Chapter 569:

October winds [Season 9 Intro]

En Passant Grandmaster

As October 8th, 2024 rolled around, so too did All-Japan. With over 100 players competing in one giant open section, it looked to be an intense brawl for the title.

"And we are live from Japan! I'm Saloni Madhok, here as your international commentator for this event. Joining me is Japan's own maestro who was deemed to OP to participate in this tournament, maestro Himitsu!" Saloni smiled.

"You're in for a top-level treat. Saloni and I are both over 2800, so our analyses will be offering you only the best of the best," Daria smiled.

"And as a guest commentator, we have SPCM Xiu Mei-mo, who came here on vacation to watch the tournament!"

"They actually wanted my maestro to come and commentate, but we all know how shit she is, so I'm here instead, training up my commentating skills for when I become a maestro and I'm thrown on commentating duty," Xiu snickered.

With the introductions out of the way, attention was shifted towards the initial pairings. As was expected, there were no surprises, with almost none of the players over 2300 being paired against each other. There was one notable matchup, however between a sub-2000 and a favorite to win the whole thing though.

Yuusuke grinned and trembled with excitement as he sat across from Okisato. "Right out of the gate? Couldn't ask for a better opening win!"

"What makes you think you'll win?" Okisato scowled.

"Simple. You're now Vice-president of the club, so now just like your predecessor, you'll embarrass yourself and get beaten by everyone!"

"That was just exclusive to you. Now how about I put you in your place for... Sorry, I've lost count of how many times in a row I've beaten you. Do you the number of the top of your head?"

"You fucking asshole! I'm gonna beat you and cross 2200 instantly!"

"Is it really worth it to cross 2000 now of all times?"

Before Yuusuke could retort, the round began, meaning everyone had to go silent. Okisato opened the game by moving his pawn to b4, frustrating Yuusuke as he moved his pawn to d5. "That asshole. He really think he can beat me with something like that? I got training from Inoue," Yuusuke thought as Okisato moved his pawn to a3, prompting him to move his pawn to e5.

"A Bugayev! Okisato's walking a tightrope with this one," Saloni declared as Okisato moved his bishop to b2.

"No, that's tame compared to what he normally likes to employ. He knows what he's doing, and Yuusuke's following along without thinking," Daria frowned.

"Why do you say that?"

Daria need not answer as Yuusuke moved his knight to c6, shifting the elo bar from -0.4 for Black to 0.6 for White.

"What? He's lost his advantage," Saloni sighed as Okisato moved his pawn to b5.

"And soon the pawn. C-knight to e7, then bishop takes e5. He was thinking to narrowly and failed to spot this common trap," Daria sighed as the moves she predicted came to pass.

Back down at the board, visible frustration consumed Yuusuke's face as he moved his knight to g6. "Inoue didn't prepare a countermeasure for this, now I'm on my own and down a pawn. Fuck!" he thought as Okisato moved his bishop back to b2.

Still agitated, but able to still properly think straight, Yuusuke moved his pawn to c5, yet that natural and best move would ultimately be the root of his downfall.

"It's not the best move, but it won't hurt me much either. Time to gamble on whether my en passant will truly make him crumble," Okisato thought as he grinned manically and performed en passant, capturing the pawn at c5 with his b-pawn.

Yuusuke's jaw hung open in shock, before anger fully consumed him. "Alright! You wanna play flashy, I'll slug you so heard your vision will go flashy!" he thought as he moved his queen to b6.

Daria let out a sigh and shook her head as Okisato capitalized on the blunder and moved his knight to c3.

"Ah, wittle 1900's turning the eval bar all white," Xiu taunted as she propped her feet up on the counter, showing off the white sneakers she was currently sporting. "And it's only getting whiter. Time to celebrate the occasion," she snickered as she completely lathered her bald head and face with shaving cream following Yuusuke moving his knight to f6.

"The mocking is unnecessary. That boy, Yuusuke, is trying his hardest to try and break 2000, maybe even inch close to candidate master and 2200," Daria glared as Okisato captured the pawn at b7 with his c-pawn.

"Gotta entertain the viewers somehow," Xiu shrugged as she popped a safety razor in her mouth and leaned back in her chair. "Wanna bet on whether he can make a comeback?" she asked as Yuusuke captured the pawn at b7 with his queen.

"No, it's impossible, barring a self-inflicted blow from Okisato," Daria growled as Okisato moved his rook to b1.

"But that IS a possibility," Xiu smirked as she lathered up her arms and legs with shaving cream while Yuusuke moved his pawn to d4.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a likely one," Saloni frowned as Okisato moved his bishop to a1.

"See-"

"I think it's impossible for him to beat an opponent rated nearly 1000 points higher than him. But you said his goal was to crack 2000 for the first time in his career? That's doable," Saloni nodded as Yuusuke scrunched up his face and moved his queen to d7.

"Oo, thinking long game. That's a 2800 for ya. But are you committed? If you lose, we'll have you go topless, shave all your hair off, and ink you up like that demon with all the eyes from the hit anime series set to get a major film trilogy starting next year," Xiu maliciously grinned as Okisato moved his knight to b5.

"Back at 6B, Indira and Vibha were the ones that decided to go bald. Vibha's also got half her head inked already, so why not pass the wager her way?"

"Ah, so little faith! Poor wittle Yuusuke," Xiu sneered as Yuusuke anxiously moved his pawn to a6.

"You're asking me to wager both my hair and skin for some kid I know nothing about. That's way too much," Saloni frowned as Okisato captured the pawn at d4 with his knight.

