Chapter 321:

Symphony of the Black Mustang minefield

En Passant Grandmaster

Going back in time to the start of the round, Skaberghast had been in a decent mood. The Mongols spooking everyone was perfect entertainment, but not everyone had been subjected to it. Some players had gotten to the venue extra early, including the entire Bosnian men's team.

This meant that they weren't shaken by the Mongols, and were at full mental strength, or in their case, peak bat shit insane. Within the Desperado league, the Balkan members were always the biggest pain in the ass for Skaberghast to deal with. They were all too rabid and bloodthirsty, which didn't mesh well with his lazy demeanor.

"Well if it isn't Skaberghast, the sloth of the Desperado league. I'm surprised someone that dares to cast stick-eyes upon me would so much as participate in a tournament such as this," a middle-aged man with short orange hair scoffed.

"So I kicking your ass, or are ya gonna run scared to a lower board?" Miralem snickered as he cracked his knuckles.

"Then I'm the next one up. I head board 2," a grizzled man with a wooden right leg and countless scars, grinned as he headed for his seat.

The grizzled man was none other than Tvrtko Artiljerija, Miralem's father and formerly the Bosniacks co-ruler of Bosnia and Herzegovina, before passing the role to Miralem. He had served in the Bosnian war, and gained infamy for his strength and tactics. He was also skilled at chess, possessing a rating of 2503 and the title of grandmaster. Though Miralem was quickly eclipsing him there as well.

The orange-haired man was Ognjen Elezović, a Bosnian-Serb, who was currently one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's co-rulers. Him, Miralem, Tvrtko, and the co-ruler representing the Bosian-Croats were all Desperados, meaning they knew Skaberghast, but didn't exactly have the greatest relationship with him, due to him always looking down on not just them, but all the Desperado heads of states in the Balkans.

As for the two other members of the Bosnia and Herzegovina team, one was Sejad Varešanović, Bosnia and Herzegovina's minister of defense, while the other was an eccentric man with a cone-shaped head named Refik Osmanagić.

"So what's the deal with your head?" Jern asked.

"Ah, glad you asked, my spiky pink friend. This is the power of the Bosnian pyramids," Refik grinned.

"The what?"

"The Bosnian pyramids. You've heard of Semir Osmanagić, the man famous for researching the pyramids extensively. Well, I'm actually his distant cousin, and I've discovered way more about the pyramids. You see, aliens-"

"And enough of that nonsense! Our nation has enough problems thanks to maniacs like the Artiljerijas, don't add to the pile, you cone-headed dolt," Ognjen, glared.

With Sejad looking to sit out, It meant there was a high chance Skaberghast would need to face someone he didn't like. While Refik looked like an easy mark, it was better to chance having someone like Jern try and grind out a win against him, but Jern himself had other plans.

"You sure got a ton of scars. How tough are ya?" Jern asked Tvrtko, as he sat down at board 3.

"That an invitation? Well I'll take it," Tvrtko chuckled as he shoved Ognjen aside and sat down at board 3.

"And that was MY spot!"

"You can slide over one," Skaberghast snickered as he sat down at board 2.

Noticing Skaberghast would be playing with black, Ognjen decided to go for it, hoping that now he could settle the score with him, once and for all. That left Retskcirb to face Miralem on board 1, and Wakuta to deal with Refik on board 4.

But as soon as the round started, Skaberghast took a nap, and continued to do so, until the constant shouting from Miralem roused him. And after taking notice of Retskcirb's game, and witnessing his subsequent loss, he decided to start playing before his timer ticked down any further.

Ognjen cared not if Skaberghast lost on time. But Skaberghast never had any plans of losing in the first place.

Taking notice of the knight at f3, and the fact that Okisato was watching from the spectator area, his mood improved as a malicious smile appeared on his face. "Bet you're hoping to see my favorite opening as black, well too bad, I don't have one. It's Muzio or Danish, and you can only play those as White. But since short fuse Ognjen opened with knight f3, I'll show you my black mustang," he thought as he moved his knight to c6.

There was still 15 minutes on Skaberghast's clock, but Ognjen naturally felt giddy about his chances as he moved his pawn to d4. Skaberghast quickly matched, by moving his pawn to d5, but Ognjen still had no reason to feel worried.

"You've always given me the stink-eye, well today is payback," Ognjen thought as he moved his bishop to f4.

But Ognjen didn't realize just who he was dealing with.

