Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 409: The Budapest Gambit! Sheva’s Mind Game!

"Oh, we have just talked about it earlier, and Sheva had already delivered what we want here!" Sagar Shah said with a tone full of excitement. In terms of hyping up the game, he was no lesser than Bagas next to him. "Sheva challenges the center immediately, not wanting to go down with the stable route of the Indian opening! He goes for blood!"

Froggies: Here we go again! Sheva is on a rampage!

Hilda99: Shouldn’t we play it safe and avoid any unnecessary risk, though?

MessitheGOAT10: Bah! What is youth without risk?! Also, at this point, should we already trust him to be able to handle the risk?

Froggies: Hell, yeah!

While the chat box was exploding with so many discussions, Bagas, who wanted to share the same excitement, could only scratch the back of his neck awkwardly. Even though he had been doing this for seven to eight months already, at the end of the day, the boy was still a novice who didn’t really know a lot of things about chess, and this was something he had never heard about.

Knowing his boyfriend’s embarrassment, Sarah smiled and took over his role with a short question, "So, Mister Sagar, why is this opening that Sheva picks make you excited? Can you explain to us?"

"Sure!" Sagar nodded happily, not even looking at the two hosts who didn’t know anything about chess with disdainful eyes. "You see, unlike the king’s pawn opening, the one with 1.d4 opening has a distinct characteristic, and that is the fact that the game will usually be slower, more closed, and become a positional battle. However, by challenging the center immediately with E5, Sheva flips the table entirely, dragging Pragg into a completely different territory. This opening is one that people know as the Budapest Gambit."

"So, the main purpose of this opening is to disturb the opponent’s main rhythm by going exactly the opposite of the 1.d4’s opening principle?" Sarah, the straight-A-student she was, concluded the explanation in a short sentence that everyone could understand easily.

"Smart!" Sagar Shah clapped, praising the girl without hesitation.

While they were chatting excitedly, the game still continued, with both players being forced to think hard here. For Pragg, this move was something that he should’ve expected from Sheva, yet today, he got blindsided out of nowhere. He cursed inwardly, starting to rack his brain, quick to adapt to the situation. Unfortunately, the boy was unfamiliar with this opening system, so he had to spend a little bit more time pondering everything.

’So, his only advantage should be in my disturbed rhythm, right? Even in development, he would still fall one step behind me, so what is the use of this opening?’

Indeed, the gambit not only made Sheva lose his E pawn, but it also threatened his knight as well, forcing it to move away from its original square. This was the equivalent of Sheva losing his tempo as well, so the opening choice puzzled Pragg a little bit. If this were a rapid or blitz game, this would be a wonderful opening, forcing the opponent to get out of the comfort zone. However, in a classical game like this, where both players had a lot of time to think, it was impossible to get a quick advantage relying on just a surprise attack, especially in a high-level game like this.

That also reflected in the evaluation bar, as the computer engine gave +1.0 for Pragg’s advantage. This showed that the opening itself was basically flawed.

However, Sheva came prepared for this game. He didn’t show any worry or anxiety. Hell, if anything, the smirk on his face was an invitation for Pragg to attack him. It was as if the boy was saying, ’Come, I have already revealed my weakness. You’d better attack me now!’ which only made Pragg worry more about deception. The Indian prodigy hadn’t realized yet, but he had just fallen to Sheva’s mind game here.

"Yes, come on! This is your chance! Try to kill me!" Sheva clenched his fist tightly.

He was playing a dangerous game here. The evaluation bar kept moving up, even though quite slowly, but before anyone noticed yet, it had already touched +2. This was a dangerous situation for any player in the world, and against one of the most talented youngsters in the chess community, most of the time, this would end up in a defeat.

However, Sheva was still confident that he could overturn the table.

This was not just a game of chess anymore, but also a psychological warfare. Pragg knew that with Sheva’s playing style, there was no way he would make such a rookie mistake without a hidden trap. However, Sheva knew that Pragg would learn about his style and thought about it, so he presented himself to be vulnerable to make Pragg overthink and slip.

There was no way. Pragg’s playing style, while aggressive, was also rock-solid. A normal attack wouldn’t get through his tight wall. Sheva also didn’t want to get into an endgame contest like tomorrow, not feeling so sure that he would be able to survive the constant headache given by the title for overusing it. So, this was his best way to pry Pragg’s defense, a risky gamble with a possibility of a high return.

The strategy at least worked for half of the part in this game. Sheva managed to force Pragg to think for every move, giving the idea that every square was a landmine. Time ticked down slowly, but without anyone noticing, Pragg’s time was about to cross 30:00, far below compared to Sheva, who still had one hour and three minutes. At least, in time management alone, it was clear that Sheva was one step ahead, outprepping the Indian prodigy in this game.

However, that advantage was nothing but an illusion, because on the board, it was Pragg who was holding the initiative. All of the white’s pieces were in a strong position, ready to nuke Sheva’s defense. The king itself was also in a good square. Although it castled to the queenside that had already advanced way too far, the white’s pressure on the kingside was so great that even if Sheva wanted to make a counterplay, it would be he who got punched straight to the face.

However, once again, this was not just a chess game anymore, but a psychological warfare as well.

The moment Pragg realized that Sheva was bluffing from the beginning of the game, a gear shifted in his brain. From being too cautious since the start, all the recklessness that he was suppressing hard suddenly leaked, taking over his head. The fact that his own attack was quite overwhelming didn’t help his case, making the boy become too eager to create something.

In the end, what Sagar Shah and all the Indian viewers didn’t want to see finally happened.

Pragg, in his eagerness to kill Sheva, sacrificed his bishop carelessly, and right after that, the evaluation bar that had been hanging in the black’s territory suddenly dropped, betraying the white piece instantly while also giving Sheva a massive advantage in one go.