Fool's gold

Leading up to Daria's victory, the game at board 3 between Tenju and Golda had proceeded as follows, c3, a king's side castle, queen e2, knight d5, bishop d2, g6, a-rook d1, bishop d7, bishop h6, and rook e8. It was far from over, but Tenju now had an overwhelming edge.

"Now that's something, Nancy. Look at that eval bar, Golda's Goldsmith looks like it was nothing but fool's gold," Danny quipped a Tenju ,oved her knight to e5.

"I'd hold your tongue until things are more clear-cut. That play by Tenju just now is a bit risqué, still nothing to worry about, but not my top choice," Nancy frowned as Golda captured said knight with her knight.

"How's it risqué? It's a knight trade. See, Tenju just recaptured the knight at d5 with her d-pawn- Oh, AND Golda just blundered," Danny smirked.

Indeed, Golda's bishop a4 play now put things almost squarely in Tenju's corner. And Tenju could sense it, moving her pawn to b3, sending the bishop to c6.

As she followed up with bishop b1, Golda began to get VERY antsy, ferociously tapping her foot and biting her lip. "Bullshit! Tenju's supposed to be shit! How's she kicking my ass!?" she thought as she moved her pawn to b5.

"So what do ya think's going through Golda's mind?" Danny asked as Tenju moved her pawn to c4.

"Not good thoughts. You can see it on her face, she's not happy. And I certainly wouldn't be either if I was in her shoes," Nancy stated as Golda captured the pawn at c4 with her b-pawn.

"Speaking of shoes, Golda's got some sick gold kicks," Danny noted as the camera zoomed in on Golda's shoes.

"Um, why are you zooming the camera in there? Zoom it in on the board," Nancy scowled.

"What? The chat doesn't mind."

Nancy glanced at the chat, a look of disgust forming on her face as she read the comments. Just as Danny said, everyone was gushing over Golda's shoes, particularly her feet inside the shoes.

"Perverts. We'll go emote only if you don't keep your pants zipped up."

"You telling them that will only make them keep them down."

Slap!

"Getting back to the game, seems Tenju's captured the pawn at c4 with her b-pawn, and Golda's responded... by sending her bishop back to a4."

"Not a great play, but Tenju's not playing perfectly. Rook d3's the best move according to the engine, but she just went rook d2."

"But that's not a misstep by any means. And remember, she's human and cant see the eval bar and engine like us."

"Neither can Golda," Danny scowled as he highlighted Golda's recent play of rook b8.

It was all too obvious that Golda was going to lose, especially after Tenju went on the attack and captured the knight at d5 with her c-pawn. Golda, unsure of what to do, moved her bishop to b5, giving Tenju a free move in a sense, in the form of queen f3. At this point, Golda decided to just go for anything in hopes of it sticking and captured the pawn at d5 with her e-pawn.

Tenju scowled, pitying Golda's pathetic struggle, and moved her pawn to e6. This left Golda with little choice but to move her pawn to f6 to avoid disaster, but thanks to that, her plan to win a knight evaporated into thin air as the pawn at d5 quickly fell to Tenju's rook.

"You're kidding me!? This was supposed to be an easy win! I don't wanna lose elo, dammit!" Golda thought as panic consumed her face while moving her bishop to e2.

"Check. Your humbling makeover will soon be done, madam," Tenju growled as she captured the pawn at f6 with her knight.

The snide got a scowl out of Golda as she angrily captured said knight with her bishop. But at this point it was a matter of whether Golda would resign or get mated. Tenju knew what she was doing and moved her queen to e4, as Golda moved her queen to e7. Next came another check in the form of queen captures g6, sending the king to h8.

"Talk about resistance. Golda's screwed, but she refuses to throw in the towel," Danny noted as Tenju moved her bishop to g5.

"Do you not know Golda? She's quite the egotist, as a prideful one. No way she'd resign to someone like Tenju," Nancy frowned as she shook her head and watched Golda move her bishop to a1.

