Alien love

Going back to the start of the round, Külli started her game out by moving her pawn to e4 to which Gorana responded to by moving her pawn to c6.

D4, d5, knight d2, d captures e4, knight captures e4, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But with a choice of bishop f5 and knight f6, Gorana chose the latter, which meant Külli could unleash her secret attack.

"Kord, kui olin noor, läksin tulnukaid otsima, Kord, kui olin noor, läksin tulnukaid otsima, [Once, when I was young, I went in search of aliens, Once, when I was young, I went in search of aliens]," she sang in her mind to the tune of "Kui mina ükskord noores eas võtsin vana naise" as she moved her knight to g5.

It was Alien gambit time, but Gorana was not willing to humor it, and moved her pawn to e5. "Wait- NO!" she cried in her mind.

But it was too late. Külli immediately pounced on the error and moved her bishop to c4, as Gorana sunk her hand into her face.

"I moved it to far. Why'd I move it too far, dammit!?" Gorana fumed in her mind as she captured the pawn at d4 with her queen.

"Hmph! Aliens are real. In fact, I am one. That is why I played the alien gambit against you! Check!" Külli proudly proclaimed as she captured the pawn at f7 with her bishop.

Abandoned as an infant, Külli had long believed she was an alien, or at the very least, a half-human, half-alien. There was basis to her reasoning as while she did appear human on the surface, her physiology had some slight differences, notably her cyan hair which had bioluminescent properties and the fact that her blood was naturally blue.

Of course, there were many who believed she simply ended up the way she did thanks to a DESPER, but Külli refused to believe that, as not only did she have memories from her childhood of having cyan hair, and the villagers who helped raise vouched that she had bled blue blood ever since she was little. Regardless, it lead to Külli having an obsession with extraterrestrial life, mainly in hopes that maybe it would lead to her at least reuniting with her parents.

As for Gorana, she could have cared less about Külli's origins as she had bigger problems to worry about, for after moving her king to d8, Külli brought her bishop out to d2.

"Lovely, another check on the way," Gorana grumbled in her mind as she moved her king to c7.

But Külli had other plans, such as moving her 1-knight to f3, eliciting a scowl from Gorana as she captured the pawn at b2 with her queen.

"A petty attack like that? You're underestimating me because of my rating," Külli thought as she moved her rook to b1.

While Gorana was a grandmaster and the highest rated member of the Serbian women's team at 2699, and Külli was only rated 2103, it didn't mean Külli couldn't notch a win off her. That costly mistake on move 5 had rattled Gorana greatly, and worse, Külli was playing perfectly. If the Muzio was Skaberghast's opening he knew like the back of his hand, Külli's equivalent was the Alien gambit. If she got the chance to play it, you'd need to play perfectly to match.

Even though Gorana had denied Külli the Alien gambit's main trap, it had proven to be beneficial to Külli as now she was winning.

"Ugh! Mess up, will you!?" Gorana fumed in her mind as she moved her queen to a3.

But Külli didn't mess up, and kept up the tempo by capturing the pawn at e5 with her knight. And at this point, Gorana malfunctioned and moved her pawn to b6. Külli castled king's side without any issue, while Gorana continued to implode and moved her bishop to d6.

"Oof, she's just getting pummeled. Well, guess we aren't winning... unless the Estonian fucks up," Jovana thought as Külli moved her knight to c4. "Uh, I said, she's gonna mess up!" she thought once more as Gorana messed up and moved her queen to c5, instead of making the best possible move of moving her pawn to h6.

Jovana let out a heavy sigh as Külli moved her bishop to e3. "Sorry Gorana, but she's not messing up. Ugh, should've swapped out with me," she thought.

But Gorana still had some fight in her. "Check! A proud Serbian like me won't resign, especially not to some Baltic pansy," she glared as she captured the pawn at h2 with her bishop.

Külli blinked for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and capturing said bishop with her king. "Whelp, free bishop for me," she thought.

But Gorana wasn't done just yet. In came another check from knight to g4, and another free piece for Külli, as she captured said knight with her queen.

"HAH! YOU BLEW IT!" Gorana gleefully thought i her mind as she captured the queen at g4 with her bishop.

"Oh no, my queen... Guess I'll take yours out as well then," Külli thought as she captured the queen at c5 with her bishop.

Gorana's glee instantly deflated as she shook her head and scowled as she captured the bishop at c5 with her b-pawn. Külli on the other hand only grew more exuberant as she moved her bishop to e6. Not wanting to deal with two knights, Gorana moved her pawn to h6, allowing Külli to capture the bishop at g4 with her bishop.

"Check. Now what will you do?" Gorana growled as she captured the knight at g5 with her h-pawn.

The answer to that was king to g3. Gorana naturally didn't like that, and moved her rook to d8, giving Külli free reign to move her knight to a5. Gorana's frustrations continued to grow, and with it, the chances of her walking into mate. She sat there for minutes, trying to figure out what to do, and finally, nearly an hour later, she moved her rook to d4.

"Well you sure took your time. Everyone else has already finished. Check," Külli smirked as she moved her rook to b7.

Gorana gritted her teeth and moved her king to d6, watching as Külli captured the pawn at g7 with her rook. "UGH! It's all because I went e5 instead of e6!" Gorana ranted in her mind as she moved her rook to a4.

Then began a series of checks, starting with rook d1. Gorana thwarted it by moving her rook to d4, but knight b7, check, was next, and off to e5 went the king. Then came rook e7, check, sending the king to d5. A break in the checks followed in the form of rook to e3, but it didn't matter.

"Shit! It's mate... I'm not resigning, dammit!" Gorana thought as she moved her king to c4.

And thus, began the finale sequence of checks, starting with bishop e2, check. The king fled to b4, but Külli moved her rook to d1, checking the king once more. The king was now forced to go to a4, allowing Külli to capture the pawn at c5 with her knight, delivering another check. Now the king was forced to go to a5, but it was soon on the move once more as in came rook a3, check, forcing Gorana to move her rook to a4.

"Shit, this is it. Dammit, I should have resigned," Gorana thought as Külli gleefully began humming.

"Oh, what to mate you with, what to mate you with... Hmm, how about... the knight! Checkmate!" Külli smirked as she moved her knight to b7, winning the game.

Thanks to this, Estonia had triumphed over Serbia 2.5-1.5, and continued their unbeaten streak. The only question now, was who they would face next.

The full game:

White: Külli Lüüs (2103) Black: Gorana Petrović (2699)

1. e4 c6

2. d4 d5

3. Nd2 dxe4

4. Nxe4 Nf6

5. Ng5 e5

6. Bc4 Qxd4

7. Bxf7+ Kd8

8. Bd2 Kc7

9. N1f3 Qxb2

10. Rb1 Qa3

11. Nxe5 b6

12. O-O Bd6

13. Nc4 Qc5

14. Be3 Bxh2+

15. Kxh2 Ng4+

16. Qxg4 Bxg4

17. Bxc5 bxc5

18. Be6 h6

19. Bxg4 hxg5+

20. Kg3 Rd8

21. Na5 Rd4

22. Rb7+ Kd6

23. Rxg7 Ra4

24. Rd1+ Rd4

25. Nb7+ Ke5

26. Re7+ Kd5

27. Re3 Kc4

28. Be2+ Kb4

29. Rb1+ Ka4

30. Nxc5+ Ka5

31. Ra3+ Ra4

32. Nb7#

Match score:

Estonia: 2.5 Serbia: 1.5

Estonia wins 2.5-1.5