As the game was about to start, Sheva sat on the assigned table quickly. He turned his head around, seeing that his opponent was also ready for this game. Indeed, just as he expected before, his opponent was a Japanese-born player who was representing France right now. The boy—yeah, he was a boy, surprisingly enough—still had a chubby feature, yet the sharp gaze that he had made him look more dangerous than any other 2000-rated player here. Based on his young face, Sheva could guess that his opponent should be around Anna’s age, one or two years younger than him. ’Well, System, can you scan his stats first?’ Sheva didn’t forget to ask, wanting to get a clearer image of his first opponent in the tournament. [DING! The scan is successful!] [Name: Cocoro Matsumura] ’Um?! That low?!’ Sheva widened his eyes in surprise, slightly taken aback by the sight that he had just seen. ’Is this even possible?’ He couldn’t help but mutter to himself. Read full story at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩 Indeed, this was the first time he saw someone with the stats even below 40 points. Not that he had met a lot of players, of course, but this was definitely an eye-opener. Before this, the lowest player he had ever scanned was... Well, Sheva himself forgot who it was, yet the boy could still remember that the stats were still around high 40 to low 50. [Don’t forget, Host, that players with the rating below 2300 could still be considered amateurs. It is a no-brainer that some of them would have low statistics like him.] Sheva nodded repeatedly after the reminder of the system. ’If I could remember, those with the FM title probably have their average stats around 60, right? This just shows how the boy is still so far away from his first title.’ He mused. Well, this was pretty humbling, as since the system got upgraded, all the players Sheva scanned were quite top-rated ones, making him always look at the sky longingly. This way, though, at least, Sheva would be able to take a breath and feel grateful for everything that was happening in his life, as his being here was definitely a generational luck for the boy. He still didn’t know what kind of good deed had he done in his past life that he was granted a system, but the boy would forever be grateful for it. ’Oh, well, that doesn’t mean I will show any mercy here.’ His gaze turned into a sharp one as he gained his focus back. ’I apologize in advance, but the game is the game. Come on, bring your best to me!’ Right after that, a bell suddenly rang loudly, the signal that the first game of the open tournament could be started by the players. Cocoro Matsumura, who held the white pieces, didn’t hesitate to move his E pawn two squares forward, going for a mainstream king’s pawn opening. Sheva himself also responded pretty quickly, wanting to put more pressure on the opponent’s time. They both went for the standard Queen’s Gambit decline, yet not wanting to play for a boring and arduous line, Sheva improvised in the middle of the game by castling on the queenside, the side where all the pieces were out already, and it became far too dangerous for the king to stay there. This way, even though they both had already exchanged their queen, this would ensure that the game would stay dynamic, and more action would be guaranteed in the near future. Thirty minutes had passed for each side, and somehow, the game started tilting on Sheva’s side. Cocoro Matsumura really was a timid player, never daring to execute any tactical sacrifice whenever he had a chance and would choose to go for a normal development as if trying to get his position better. In reality, this only made him lose tempo several times, and Sheva caught that failure every time to make his own position better. ’Oh, yeah, he still doesn’t know what kind of playing style suits him the best.’ Sheva concluded inwardly. ’He tries to play defensively, not knowing that defense is his biggest weakness. Poor guy...’ In the end, though, Cocoro Matsumura finally started making fatal mistakes around the 20th move, when he finally decided to take action and exchange some pieces. Ironically enough, the piece he decided to exchange was the light bishop on the G2 square, probably his strongest piece. Not that Sheva could blame the boy, since it was a chance to break his defensive structure. Unfortunately, there was no plan at all, and it was done too hastily, which only gave Sheva more chance to strike back. It seemed that the Japanese-born boy finally realized his mistake later on, when Sheva could see that the boy started frowning deeply and yanking his hair slightly in frustration. Once the boy started realizing his bloody state, though, he panicked. All the moves he made suddenly turned erratic, as if wanting to strangle himself in his own defense. The boy tried to make a counterplay by maneuvering his bishop back and forth, and even creating a rook battery on the E file. However, Sheva just ignored all of his bluffs and was busy with his own business, slowly improving his position to suffocate his opponent silently. Cocoro Matsumura was sweating right now. Somehow, Sheva had already formed a strong chain with four pawns ranging from the B to the E file, and the furthest had already reached the third rank. Even though Matsumura was still confident that he could prevent promotion, his rook now only had so few squares to maneuver, and his knight that was already on the front line couldn’t be maneuvered back to support since all the routes back home were blocked. ’Now, you are locked on your own territory.’ A small smile curled on Sheva’s face. ’What are you going to do?’ He glanced sideways, trying to get a better look at his opponent’s frustration. To Sheva’s surprise, though, even though the advantage that he had accumulated wasn’t that dangerous yet, it seemed that Cocoro Matsumura really couldn’t find a way to get out of this embarrassing situation. In the end, just after playing for thirty moves, the man suddenly offered a handshake while also shaking his head repeatedly, seeming to be so frustrated with his performance. Yeah, he resigned prematurely, leaving Sheva with his first win of the tournament.