Toxic ego

Almost immediately after the Bosnians finished their song, airhorns went off. "After that bombastic performance and atomic chess match, I'm in the mood for more giving. Who's up for a million WWCF points plus 10,000 euros!?" D.R. Passant grinned.

Two girls, each wearing strainers on their heads, immediately raised their hands and began jumping up and down, madly.

"Um, what are you two doing?" a girl with short brunette and blue hair that obscured her right eye asked.

"Jumping jacks?" a girl with a buzzed head of orange hair shrugged.

The two girls jumping up and down were twins, Tufa and Tola Kebede. Both hailed from Ethiopia, with Tola even being the DSPCM of Addis Ababa. Despite only having a rating of 1669, and still very much having yet to fully master the game, Tola's older sister, Tufa, who not counting Gudit, was Ethiopia's top female chess player with a respectable rating of 2069, had personally advocated to have her get the spot. Both Tufa and Tola aspired to become big Ewetubers, but Tufa was more of a behind-the-scenes marketer than an on-screen personality. As such, she'd often direct Tola on what to say and do in order to try and increase views. Whether it be dying her hair, or constantly wearing a strainer on her head, everything Tola was told to do was carefully calculated by Tufa.

That didn't mean Tufa didn't appear on screen at all, in fact, she even had a cutesy and ditsy personality tailored exactly for such an occasion. But while she did wear a strainer on her head for brand imaging, her hair was an undyed chestnut brown, which coupled with her simple attire, gave her more of a "background character" look, which was exactly what she wanted. She was the director, not the actor.

As for the twin's teammates, the girl with the buzzed hair was Tsehay Roba, one of Ethiopia's most celebrated femal track and field stars. Growing up in Gondar, alongside Golda, the two had a rivalry with each other, with Golda never being able to outrun Tsehay. Golda had always held the edge in chess though, but after winning yet another Olympic gold medal in track and field, Tsehay decided to take up chess as a hobby, and was showing promise, already rising close to a 2000 rating, frustrating Golda.

While Tsehay did live in Gondar, and was now technically a citizen of the New Kingdom of Simien, she was able to change her federation to Ethiopia and make the Ethiopian women's team in time for the Chess Olympics. However, she vowed that by the next Chess Olympics, she'd compete with the Simien team, inadvertently declaring that she'd become good enough to make the Simien team outright by the time of the next Chess Olympics, which naturally frustrated Golda as she didn't want her rival getting anywhere close to surpassing her in her field of expertise. And to further frustrate Golda, Tsehay had been recommended to become Gondar's DSPCM, meaning she'd be seeing more of her at WWCF headquarters once Tsehay officially accepted the post, which she promised to do, following the Chess Olympics.

The final woman was known as Lea Yedua. Unlike the others, Lea's origins were unknown as she had no recollection as who she was, or where she came from. After being found by Tola and Tufa one day, lying stark naked in a field, the two quickly leant her a helping hand and became her closest friends. With mysterious blue scale-like tattoos littering her body, Lea was considered to be quite photogenic by Tufa, meaning she was often thrust in front of the camera for content. Lea didn't mind, though Tola felt Tufa was being a bit too pushy and greed-driven instead of considering Lea's wellbeing.

As for chess prowess, none showed greater potential than Lea. Her rating was only 1502, but the more she played, the better she became. Like an AI devouring knowledge, Lea's true skill level was now closer to that of a 2300-level player, with her prowess increasing ever more with each match she played. She was generally a nice and friendly person, but whenever she sat down at the chessboard, an unsettling aura always encased her as her expression became blank and she began playing like a robot.

As Tola and Tufa continued to try and get D.R. Passant's attention, the man in question completely ignored them. "First up, Venera-Soraya Shehu of Albania, the world's newest baldy, and Camilla Basarab of New Zealand, you two... ARE GONNA BE ON A HEAD N' HAND TEAM! But not just any old head n' hand team. This time, the game is ATOMIC CHESS! That means pieces go boom, when they capture. Still up for it?"

Venera didn't hesitate to make her way to the stage, nor did Camilla. While Venera was only rated 2023, Camilla was rated 2310, making her an ideal partner. As for Camilla herself, she was a young-looking woman with long blonde hair and pointy ears. She dressed in a long white dress, reminiscent of Elven style, but added some modern flair to it by pairing it with a silver jacket and matching silver sneakers.

"Sick drip, girl. Pleasure to be partnering with ya," Venera nodded as she extended her hand.

Camilla paused, but smiled and shook her hand. It was the first time in a while someone had been so nice to her.

"Alright, time for their opponents! How about... Miss Jale Kuzu of Türkiye and Switzerland's famous Kristina Kostyeva!" D.R. Passant grinned.

