Chapter 345:

Serbia's ruddy rose

En Passant Grandmaster

Following Õnne's victory, Valve managed to force a draw against Slavica, allowing Estonia to take the lead 1.5-0.5. However, Nikolina wasn't considered Serbia's ace for nothing.

...

Going back to the start of the round, Nikolina opened the game by moving her pawn to e4, which Maila responded to by moving her pawn to c5. But normalcy ended there as Nikolina's next move was bishop to a6. Maila stared in disbelief before nervously capturing said bishop with her knight.

"So you chose war. Get ready to bleed, you delusional pretender," Nikolina thought as she moved her knight to c3.

This was how Nikolina fought. When she got serious, she'd put herself at a disadvantage by sacrificing a piece early. It could vary from pawn to rook, but the constant was that it fueled Nikolina's desire to win more than ever.

Orphaned as an infant during the Yugoslav wars in Kosovo, Nikolina herself had nearly been killed, but was saved at the last second by a platoon of Serbian troops. Even though she was an infant at the time, she could remember everything clearly. As a result, she gained an unbridled hatred towards Albanians.

Loss greatly upset her, which is why she'd deliberately sacrifice a piece at the start of the game, as when she was furious, she played at her best. That didn't mean she was angry and brooding all the time, in fact she was often the life of the party, even getting into DJing. But when she was up against someone she hated, hatred consumed her eyes.

Maila just so happened to be one person Nikolina couldn't stand, stemming from the fact that Maila dubbed herself a "savior". Having no feats and just bluster, Nikolina took offense to Maila, and decided she'd crush her as punishment.

Speaking of Maila, she had long since moved her pawn to e5, and was awaiting Nikolina's move. After a half hour of calculation, Nikolina moved her pawn to f4. Maila scratched her head and moved her knight to b4, allowing Nikolina to make her first pounce, and capture the pawn at e5 with her f-pawn.

Maila brought her queen out to g5, feeling good about her chances, but Nikolina was on point, moving her g-knight to e2, and making it clear, she would not surrender, or lose. But Maila knew she had the advantage, and captured the pawn at g2 with her queen. Rook g1 came next, but Maila saw that, and simply captured the pawn at h2 with her queen.

Nikolina's glare intensified as she moved her pawn to d4. "You think I didn't see all this? I saw far worse!" she thought as Maila moved her bishop to e7.

As Nikolina moved her bishop to f4, Maila began to get a little nervous while moving her queen to h3. "Maila knows she's winning. She just needs to convert. She just needs to convert," she thought as Nikolina moved her pawn to d5.

Maila decided to make a push, and moved her pawn to g5, but Nikolina flipped the table on her by moving her rook to g3, forcing her queen to h5. The attack let up though, as Nikolina retreated her bishop to e3, allowing Maila to mount another attack by moving her pawn to d6. Nikolina dared her to make the first move, by moving her queen to d2, but Maila didn't want to, and moved her pawn to g4. Thus, Nikolina hit first, and captured the pawn at d6 with her e-pawn.

Maila promptly captured said pawn with her bishop, but Nikolina was now free to castle queen's side, getting her other rook into the game.

But in that moment, the decisive play of the game took place. "She left her rook hanging. Maila has her now!" Maila thought as she captured the rook at g3 with her bishop.

Nikolina raised an eyebrow as she leaned back in her chair. "You took my rook. You know what that means, right?" she thought as she captured the bishop at g3 with her knight.

But Maila clearly didn't know what it meant as she moved her queen to h3. Nikolina sure did though, as she moved her queen to f2, setting things up for a big attack. Maila still failed to see it though, and moved her pawn to b6, and at that point it was too late as after Nikolina moved her rook to h1, there was no saving Maila's queen.

"No! Maila's queen! Ngh... Ugh! Check!" Maila cried in frustration, as she captured the rook at h1 with her queen.

And just like that, Nikolina captured the queen at h1 with her knight, leaving Maila dumbfounded. "No! Maila's queen! Maila wants to resign, but wait! Maila's still up in material!" she thought as she decided to play on and move her pawn to f5.

But the tables had turned, and Nikolina knew it, as she moved her queen to f4. Maila brought her knight out to e7, but Nikolina was already tightening the screws, and moved her queen to e5. Maila moved her rook to the safety of g8, but her knight soon came under threat as Nikolina moved her pawn to a3.

However, Maila realized there was no saving it, and moved her king to f7, allowing Nikolina to capture the knight at b4 with her a-pawn. Maila did capture said pawn with her c-pawn, but after Nikolina moved her knight to b5, she realized it was over.

"Ugh, Maila should resign, but that would be rude. Mate is only a few moves away," Maila thought as she moved her rook to g7.

"Check. It's the end for you, pretender," Nikolina snarled as she moved her knight to d6.

Maila nodded and moved her king to g8, allowing Nikolina to move her bishop to d4. "Maila knows this is mate. Maila just hopes things will improve between us," Maila thought as she captured the pawn at e4 with her f-pawn.

"Checkmate. Never pretend to be something you're not," Nikolina snarled as she captured the rook at g7 with her queen, winning the game.

With that, Serbia had bounced back to tie the match at 1.5-1.5. All would come down to the remaining game between Külli and Gorana.

The full game:

White: DSPCM Nikolina Kozić (2669) Black: DSPCM Maila Rõivas (2410)

1. e4 c5

2. Ba6 Nxa6

3. Nc3 e5

4. f4 Nb4

5. fxe5 Qg5

6. Nge2 Qxg2

7. Rg1 Qxh2

8. d4 Be7