Chapter 488:

Path plower

En Passant Grandmaster

Checking back in on the men's side, the Okisato-Peter game was still well underway with knight captures d6, c captures d6, c3, h6, b captures f6, queen captures f6, a king's side castle, a-rook a8, knight e1, a6, g3, bishop h3, knight g2, knight a5, rook e1, bishop captures g2, king captures g2, rook e7, bishop f3, rook captures e1, queen captures e1, and queen e6 all being played, yet no definitive edge had been awarded to either player.

Okisato was slowly building one though, but his nerves were building at an even greater pace, while Peter remained completely calm. Queen d1, rook e8, rook a2, queen f5, a4, g6, moves were being made, yet the difference was in the time. Peter was moving quickly and precisely, while Okisato was moving slower and more cautiously. There was still plenty of time on the clock, but b4, knight c6, a5, king f8, queen d2, h5, h3, king g7, queen c2, queen captures c2, rook captures c2, knight e7, rook e2, and king f8 only further increased the time disparity between the two players.

"And I'm still 10 moves away from the 40-move time control. Come to think of it, have I even had a game that went 40 moves up to this point? I can't remember, nor should I. All focus must be directed here to winning," Okisato thought as he cautiously moved his king to f1.

While the main action on the men's side was centered around board 2, other decisive action was occurring at the other boards too. Over on board 1, the masked man had decided to open in a similar fashion to Okisato, except instead of moving his pawn to a3, he moved it to a4. Wiley met him with knight c6, to which the masked man responded to by moving his pawn to d4. Then began a flurry of rapid moves that went d5, knight f3, bishop f5, a5, e6, a6, knight b4, and e4, before Wiley decided to draw first blood and capture the pawn at e4 with his bishop.

"Ignoring my pawn? You must be feeling confident, or perhaps you're starting to forget things," the masked man thought as he captured the pawn at b7 with his a-pawn.

"I know what you're thinking, and I ain't forgetting shit! Check!" Wiley fumed as he captured the pawn at c2 with his knight.

"I suppose the commentators will go a bit crazy from this. Even I was surprised how slow the computer was when I first tested this out, but to beat a maestro, you have to live dangerously," the masked man thought as he moved his king to d2.

Over in the commentator's booth, all attention was naturally on the Okisato-Peter game and the Daria-Amelia game. Extra hands had been called in, but none noticed the odd phenomenon of the eval bar going haywire. At first, it had thought the masked man had an advantage and that king d2 was the best move, but a few seconds later, it deemed the position prior to it dead even and the move a point towards Wiley's side. Yet the edge was still in draw territory, and the masked man knew of it too.

Wiley wasn't aware of it, but he was still a maestro and moved his rook to b8, refusing to let the masked man get an inch.

"Check. Seems your rook's going to be a bit tied up," the masked man taunted as he moved his bishop to b5.

Wiley shot him a scowl and moved his pawn to c6, but said pawn was instantly captured by the masked man's bishop, putting Wiley in check once more. He quickly moved his king to e7, but the pressure on the king's side only intensified as the masked man captured the pawn at a7 with his rook. Wiley countered by moving his queen to b6, but the masked man then played the devastating rook a8, leaving Wiley with only a single move to escape destruction.

Of course, Wiley wasn't a maestro for nothing, and after a short think, he moved his pawn to g6.

"He found it. That's a maestro for you," the masked man thought as he moved hi queen to e2.

"Of course I found it. Who do you think I am, boy!? Check!" Wiley fumed as he moved his bishop to h6.

"And your age is making you have more fits... which cost you your slim advantage," the masked man thought a he moved his king to d1.

With things now dead even once more, Wiley quickly captured the bishop at c6 with his queen, setting off a series of perfect play which continued with knight e5, queen c7, and queen b5, before knight captures d4 saw the eval bar tick slightly towards the masked man, but still in drawish territory. Perfect play resumed with knight captures d4, queen b4, check, king f6, and knight g4, check, before Wiley slipped up again and moved his king to f5, slightly worsening his position.

But the true decisive moment would occur the moment the masked man captured the knight at g5 with his queen, for that was what led to Wiley capturing the pawn at b7 with his rook. This move seemed harmless, but in reality, it was the very pitfall the masked man had placed when he plowed this rocky path. The masked man instantly moved his rook to c8, with Wiley, still unaware of his predicament, moved his pawn to e5.

Next came the queen trade, starting with rook captures c7 and ending with e captures d4. Then a short-lived check in the form of knight h6 from the masked man, which was instantly neutralized by Wiley capturing said knight with his knight.

The masked man then captured the rook at b7 with his rook, frustrating Wiley, but not to the point where he'd throw in the towel, but close to it.

"I've never liked you, brat. Always making my side ache," Wiley thought as he captured the pawn at g2 with his bishop.

"And now I pay you back for rook b8," the masked man thought as he moved his rook to g1.

"You're doing nothing but mocking me under that damn mask of silence! Check!" Wiley fumed as he moved his bishop to f3.

"Silence is the rule, until the final round. Then talking is permitted since DESPERs are permitted. Though of course, we can choose to remain silent if we so please," the masked man thought as he moved his king to c2.

"CHECK! Don't go ignoring me!" Wiley fumed as he slammed his bishop down on e4.

"And here's the senility. Politics has done you no favors," the masked man thought as he moved his king to b3.

But all Wiley was doing was letting out his frustrations, for after moving his knight to g4, the masked man moved his pawn to f3, forking the knight and bishop. Wiley had pride, but he also hated wasting his time on pointless endeavors. Thus, in the face of that fork, he scowled and stopped the clock.

"I reign, you brat."

And to make things even better for team Japan, Zago had pulled his weight and won his game, giving the team a 2-0 lead over America.

"A draw, a draw. It's going to be a draw. Still better than a win. And speaking of winning, Levi's really having an off day. I'm not going to allow myself to win, but if me being in a winning position keeps Oki-chwan's hopes high, that'll make it all the more savory when he loses to Peter and I resign on the spot," Ginji thought.

The full game:

White: The masked man (101) Black: Maestro Wiley Frisch (3050)

1. a4 Nc6

2. d4 d5

3. Nf3 Bf5

4. a5 e6

5. a6 Nb4

6. e4 Bxe4

7. axb7 Nxc2+

8. Kd2 Rb8

9. Bb5+ c6

10. Bxc6+ Ke7