master Susanto added the fuel here. "Honestly, if his gaze could kill, I would be under six feet right now."

"Even you, Master Susanto?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Psst! Don’t talk loudly, you are interrupting the ceremony here!" Sheva hissed, glaring at them all—especially Bagas—for talking about his dark history. "Also, for your information, I was not angry or salty, just feeling awkward for having the gold medal while my team’s position is so low." He added.

"Ha! As if that explanation helps your case." Bagas snorted, muttering under his breath.

Their attention was back on the ceremony once again as, a moment later, the announcer finally spoke the name that they had been waiting for.

"The second place of the U17 section, let’s give a round applause to Nayaka Buddhidharma from Indonesia!"

Right after that, Nayaka rose, yet he walked so stiffly like a robot. Even though the boy had already had so much experience receiving an award, this was the first time he stood in a foreign land like this, and the boy was worried that someone would suddenly ask something in English. After all, this was not the skill he polished for a long time, and he would only make a fool of himself by only answering ’yes’ or ’no’ to any question that people asked.

"His walking posture screams a bad PR for me." Bagas snorted, snapping so many pictures with his phone. Then, he turned to Duta and said, "After this, please, for my sanity, try to walk confidently, okay?"

Duta stiffened, yet he could only nod silently. In the end, it was Sheva who spoke once again to break the tension. "Please, it is not that bad. I mean, look, he is still smiling, and you will only see his stiff posture in a video. Also, it is not like being nervous here is a bad thing, right?"

"...Yeah, I guess so." Bagas nodded reluctantly. "I am just surprised that he forgot his frustration before."

What Bagas meant by frustration was, of course, the fact that Nayaka ended up in the second place. After all, after the eighth round was over, the boy shared the same point as the Uzbek boy before as the leader of the standings, and yet, after everything was over, neither of them got the first spot they were eyeing.

It was Duta, who, before the day began, only sat in fourth place, who managed to snatch the trophy out of nowhere. The two wins he earned today bounced his position up toward the top, managing to get 7.5 points out of the 9 rounds he had played.

He shared the same points as Nayaka and Javokhir Bozorov, turning the top of the standings into a three-way lead. Normally, this would lead to some sort of mini tournament between those three to determine the sole winner. However, this Asian School Chess Tournament didn’t have that, so the winner was determined by the tiebreak point they earned.

Honestly, this was a bad way to determine the standing in a chess tournament. After all, no one really knew how a player earned their point, and suddenly, it was determined that one of them had the higher rank compared to the others.

That was why losing by a tiebreak point stung more, because it didn’t involve players’ chess ability at all, just pure statistical nonsense.

"Eh, Brother Nay doesn’t make a big deal because the winner is Duta," Devi said as a matter of fact. "If it were that Uzbek boy who won, he would be livid, and probably wouldn’t want to come to this closing ceremony."

As they all saw Nayaka walk down the podium and applauded loudly for the boy, all the people there couldn’t help but agree with Devi’s sentiment. Even though Nayaka was reluctant, he still felt better since the winner was his countryman, so they shared the same glory here.

"And the first place of the U17 section, the winner of the tournament... Let’s give a round applause to Satria Duta Cahaya from Indonesia!"

Come on, Brat! This is your turn!" Bagas grinned, slapping the boy’s shoulder playfully.

As Duta walked into the podium to receive the trophy, Sheva couldn’t help but sigh, somehow feeling tension ebb away from his shoulder. Then, in the next second, a familiar cold voice suddenly rang inside his head, and a futuristic interface popped in front of his face.

[DING!]

[Mission complete! Congratulations, you beat the enhanced Jergus Pechac! Do you want to open your reward now?]

[Yes/No]

-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!