A woman with wavy tan hair and a woman with long black hair headed for the stage. Jale Kuzu was both Türkiye's top female chess player and top female pool player, making her quite the celebrity, but the woman that was called up to be her partner completely dwarfed her in terms of chess feats. Kristina Kostyeva was a Russian-born Swiss grandmaster and former women's world chess champion. She was a legend of the game, and with her and Jale on a team, Camilla and Venera would have their work cut out for them.

"We didn't get called on, Tufa," Tola frowned.

"Then we go with plan B. Now as soon as someone loses, make your way to the kiddie pool so that you can be in the frame when they lose. And make sure to act surprised. Oh, and take Lea with you," Tufa ordered.

Tola frowned and sighed, but did as Tufa ordered.

On top of the 6B tank, Camilla stared at the board and ordered Venera to move the knight, resulting in it being moved to f3. Jale thought for a bit before ordering Kristina to move her pawn. Kristina nodded and moved her pawn to f6, causing Camilla to scowl.

"Ugh, I know Venera said she wanted to try and lose, but I want to play to win. These two appear to be well-versed in the game though, so I guess we'll have to hope for an opportunity to pounce," Camilla thought. "Pawn," she nodded as Venera moved her pawn to e4.

"Pawn," Jale smiled as Kristina moved her pawn to d5.

"Bishop."

"Well, I don't mind playing for the win. Guess my dip in the blue is postponed. Check," Venera smirked as she moved her bishop to b5.

"Pawn if you please," Jale sang as Kristina moved her pawn to c6.

"Ngh, bishop!" Camilla frowned as Venera moved her bishop to c4.

"Pawn," Jale smirked as Kristina smiled and captured the pawn at e4 with her d-pawn, resulting in said pawns and the knight at f3 being destroyed.

"BOOM! We blastin' away pieces, cuz the chessboard's atomic, baby!" D.R. Passant grinned as he hyped up the crowd.

"Well hate to waste the hype, but the match is just about over. Bishop," Camilla called out.

"Check, and soon to be mate," Venera blankly nodded as she moved her bishop to f7.

"Right about mate, just not for us. Queen," Jale smiled.

"If I was a Bosnian, now would be the perfect time to say, ARTILJERIJA!" Kristina smiled as she captured the pawn at d2 with her queen, destroying said pieces along with the bishop on c1, the queen on d1, and the king on e1, winning the game. "Checkmate. In Atomic chess, you can ignore a check if you can deliver mate."

Camilla and Venera turned to each other and sighed, but quickly smiled before being plunged into the blueberry juice. After a trip around the room, both were spat out into the kiddie pool, sticky and blue.

"EW! LIKE, WAY TOO STICKY!" Venera squealed as she went red in the face.

Due to being freshly shaved bald, Venera's skin was now more sensitive to the juice, causing her to blush uncontrollably.

"Well shit, this was a white dress. Whatevs," Camilla shrugged.

As she stepped out, she scowled in confusion as she noticed Tola and Lea staring at her with their jaws hung open. "Um, you two alright?"

No response.

Venera then walked over and sighed as she turned to face Tufa off to the side. "Oi camerawoman, how long you gonna force your girls to stand like this?"

Tufa clicked her tongue and stopped the video, giving Tola and Lea the chance to relax. "Venera, you're in the same line of business, so I'm sure you know this, but there's common courtesy when streamers are trying to film."

"You're just forcing them to engage in cringe though. Not fair to them while you're hunkering behind the camera." 

Tufa scowled and got up close to Venera's face. No words were spoken, but her contempt was conveyed through her eyes.

"You're in need of a chill pill. You want some good content, find someone better than you to challenge and have the two film you getting drenched in the juice. I'm sure many would love to see you fail."

That line was a blunder on Venera's part as while it did succeed in pissing her off, it was for the wrong reason.

"So you want us to keep failing... You don't want us to succeed... Fucking classist. Tola, Lea, start soliciting challengers."

"Huh? A- Are you saying we're gonna have to go on top of that tank, over water?" Lea trembled.

"Yes, but if you don't lose, you won't get wet. In fact, your mission is to win, beat Peter and Okisato if possible. And Tola, you lose. I want footage of you getting drenched in blue."

Tola hung her head low and sighed, while taking Lea's hand. "Come on Lea, let's try and find someone to challenge us."

The full game:

White: Head: Camilla Basarab (2310) Hand: Venera-Soraya Shehu (2023) Black: Head: Jale Kuzu (2381) Hand: Kristina Kostyleva (2561)

1. Nf3 f6

2. e4 d5

3. Bb5+ c6

4. Bc4 dxe4

5. Bf7+ Qxd2#