Lost in the dunes

Now that things had ended on the women's side for team Japan, all attention shifted over to the men's side. With the score at 2-0 in Japan's favor, all that was needed to clinch the match was a draw from either of the remaining boards. This meant that for the Americans to prevent a loss, they had to win on demand.

"If you offered a draw, I'd refuse it. But I don't think you want this to end in a draw either. What you hunger for is victory. Thus, I'll have to goad you into destruction," Peter thought as he moved his pawn to f5.

Okisato struggled to control his thumping heart. He could sense he had a slight edge, but one that could vanish with a single misstep. He took a few deep breaths to think before finally settling on moving his king to e1.

"You're showing signs of exhaustion, Okisato Tanabe," Peter thought as he moved his king to f7. "Chess is a marathon. You must stick to the desert's sole crumbling asphalt path without deviating should you wish to find glory. However, the hot sun is overbearing, and the road full of potholes. There is also a 30 minute disparity between us, and with your time ticking down in swaths, you could fall before even succumbing to exhaustion or pitfall. And then, I can simply walk past you to the goal, for at that point it's but a formality as I'd have already won," he thought as Okisato moved his king to d2.

Okisato could feel the time crunch, yet he also knew he had to play smart. Peter wasn't making it easy for him as he instantly moved his rook to c8, highlighting that he already had planned many moves in advance.

"You really are a monster. This looks dead even, but who knows what it really is. I hope it's winning, but my nerves are draining me of all the moisture in my body. I bet you're imagining us in some hot desert... Perfect analogy. Beating you is like being dropped in the middle of the Sahara and trying to find your way back with no map or GPS. Except, I've trained for this for years!" Okisato thought as he moved his king to d3.

Right now, he needed to make the 40-move time control, which was easier said than done. He was given a droplet of water in the form of pawn to h4 from Peter, giving him the easy option of capturing said pawn with his g-pawn, but king f6 from Peter sent him back to thinking.

"Five moves away... And that's just for the time control. I still can't see any path to victory in this desert. I doubt reaching that goal post at 40 moves will make things any clearer, but if I want some more time in my pocket, I need to reach it," Okisato thought as he moved his rook to e1.

Peter smirked and made the scary-looking play of rook h8, yet Okisato had seen a similar scenario before and boldly marched his pawn forward to h5.

"You remember your thrashings well, and are rewarded with a step closer to the 40 move time control. But the 40th move is perhaps the hardest to make," Peter thought as he captured the pawn at h5 with his g-pawn, giving Okisato the easy choice of moving his pawn to h4, which he did so instantly. "Move 39. Just two moves, and you cross the half-way mark," he thought as he moved his knight to g6.

"Yeah, I can sense what you're thinking. When you're so close to the time control, blunders become all the more common," Okisato thought as he moved his king to d2.

"Exactly. Now, Okisato Tanabe, will you reach the 40-move goal with no stumbles, or will you tumble through and roll before a sinkhole?" Peter thought as he moved his knight to f4.

Okisato's breathing began to get heavier as he began turning his gears. This would be one of the big moments of the game.

"Where can I go? It's just one step, but the road ends there, and given it's state, a wrong step will cause the chunk to break off, and me to tumble down into whatever lies beyond the dusty veil. I have to think. Think..."

And after 15 minutes, Okisato finally arrived at a solution, pawn b5. Upon completing the move, he leaned back in his chair, still breathing heavily as Peter moved his rook to c8. He had made the time control, but the game was still far from over. While his clock continued to tick down, he took a sip from his water bottle, nearly chugging the whole thing down.

"I've never been this parched before. Just when was the last time I'd ever fried my brain this much?" he thought as he stared out at the board.

To the naked eye, things would look pretty even given both the state of the board and the pieces captured. However, it was bishop on knight, and Okisato had the bishop.

"This has to be winning. It has to be! But... how do I win?" Okisato thought as he moved his bishop to b6.

"Okisato Tanabe. In your current state, I doubt you can read my thoughts. But if you can, I repeat what I thought earlier; chess is a marathon. Except now, you've entered a desolate field of dunes, with the hot sun bearing down on you," Peter thought as he moved his rook to b8. "I may be teetering on the edge of a cliff, but you can't see that. All you see before you is dunes, dunes which all look the same and offer no waypoints to guide you to victory. And should you fail to beat the elements, you'll either collapse from exhaustion, chase a mirage and fall into a pit, or run out of time. All you can see before you is me, the board, the clock and the desolate dunes you find yourself lost in. Okisato Tanabe, will you find your way through the desert?" he thought as Okisato moved his rook to g1.

What Peter said was true. Okisato had no sense of his surroundings. All he could see was Peter, the board, the clock, and sunlit dunes of sand that all looked the same.

"So all that was behind that dusty veil at the goalpost was hot sandy dunes that all look the same. And even with the extra time, Peter still has an edge, and hasn't broken a sweat. This really is a marathon of fortitude and endurance," Okisato thought as Peter moved his rook to e8.