Her analysis was right on the money as despite an inevitable mate, Golda refused to resign. So Tenju had to do things the old fashioned way. Bishop captures e7, rook captures e7, rook d7, bishop d3, bishop captures d3, rook f8, rook captures e7, rook f7, and finally the end was in sight after e captures f7.

Golda began trembling as tears began pouring down her face. "How... You suck ass, but you played like Taira! Why, WHY!?" Golda shouted aloud as she moved her bishop to d4.

Tenju let out a heavy sigh before giving her response. "Because now I'm living for her legacy. Checkmate. Next time you want to be competitive, don't play that fool's gold of an opening against me," Tenju snarled as she moved her rook to e8, winning the game.

Now Japan officially led the New Kingdom of Simien 2-0. However, things were far from over.

On board 2, Mimoko had indeed decided to castle king's side, but Noa brought her bishop out to f4, keeping the pressure alive. But Tenju's win made things easier for team Japan as now team New Kingdom of Simien had to win the remaining games on demand just to get a draw.

Mimoko began to relax a bit, as a draw at her board would clinch the win for the team, and with the way things were going, a draw seemed likely. Noa on the other hand began to nervously tap her foot, as now a draw was no longer on the table. She had to win, and thus after Mimoko moved her rook to b8, she made a gutsy queen's side castle leaving both Mimoko and the commentators stunned.

Mimoko quickly moved her rook to b4, but Noa saw the move coming, moving her queen to e3. Mimoko made another solid play of rook to e8, but Noa would not let up and moved her queen to d2, preparing for a massive assault.

A slight frown began to form on Mimoko's face as she captured the bishop at f4 with her rook. "Noa-chan, that face... Are you like the others?"

Noa didn't seem to notice Mimoko's sadness, fully absorbed in the game. "G3, rook f6," she thought as she moved her pawn to g3.

Mimoko fulfilled her prediction and moved her rook to f6, but that was exactly what Noa wanted as now, she could capture the bishop at d7 with her queen.

The move left Mimoko stunned, but this time, she didn't frown, rather she appeared to become more focused, with a slight smile cracking through. "So you're a fighter, Noa-chan. Then apologies for thinking you were succumbing to pressure. I'll fight you with all my might," she thought as she captured the pawn at f2 with her rook.

Noa's eyes widened at Mimoko's play, but she remained undeterred and captured the queen at d8 with her queen, forcing Mimoko to capture said queen with her rook. "She's good, REALLY good! But she's gotta be human. Humans make mistakes, so maybe I can trip her up with this gamble," she thought as she captured the rook at d8 with her rook. "Check!"

Mimoko stared in shock, but nodded and captured said rook with her bishop. "So it's an endgame thriller you want. Bring it!" she thought as Noa moved her rook to e1.

As Mimoko moved her king to f8, Noa began trembling more and more. "She's way out of my league, I didn't see half the things she saw, but this is all or nothing. I- I want to prove myself worthy of being a DSPCM, of being on this team," she thought as she moved her rook to e2.

That move marked the final stage of the midgame as after rook captures e2 and knight captures e2, the endgame had arrived, but despite that, the game was still far from over.

The full game:

White: Tenju Kuroshiro (2222) Black: Golda Goldschmidt (2639)

1. e4 h5

2. d4 e6

3. Nc3 Nc6

4. Nf3 d5

5. Bd3 dxe4

6. Nxe4 Be7

7. O-O Nf6

8. c3 O-O

9. Qe2 Nd5

10. Bd2 g6

11. Rad1 Bd7

12. Bh6 Re8

13. Ne5 Nxe5

14. dxe5 Ba4

15. b3 Bc6

16. Bb1 b5

17. c4 bxc4

18. bxc4 Ba4

19. Rd2 Rb8

20. cxd5 Bb5

21. Qf3 exd5

22. e6 f6

23. Rxd5 Be2

24. Nxf6+ Bxf6

25. Qe4 Qe7

26. Qxg6+ Kh8

27. Bg5 Ba1

28. Bxe7 Rxe7

29. Rd7 Bd3

30. Bxd3 Rf8

31. Rxe7 Rf7

32. exf7 Bd4

33. Re8#