Chapter 476:

Lamp oil, rope, poisoned pawns

En Passant Grandmaster

With Okisato's victory, things were looking good for the men's team especially with how well the masked man was doing. Up against the 1996-rated Roope, who had opened his game by moving his pawn to e4. The masked man had responded with e5, to which Roope answered by moving his knight to f3. It was then that the masked man decided to mimic Okisato and play the Latvian Gambit, moving his pawn to f5.

Unlike Okisato's game, Roope moved his bishop to c4, but this was all according to plan for the masked man, who promptly captured the pawn at e4 with his f-pawn.

"Lamp oil, rope, pawns? I want it? I take it, my friend," Roope smiled as he captured the pawn at e5 with his knight.

"A belly full of pawns isn't good for the man, especially if the pawns are poisoned," the masked man thought as he moved his queen to g5.

"Mmmmm," Roope moaned as he thought for a bit before moving his knight to f7.

"Thanks for the bargain," the masked man nodded as he captured the pawn at g2 with his queen.

"Whoa, this isn't a charity, friend. Not everything on the floor is for sale or to giveaway," Roope scowled as he moved his rook to f1.

"What of this "lamp oil" you mentioned?" the masked man asked as he moved his knight to f6.

"Ah, I make that in my spare time. Rope and soap are my main trades, but lamps can use rope, and lamps need lamp oil," Roope smiled as he captured the rook at h8 with his knight.

"Just how archaic are the lamps from where you live?" the masked man asked as he moved his pawn to d5.

"Mmmm, old," Roope responded as he captured the pawn at d5 with his bishop.

"A shame. I prefer flashlights with batteries," the masked man sighed as he moved his bishop to g4.

"'Flashlights'? I don't carry flashlights," Roope scoffed as he moved his pawn to f3.

"Why not?" the masked man asked as he moved his bishop to h3.

"I like lights that use lamp oil," Roope stated as he moved his rook to f2.

"Hmm. Check," the masked man nodded as he moved his queen to g1.

"Oh no," Roope gasped as he moved his king to e2.

"Think I'll take the queen then. How much?" the masked man asked as he captured the queen at d1 with his queen.

"For that, I take your assets, namely your queen," Roope replied as he captured the queen at d1 with his king.

"An even trade. Guess I'll take some more goodies for the road," the masked man chucked as he captured the bishop at d5 with his knight.

"I'm still making profit," Roope grinned as he captured the pawn at e4 with his f-pawn.

"Not for long," the masked man clapped back as he moved his knight to f6.

"What do you mean? I'm up by 3," Roope scowled as he moved his pawn to d3.

"And I'm about to reverse your profits... NOW!" the masked man declared as he moved his bishop to c5.

"No you won't," Roope retorted as he moved his rook to e2.

"But I'm just about to," the masked man chuckled as he moved his bishop to g4.

"Oh no... I'm going to lose my rook. Calculating... Mmmm I resign," Roope stated.

It wasn't a completely illogical decision as Roope was in fact losing. The game likely could have continued on for many more moves, but perhaps Roope didn't see the value in struggling aimlessly hoping for a slip up from the masked man. He was a merchant first and foremost, meaning he had to prioritize profits and cut his losses. Seeing no guaranteed chance at salvaging things, Roope had concluded resignation was his best move, as it was not worth his time to continue play.

But with his loss, Japan had now won the match regardless of what happened in Ryonosuke's game. But speaking of which...

"Ugh, we just lost... Whatever, me winning won't change jack. Resign," Juha-Pekka sighed.

And with that, Japan's men's team had defeated Finland's men's team 4-0, their first perfect shutout of the tournament. Now all that remained was to see how things would play out on the women's side.

The full game:

White: Roope Morottaja (1996) Black: The masked man (101)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 f5

3. Bc4 fxe4

4. Nxe5 Qg5

5. Nf7 Qxg2

6. Rf1 Nf6

7. Nxh8 d5

8. Bxd5 Bg4

9. f3 Bh3

10. Rf2 Qg1+