Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 536: Nayaka’s Game!

As the first move was made, Nayaka pushed his C pawn two squares forward, going for the English Opening. This was a system that he had been learning for about a month, wanting to use it to surprise Sheva. After all, the boy knew full well that other than 1.e4, his teacher didn’t play a lot of openings, and he might have a little bit of delusion that Sheva was probably bad at it.

The opponent, though, didn’t want to get entangled in that dynamic system. No, he converted the opening decisively, turning it into the Queen’s Gambit Decline. Nayaka frowned instantly, because this opening was always hard to navigate.

’Oh, well, no need to overthink it for now. Let’s just follow the basic principle and develop steadily.’ He made up his mind.

True to his thought, after that, he let all of his pieces out of their home square one by one, starting from the knight, the light bishop, the queen, and finally a short castle. His opponent, Javokhir Bozorov, also decided to start the game quietly, making sure that all of his pieces were out and had room to breathe.

It was a slow game, with both players not intending to take any initiative to attack. They were just dilly-dallying in their own territory, wanting to look threatening but always backing down the first time the opponent showed his fangs. With the championship on the line, it seemed that neither of them was eager to show their fist first.

"Is this okay, though?" Bagas couldn’t help but ask. "Nayaka seems to restrain himself a lot in this game." He said what he observed on the board. Even though he couldn’t see the boy’s current expression, Bagas could imagine, based on the game, how stiff Nayaka was right now.

"Eh, don’t worry about it." Sheva just waved his hand nonchalantly. "This is the habit he developed after fighting against Duta so many times in the past."

"Um? How is it related to Duta?"

"Because those two are not just rivals in name, but they are the two best youngsters in the country who fought against each other so many times." Master Ervan explained with a reminiscing smile.

"You might not know this, but Nayaka and Duta were always the top-seeded players in the national tournament, which means they would only meet in a crucial stage like the semifinal or final. At that time, Nayaka would hold back a little, just poking around aimlessly at the beginning before maneuvering all of his pieces to create an overwhelming offense in the later stage. This is definitely not his first rodeo, so trust him."

This, once again, reminded Bagas that the three teenagers were not newcomers in the country. Different than Sheva, who really started from null, those three had already fought in the highest level for so many years, and this tournament wasn’t really that special in terms of pressure for them.

"If anything, I am more worried about Nayaka’s time management," Sheva spoke again.

"Time management?" Bagas parroted his words, narrowing his eyes at the screen. It showed that Nayaka had already spent 44 minutes of his clock, 17 more than his opponents.

"He wastes too much time in an easy development move, like moving the light bishop to the D3 square or just rerouting his knight to the middle. Honestly, I don’t know what he thinks at that time, but it should only take at most a minute... If he didn’t fix that, he would suffer a lot later..." Sheva sighed, couldn’t help but show his worry.

"Yes, this is always the concern we have for Nayaka." Master Susanto decided to chime in. "He often zones out in the early stage, always thinking of sacrificing something to make things interesting. Fortunately, with so much time he wastes, he manages to suppress that urge, or he would be in a worse situation." He smiled wryly.

The first ripple finally happened on the board when Javokhir Bozorov suddenly put the knight on H5 square. It was an ugly spot on the edge of the board, and the knight couldn’t even move forward since the two squares it could jump to were under Nayaka’s tight protection. Honestly, it was a strange move that some people couldn’t understand what the Uzbek boy wanted to do.

"It is a long-term investment from his side," Sheva stated.

At the other’s questioning gaze, he continued, "You see, he already had two knights and a queen on that side, and even though none of them are threatening, it is still enough to make Nayaka uncomfortable. Also, he has already set up his rooks to form a battery, and his bishop is ready to jump. Even though the computer engine says that Nayaka is at an advantage due to that ugly knight, the initiative is completely on that Bozorov’s side."

At the venue, Nayaka also felt the pressure, because suddenly, his opponent had a strong avalanche marching toward his kingside. Now, he had to think carefully, because one misstep was enough to make his head roll.

’No, I need to make some trades here, or his pieces would only be stronger than ever.’ The boy shook his head strongly. ’The question, though, is what to exchange and how to do it?’

The boy pondered for a long time, calculating so many lines inside his head. In the end, he went down that path, creating a bloodbath battlefield that wiped out half of the minor pieces on the board.

"That’s the best way for him to escape." Sheva nodded in approval. "The evaluation bar might say that Nayaka just wastes his chance to attack, but it is hard to navigate his offense when the opponent knocks on his door so closely like that. At least, in his level, Nayaka makes the best move here, preventing him from any stupid mistake later."

The only concern, though, was in the boy’s time management, as Nayaka only had 6 minutes left in the 32nd move of the game, and if he didn’t start speeding up, this would only bite him in the ass later.

As Sheva watched the board on his phone intently, Bagas suddenly snapped his attention. "Oi, Shev! Watch Duta’s game! He is killing there!"

-Author’s note-

Hey, everyone! Thank you for supporting my story! I have written a new one with the hope of getting a contract for that story as well, the title is ’The Rise of the Iron Wall!’. It is a football story, so if you like, please give your support by adding it to your collection and giving your power stone to that story! Thanks!