Chapter 606: An Update on the Current Situation!
"Well, let’s cheer for the second win of the tournament!"
"Cheers!"
Even though there was no alcohol, the apple juice here was definitely sweeter than anything else. It also helped that the dinner this time was quite decent, a warm Chinese glass noodle with a broth full of flavor. This was definitely better than any local food they tried yesterday.
Not that Sheva said that they were bad, since he could still enjoy some normal menus like beef burgers or meatballs, but the more exotic ones like cold poached salmon or any food related to cod? Nah, that was definitely not for his tongue.
Hell, Sheva even doubted that most people here enjoyed it, especially considering how popular internationally renowned foods like pasta, spaghetti Bolognese, or tacos were. Not that he would say it out loud, of course, but his point stood here.
Anyway, it was the night after the second round was over, and right now, Sheva was in the middle of a dinner in a Chinese restaurant with Bagas. Even though the tournament was still long, at least they had a valid reason to celebrate tonight.
Not only did Sheva manage to beat two players with a higher rating than him, but the last one against Jorden Van Foreest was a masterclass from him. The boy won so decisively, putting pressure from the beginning until the end.
There was no single mistake; everything went so swiftly that some people even thought Jorden deliberately tried to lose the game. The slander was definitely malicious, but the questioning was valid. It was not often that we saw such a top-rated player fall in such an embarrassing way like this. The man didn’t even have a chance at all, for God’s sake!
Still, that was definitely not Sheva’s problem. The boy knew that he was clean, so even though the organizer wanted to investigate, he would just comply, knowing that it would be for nothing.
Rather than thinking of the finished event that couldn’t be brought back again, it would be better to focus more on what happened in that round, especially for the other players there.
"So, there are still four wins, right?" Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching a little. "Holy hell... Two rounds, eight games in total, and yet, not even a single draw is on the board? What the hell is this?!"
"Just to show you how competitive the tournament is." Bagas shrugged, continuing his dinner nonchalantly. "It also shows that the organizer really knows who to invite here. I mean, look, no one is willing to settle for a draw, right? Even that old man, Boris Gelfand, still pursued something even with a chance to get a half point today, but he still insisted on pushing just to suffer from a defeat. The others are also the same, just to show that this is the tournament you are looking for."
Well, Sheva couldn’t deny that point, since this was probably the most exciting he had had in a tournament since he started his career. Even Peter Svidler also provided a lot of entertainment, even if Sheva hated being the victim of it.
So, yeah, this tournament was definitely designed for players like him, those who sought enjoyment on the edge of the cliff.
"So, the current leader should be Gukesh and me, right?" Sheva couldn’t help but ask.
"Yup!" Bagas nodded with the ’p’ popped more. "He won an impressive bloodbath game against Vincent Keymer, and somehow, Arjun lost his game against Nils Gradelius. Just to show you that no one can be underestimated here."
Sheva nodded silently. Still, the thought of sharing the leader position with Gukesh was enough to make his blood boil. "That means, our confrontation in the future will garner more attention, right?" His grin was feral when imagining the fateful revenge duel against Gukesh later.
"It depends on whether you both can maintain your progress so far, but I think it is likely that more people will pay attention to that game." Bagas nodded in agreement. "However, before that, you still have two rounds to go. So, don’t let your bloodlust control your head, okay?"
Indeed, Sheva’s game against Gukesh was scheduled for the fifth round. Before that, the boy still had two rounds to pass through, and none of them were easy.
In the third round, the boy had to fight against Vincent Keymer, the German prodigy who also entered the 2700-rated club this year, a very strong youngster who had great potential in the future. He was at the same age as Sheva, and since he was beaten by Gukesh in the last round, the German boy would be eager to bounce back tomorrow.
Then, Sheva would also have to face Nils Grandelius, the local hero, in the fourth round.
The man’s rating was the second-to-bottom in this group, only slightly better than Sheva. He was also the kind of player who managed to scratch the 2700-rated club so many times in the past, yet was never able to survive longer than one tournament before getting kicked back to the 2600-rated club again.
Still, there was no denying his quality. The man was still in his prime, and in any elite tournament he played, he would always get a good result. This was definitely not the opponent that Sheva could underestimate, and since this was Nils Grandelius’s home court, the man would be highly motivated to beat anyone in front of him.
’Yeah, at the end of the day, Bagas is right. I cannot underestimate anyone here just because of their past record.’ Sheva nodded solemnly.
Then, while he enjoyed the spicy dumpling in front of him, the boy suddenly felt his phone buzz. It was a call from an unknown person, and Sheva blinked for a moment, checking the clock to make sure that he wasn’t miscalculating here.
’18:45? It should be around midnight back home, right?’ He frowned, pondering who had made a call at this time.
Feeling curious, he accepted the call, just to hear a loud and familiar German accent calling him from the other side of the call.
"Hey, my brother! How is it going there?!"