"Sadly I agree with you. Yuusuke and Okisato have a history, and if we look at past records, he doesn't always bounce back from a brutal loss to him. And with this being the first round, the loss could severely effect Yuusuke's psych, though there is also the chance it motivates him," Daria stated as her eyes shifted over to another game she had her eye on.

"Hmm? What game ya lookin' at?" Xiu cooed.

"Mimoko's game."

"Ah, doting aren't we, mommy."

But doting was only the tip of it.

"Earlier today, I was able to see the next of Mimoko Tanabe's games. And so far, move for move, even down to the time each move is made on, Mimoko's game has played out exactly the same," Daria thought.

"Yuusuke Shousen... He's Hagemi's son, right?" Saloni asked.

"That's right. Speaking of which, we probably should check up on her."

"I'll do it."

"Hmm?"

"The bet, I'll wager hair and beauty that Yuusuke crosses the 2000 rating mark," Saloni declared just as Yuusuke finally settled on moving his bishop to c5.

"Wow! What made you change your mind?" Xiu cooed as Okisato moved his pawn to e3.

Saloni zoomed in the camera on Yuusuke's eyes. "That's not the look of a man who will fall into despair. He might lose this battle, but the look in his eyes is telling me he'll win the war," she declared as Yuusuke moved his bishop to b7.

Okisato was also aware of the look in Yuusuke's eyes, however, his opinion on the matter was a bit more pessimistic. "I'm going to have to take you all the way to mate. This loss will definitely sting you, but I doubt it will destroy your tournament," he thought as he moved his pawn to h4. "However, determination alone won't win games, especially if you get paired against some higher-leveled opposition. I was aware Inoue-senpai trained you in how to deal with some of the more uncanny openings I can utilize, hence, I went with the Polish and goaded you into the Bugayev. The reason was simple; you're not able to see the lines like Inoue-senpai can, nor is your memory good enough to remember them, nor your mind smart enough to think it through," he thought as he subtly shook his head as Yuusuke castled king's side.

The moment Yuusuke hit his clock, Okisato reached for his h-pawn and moved it up a square to h5. Yuusuke gritted his teeth in annoyance and moved his knight to e7, his agitation only increasing after Okisato moved his pawn to h6. "Oh, wanna play like that? Well I'll just go back!" he thought as he moved his knight back to g6.

And then came a crossroads for Yuusuke as Okisato captured the pawn at g7 with his h-pawn. Moving his f-rook, preferably to d8, was his best option. However, consumed by his hatred for Okisato and frustration with always coming up short against him, he captured the pawn at g7 with his king. To Okisato, this really didn't mean much as Yuusuke was going to lose either way, with this play simply hastening the process a bit.

Yuusuke's eyes widened as Okisato launched an attack on the other side of the board, capturing the bishop at b7 with his rook. "One bishop for a rook? Now I'm only a pawn down. Maybe I can turn this around!" he thought as he captured the rook at b7 with his queen.

"Check."

However, that hope was quickly dashed as Okisato moved his knight to f5, forcing Yuusuke to move his king to g8, lest he wish to be mated in two in humiliating fashion by going to h8 instead. Okisato then captured the knight at f6 with his bishop, snapping Yuusuke back into reality.

"Fuck! I gotta try for the back rank. It's all I've got now!" Yuusuke thought as he moved his f-rook to b8.

"And that's it. Dare I say "mate in 5" with how I think you'll play," Okisato thought as he moved his queen to h5.

And sure enough, Yuusuke followed his cript perfectly and moved his queen to b1. "Check! You-"

But Okisato cut him off by moving his king to e2.

"Oi! I'm trying to diss you, you fucking asshole! Don't interrupt my checks before I can!" Yuusuke fumed as he moved his queen to b5.

Okisato shrugged and moved his pawn to d3.

"I'll flip that blank stare into despair once I mate you in... b1, b4... 3!" Yuusuke thought as he moved his queen back to b1.

"And you proved your low intellect and skill. Check," Okisato growled as he captured the pawn at h7 with his queen.

"Tch, forgot about that, but I got moves, he doesn't," Yuusuke thought as he moved his king to f8.

"No, you don't have moves. Check," Okisato groaned as he moved his queen to h8.

"Huh? That's... YOU JUST BLEW YOUR QUEEN!" Yuusuke giddily thought as a smile spread across his face while he captured the queen at h8 with his knight.

"Are you a masochist now? No, you're just not able to see it. Checkmate. How poetic my first tournament win as vice-president of the chess club is against the former one," Okisato snickered as he captured the knight at h8 with his rook, winning the game.

Yuusuke's expression changed in an instant, his mouth scrunching up like a hole as he stared at the board. As a service, Okisato grasped his hand, fulfilling the minimum requirement for an after-match handshake, before leaving Yuusuke to sulk at his loss.

"You kidding me? Why the hell did that asshole win!? He's always- ...!"

Yuusuke's thoughts were halted as he glanced over to notice Hagemi glaring at him.

"That was an embarrassment. He tripped you up with a Bugayev on move 3. Forget 1900-level, you'll be back down to 1400 or 1000 if you keep playing like that," Hagemi snarled as she walked away.

And that was what broke the dam, as Yuusuke covered his face with his hands to prevent others from seeing his tears. Yet despite the fact that he was crying, determination and rage still filled his eyes. "I'm gonna make you both apologize for looking down on me. I'm gonna pass 2000. Then after that, 2200, and the candidate master title is mine," he thought.

The full game:

White: Okisato Tanabe (2802) Black: Yuusuke Shousen (1909)

1. b4 d5

2. a3 e5

3. Bb2 Nc6

4. b5 Nce7

5. Bxe5 Ng6

6. Bb2 c5

7. bxc6 Qb6

8. Nc3 Nf6

9. cxb7 Qxb7

10. Rb1 d4