Chapter 595 595: Rating Gaining So Far
This meeting with Dita Karenza was just another short episode that would be forgotten once the tournament was over. Well… That was the case if the woman failed to seal the deal.
At the end of the day, she was still the sole leader of the tournament, getting 6 points out of 7 rounds. The closest players to her were two players: Laysa and Medina. The former had to be satisfied with a draw against Anna in the last round, while the latter bounced back after the loss against Dita Karenza by miraculously winning a classic match against Irene after more than four hours of a gritty battle between the two top players in the country.
This was definitely a great thing for Dita, since she had already fought against those two in this tournament. The closest player she hadn't faced was Anna, with 5 points, so the girl would probably be her next opponent tomorrow.
Now that only two rounds are left, the pressure has shifted to the other players. Dita Karenza could just have a draw in the next round, and she would still be on top of the list. She could also secure the tournament with a win, but that could only happen if Laysa and Medina, the two closest competitors who would probably fight against each other tomorrow, had a draw.
Nevertheless, the odds were completely on her side, and if somehow she choked the entire tournament, that was entirely on her.
"I mean, who would've thought that Sister Dita is going to explode in this tournament, right?" Claudia sighed, sipping the milk tea she bought after the round was over.
The sky was dark already, and yet, before they all went back home, the girls still had the energy for another round of sweetness. Somehow, Sheva also got dragged into this shit, so he just sat there silently with both arms folded in front of his chest.
"Well, yeah, but that just cements the idea that we have a lot of talented players with no opportunity to shine, right?" Laysa shrugged while enjoying the cold vanilla ice cream heartily. Then, a mischievous smirk formed as she added, "Just to show that you cannot underestimate anyone, eh?"
Claudia's face flushed red in embarrassment. It seemed Laysa would never let her live peacefully without mentioning the scene where she looked down on Dita Karenza because of the woman's low rating.
Honestly, it wasn't her fault that she got slapped in the face like this. Well… At least, partially. While yes, it was bad to look down on a lower-rated opponent, what was the chance that the opponent was a wolf in a sheep's clothing like Dita? No way people could say confidently that a 2000-rated player would win a tournament with a rating average of 2300, and even with the highest rating, one being around 2400!
Those who were beaten by Sheva last year: Yeah, fuck you too!
"Well, let's not dwell on it too much, okay?" Anna once again became the mediator, easing the tension between the two girls of opposite polarities. "We still have two games to play tomorrow, let's do our best and hope a miracle will happen. If not, then let's just get our rating as high as possible!"
The other two girls nodded solemnly, knowing that tomorrow was the most crucial part of the tournament.
Speaking of rating, though, none of them had a big jump in this tournament. Laysa, as the one who earned the most points with 4 wins and 3 draws, didn't earn that much, just having a +5 increase so far. All four wins she earned were used to cover one draw she suffered against Dita Karenza, which showed how much a draw against a lower-rated player hurt her.
Anna was also the same. The draw she got against Ummi Fisabilillah in the first round hurt, even though it wasn't as bad as Laysa. It was fortunate that Ummi's rating was a little bit higher, so the damage was not that big. Still, it jeopardized her rating increase, making her only get +6.6 so far.
The most pitiful one was Claudia, the only one among them who suffered from a defeat. It was only once, against Medina, nonetheless, but this was still enough to drop her rating a little bit more. She managed to regain the rating, but no increase has been earned so far.
Yeah, it was the seventh round of the game, and her net rating was +0.0. It was a rare occasion, but this could indeed happen.
As for who gained the most rating… Well, of course, it would be Sheva.
After winning all of his games, he earned about 29 ELO rating points, propelling his rating to 2657. He also bounced from the 94th rank in the world to 72nd, getting closer to the top.
Of course, some people would find it strange that his rating increase was so low. With seven rounds of victory, that meant the average rating he earned per game was about 4, which was quite low even for the top players in the world. However, that was the cost of being the top-seeded player, not just in this tournament, but in any of the tournaments in the world.
Hell, Sheva's first two games ended up with only +0.8 gain, considering that there was more than a 500-point rating difference between him and his opponent. That was definitely the lowest he earned from a win. Ever.
'Well, I cannot complain here. I am already in a great position, and maybe, after this, I wouldn't play in any local tournament that involves rating to avoid getting accused of farming a rating. No, that would be horrible.' He thought inwardly.
This was a common problem for any strong players from a weak country. Magnus himself only played in Norway once a year in the Norway Chess Tournament, and after that, he had never appeared in the local one.
"Anyway, last day of the tournament! Tomorrow!" Sheva shook his head quickly, banishing all the less important thoughts from his head. "Let's just do our best and try to win it all! After that, I can finally focus on the other important invitational tournaments outside and prepare for the World Cup next September!"