Chapter 602: Starting with a Draw?!
Time ticked by, and before both players noticed it, the game had been running for almost three hours at this point. The air conditioner was excellent inside the hall, and yet, Sheva could still feel a bead rolling slowly on his forehead.
The tension was palpable, with Peter Svidler himself also frowning so deeply that his eyebrows met on the bridge of his nose. Both players were so stressed, and those who watched either from the sideline or even in the broadcast were starting to get nervous here, wondering how the players would go after this.
"I tell you what, this is probably one of the most tense moments I have ever witnessed with my own eyes." Irfan chuckled wryly, feeling his throat dry as he even forgot to drink.
"Oh, really?" Bagas asked.
It wasn’t like he was curious, but the boy desperately wanted to ease the tension here. They hadn’t been chatting for more than a few minutes, watching silently as both players on the screen made their moves.
"Oh, yeah, let me tell you, even though all the chess games are running in silence, not all silence has the same tension," Irfan answered. "The last time I felt this tense in watching a game was a few years ago, when Novendra was trying to dethrone Master Susanto in the national tournament. However, I can tell you that it was pale compared to what we saw right now."
Well, the man wasn’t wrong here. Somehow, even though it was just the first game of the tournament, both players were so stubborn, trying to avoid a draw at all costs. Some of the players there even took the time to have a look, wondering what they would do if they were in either Sheva or Peter Svidler’s shoes.
At this point, though, it wasn’t just a chess game anymore. No, it was a physical and psychological warfare, and whoever lost concentration and slipped first would suffer at the end of the game.
At first glance, of course, Sheva was at an advantage in this regard. After all, he was younger, so the boy should have had better stamina to last longer in this game. However, on the metaphysical level, the boy had a disadvantage in terms of title, and while Peter Svidler was definitely much older, the man still appeared to be in prime physical condition.
That was why, even though the game was dragged to the point where the additional was given, the man still hadn’t shown any decline in his performance. There was no mistake, and everything was still clean on his side.
The only situation that made people talk was when Sheva got a pawn advantage, but as a result, he also got a doubled pawn on the G file. Now, it was four pawns and a queen against three pawns and a queen, but Sheva still failed to make progress.
Honestly, watching the game from the broadcast line was so frustrating. Everyone knew that Sheva still had the advantage here. Yeah, the -1.7 lead hadn’t gone yet, and the computer still evaluated that Sheva had a chance to win.
However, to find the decisive move was like searching for a needle in the middle of a haystack.
"There is no clear winning solution in this situation," Irfan said solemnly. "Sheva has to calculate at least five to ten moves ahead, seeing the best possibility to corner Peter Svedler. Hell, even I, who have access to the computer engine right now, don’t understand what the suggestion wants at all, and that should tell you how difficult everything is on the board!’
His exclamation, while a little bit dramatic, indeed gave the audience an idea here.
The game itself had entered stagnancy, with both players just shuffling their queens back and forth aimlessly. Well... Not without purpose, per se. It would always be Sheva trying to create an opening, just for Peter Svidler to close the hole and force the boy to back down again. The process was repeated over and over again.
Sheva shook his head slightly, rubbing his temple as he felt his balance starting to shake. The aftereffect of the title started to get him, and the sleepiness attacking his head was quite strong at this point.
’Should I try to just get a draw here?’ A devil thought also started to whisper into his head. ’I mean, this is just the first round of the tournament, right? Why would I try so hard here? I can still get a chance to win tomorrow, so it would be good to have a rest now... Right?’
’No, no, no! If I cannot even fight in this situation, what right do I have to challenge a far stronger opponent?! Peter Svidler is not even in his prime anymore, and even in his prime, he was never truly the best! I cannot let my exhaustion hold me back here!’
’But... Sleeping is good, right?’
Honestly, the constant battle between the light and dark sides inside his head was so cartoonish, but the dilemma was real. It had been almost twenty moves since any advancement was made, and yet, nothing really happened on the board. Even if he still tried, if Svidler didn’t slip, it would only end up in a draw from the 50-move rule, which would just be a waste of time for them both.
However, the debate inside his head suddenly snapped when his lazy brain caught an interesting sequence of moves. It was as if he were in the middle of a dark crossroad where he didn’t know where to go, and then, suddenly, the correct path was lit up to guide him to the promised land.
The boy straightened his back instantly, and his lazy posture was also gone, replaced by the unwavering focus in his eyes.
Peter Svidler also noticed his change, and the man frowned once again, trying to figure out what Sheva had just found on the board. Unfortunately, even after slowing down and thinking of every move carefully, he still couldn’t see anything there, so in the end, the man could only grit his teeth, walking into the trap he knew full well existed, still with a blindfold covering his eyes.
’I think I am doomed here, but where is the move?!’