The new egghead

While the game between Vlatka and Raĥelo had played out with no shortage of drama, there was equal amounts of drama and bloodlust emanating from the other boards.

"So I lose, I'm sitting pretty under pounds of shaving cream, wax, and depilatory cream as I moan myself to baldness before I become a tattoo model. Being true to myself, I'm down for that. Sounds kinky as fuck, and I love awakening kinky shit within. But mom can stuff it up her ass! Fucking bitch thinks she can do what she wants since she's practically queen of Croatia? Hell no!" Nela thought as she opened her game by moving her knight to f3.

Ofelio continued to intensify her glare as she moved her pawn to d5, but it was soon disrupted when Nela ended up playing a4, the Zukertort Opening: The Potato Variation. "A- Are you kidding me!? You reap what you sow then, TRASH!" she thought as she slammed her knight down on f6.

"Oh? Getting feisty already? I'm making things exciting. So come on, give me your best shot, and I might end up a bald mess," Nela thought as she moved her pawn to d4.

Ofelio's face contorted further in fury as she moved her pawn to g5, but it was actually Nela who was most disappointed by the move. "Oi, the hell you playing at? That's juts shit play. You a toddler or something? No wait, toddler's can actually do good shit. Means you gotta be stupid. Guess that's why ma always calls you folks "monkeys"," Nela thought as she captured the pawn at g5 with her bishop.

It was in that moment that Ofelio was snapped back to reality. Her face began to relax, but anxiety, not calmness, began to arise on it.

"I just hung a pawn... Oh shit, oh shit, OH SHIT! No, I made that stupid bet with this bully. I- If I lose..."

Ofelio remained in that panicked state until Vlatka began her performance and mated Raĥelo. That was the moment her fury was revitalized ten-fold.

"Quite the act, but there IS decorum. Vlatka, there will be disciplinary action for you, and the Croatian men's team," Zélie glared.

"Why? We the winners shouldn't be punished for winning," Vlatka scoffed.

"You haven't won anything."

"Then you're a stupid arbiter. England just walked away from our match, giving us a perfect victory," Grgur sneered.

Zélie went pale as she quickly shuffled away to confirm the fact, all while Vlatka watched with a smile. Back at the boards, not just Ofelio, but all the Paeonians were revitalized and ready to turn the tables. Ofelio led the charge by moving her knight to e4, to which Nela responded to by moving her bishop to f4.

However, Ofelio's lack of skill and experience shined through as she moved her queen to d7, giving Nela the opportunity to play e3. At first, things didn't look as bad as Ofelio moved her rook to g8 and Nela advanced her pawn to a5, but then came the moment Ofelio decided to capture the pawn at f2 with her knight, highlighting just how unexperienced she truly was.

Despite having a rating of 2107, Ofelio Kanjo was often times not worthy of said rating. Her journey to said rating had primarily been through grinding through low-level opponents, which led to her developing bad playing habits. She also had trouble keeping her nerves and emotions in check, a fact that was laid bare at this very moment.

"Who taught her how to play? Some sub-1000? Looks like a big ole sweep is coming, and I was all ready for my new bald lifestyle too. Guess that means your ass is the one getting booked for a humiliation a la carte," Nela thought as she captured the knight at f2 with her king.

Ofelio thought the opposite. "You just lost your castling rights! You can't castle, you can't win!" she proudly huffed in her mind as she moved her pawn to h6.

Nela bit her lip and nodded as she moved her pawn to c4, while Ofelio began to smile from ear to ear as she confidently moved her pawn to b5.

"Wow... Guess you really are in need of enlightenment. En passant!" Nela thought as she performed en passant and captured the pawn at b5 with her a-pawn.

Ofelio appeared to be shocked by the move, but her confidence didn't waver as she captured the pawn at b6 with her c-pawn. Nela continued to keep a sour look on her face as she moved her knight to c3, further increasing Ofelio's confidence as she moved her pawn to e6.

