The American team's meeting

In America, Peter scowled as he met with his teammates. While Lugi Carpani and Levi Arron were on the chill side, Wiley tended to be a little more combative. However, that was nothing in comparison to Hubert Neuman.

"He's a coward! A coward!"

"This again, Hubert? Give it a rest," Wiley grumbled.

"He's a coward that refuses to face me like a man. If we face Norway, I play against him."

"And what guarantee do you think there is he wouldn't ditch? You said Magnus was a "coward" yes? So then why would he participate against us?" Peter asked.

"Because he'd have no choice. We're the top team in the tournament, and if he sits the match out, Norway WOULD lose. He has to face me. I won't let him get away with hiding."

Hubert Neuman was a young man who held a grudge against Magnus Carlsen. The beef stemmed from an infamous incident in St Louis 2 years prior. Since then, Magnus had avoided playing Hubert in over the board matches as much as possible. Hubert had rapidly improved his skills, clawing his way to a rating of 2734, all in hopes of increasing his chances to face Magnus once more.

Grudge aside, it was actually hard for anyone to face Magnus nowadays in classical as he primarily focused on the more faster time controls. However, he still remained number 1 in the world, being the first normal player to officially cross 2900.  Peter was nipping at his heels though and had officially crossed 2900 as well.  Of course, of the maestros and executive board members were factored into the mix, the standings would look a bit different. Though with Peter and Magnus both inching towards the 3000 barrier, there was talk amongst the WWCF of making maestro more of a title like grandmaster that anyone could achieve while having the current maestros achieve special status much like their SPCMs.

While Peter looked to be the top player to beat, Wiley wasn't letting his age slow him down, and was playing close to what he did back when he was Fischer's rival. His teammates were no slouches either. Luigi was the next top American player behind him and Peter, having achieved a rating of 2851. He had also gone toe-to-toe with Magnus Carlsen in vying for the top spot in the past. Levi was also in a similar tier. While he had begun to age past his prime and no longer held his peak rating of 2835. He still had a respectable 2739 rating.

All in all, the American men's team had an average team rating of 2854.8, blowing nearly every other team out of the water. It was clear to see why they were favorites, but there was one team Wiley was especially weary of.

"It's India, right?" Levi asked.

"Got to be. They've got a strong lineup, though Uzbekistan in the defending gold medalist from two years ago in Chennai," Luigi noted.

"Wrong, it's Japan," Wiley grumbled.

That statement caught everyone off guard. While Peter could understand being weary of Okisato, this was a team event. That, and he knew what kind of scumbag Ginji was.

"Okisato Tanabe may be strong, but his team certainly isn't. Don't let Ginji's rating fool you. While that is a reflection of his true strength, that's only if he decides to use it. He's an incredibly vain man that would throw a match if he felt like screwing over his team."

"There's a player like that? That's a bit saddening," Levi frowned.

"I'm referring to the masked man... Damn you Redfield, I'm pissed enough I can't go 11-0, but now my 8-0 run is in jeopardy."

"What do you mean."

"Despite the circumstances, I actually can't tell you."

"No time to be stubborn-"

"WWCF policy prevents me. Believe me, I'd sing like a canary if I could, but I can't. All I'll say is that he has a high chance of beating me, and if that boy wins his match against Peter, a draw against Japan is the best we can hope for."

"You have nothing to worry then. I'll beat him," Hubert declared."

"The boy or the masked man?"

"Both."

"Oh to be young, but Peter's taking the boy and I'm taking the masked man, rather I have no choice but to face him due to the board restrictions."

As Wiley huffed away, Peter began pondering the mystery of the masked man. "I wonder, could he be an executive board member? That would be underwhelming, but perhaps he's actually got real talent, similar to Pewler. For now it matters not. Schooling Okisato once more is my top priority."

Though as he sat, he felt it was best to at least try talking with Okisato about Ginji. While he normally didn't interfere with other Desperados, the fact that Ginji's potential actions could potentially deprive him of a proper face-off against Okisato irked him.

"Oh? Peter? You challenged at a good time. We just finished our meeting," Okiato stated.

"That's good, now how about some puzzle battles as I don't think either of us wish to show the other our true hands."

"Sounds good."

As the two competed to see who could solve the most chess puzzles the fastest, Peter brought up the topic of Ginji. Luckily, Okisato also had an idea if what Ginji was like, and was preparing countermeasures.

"Since you guessed his true nature correctly, I won't hide things about him. He'll likely throw matches against both Desperados and teams from nations with a heavy presence of Desperados."

"That's pretty dirty. Though I guess he wants to increase his status within the league."

"Ever since he joined, Ginji's been obsessed with rising to the top, likely to get all the power that comes with ruling the league."

"I see... If you don't mind me asking, do you happen to know anything about Kuon Nanya?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Have you seen the Prussian women's line-up?"

Peter paused and confessed that he hadn't, prompting Okisato to reveal that he suspected one of the members was Hagemi."

"That's news to me, but even though I regret to say I don't know much about Kuon's true personality. I know she is obsessed with beating Hagemi though to the point that it might actually be ruining her life. To be honest, I did find it odd that she managed to change federations at the last minute, but the Broadstones have their thumb on the scale when it comes to women's chess in America."

"Agatha, yes?"

"Yes, but her sister Elenora is actually the top female player in the nation. While I have faith Japan's women's team will have no problem beating them, that foesn't mean they should underestimate them."

"Thanks for the insight."

The puzzle battle quickly ended in Peter's victory, though Okisato didn't mind. He had gotten some valuable information that could help him and his team.

"Don't disappoint me, Okisato Tanabe. America won't back down, so if you want to face us, you'll need to get your team into title contention," Peter smirked.