Chapter 616: Snatching the Win!
’Okay, yes, the position indeed looks bad for me. But in my defense, I really get what I want here.’ Sheva smiled wryly as he scanned the whole board one more time.
Yeah, even Sheva himself knew that he was not in a good situation. First of all, Nils Grandelius managed to plant a knight into the heart of his territory, and even though he wanted to kick it out, the horsey could just jump into another strategic square, and it would take a long time and a sacrifice to really kick that piece out, the two things that Sheva was not willing to let go right now.
Then, there was also the Swedish GM’s queen, infiltrating deep to support that knight. Its mobility really became a big weapon here, as that piece could cover half the board just in one move.
Now, Nils Grandelius had a strong attack, with three pieces staring at his kingside while his pawn also controlled the center. No matter who was here, any GM would say that it was black who had the biggest advantage here.
That was why the computer engine also agreed, giving –1.2 for Nils Grandelius right now.
However, Sheva still hadn’t shown any sign of panic yet. No, in his mind, this was still in his calculation. After all, just like what he said, this was what he wanted at the beginning of the game.
Rather than facing a cocoon-like defense from the Swedish GM, it would be better for his sanity to go for a cutthroat battle like this. At least, Sheva was confident that any slip the man in front of him made would never escape his sharp eyes. Right now, all he needed to do was not make everything worse, staying patiently on the back while also strengthening his territory.
The game had already entered a patience battle here, with only one move being enough to break the stability on the board.
Nils Grandelius also somehow felt nervous in his seat. While his stoic face would never allow the man to show his emotion clearly, his legs started shaking, and his pupil dilated slightly as a big frown was formed on his face.
The man also realized that he was in a good position, and now, he was busy searching for the winning move here.
’My queen has to go back first. It cannot go further. Then, my knight. I cannot let him take it out right now. Still, where to go? Wait, what if he takes that pawn? If anything, my knight will have to take revenge on that center pawn, right? No, what about my other knight? Damn, this is so troublesome!’
It had been more than 12 minutes since Sheva made the last move, and yet, the man still couldn’t find the right idea in this situation.
The mixture of excitement due to him being so close to beating Sheva—at least, that was what his mind told him—and the nervousness to mess things up really made him lose the ability to judge the situation clearly. Nils Grandelius overcomplicated things on the board, burning his time so much that it gave Sheva a slight advantage on the matter that he wanted the most here.
’Later, once his time is low enough, I will start my blitz style, and that’s when he is prone to make a mistake. Let’s just wait patiently and see what he is going to cook now...’ Sheva pondered inwardly.
The game continued at a quite slow pace, with Nils Grandelius trying his hardest to find the best way to crack Sheva’s defensive wall. However, the boy maneuvered all of his pieces in such a way that, even though none of them were getting further than the second rank, everything was still getting protected by each other.
This was an elite-level defense that Sheva demonstrated, with only a few top players in the world could get into this situation at all.
In the end, Nils Grandelius failed to capitalize on his advantage here. He exchanged his knights hastily, even though those two pieces were in a better position, and it allowed Sheva to equalize the game. Somehow, the evaluation bar moved back to equal, as the game was back to the beginning again.
"Yes, it seems, this is already within Sheva’s prediction." Bagas smiled, letting out a relieved sigh. "I mean, he has never shown any hint of panic, just continuing the game as if he knows what he is doing, and indeed, he does! Now, it is time for him to launch a counter, so Nils Grandelius better be prepared, because the next attack will be crazy!"
Well, Bagas just said that part to make things lively in the broadcast, joking around and exaggerating one or two facts on the game. Little did he know, though, that Sheva’s next attack would indeed be crazy.
It all still started with the opponent’s mistake. First, Nils Grandelius wanted to march forward all of his kingside pawns to put more pressure on that flank. It weakened the king’s protection, allowing Sheva to infiltrate that side with his rook. However, that was still quite fine for a moment.
It was when Nils Grandelius tried to exchange the queen that the situation tilted on Sheva’s side.
Sheva blinked for a moment, having a gut feeling that something big was on his side.
’Wait a second...’ He frowned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. ’Can I just sacrifice my rook for the bishop, and then take the pawn on E5 with my queen and get a check? I mean, the king doesn’t have any room to run, right? It has to go back, and after that, my other rook can infiltrate further, and at worst, I can get his queen for free, and at best... Hmm, it seems I have a checkmate on the board here.’
With that thought in mind, Sheva calculated further, and after finding that he had a smooth path here, the boy didn’t hesitate to sacrifice his rook. Nils Grandelius was so stunned by this move, somehow forgetting that there was a white rook on the seventh rank eyeing everything, and now, it really came to bite his ass.
The man could also calculate the same thing as Sheva here, and finding that there was no hope in continuing the game, he shook his head in regret, offering a handshake with a deep sigh.
He didn’t even try to resist first, resigning from the game and giving Sheva his third win of the tournament.