"Bloodthirsty Balkan bastards like you are loud, annoying, and prone to underestimating folks that don't hail from a Balkan nation. And since you pissed me off and I'm contractually obligated to play, go fuck yourself," Skaberghast thought as he moved his bishop to g4.

Ognjen stared at the move before scowling and moving his pawn to e3.

"'Lazy smug bum. I have over an hour and 20 minutes on the clock. Like the hare, you slept, while I the tortoise cruised to victory'... are your thoughts, right? Well first off, I ain't a rabbit, I'm a man. And humans are malicious and crafty creatures. I'm sleeping because my chances of winning are through the roof. Now let's see if it's true that Bosnians suck at mine sweeping," Skaberghast thought as he moved his knight to f6.

If one were to look at the eval bar for this game up to this point, they'd see that Ognjen had a slight edge, however, the board truly was a dangerous minefield. One wrong play and Skaberghast would be in the drivers seat, and when that happened, he often won.

Yet with plenty of time on the clock, and no sense of anxiety, Ognjen moved his knight to c3, a natural developing move. However, that seemingly normal and natural move, completely imploded his advantage, bringing things dead even on the eval bar.

"Now that's rich. You actually had to go to c4 with your pawn. That was the best move, and you blew it. What an ironic encyclopedia of an embarrassment," Skaberghast gleefully thought as he smirked and moved his pawn to e6.

Despite Skaberghast internally roasting Ognjen, things were still quite playable and even. Ognjen moved his bishop to d3, and Skaberghast mirrored with bishop d6.

It truly was a visual masterpiece on the board, and to make things even more noteworthy, not a single piece had been captured yet. But while he considered himself more refined than his compatriots, aggression did lurk within Ognjen, which he made abundantly clear by moving his pawn to h3.

Skaberghast moved his bishop to h5, but Ognjen still wanted blood and hurled his pawn to g4.

"Sure, flail at me. I can dodge in my hammock," Skaberghast thought as he moved his bishop to g6.

The fuse was fast approaching the gunpowder, with everything poised to implode at any move. But instead of drawing first blood, Ognjen instead opted to castle king's side.

"And that's another one down. Too bad I can't say it loud how bad you are at minesweeping, unless your tactic is to just flop onto every mine and detonate them that way. If so, keep it up, the faster you implode, the faster I can lounge somewhere else," Skaberghast thought as he moved his knight to e4.

Thinks were only getting trickier for Ognen, but he managed to find a good move in the form of knight to b5, but Skaberghast already had his number, and decided to go for nasty line in the form of pawn to h5.

"Let's see if aggression truly is your life blood. If it is, knight captures d6, or maybe bishop captures e4. No way you'd find g5," Skaberghast thought.

But to everyone's surprise, Ognen didn't capture any pieces, instead opting to fortify his defenses by moving his pawn to c3. And that right there was the most decisive moment of the game.

As Skaberghast's eyes widened at the board, in the stands, a bearded man with wild grey hair suddenly began playing the violin. The song he was playing came from a Japanese rhythm arcade game, and it was a catchy one at that. Skaberghast took notice of it, and while he couldn't hear it directly, he recognized all the chords.

"Now that's cruel, depriving my ears of that banger, but I know that song well enough to play it in my head, loud and clear!" Skaberghast thought as a maniacal smile spread across his face.

In a flash, he captured the bishop at f4, leaving Ognjen surprised, but not shaken. "Well hello to you too, ugly. Your as mad as the asswads I'm stuck on a team with," Ognjen thought as he captured the bishop at f4 with his e-pawn.

But as soon as Ognjen hit the clock, Skaberghast slammed his pawn down on a6. Ognjen scowled, and moved his knight to the safety of a3, but when Skaberghast captured his pawn at g4, just as quickly, anger quickly consumed Ognjen.

"Huh? Trying to pick a fight with ME!? You're asking for it now, you smug Scandinavian sloth!" Ognjen fumed aloud as he violently captured the pawn at g4 with his h-pawn, sending it flying off.

"And there goes the powder keg. Well, good for me. And Wolfgang, keep playing that tune. The team may be fucked, but me winning will cement something better!" Skaberghast thought as he rapidly slammed his queen down on f6.

"Will you stop moving so quickly, and with that stupid shit eating grin!? I'm sick of you always looking down on me and my good friends. The hell is your problem with Serbs, huh!?" Ognjen shouted as he slammed his queen down on c1.

