Chapter 597: Timeskip!
After the tournament was over, time passed by pretty quickly. Sheva also started preparing himself for the World Cup, even calling for several reinforcements to help him get a quality training match.
"Eh, don’t fret over it! I will also compete in the World Cup, so having you as my training partner will help a lot!"
At least, that was what Dmitrij Kollar said when Sheva thanked him.
Yeah, the reinforcement he talked about was the German GM whom Sheva got to know well enough in the last several months, Dmitrij Kollar. The man was also like him, a genius who preferred to go for a tactical battle and would die rather than take an easy draw from his opponent.
When Sheva called and uttered his request, Dmitrij agreed immediately, not even bothering to think about it for a second.
Of course, Dmitrij was not the only one whom he invited. No, that would mean the training would be too one-way, especially considering their similarity in playing style. That was why Sheva invited the second player into his group, the one solid player who still fought for a chance to get into the World Cup in the Asian Championship next month.
That person was Muradli Muhammad, the Azerbaijani GM whom Sheva met during the Biel Chess Festival last year. The man was also the winner of the tournament at that time, topping Sheva by half a point. The reason why Sheva asked him, though, was because he still had an impression of the man’s toughness in defending the position against him.
’Yeah, he fought so fiercely for more than four hours, maneuvering his pieces back and forth to keep everything afloat. His positional sense is top-notch, and his patience and resilience are also insane!’
Of course, while the game was basically last year and Sheva was quite confident that he could do better given the same position right now, he was still more than impressed with the Azerbaijani GM, and that was why he made a call.
Then, once again, just like Dmitrij Kollar, Muradli Muhammad accepted the invitation without hesitation.
"This is a rare chance for me to interact more with top players, so why wouldn’t I want to join?"
That was quite a strange remark to be made, especially since Azerbaijan still had Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, one of the most underrated top chess players of this generation, living in the country. However, who was Sheva to question it when the man himself agreed to his invitation?
Then, Sheva also didn’t forget to sneak one of his people into the group. This time, it was Dita Karenza, since the woman would also have to prepare for the same tournament.
’This is also putting goodwill for her. Who knows, maybe she will be lured into joining my club?’ He thought inwardly.
Yeah, Sheva still didn’t forget about the task that Mister Wahyu gave before the tournament, which was to establish his own club. Right now, he had already had six official members—The girls and his three students—but who would’ve refused a talented player like Medina?
Still, poor woman, she was so flabbergasted at the luxurious lineup of players who would help her train that she shut down the video call connection instantly, having her brain short-circuited. In her career, the best coach that she had ever been under was Master Susanto, and that was just for one occasion.
Now, this.... Nah, she couldn’t handle this at all.
It took Sheva a few times to convince himself that everything was alright and she didn’t need to pay anything to make Dita willing to go, and that was the beginning of the small, elite club that Sheva formed to prepare for any high-level tournament that he would join in the future.
Of course, he didn’t just prepare for that. No, the boy was still responsible for his students and the girls, so when they graduated from the school, he put them in the camp immediately, even inviting Duta, Nayaka, and Devi to come to Jakarta.
"Well, I have already talked to Mister Wahyu, and he gathered all of his friends to help sponsor you guys for a two or three-week trip to Europe for at least two tournaments. One is for the Biel Festival, and the other is still undecided, as I am still making a list of any suitable tournaments for you guys."
This casual remark was enough to make their jaws drop. They knew that Sheva had a special relationship with Mister Wahyu. But this... This alone was enough to make them believe that the boy was Mister Wahyu’s grandson, and now, everyone was trying to flatter him for a favor here.
"Come on, Sheva... Isn’t this your favorite snack? Come on, have it!"
"Hey, don’t hog him like that, you bitch! Sheva is not yours!"
"Bah! What do a child like you know about adults’ relationships?"
Sheva just shook his head in exasperation. Fortunately, they were friends long enough at this point that he knew they were not for his money or connection, so the friendship was still quite pure even after he got a sugar daddy here.
Of course, there was still a tournament that Sheva played in between. Just like right now, a month and a half after the tournament was over, he was preparing himself for another elite tournament, the TePe Sigeman & Co.
In terms of chess, this was not an old and classic tournament, being held in Malmo, Sweden, for the last 28 years by the local club there. The reputation was quite low, at least not as big as the Chess Festival or the Tata Steel one. However, it had become the place where all prodigies made a jump in their career for the last couple of years, including Hans Niemann last year or the Dutch GM, Jorden Van Foreest, two years ago.
Still, that was not the only thing that excited Sheva the most for this tournament.
No, the boy could feel his spirit burning right now, especially when he saw the list of the players there. He caught the name of one player he had been eager to face the most in the last couple of years, and honestly, that game meant way more than the tournament itself for him.
As for that player whom Sheva was talking about... Well, of course, it was none other than Gukesh Dommaraju himself, the only person who managed to defeat Sheva so far in his career.