Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 476: The Best Way to Take a Quick Draw

"Okay, everyone! We are back! At! It! Again!" Bagas opened his live stream with the same high energy as usual. "After having a day off, we are going to continue our journey in Tata Steel Chess, currently in the sixth round of the tournament! We have an interesting matchup here between our boy, Sheva, against a talented girl from India, Vaishali Rameshbabu!"

Kon61: Let’s fucking go! Let’s bounce back from the draw yesterday!

Hilda99: Come on, Sheva! Let’s get back on the winning track!

Froggies: Vaishali is good, but there is no way Sheva will let this game slide!"

...

The chat room exploded immediately once it was opened for the viewers. Bagas nodded in satisfaction as he skimmed through it for a moment before turning his attention back to the screen. "As you can see, today, we still have the same guest, two beauties of our chess community, let’s welcome WGM Anna Marisa and WGM Laysa Latifah!"

"Hello, everyone!" The two girls, just as in the last round, appeared in the same room, waving at the camera with polite smiles.

"Now, Laysa, I know that you are friends with Vaishali, and quite a good one if I heard it correctly. So, what’s your take?" Bagas smiled mischievously at the hijab girl.

"I love Sister Vaishali, and it pains me to say this, but I don’t think she has a chance here," Laysa said with a solemn tone. "She is good, but Sheva is climbing faster than anyone has ever seen in the chess world. Right now, I would say that he is getting so close to the level of the elite players, probably sitting on the same table with the Indian prodigies like Praggnanandhaa or Arjun Erigaisi. That... It is not the level that us mere mortals could touch casually."

A lot of people were dumbfounded when they heard that. It was one thing for them to know that Sheva was good, but to hear it directly from someone like Laysa that Sheva was completely on a different level...

"Anyway, Sister Vaishali will probably try her best to force a draw in this game," Anna added. "It is one thing to admit that the opponent is better, but to give up completely? I am sure that Vaishali will never think of that."

Indeed, even if Vaishali herself thought that she had no chance, that didn’t mean she would stop trying. Also, this wasn’t her first rodeo going against a way stronger opponent. Hell, she lived with a literal prodigy as her brother!

That was why, even though the girl was intimidated, she showed no hint of nervousness on her face.

The game went at a moderate speed, with them both taking their sweet time to think in every move. Bagas himself couldn’t help but ask when he saw Vaishali’s game. "I know that you said she would try to get a draw, so why would she go for the Sicilian Defense? It should be an offensive opening for the black piece, right?"

"A good question, Bagas, and I know perfectly the answer to that." Anna sent a thumbs-up. "In your mind, what do you think is the best opening system to force a draw?" She asked a question out of nowhere.

"Um?" Bagas was startled, and then, he pondered before answering with an unsure tone. "I... Don’t know? Something solid and has been studied for a long time, like the Grunfeld Defense, Caro-Kann Defense, or French Defense?"

Honestly, everything he learned so far in chess was to help himself understand Sheva’s game, and since his best friend had never relied on an easy draw, this was a big loophole in his knowledge.

"You are not wrong, but it is not entirely correct." Laysa chimed in. She herself also knew where Anna wanted to lead the conversation. "Some of the opening lines are indeed designed by our predecessors to be a quick draw, such as the infamous queen’s dance in the Berlin Defense or one line in the Caro-Kann Defense that leads into a draw just in fifteen moves. However, just as I said, that is not entirely correct."

"So, what is the answer?"

"It is simple. Just use your most familiar weapon." Anna said as a matter of fact. Seeing Bagas’s stunned and skeptical gaze, she continued, "I am serious. While some opening lines often lead into a draw game, it wouldn’t matter if the opponent refuses to do that, and if anything, coming to a game with the mentality to take a draw just to find out that the game doesn’t go that way will only end up in a disaster. So, the best way is to go for your most familiar opening, because this will ensure that at least you know it like the back of your hand, putting you in the field that you are very familiar with."

"In fact, this is what Master Irfan always emphasizes for anyone else in the club during the training session," Laysa added. "It is normal for a player to have a bad day and want to settle for a quick draw, and the best way to do that is just to try hard, because who knows? If somehow, your opponent slips at any moment, that would be your chance to change your day into a good one."

"A nice philosophy, as expected from our elder." Bagas sighed, inwardly praising Irfan for his wisdom. "So, Vaishali is also using the same trick?"

"Yes, expect..." This time, Laysa’s gaze was complicated, as she felt a slight pity toward the older girl. "Sheva is also quite familiar with the system, so it will be hard for her to catch him off guard here."

As they talked, the game went at a moderate pace, with them both thinking slowly of every move they made. However, it was clear that Vaishali took her time a little bit longer. On average, she spent about six to seven minutes in each move, and if Sheva did something unexpected, the time wasted could even be doubled, putting her in a more unfavorable situation.

In the end, though, Sheva’s patience finally paid off, as, in a panic move, Vaishali finally slipped, and Sheva couldn’t help but clench his fist tightly when he saw the move on the board.

’Finally, my chance is coming!’