Surrounded by love

"And that just about sums up what we know about the situation," Danny stated as he and Nancy finished updating everyone on the situation with Isabella.

"That's a rough blow to team Italy, not just for the match, but the entire tournament," Nancy added.

"Laura's truly a trooper for playing on. Though it is worth noting that prior to the accusation going public, she was in a losing position. I believe Mimoko just moved her pawn to d5 just moments before it happened.

"That's correct. Since being allowed to continue, b-rook e1, queen d7, queen e3, f-rook e8, and queen e6 have been played."

"Queen e6? Seems the scandal took it's toll on poor Laura, though it was already looking grim for her. Wonder how soon a resignation will come," Danny frowned as Mimoko moved her queen to b5.

"Possibly not ever. Laura's the kind of woman that fights to the bitter end," Nancy stated as Laura moved her rook to f3.

Despite only being a pawn down, the eval bar was almost completely black in Mimoko's favor. Yet Laura fought on and moved her pawn to a4, which Mimoko responded to by simply capturing said pawn with her queen.

"I know what you're thinking, I'm off my game. That may be true, but I refuse to resign, for this might just be my last game at the Chess Olympics if the fair play council so chooses. I doubt it will be that severe, but if this is to be my last game, I want it to end decisively either in a draw or mate," Laura thought as she moved her rook to a1.

Somehow, Mimoko was able to read the look on Laura's face as she moved her queen to c2. "I see. Then I'll honor that," she thought.

Laura also managed to read Mimoko's thoughts and smiled as she captured the pawn at d5 with her queen. Mimoko smiled back and captured the knight at d2 with her queen, prompting Laura to slide her rook down to f2.

"Check, since I can get a few words in, I apologize that things ended like this," Mimoko nodded as she moved her rook to e1.

Laura simply smiled and shook her head, conveying that she knew this was no fault of Mimoko's or her teammates. "As her lover, I should have paid more attention to her state of mind, though I honestly can't fathom what drove her to this. She seemed perfectly fine," she thought as she captured the rook at e1 with her rook.

"Check. In my experience, it's easy for people to put on an act," Mimoko sighed as she captured the rook at e1 with her queen.

"And I'm aware, but still hurt all the same," Laura thought as she moved her rook to f1.

"Check. Then my sympathies go out to you. Though I'll never forgive you for violating my lips last night," Mimoko glared as she moved her queen to e3.

Laura mustered a smile and let out a quiet laugh as she moved her rook to f2. "Oh? My apologize, but I have no regrets for kissing a sexy hot girlboss of a maiden like you on the lips."

Mimoko scowled in disgust as she captured the pawn at f4 with her bishop, while Laura happily giggled to herself and moved her pawn to g3.

"Check. Then my opinion on you hasn't improved much," Mimoko glared as she moved her queen to e1.

"Oh no worries, but I guess I should apologize for the kiss. You clearly already have someone you love, and I violated not just your love, but his as well. My apologies," Laura thought as she moved her king to g2.

Mimoko froze and stared at Laura. She didn't like what she was implying, and decided it was time to end things quickly. Nonetheless, she was appreciative that Laura at the very least apologized for the kiss, which she conveyed in her thoughts as she moved her bishop to e3.

The game didn't have much longer as after rook c2, b3, and rook captures c7, mate was inevitable. Yet Laura still refused to resign.

"And it looks like that's the game," Danny stated as Mimoko moved her queen to f2.

"Correct, no matter where Laura moves now, it's mate. The only question is how long she'll fight for, ant it looks like for a while as she moved her king to h3," Nancy stated.

"Still hoping for a miracle, but Mimoko knows how to mate in her sleep. She isn't the top female player for nothing," Danny declared as Mimoko moved her queen to f1.

"Yes, I'll admit I was shocked the WWCF president himself pushed for her to be given an initial rating of 2700 along with the grandmaster title, but in the time since, she's certainly proven herself worthy of the title and rating," Nancy nodded as Laura moved her king to g4.

"And Oh! H5, check! That's savage! But before someone mentions it, yes we know the maestros are actually the REAL strongest chess players in the world, but until the WWCF decided to officially add them to the public leaderboard, Mimoko Inoue is officially the world's highest rated female player."

Following the savage pawn to h5, check by Mimoko, Laura opted to once again keep the game going by moving her king to h4, but it was only for a move more. Mimoko moving her bishop to b5 forced Laura to capture the pawn at h5 with her king, and after queen h3, check, all Laura could do was move her king to g6.

"Thank you for honoring my wishes. Oh, and my king will be mated surrounded by love. I couldn't ask for a better end," Laura swooned aloud as she moved her king to g6.

Mimoko let out a sigh, yet decided to oblige. "Checkmate. You played well at the start, but blundered in the midgame. Think about that before your game next round," she growled as she moved her queen to h6, winning the game.

The words truly brought a tear to Laura's eye, and would become far more impactful to her as events played out throughout the night. But for now, she was just thankful Mimoko had enough faith that Italy wouldn't be disqualified and that she was even willing to offer her tips for improvement.

"A shame you're already taken, you're clearly the girl of my dreams," Laura smiled as she wiped away her tears and walked away.

Japan had won in yet another 4-0 victory, this time over Italy. Things were looking good for the women's team, to say the least.

The full game:

White: Laura Amore (2569) Black: Mimoko Inoue (2809)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bc4 Bc5

4. b4 Bxb4

5. c3 Be7

6. Qb3 Nh6

7. O-O Na5

8. Qb5 Nxc4

9. Qxc4 f6

10. d4 Nf7

11. Ba3 d6

12. Nbd2 Bd7

13. Qb3 Rb8

14. Rab1 O-O

15. Nh4 a5

16. Nf5 b5

17. f4 Bxf5

18. exf5 exd4

19. cxd4 b4

20. Bb2 d5

21. Rbe1 Qd7

22. Qe3 Rfe8

23. Qe6 Qb5

24. Rf3 Bd6

25. a4 Qxa4

26. Ra1 Qc2

27. Qxd5 Qxd2

28. Rf2 Re1+

29. Rxe1 Qxe1+

30. Rf1 Qe3+

31. Rf2 Bxf4

32. g3 Qe1+

33. Kg2 Be3

34. Rc2 b3

35. Rxc7 Qf2+

36. Kh3 Qf1+

37. Kg4 h5+

38. Kh4 Bg5+

39. Kxh5 Qh3+

40. Kg6 Qh6#

Match score:

Japan: 4 Italy: 0

Japan wins 4-0