Chapter 622: Gukesh’s PoV
Meanwhile, contrary to everyone’s belief, Gukesh himself didn’t really have a great time right now. He knew that he had an upper hand, and yet, the boy was so stressed over everything, calculating all the possibilities on the board that it fried his brain on the spot.
’Damn, he infiltrates through my kingside! But wait, this is a chance for me to simplify the game! Can I get the queen off the board? No, that would mean he has a chance to force a draw. No, no, I need to win the game, or everything will be more difficult for me. Wait, why would I think that this is going to be a draw, though? I have a rook advantage here!’
His mind juggled from one line after another, finding it hard to find the best one.
It wasn’t like there was no good move. In fact, almost every move was good, at least enough to keep the advantage on his side. However, Gukesh didn’t want to settle just for that. The boy knew that Sheva had a sharp intuition, so one moment of weakness would be enough for the Indonesian GM to overturn the table.
’No, I cannot show any weakness on my side. I have to keep pushing, or he would’ve pushed me back later.’
Honestly, if it were any other opponent, he wouldn’t be that cautious. However, this was most likely due to overinformation, as Gukesh got caught in his best friend’s words.
’Listen, once you gain an advantage, you need to execute him quickly. Don’t give him a room to breathe. One half-ass move is enough for him to overturn the table. Just... Remember, he is not the same naïve boy who you beat last year.’
At least, that was what Pragg said last night, and honestly, in chess, Gukesh still trusted the older boy a lot. Coupled with his excessive research on Sheva’s performance in the last couple of months, he was justified in treating this game like standing on thin ice.
Unfortunately, this was definitely not the best approach for him. The path to win the game was open, and yet, the boy seemed to hesitate to step into that light. Hell, on the other side of the world, Sagar Shah, the founder of ChessBase India, who also streamed this game for viewers in India, commented with a big frown on his face.
"I don’t know what is going on with Gukesh right now, but the position should not be difficult for him to capitalize on. No, if anything, it should be impossible for Sheva to flip the table, what with him being down a rook for a bishop. Gukesh just needs to simplify the game and win it all from the endgame phase."
Of course, it was easier said than done. Sheva proved to be a top player as well in this game, resisting all the attacks with the same ferociousness. In the end, even though Gukesh wanted to entangle the opponent in a positional battle, he couldn’t do it for too long and had to give up the opportunity for a simplified game.
’Yeah, I don’t need to worry about it.’ The Indian boy took a deep breath slowly, trying to calm his raging nerves. ’He still has five pawns and a dark bishop compared to me with one rook and three pawns, so material-wise, we are equal. However, his two pawns are locked with mine, with them sitting on the light squares. At least, I can target those two, and he won’t be able to do anything about it. That should be the path to a breakthrough that I can use.’
The more Gukesh thought about it, the more confident he became. However, when his eyes caught the movement on the other side of the table—or the lack of it, to be more precise—he felt his stomach crunch instantly.
’What is this? Is he trying to act cool, or is he just putting on a poker face? I swear, he should’ve noticed that my situation is better, right?’
Yeah, at the end of the day, Gukesh was just a 17-year-old boy. While he was confident in his ability, his instinct to check on his opponent’s reaction sometimes took over his mind, and if he found that the one in front of him was still calm, the boy would start to doubt himself unconsciously.
Later, he would learn that chess was a game where, as long as he played the best, he didn’t have to care about his opponent’s actions. However, that would be him far in the future. For now, the boy is still caught in this mindset, and now, he started to double-check everything once again.
’No, I don’t believe I made a mistake, or he has a way to get out of this position. I just need to calm down, take a deep breath, and let my mind at ease...’
What he didn’t know, though, was that every little movement he made was caught by Sheva’s subtle glance. Even though the Indonesian boy was at a disadvantage right now, he couldn’t help but feel amused.
’You are the one who is at an advantage here. Why are you the nervous one? Does that Buddha title mean nothing?’
Truth to be told, though, even if his position was worse, Sheva wasn’t really that worried, as he could see a glimmer of hope in this situation. The boy had already found a way to flip the table, and he only needed one trigger from Gukesh to do that.
Then, the trigger finally arrived in the next move, as, instead of threatening Sheva’s pawn on the light square, Gukesh decided to protect the pawn that was being threatened by the opponent’s bishop first. This made him lose the tempo advantage he had, and even in the computer engine, the evaluation bar dropped immediately.
That was when Sheva’s eyes finally lit up, as he saw a chance to bounce back into the game again.
’Yes! Thank you for the chance, Gukesh! I will pay my respect to you later!’