Chapter 69:

Triple cedar's Himitsuchan

En Passant Grandmaster

"Where ya goin, Mimoko?" Daria asked.

"Michiko-chan invited me to dinner," Mimoko stated as she headed out.

"I'm coming too!"

"NO! She just invited me."

...

Michiko scowled as Mimoko and Daria appeared before her. "I believe she already told you, but I just invited her, NOT you."

"BOO! I wanna come too!" Daria pouted.

"No, it's a members only place and I can only bring one guest."

"What's the place?"

"A secret."

"BOO! You always keep secrets from me! We're best friends aren't we!? Tell me some of em!"

"Ugh, let me call security."

...

After security dragged Daria out, Mimoko entered the secret puzzle cafe with Michiko. To Mimoko's surprise, 5 women were already present within the cafe. The women didn't seem to care about Mimoko though, nor did Mimoko decide to approach them.

"Now, just one more perfect daily puzzle, and you can challenge me. Think you're up to it?" Michiko smiled.

"Of course I am. The puzzles are excellent brain teasers."

As soon as Mimoko completed the puzzles, Michiko pulled up the points menu. An option labeled "Challenge SCPM Himitsuchan" suddenly appeared. She immediately redeemed her points, resulting in a chess board appearing on the counter just like when she challenged Himitsudono.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Himitsuchan, now let's have a good match," Michiko bowed as her WWCF card appeared.

"2144. You're pretty skilled," Mimoko smiled.

"Now challenger, let's see if you can best me. You are to move as white, so the first move is yours. You have 60 minutes on the clock and your time starts... Now!"

Mimoko happily opened the game by moving her pawn to e4 as Michiko moved her pawn to d4. She then promptly moved her pawn to d4, as Michiko mirrored her by moving her pawn to d5.

"The French defense: Normal variation does have a nice aesthetic to it," Mimoko smiled as she moved her knight to c3.

"Hoh? What about the French defense: Winawer variation?" Michiko smirked as she moved her bishop to d4.

"I think you meant to say, French defense: Winawer, delayed exchange variation," Mimoko smiled as she captured the pawn at d5 with her e-pawn.

"Well you certainly know your chess terminology. Have you taken a terminology trivia quiz at a secret puzzle cafe yet?" Michiko asked as she captured the pawn at d5 with her e-pawn.

"Not yet, but it sounds like fun, so I'm going to. You’re pretty savvy with chess terminology as well," Mimoko smiled as she moved her knight to f3.

"That is one of my charm points, why I dare say that amongst all the SPCMs in Japan, I’m the only one that can correctly name every opening move and variation, check," Michiko chuckled as she moved her queen to e7.

"That’s really impressive," Mimoko smiled as she moved her bishop to e2.

On the outside, Michiko looked like she was enjoying herself to the fullest as she moved her knight to c6. However, on the inside, she was frantically racking her brain to come up with a good move. "She just castled on the king's side. Now knight f6 is my best move, and since I'm forbidden from going all out... I just angered myself. I should probably just let my mind loose to avoid thinking about that.”

After the moves Michiko predicted came to be, Mimoko moved her rook to e1, prompting Michiko to capture the knight at c3 with her bishop. Mimoko naturally captured said bishop with her b-pawn, as Michiko opted to castle on the king's side.

Mimoko then decided to set up and moved her bishop to d3, while Michiko similarly moved her bishop to e6. Mimoko then moved her bishop to g5, prompting Michiko to counter by moving her pawn to h6.

"This really is a lot of fun, Michiko-chan," Mimoko smiled as she slid her bishop to h4.

"I'm glad, though you seem to be in a bind," Michiko chuckled as she moved her pawn to g5.

"Oh don't worry, that's easy to get out of," Mimoko smiled as she captured the pawn at g5 with her knight.

Michiko's eyes widened in shock. "That monster, many fail to escape that predicament, let alone turn it around in their favor," she thought as she captured the knight at g5 with her h-pawn.