Ognjen, liked to think he was the most refined, civilized, and gentlemanly of all of Bosnia and Herzegovina's three co-leaders, but in actuality, he perhaps had one of the shortest fuses amongst the three. If he felt he was being looked down on, rage would consume him, and when that happened, aggression dominated his mind. And when that happened during a chess match, it meant he'd go capture crazy, making him perfect fodder for the calm, collected, and VERY sadistic Professor Manfred von Skaberghast, who gleefully nudged his bishop to f5, setting the final trap of the game.

"ХАХАХАХА! ГЛУПИ СКАНДИНАВСКИ ЛЕЊИВАЦ! БЕСПЛАТАН ЕПИСКОП ЗА МЕНЕ, И УДАРАЦ У ЛИЦЕ ЗА ТЕБЕ! [HAHAHAHA! STUPID SCANDINAVIAN SLOTH! A FREE BISHOP FOR ME, AND A PUNCH IN THE FACE FOR YOU]!" Ognjen madly cackled, bloodshot spirals spinning in his eyes, as he violently captured the bishop at f5 with his g-pawn, sending it hurdling upwards like a missile towards the glass roof above, where it embedded itself, cracking the glass.

"Well thanks dumbass, relaxation, here I come," Skaberghast thought as he quickly moved his queen to h6 and then got up and stepped back.

However, he didn't press the clock, causing it to tick down to 10 minutes, 9 minutes, 5 minutes.

"Ха! Још увек покушаваш да се понашаш самозадовољно против мене!? Па штета, ти ћеш остати без времена! [Hah! You're still acting smugly against me!? Too bad, you'll run out of time]!" Ognjen mockingly spat.

"Guess Balkan batshit bozos like you don't have a built-in cool-down feature. Well, good thing some cold water's literally headed your way," Skaberghast thought as he gazed up.

The cracked glass had just about reached it's limit, and unable to hold the weight of the waterfall of rain from above, it shattered, sending water, and the bishop that had been flung into it, hurdeling down onto Ognjen. The cold water and the bonk on the head from the bishop, quickly reset his senses, but he was unable to move until Miga came over to patch up the leak.

While he hadn't been in it's direct line of fire, Tvrtko had indeed gotten a little soaked from the water torrent, causing him to throw off his coat and shirt, exposing his scarred, musucular chest. Refik meanwhile was still high and dry, and returned focus to his game.

"Wow, talk about a spectacle," Miralem snickered as he sat down in the spectator area, just a few feet away from Okisato and the others.

He could see it, Okisato could see it, and soon Ognjen would tremble with horror as he too saw the state of the board. Skaberghast had returned and hit his clock, leaving just one minute left on it compared to Ognjen's hour. But the cruel reality was that it didn't matter.

"N- No.. Th- This can't be," Ognjen trembled as he extended his shaking hand, and moved his king to g2.

"Check. Tro det, din Balkan-flagermus-lort-taber [Believe it, you Balkan bat-shit-loser]," Skaberghast snickered as he moved his queen to h3, and hit the clock.

Ognjen wanted to lose himself in rage for the insult Skaberghast had just levied at him, but he was too busy choking back his tears as he made his only legal move, king g1. "No... No..."

"Checkmate. Now your team winning would only be a bigger kick in the teeth for you. Well, have fun," Skaberghast snickered as he moved his queen to g4, winning the game.

Ognjen gritted his teeth as he buried his hands into his face. Though it was hard to tell because he was completely soaked, tears were streaking down his face. He had not only lost himself in rage and blundered into mate, but also gotten soaked thanks to it as well. And now, the match was tied a 1-1, but the other two games were heavily skewed in Bosnia and Herzegovina's favor, making their victory all the more likely.

As Skaberghast headed out, to go to the spectator area, Raymond walked over and picked up the bishop that had caused the roof to shatter. "Ognjen, there will be an invoice for damages addressed to you for this."

From the spectator area, Miralem smirked as Ognjen sunk to his knees before Raymond. It was obvious to Okisato the two didn't get along, but he didn't want to try interacting with Miralem right now. Though he did turn his attention to the man with the violin and scanned him with his WWCF card.

"Wolfgang Muigg of Austria, 2700. The same rating as me. Hmm..."

The full game:

White: Ognjen Elezović (2391) Black: Prof Manfred von Skaberghast (2801)

1. Nf3 Nc6

2. d4 d5

3. Bf4 Bg4

4. e3 Nf6

5. Nc3 e6

6. Bd3 Bd6

7. h3 Bh5

8. g4 Bg6

9. O-O Ne4