Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 472: An Explosive Endgame!

The mistake itself came so out of nowhere that Sheva didn’t realize that it was a mistake. After all, just a moment ago, everything was equal, and honestly, the mistake that Sindarov made was enough to send a shiver down Sheva’s spine, because at first glance, it looked like a dangerous move targeting his defense.

’Man, it is like he is breathing under my neck.’ He murmured inwardly. ’Should I try to exchange the queen? Still, is it really that dangerous? How about keeping the tension by bringing the knight back?’

The mistake that the Uzbek GM made was so subtle and difficult to detect that Sheva himself, even with the boost of his title, couldn’t figure it out. It seemed that Sindarov felt like Sheva’s attack was about to overwhelm him, so he slid the queen to the seventh rank, forming a battery with the rook that had already infiltrated beforehand to offer an exchange.

It was a common strategy to deal with an overwhelming attack, offer to exchange everything on the board.

In this situation, Sheva also couldn’t ignore the offer. After all, his king was also in the seventh rank, only getting protected by a mere pawn and the bishop in between. If he didn’t handle this matter right now, he would’ve lost at least his bishop for nothing, which would be a huge blow in the endgame. That was why he was hesitating right now.

However... It seemed that the computer engine wanted Sheva to sacrifice the whole bishop, ignoring the threat completely for a more devastating attack.

"This is way more difficult than you could think of, Gas." Laysa frowned at the current situation on the chessboard. "The computer wants Sheva to abandon the bishop and push the pawn, intending to march forward later by taking the knight and threatening to promote later. However, that pawn push itself is not something that would be considered a normal move, since Sindarov himself doesn’t have to take the bishop immediately. No, he could just take the pawn on the E file first, nullifying the tactic that Sheva is about to cook."

"So, why would the computer engine want Sheva to do that?" Bagas frowned; his excitement dissipated instantly.

"Because of this sequence of moves." This time, Anna took over the board from Laysa, demonstrating the best line that the computer provided. "After Sheva pushes his pawn, Sindarov has to take the queen first to avoid the checkmate. After that, Sheva’s pawn could take the knight, and after Sindarov blocks the promotion square, Sheva’s rook could slide down to the first rank, giving a check while also forcing his way to get a new queen. After everything is unfolded, even though Sheva lost his queen, he will still have two rooks, a light bishop, and a knight for the rest of the game, which the computer still thinks that it is -1.9 for Sheva."

"However, Sindarov will still have a queen and a rook, and that still doesn’t mention the couple of pawns that are ready to march forward." Laysa sighed helplessly. "So, even though the computer finds the situation is good for white, there is still a chance for Sheva to not be able to find the best move here."

Bagas furrowed his brows deeply when he heard that. The explanation was more complicated than his initial thought, but he got the gist of it.

"So, even though Sindarov makes a mistake, it is hard for Sheva to find the best move to punish it, right?" He asked for confirmation. At Anna’s solemn nod, the boy couldn’t help but curse. "Damn! Right when the chance finally comes..."

"Well, no need to be too regretful," Laysa said, shaking her head quickly. "After all, there is still a chance that Sheva will be able to find the sequence, right? I mean, let’s trust Sheva and his creative mind right now!"

Well, that was what Laysa and everyone hoped for. Unfortunately, even with his hyperfocus mode, Sheva failed to find the best move here. Well, more like he had never considered abandoning his bishop in the first place. If only that thought crossed his mind, the boy would be able to point out the tactic instantly.

However, there were no what-ifs in the world.

As Sheva made his move, pushing back the knight to give another layer of protection for the bishop, both Bagas and Laysa groaned simultaneously.

"Oh, no! He misses it! / Fuck, no, Shev! You miss it!" The shout was so loud that it even attracted attention. However, Bagas didn’t really care about it. "One time Sheva has a chance to win, he blows it off! Now, everything is back to equal!" He moaned in desperation. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Indeed, after that move, the evaluation bar moved back to the equal state again. However, both Sindarov and Sheva seemed not to notice the commotion that had happened on the board. They thought that everything was equal, and that was why no regret or panic could be seen on their face.

In the end, this was probably the last action that could happen in this game, as right after that, both Sheva and Sindarov exchanged a few more pieces. First, it was the queen, and then one of the rooks followed.

Sheva still tried to make a couple of plays, using his king to advance further and try to push his luck. At some point, he was even able to infiltrate his rook to the second rank, as if it was about to destroy the opponent’s defense from the back. Unfortunately, Sindarov was able to erect a tall wall in his defense, blocking all of the incoming attack to his territory.

Sheva also started losing his concentration right now. The side effect of the title started to kick in, sending a wave of sleepiness into his brain. Even though it was still bearable, the effect was enough to shake his head, and if he wasn’t careful enough, a sloppy decision would be able to bury him alive.

So, after a while, he finally forced another sequence of exchange. Some more pawns fell, and in the end, after the last two rooks standing on the battlefield ended up killing each other, the game finally settled.

With an opposite color bishop on the board, nothing could be done about this, so both players finally shook each other’s hands, settling with the fair draw for them both.