Chapter 605: Second Round Begins! Eh... It Is Over?!
"Let’s have a good game!"
As both players shook hands with each other, Sheva made the first move, starting the second round of the tournament. Just like the usual, he pushed his king’s pawn two squares forward, not even changing his main weapon here.
While he waited for Jorden Van Foreest to make a move, his eyes also wandered around the venue.
’The number of people here today is even less than yesterday, huh? It seems chess is not really that popular in this country.’ He muttered inwardly. ’Man, this is the highest rated tournament overall that I have ever played in, but this is also the deadest tournament in my career. I mean, no one is watching here!"
Not that it was a big difference, since everything had to be quiet in the venue. However, it was a strange sight to see only four or five people waiting outside for the final result of the round, and those were also the same people who came here yesterday.
’Anyway, let’s not get distracted too far.’ He shook his head quickly, glancing at the clock next to the board. ’The second move, and I have already wasted a minute? No, that won’t do. I need to speed things up.’
True enough, he started blitzing his way through the opening stage. The system he picked, though, was unusual. Instead of going for the Italian Opening that he was quite fond of, the boy picked the Ruy-Lopez one, the system that he hadn’t really used in a long time.
"It is rare for Sheva to pull this one, eh?" in the broadcast room, Irfan was taken aback by the move. "I swear, the last time he picked this one was last year in Reykjavik. That... Or even a little bit earlier than that. After that, he always went for the Italian Opening."
Jorden Van Foreest was also surprised here, since he had already done a lot of research about the young man in front of him. ’Yeah, if there is one truth about the research I did, it would be that he is so unpredictable here.’ The man muttered wryly.
There was a reason, though, for Sheva to pick it. Not just Jorden, but Sheva also had done a good job in researching his opponent, and he found out something interesting in the Dutch GM’s games with this opening.
’Not always, but he would tend to overextend his kingside in this system, too eager to put pressure on my kingside. Most of his games with Ruy-Lopez will end up with his king being in an open position in the first fifteen moves, which is definitely something that I can exploit today.’
Of course, there was a chance that this plan went out of the roof, and Sheva had already prepared himself to go for another long and arduous endgame battle. For a moment, it looked like this was going to happen, what with the man going for the theory line perfectly. The only consolation here was that they avoided the drawish line, which would ensure things would explode later.
Then, in the 12th move of the game, the move that Sheva had been waiting for finally arrived.
He put his dark bishop on the G5 square, threatening the queen while also baiting for the pawn to move forward. True enough, after that, the F and G pawns moved one after another, trying to kick his bishop out of the vicinity.
In the end, Sheva just exchanged his bishop with Jorden’s knight, but he didn’t feel pity throwing away his active piece in this scenario. No, that piece had already done its job, and now, the black king was basically in an open position, not knowing that the hunt was about to start.
’Now, how should I deal with this matter?’ Sheva pondered for a second.
He also exchanged the queen without hesitation, knowing that the piece had mobility for Jorden to provide support in the king’s defense. Then, with two rooks, two knights, and one bishop, the boy started to maneuver his pieces, coordinating them all in a big web to make sure that they stayed connected to each other while also slowly taking away all the squares for the enemy’s king to move.
Still, the computer engine didn’t really budge. It still thought that the game was equal, since while Jorden’s king was out of the comfort zone already, his other pieces were quite strong, staring at Sheva’s kingside from afar.
The game entered a deadlock situation, and yet, it was broken immediately by the Dutch GM himself.
It seemed, even with his extensive research, Sheva still underestimated his opponent’s madness. It was as if he didn’t care about defense at all here. Instead of putting more protection on his king, the Dutch GM rushed more toward Sheva’s kingside, marching the pawns into a suicidal mission at Sheva’s territory.
’Wait, is he crazy or what?’ Sheva blinked, glancing secretly at his opponent to see the man’s expression.
Seeing no remorse or panic on his opponent’s face, usually, Sheva would think that there was a hidden plan here, and he would start calculating every possible move carefully. However, this time, it was different. He felt like Jorden Van Foreest was becoming too reckless, and this was a chance for him to strike back.
Then, in the most sophisticated sequence of moves, he started to dance with all of his pieces. First, he took one of the pawns on the kingside, letting a series of exchanges happen on the board.
A lot of major pieces fell at this point, but that also removed all of Jorden’s defense on the king. After that, another pawn fell again, and this time, the Dutch GM couldn’t get any compensation at all. With a one-pawn advantage, coupled with the position that favored Sheva more, it was time for the boy to exert his dominance here.
He got all the pieces in the right place, and before anyone noticed it, Jorden Van Foreest was suffocated to death. Now, the man was at the crossroads. He could sacrifice everything to keep the game going, or he could just march blindly and get killed in the next few seconds.
Nevertheless, neither option could save the game right now, so in the end, the Dutchman finally offered a handshake.
Just in one hour and eight minutes, just in 24 moves, Sheva finally won the game, leading the entire pack with two points out of two rounds.