Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 548: Sheva VS Nayaka! (I)

"Nayaka? My opponent is going to be you?!" Sheva was startled for a second, not expecting the first pairing to be against his student.

Nayaka just sighed helplessly, fixing his slightly messy shirt while saying, "Brother, I know that you are not taking the tournament seriously, and you have the right to do so. But at least, read your pairing first the night before the game, okay? Someone will be insulted by how you behave, sooner or later, you know?"

Sheva just scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Knowing full well that he was indeed at fault here. Indeed, he came here with a huge arrogance in his shoulder, thinking that no one should be able to get even half a point here against him. After all, his stats were so ridiculous, he wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t see one.

[Name: Adrian Sheva]

Attacking 90 (+0.9) (+9.0)

Defense 87 (+0.87) (+8.7)

Calculation 85 (+0.85) (+8.5)

Strategy 86 (+0.86) (+8.6)

Intuition 87 (+0.87) (+8.7)

Time management 88 (+0.88) (+8.8)

Current state: 70%

Title Slot: [Endgame Master] [National Resonance] [The Strong Man Aura] [The King of Asia: White level] [The Conqueror of Europe: White level]

Yeah, his stats were so ridiculously high that he should be a perennial super GM right now. After the Prague Festival was over, he also got a breakthrough in the attacking stat, elevating it to a new height as his first-ever stat that crossed 90 points. More than that, his defense, calculation, and intuition also increased slightly, which he considered a bonus here.

Then, there was also the boost he received from the title. Even though he didn’t get any massive jump since his current state was less than 80 percent, the other titles were enough to fill in the gap.

The title King of Asia gave him a 1 percent increase, and the most important part, the National Resonance title, elevated him further to a new sky. Its effect increased his stats by 1 percent for every Indonesian player in the same category, worked like a charm, since there were about 10 local players in the tournament. They became his greatest asset here, silently becoming the backbone that supported him for the rest of the tournament.

Then, of course, there was the Strong Man Aura title, which, while it didn’t really boost his stats, would play a massive role in this tournament. After all, it would make his opponent’s stats decrease 5 percent if the opponent’s rating was lower than his, and since Sheva was the highest-rated player here, that meant all of his opponents would suffer from this. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Those three titles were the source of his arrogance, the reason why he became so cocky that he didn’t even look at his pairing until he arrived here.

"Still... I didn’t expect that I would play against you this early, Nayaka..." Sheva sighed helplessly. "This is a far less ideal situation for us both, you know?"

"Oh, I know. But, what can I do here?" Nayaka shrugged in resignation.

Yeah, for Nayaka, this pairing was definitely a nightmare. He was confident facing anyone else, but if it was Sheva... Well, he had been studying under Sheva’s wings for a while, and he knew that he was still far away from even touching the edge of his clothes. In his mind, the boy had already resigned to his fate, knowing that he would start the tournament with a defeat.

As for Sheva, not only was it because he wanted to see his disciple thriving, but a game against Nayaka also didn’t give him anything other than one point for the tournament. Due to the vast difference in rating, winning would only give him a 0.8 ELO rating, which was like a mosquito bite.

As for if he failed to win... Not that Sheva wanted to amuse the thought, but it would definitely be his biggest nightmare. A draw would drag his rating down for more than 10 points, and losing... Well, that thought was enough to make his skin crawl.

’No, no, no, there is no way something like that happens.’ He shook his head strongly. ’I will win this game. There is no way Nayaka is good enough to catch me off guard. Yeah, the game is in my hand.’ He muttered over and over again, trying to convince himself that nothing bad would happen.

Seeing him acting like this, Nayaka just snorted silently in amusement, trying his best to ignore the man’s antics. In his mind, Sheva was great, but he had a peculiar habit of muttering his thoughts so loudly, and the older boy really didn’t have any poker face, not being able to hide his expression.

Right now, he could see that Sheva was anxious, which somehow was enough to make him confused.

’Why would he be anxious when his opponent is only me?’ He mused inwardly.

Well, that would be a mystery for after the game, because right after that, Master Utut, the legendary Indonesian GM and also the leader of the federation, came with so many cameras, followed the man.

"It is good to see you again, young man." The man gave a show fake for the camera that Sheva had to shiver as he accepted the handshake. "I know since the first time we met that you are something special, and I am glad that you live up to your potential."

That... Was a proper bullshit if Sheva had ever heard one, and it seemed the people around the man—the reporter, the journalist, the cameraman, name them—were too happy to believe this shit, probably starting to cook something for the big news tomorrow.

In the end, Sheva just smiled stiffly, saying, "Thank you, Master Utut," Before putting his attention back to the chessboard again.

He knew that Master Utut wasn’t just the leader of the federation, but also a politician through and through. Unfortunately, Sheva hadn’t received any training in facing a politician from Bagas, so the best way to deal with the situation was to turn the conversation back to chess again.

"Anyway, since everyone has been waiting, let’s just start the round." The old man smiled once again while grabbing one of the pieces on Sheva’s side, followed by the sound of the camera shutter snapping so loudly that it made the boy wince. As the man pushed that piece forward, he said loudly, "With this first move of the game, the tournament officially begins!"

-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!