"I wonder how sour I look. Must be sour if broccoli booger head is continuing to inflate her smile," Nela thought as she captured the pawn at d5 with her c-pawn.

But it would soon be Nela sporting a shit-eating grin as Ofelio decided to move her pawn to a6, allowing her to set a nasty trap in the form of bishop b5.

"Um, are you THAT stupid? I just got a bishop," Ofelio scoffed in her mind as she captured the seemingly free bishop at b5 with her a-pawn.

And then the trap was sprung.

"Wonder how much you cheated to get that 2107 rating, cuz you sure as hell don't play like you're above 1200!" Nela thought as she captured the rook at a8 with her rook.

Like bursting a balloon with a pin, Ofelio's confidence vanished instantly. "No... NO! I can't lose! My hair is my pride... I DON'T WANNA BE BALD!" she frantically thought as she moved her pawn to b4.

Then in a seeming act of mercy, Nela forsook her knight to move her other knight to e5. Ofelio leaped at the chance and happily captured the knight at c3 with her b-pawn, but was instantly hit with a brutal wave of dejection as Nela captured the queen at d7 with her knight.

"No... My queen... NO! I can't give up! I'll win in the end!" Ofelio thought as she held back her tears and captured the knight at d7 with her knight.

"And that's check. I'll have your bald makeover booked for the day after tomorrow, future egghead," Nela snickered as she captured the bishop at c8 with her rook.

"E- 'EGGHEAD'!? H- How dare you!" Ofelio trembled as she moved her king to e7.

"What? You'll be bald, like an egghead. Just like you're moves away from CHECK mate," Nela taunted as she moved her pawn to d6.

Now Ofelio was unable to stop her tears from flowing as she was forced to move her king to f6. Now Nela was free to exude unwavering confidence as she moved her queen to h5, tightening the screws on her mating net. Ofelio tried desperately to create counterplay by moving her rook to g5, but that just led to said rook being captured by Nela's bishop, resulting in another check and Ofelio capturing said bishop with her h-pawn.

A brief glimmer of hope appeared to show itself before Ofelio as Nela moved her rook to c7. She used the opportunity to move her knight to e5, but her hopes were quickly dashed as Nela moved her king to e2, preventing the knight from advancing any further. Out of options, Ofelio resorted to capturing the pawn at d6 with her bishop, which would end up being her final free move as Nela prepared to unleash her final assault.

"Check, I hear the stylist here really hates hair to the point where she'll ensure you'll be bald for eternity and then some," Nela snickered as she moved her rook to f1.

"SHUT UP!" Ofelio shouted as she moved her king to g7.

"So which check you want? F or c? How about F in the chat for your hair follicles," Nela cackled as she captured the pawn at f7 with her f-rook.

Ofelio tearfully gritted her teeth in fury as she captured said rook with her knight, but was left with nothing but despair as Nela captured said knight with her queen, leaving Ofelio in check and a move away from mate. As her vision blurred with tears, Ofelio managed to make her only legal move of king to g8 before letting the waterworks flow.

"Checkmate. Two down, and two to go until complete victory," Nela smirked as she moved her queen to h7, winning the game.

The full game:

White: Nela Bošković (2134) Black: Ofelio Kanjo (2107)

1. Nf3 d5

2. a4 Nf6

3. d4 g5

4. Bxg5 Ne4

5. Bf4 Qd7

6. e3 Rg8

7. a5 Nxf2

8. Kxf2 h6

9. c4 b5

10. axb6 cxb6

11. Nc3 e6

12. cxd5 a6

13. Bb5 axb5

14. Rxa8 b4

15. Ne5 bxc3

16. Nxd7 Nxd7

17. Rxc8+ Ke7

18. d6+ Kf6

19. Qh5 Rg5

20. Bxg5+ hxg5

21. Rc7 Ne5

22. Ke2 Bxd6

23. Rf1+ Kg7

24. Rfxf7+ Nxf7

25. Rxf7+ Kg8

26. Qh7#