Chapter 680: Timeskip - Preparation for the World Cup!
Well, the news from Medina was enough to shake off everyone's feelings. Just when they thought their chance was closed for the World Cup this year, the woman swung the door open violently, before she herself stood in front of it as if asking them all, 'Are you qualified to enter this room?'
The spark that seemed to be dissipated after the tournament in Biel was over suddenly flashed again, and this time, all the chess players in the room just stared at each other with spirit burning in their eyes, knowing that this would be one of the most important events in their lives.
"An open tournament for one ticket…" Anna muttered, her fist clenched unconsciously.
"Ha! Interesting!" Laysa laughed, madness gleamed in her eyes. "Thank you for the news, Sister Medina! At least, I can prepare early before the tournament starts!"
The others also had the same expression, looking at each one of them like they were mortal enemies. Everyone knew here that once the tournament was scheduled, they would be each other's rivals, going for a cutthroat battle to stand on the highest spot on the mountain.
They didn't even care whether the tournament could happen or not. After all, in their mind, with the support of Sheva, Irene, and Medina, there was no way the federation would be able to hide this thing from the public. Also, if Sheva were there, Bagas would also join the fun here, and with his specialty in social media, things would definitely blow up in a bad way.
No, the federation couldn't afford that, and that was why they would definitely comply with their demand.
Of course, they could talk and dream big here. However, the negotiation with the federation was not over yet. More than that, some of them who didn't live in Jakarta had to go back to their hometown, just like Sheva's three students. Even though they were dissatisfied here, at the end of the day, they were still students, and they had their school to work for until the tournament was officially scheduled.
Meanwhile, time also passed quickly after this. Somehow, Sheva's little club also grew more, as a lot of experienced players also gathered here. It seemed the news spread fast on the Internet, and some players who had only heard about his name wanted to either test his capability or ask for his guidance. Not that Sheva would deny it, of course, since he himself also enjoyed the process of teaching others.
Maybe that was why he was willing to stay with Devi, Duta, and Nayaka for so long.
Of course, the girls also couldn't be neglected here. With them having a target to achieve in the future, they started training like madmen. Or a madwoman, in this case. They would stay at Sheva's house from quite early in the morning until dinner time, and hell, sometimes, Anna and Claudia would even stay longer for another round of discussion.
Any good result they achieved in Biel was forgotten already, and now, they seek more improvement like a bunch of starving beasts. They all knew that in that open tournament, rating didn't really matter since they knew each other well enough. The difference would only lie in the tiny detail here and there, and those who mastered it would be standing on the high ground in that tournament.
Meanwhile, even if Sheva enjoyed his new role as a teacher, the boy didn't dare to neglect his own training. After overcoming whatever psychological burden he had in the past and making sure that he was ready to play again, the boy continued his training with his team. Of course, the members were still the same here, consisting of Dmitrij Kollar and Muradli Muhammad.
What made it interesting, though, was that those two would be playing in the World Cup as well. This made them a little bit secretive of each other, and while they still discussed a lot of things during their training session, at least, they would be more reserved, wanting to save their trump card for when they had to be paired against each other.
Other than that, they also put more focus on the shorter time formats like rapid and blitz. After all, those would play a huge role in the World Cup tournament, as any draw result after two games would be settled with a speed chess fight. This was also where Sheva's disadvantage lay, as he himself was not as experienced as the others in this regard.
"I cannot help it, though." He sighed helplessly when Dmitrij Kollar mocked his skill. "It is not easy to find a good rapid or blitz event with decent opponents! All my times, my best tournament has an average rating of just 2400, you know? A good one, but far from being elite. I still have to get used to the top level's intensity."
This was indeed a problem for Sheva. Most of the good rapid or blitz tournaments would only be held in Europe, and in his mind, it was too troublesome to travel across the world just to play in a shorter time format. So, here he was, struggling to keep up with the others in this regard. If his opponent knew about his situation, they just needed to force two draws in a row, and then Sheva was sure he would be killed mercilessly in that format.
IN the end, though, Dmitrij Kollar took pity on him and made a good suggestion.
"Play more online chess." The man said. "It doesn't necessarily help you prepare for your opponent, but at least, it gets you used to the rhythm of speed chess more. Also, your opponent will be varied more, so this will help you gain experience quickly. A good solution, right?"
And that was the beginning of Sheva's online career. Every day, he would spend at least two or three hours going online, challenging all the top GMs in the world. The result wasn't always great, with him often getting beaten left and right. However, the boy couldn't deny the effect here, as he felt a rapid improvement in this regard.
As he continued his training, they also finally entered July. The registration for the World Cup was about to be closed, and most players who still didn't have any tickets started to get anxious, waiting for the news from Medina.
Fortunately, on the first Monday of the month, what they were waiting for finally arrived, as Medina just sent a short message to everyone here.
"We finally convinced them here. Get ready, because the open tournament will be held next week."