Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 514: Win!

"Hello, everyone! Thank you for still staying with us!" Bagas smiled excitedly as he was currently in front of the entrance of the venue. "Right now, we have our boy, Sheva, here with us! What do you think about the game earlier, Sheva?" He pointed a microphone straight at his best friend’s mouth.

It was after the game was over, and before Sheva could go back to the hotel, Bagas dragged him for a short interview. This was based on the two women’s recommendation, as the game today was quite difficult. It would be good to have Sheva’s opinion on that, which Bagas agreed pretty quickly. So, here they were, chatting outside the entrance gate before Sheva got swarmed by his fans.

"It’s difficult," Sheva answered bluntly. A hint of exhaustion could be seen on his face, yet the rosiness on his cheek and the huge smile spread on his face told everyone that the boy was ecstatic. "I tell you what, it might be a little bit controversial, but I think the game today is the most difficult one I have ever played in my career."

"Really?" This time, Bagas was startled. After all, he had followed his best friend’s journey since the beginning, and the boy knew he had a couple of games against elite players. To say that this game was the most difficult one... "Is it more difficult than the one where you got beaten by Gukesh?" Bagas probed with a mischievous smile.

In return, Sheva just sent a rude hand gesture while staring at Bagas sourly. That game against Gukesh was definitely something that he didn’t want to remember, yet Bagas always found a way to keep reminding him about it over and over again, keeping him humble, the fat boy said.

"I tell you what, the game against Gukesh was pretty easy." Sheva still answered the question, even with a sour smile. "After all, I lost quite badly, and I didn’t have to waste too much time and brain power that day, so that could be considered as an easy day, and I am sure that Gukesh will also think the same if you ask him the question."

Bagas felt the corner of his lips twitching in amusement. "So, what makes you think the game today is more difficult?"

"...Well, there are a couple of reasons," Sheva said after pondering for a moment. "First, I really want to win so bad, and my opponent wants to get a draw no matter what it takes. So, the contrast between our main goals forces two different playing styles to crash into each other. You know that getting a draw is easier than aiming for a win, right? That was my case in the game earlier. He doesn’t need to do anything excessive, yet I have to pull every trick out of my sleeves to gain the upper hand. As a result, I finally gained an advantage around the 70th move of the game, which is way too long to my liking."

Bagas nodded silently, could see the point that his best friend wanted to make. He asked more questions, with some being quite technical, which were what Medina and Irene asked him to deliver. Sheva also didn’t disappoint, explaining everything thoroughly. Even though sometimes his answer was too complicated to be understood by a novice, Bagas just nodded silently, deciding to inquire about it later.

"Lastly!" After five minutes of the interview, Bagas finally gave a signal that it was about to be over, and Sheva somehow let out a relieved sigh unconsciously. "You are carrying the momentum after winning the Tata Steel Challenger with an amazing 12 points out of 13 games. Is there any target you want to achieve here besides getting the number one spot?"

Sheva pondered for a moment before giving his answer. "It is not a target, but I am quite greedy here, wanting to win all the games in this tournament. I know it is improbable, but I will always strive to win every single game that I play here. For that, I promise you guys."

"Good! It is over now!" Bagas nodded in satisfaction as he stopped the recording. "Thank you for your hard work. The final answer is awesome." He gave his best friend a thumbs-up.

Right after he heard that, gone was the smile on Sheva’s face, as the boy had his shoulder dropped instantly. The game really took a toll on him, and right now, the last thing he wanted to do was to fill his stomach with something Indonesian before going to sleep.

"Anyway, what the hell with that Gukesh question earlier?" He glared at his best friend fiercely, still remembering that pull.

"What? It is a fair question! It is not my fault that you suddenly threw such a controversial statement!" Bagas defended himself immediately. "Anyway, you should be hungry, right? I think there is a Vietnamese restaurant nearby, let’s try to grab some pho before going back to the room!" He said, trying to change the conversation topic.

Sheva opened his mouth, wanting to say something rude. However, before words could escape his throat, his stomach rebelled first, grumbling loudly to complain that no intake had been received in a long time.

"...Well, does that mean you agree with the suggestion?" Bagas asked teasingly.

"Ahaha... Sure, let’s go have something to eat first." Sheva laughed awkwardly. "Anyway, the place is legit, right? I don’t want to go to the Vietnamese restaurant where the cooks are someone local, okay?"

"Don’t worry, I have already searched it on the Internet, and the review said it is legit."

The sky was dark already, as Sheva’s game was the last to end today. Some people were still wandering around, though, chatting and laughing or even playing a quick game against each other. This was the normal scenery in any tournament, as the venue would only be emptied after they were chased away by the security team.

Sheva himself didn’t linger for too long there. No, after about four hours staring at the chessboard, he didn’t have any desire to push himself further. What he needed was a warm dinner to fill his stomach and a good sleep to recover, as the boy still had a tough battle awaiting tomorrow.