Chapter 596 596: The End of the Tournament!
The last day of the tournament went exactly as Sheva had thought it would. Well… At least, for him, in this case.
In two of the last games here, he was paired against two veterans who weren't that active anymore, and the pairing was only because he had no opponents anymore who could get to his level. Of course, Sheva would never show any mercy here.
While he had basically secured the ticket to the next World Cup, the boy didn't want to get any quick draw in the last two rounds. No, facing a lower-rated opponent, the loss of rating would be quite massive, and while he could still afford it, given his rating increase in this tournament, the boy was too stingy for that.
'Anyway, why would I waste my rating to save time? I cannot go back home quickly, anyway, and I can take a rest as much as I want tomorrow. Let's just be willful today and crush all of my opponents!'
At least, that was what he thought, and the boy delivered everything perfectly.
In the first match of the day, he didn't take any nonsense, just going straight for his opponent's head. The King's Gambit was still lethal to lure the enemy out of their comfort zone, and once the execution ground was set, he just had his guillotine deal with the rest of it mercilessly.
As for the last game, both for the day and for the tournament, it was a bit tricky. The opponent wanted to take advantage that Sheva had already won by baiting for a quick draw, and for a moment, everything was set in place for that result to be on the board.
Fortunately, Sheva resisted, and in a long endgame lasting for about an hour, he managed to outmatch his opponent with a pawn being only one square behind the promotion square. That was when his opponent resigned, giving him the last win of the tournament.
The last two games gave him a +8.3 rating ELO, making him cross the 2660 threshold already. Now, he was only 40 rating points behind the 2700-rated club, and with how fast he progressed in the last couple of months, it would not be long before he reached that point.
'Can I get it before the World Cup, though?' He hummed, starting to calculate inside his head. 'I still have the TePe Sigeman tournament and the Biel Chess Festival, so 18 games there. However, the opponent will be quite difficult, so I cannot underestimate them. I will not be able to win it all like in this tournament, but at least, I have to get closer to that 2700 door.' He clenched his fist silently, determination burning in his eyes.
Well, the men's section was finally over, and to no one's surprise, Sheva was declared the winner here. However, that didn't mean there was no upset in this section. No, if anything, a new player emerged from the mud, ascending to heaven out of nowhere.
That person was, of course, Nayaka. Even though he got beaten by Tin Jingyao in the last round and got overtaken in the last second, the boy still managed to snatch the number three spot in the tournament. This was definitely way better than anyone could expect from a player whose rating was below 2000 before the start of the tournament.
More than that, Nayaka managed to get 180 ELO rating, catapulting him from 1960 to 2140, and the result also earned him his first-ever FM norm in his career. That was definitely a massive jump for a no-name player like him.
Then, after that, came the meat of the conversation, the women's section of the tournament.
Everything definitely went wild in that place. In the eighth round of the game, Anna was so close to beating Dita Karenza, and Laysa was also just a few mistakes away from winning against Medina. Unfortunately, they crumbled under the pressure in the last second, throwing away their win, and had to be satisfied with a draw result.
That, of course, gave Dita Karenza a chance to win it all. With her leading by one point with one round left to play, she just needed to get a draw, and everything would be in her hands.
Anna and Laysa managed to bounce back in the last round and won their particular game, but Dita Karenza just took a quick, easy draw against her opponent to put her on the same podium as Sheva.
This was definitely the biggest upset of the tournament. No one expected Dita Karenza to be this good here. Hell, most people didn't even know she existed in the first round, and yet, the woman climbed to heaven with her effort, and God really paid back every single sweat and blood she dropped in this tournament with the highest reward here.
And just like Nayaka, this result propelled her rating so high, from just a mere 2050-rated ELO woman to a player with the ELO rating of 2221. Not only that, but the stacked opponents in this tournament also gave the woman her first-ever WGM norm, adding to the competition for the women's section in this country.
As the winner of the tournament was announced, Sheva just walked calmly to the venue, having already been used to this scene. However, Dita Karenza was way more emotional, even having tears threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes.
"I know you will find this to be embarrassing, Sheva, because for you, this is just a small tournament." The woman said when she caught him staring for too long. "However, for me, this is everything. This is the best performance I have ever shown in my career, and this also gives me hope that I can continue walking down this path. This win… For me, this is like a second wind coming to my side…"
Sheva just nodded silently, not knowing what to say. It would be an insult if he uttered anything right now, because he himself had the biggest privilege in the world with the system inside his head.
He didn't know what it felt like to be struggling in the grassroots section. Still, Sheva knew how to climb higher once the first step was taken, so he could only offer one thing here.
"Let's just prepare for the main event, Sister Dita, because this is just the appetizer. Once we are in the World Cup, let's make sure the whole world will remember our name!"