Mimoko happily captured said pawn with her bishop, prompting Michiko to move her f-rook to e8. Mimoko then let out a joyful giggle as she moved her queen to c1, while Michiko struggled to maintain her smile as she moved her knight to b8.

"Damn my stagnated rating. It's hindering me in more ways than one," Michiko thought as Mimoko moved her bishop to h4.

Michiko then moved her b-knight to d7 and watched as Mimoko launched her attack, by moving her queen to g5, forcing her king to f8.

"Check, looks like we're nearing the end," Mimoko smiled as she moved her queen to h6.

"My, what makes you say that?" Michiko chuckled as she moved her king to g8.

Mimoko responded with a happy giggle as she moved her rook to e3. Knowing what she was planning, Michiko slid her queen to d6, yet that didn't phase Mimoko as she moved her rook to g3. Michiko quickly slid her bishop to g4 in hopes that it would deter Mimoko, but the glitter in Mimoko's eyes told Michiko, she saw the mate in 3.

"She truly is a monster," Michiko thought as Mimoko captured the bishop at g4 with her rook.

With no other choice, Michiko captured the rook at g4 with her knight and watched as Mimoko moved her queen to h7, forcing her king to f8.

"Checkmate. I had lots of fun," Mimoko smiled as she moved her queen to h8.

"Impressive. You have bested me, dear challenger. And as such, you may claim some bounty. First, you earn a badge for besting me. Best the other 6 managers, and you will have the right to challenge Maestro Himitsu. Second, you win a bounty of 1000 points. Finally, you unlock the right to rematch me for just a single point."

"Thanks. Though can I only rematch you at a puzzle cafe?"

"Only if you don't have the puzzle cafe app, but you have that, yes?"

"Indeed I do. So can I attempt a terminology-”

“Forget that encyclopedia shit. Learnin’ the names of moves is meaningless. Though I do think ya should introduce yourself to us," one of the women that had been watching the match sneered as she hunched over Mimoko.

The woman had long blonde hair that reached her waist along with magenta eyes and was clad in a ripped red hakama, white converse sneakers, and bandage bindings that struggled to contain her massive breasts. Based on her manner of speaking and appearance, it was fair to assume she was a delinquent from the Kansai region.

"I’m Mimoko Inoue-"

"Card out."

Mimoko nervously complied as the woman gazed at her WWCF card.

"2714? Hmm, your blitz is only 2690, but it says you've only competed in a single blitz tournament. Nothing for rapid or bullet though. Yeah, I only care about speed."

"I CAN play rapid. I just don't have a rating in that discipline yet, plus blitz is faster, right?" Mimoko glared.

"Yeah, but your blitz is still too slow. You also don't have a bullet rating," the woman snarled."

"Umm," Michiko nervously nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I know. There is technically ratings for bullet chess, but it's more of it's own separate thing unlike the other three main ratings that factor into your overall rating. It still does affect your overall rating, just not by much. Anyway, get out."

"Wait, who exactly are you?" Mimoko asked.

"Secret, now either get out of my sight."

"I'm staying here for a bit. Actually, hold on a sec," Mimoko glared as she began scrolling through the options on her WWCF card.

She quickly went into the player database and clicked on a tiny camera icon by the search bar. This feature had only been added a few days ago, however, it allowed users to look up someone's WWCF card by taking a picture of them. This feature was only intended for looking up players in the database and as such, the photo could not be saved.

The woman naturally got upset, even though Mimoko explained that she was simply looking her up in the WWCF database. However, an error message appeared stating that no data on the woman could be found.

"Wait, how can you be here then? This place is only for WWCF members, right?" Mimoko nervously asked.

The woman glared and approached Mimoko. "Michiko, you didn't say anything bout folks showin’ up!"

"Sorry, but unlike you, I do manage my business," Michiko stated.

"Then how bout I settle some "business" outside with her!"

The full game:

White: Mimoko Inoue (2714) Black: SPCM Himitsuchan (Michiko Azami) (2144)

1. e4 e6

2. d4 d5

3. Nc3 Bb4

4. exd5 exd5

5. Nf3 Qe7+

6. Be2 Nc6