hotmtlnovel Chapter 642: The First Round! Devi VS Aryan Chopra!
Chapter 642: The First Round! Devi VS Aryan Chopra!
Chapter 642: The First Round! Devi VS Aryan Chopra! "Hello, everybody! Welcome back to the Black Rook Channel, and after a long TePe Sigeman Tournament a few days ago, we are back here! Covering the Biel Open Tournament, where seven! Yes, you’ve heard it right, seven of our players! Are going to fight here!"
Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitch at how enthusiastic his best friend was when they started the live broadcast. While he was not a stranger to this, it had been such a long time since he joined this as a commentator. Usually, he would be the main protagonist, sitting in the venue for a cut-throat battle against the other top-level players.
’Maybe, this is the change that I need to unwind myself...’ He couldn’t help but think to himself.
"Now, together with me, we have a special guest today!" Bagas’s tone turned solemn. "He is the one we always cheer for! The one who has been fighting tooth and nail to carry the country to a better place! Today, though, he is not here to be the protagonist, but as a supporter for them all! Let’s welcome our dear friend, Grandmaster Adrian Sheva!"
Right after the announcement was made, the live chat exploded immediately, and all of Sheva’s fans flooded the room with messages for the boy.
Froggies: Damn! I know Sheva is going to be here! This is going to be a blast!
Karmeny60: Congratulations on winning the Tournament in Sweden, Sheva! Greetings from Bandung!
Horius135: Why is he here, though? Should he be playing at the venue?
Ghroa581w: Read more news, Man! He announced his withdrawal a few days ago!
This... This was the first time Sheva read the broadcast chat live, and it would be a lie if the boy said he wasn’t getting overwhelmed by this.
He could still read some bad comments questioning his absence, with some even calling him soft and comparing him with Vincent and Arjun, who were on the board today. It stung, but all the bad things were buried under the support from the others immediately, forcing the boy to focus on them instead of the negativity hidden in it.
"Yeah, thank you, everyone, I appreciate the support." Sheva smiled stiffly. Although he wasn’t as camera-phobic as he was last year, the mere thought of talking to the camera was still a weird concept inside his head, and since he hadn’t been doing that in a long time, it would be a while before he got used to this. "Anyway, I am just here like you guys, to support our friends on the battlefield. Let’s just cheer for them all, okay?"
"Good words from you, Sheva!" Bagas nodded in approval. Even though it was awkward, the boy still carried himself well, guiding the crowd to focus on the players in the venue. "Anyway, before we go straight to the venue, let’s see the pairing today!"
Right after that, the screen split, with half of it showing the names of all the Indonesian players here and their opponents today.
Aryan Chopra (2626) – (2074) Safira Devi
Dita Karenza (2259) – (2477) Wang Chen
Moritz Weishaeustel (2442) – (2305) Claudia Marisa
Satria Duta Cahaya (2122) – (2410) Richard Wessman
Read Samadov (2482) – (2111) Nayaka Buddhidharma
Romain Gemelli (2101) – (2391) Laysa Latifah
Anna Marisa (2379) – (2117) Rafael Adam
"That’s it, folks!" Bagas announced. "Seven matchups today, some having an easy schedule, while the others have to fight for their lives just from the first round of the tournament! What do you think about this, Sheva? Which game are you interested in the most?" He asked his best friend.
"It is a bit difficult to say which one piques my interest the most, but if I have to say one, it would be the pairing on board 3," Sheva answered immediately. This was a pre-arranged question from Bagas, so it was easy for him to respond. "Aryan Chopra, I still remember my game against him last year in this exact place. At that time, I managed to beat him miraculously, so in the last few hours before the first game today, I took my time to teach Devi everything I knew about him. It will be difficult to follow my path, but I hope that Devi can steal even half a point today."
"Oh! That’s interesting! The teacher was able to beat him last year, so let’s see if the student can follow the path!" Bagas smiled, ecstatic that they had a strong narration even in the first game. "Let’s go and check that game first! And... Oh, what do we have here, the Caro-Kann?"
Indeed, the game had already progressed on the board, and Sheva could see from the screen that Devi went for the exact same Caro-Kann variation that he had recommended earlier.
"This is a good thing, I tell you what." Sheva nodded in satisfaction. "This is the Karpov Variation of the Caro-Kann Defense, one that I recommend if the opponent’s two knights are out early. This is a solid defense fortress with Devi as the black piece, which has two knights supporting each other in the middle, a dark bishop fianchettoing in the G7 square, and a safe king after the castle move. I can say that I am happy that one of the preparations we made is going to work."
Indeed, it wasn’t like Sheva and Devi knew that Aryan Chopra would go for the main line of the Caro-Kann here. No, their research time was too short for them to figure that out. That was why they prepared so many variations, from the exchange variation to even the fantasy one.
Fortunately, Aryan Chopra didn’t pick the complicated one here, making it easier for Devi to defend her position later.
The game progressed slowly, with Aryan Chopra being forced to think just in the seventh move of the game. The man was probably in a dilemma right now, not knowing whether to fianchetto his bishop or let that same bishop control the center. It was probably such a pointless choice, because neither move really affected the current position here.
Nonetheless, Sheva was happy with him wasting time like this, at least helping Devi ease the tension on her shoulder.
His attention was snapped, though, as Bagas suddenly raised his voice. "Oh! What do we have here?! It seems Laysa is the first one who has a strong advantage against the opponent today!"