Chapter 580:
En Passant Grandmaster
Yuusuke was left stunned as he finished catching up on everything that had happened with Mimoko. With his dazed state of mind, he had been completely oblivious to the blackout at the start, as well as some of the action over by Mimoko's board. Though while this was somewhat important to him, his own tournament prospects continued to dominate his mind.
...
As soon as Okisato finished his game, he met up with everyone in the secret puzzle cafe.
"You took the longest. What happened?" Iori asked.
"Hobou-san is just a long thinker."
"The geezer's really back in action?"
"Yes, and he did better than when I last played him seriously, but still not good enough."
"So we're both 2-0. Anyone else?"
All but Yuusuke raised their hand.
"Lol, 1-1 club for the former vice-prez."
"You'll all face each other and destroy your perfect streaks," Yuusuke snarled.
"What have the organizers decided in regards to Mimoko-sama?" Utami asked.
"From what I was told, the results will stand. Miga-chan and I will both get wins, while Ina-chan and Kurumi-chan get losses. Whether we'll end up playing each other next round though is still up in the air," Mimoko stated.
"There are still some games going on, and I imagine the WWCF will also be holding a special meeting on the incident. Your mother's on the official side this time, has she said anything?" Okisato asked.
Mimoko shook her head. While she was aware of the Mimoko Tanabe threat, Daria forbid her from speaking publicly about what she knew to anyone. Okisato could more or less tell she knew something, but was required to keep quiet about it.
...
At WWCF HQ, an emergency meeting was held regarding the events of the second round.
"Our equipment up in the commentating booth showed Mimoko playing Miga only up until both players won their games," Daira stated.
"Replaying the broadcast, it seems things looked fine, but the moment the victory is confirmed, things change," Saloni pointed out as a replay of the broadcast played on the screen behind her.
"We noticed nothing on the floor," Leonce frowned.
"How about with Ina and Kurumi's games, the ones they were slated to play?" Daria asked.
An aide shuffled through some papers before placing them on the table. Everyone gathered around and stared in disbelief.
"Ina had a win going into the round, while Kurumi didn't, so they shouldn't have played each other. Yet right here on the pairings, the two were slated to play each other, and on the board next to Mimoko and Miga's. How could this be?"
The arbiters present began to frown as all eyes turned to Raymond.
"I was present for the incident, and saw no foul play withing the two respective games themself. However, some in the public will gossip about this, claiming match fixing was a thing. With this being the second round, we can easily write off the incident as a mispairing as top players tend to face each other in the later rounds. And for the statements the players uttered before mate, simple confusion as they were in a state of stress after both the blackout and the pairings error. We the WWCF will take the sword for this. Now, could those not involved with officiating the match please leave? Things need to be discussed behind closed doors."
Saloni and some of the others got up, but paused as she noticed Daria remained seated.
"Maestros are required to stay. With notable exceptions," Amelia snarled as she glared at Xiao Lin.
"What!? Why must I leave when I was forced to take time out of my schedule to be here!?" Xiao Lin fumed.
"You're the leakiest ship here. Thanks to you, tabloids were able to dig up my past. A past, I didn't want public," Daria glared.
"Serves you right for what you tried to do to me!"
Raymond quickly slammed his can down, silencing the two instantly. "Xiao Lin, you are excused. Put up any more resistance, and we'll entertain discussion on having you play in a tournament against talented rookies all under 2200."
Xiao Lin vanished in an instant.
After ensuring she truly was gone, and no one was eavesdropping, Raymond ushered everyone towards a corner of the room where a bookshelf stood. Pressing the books in a certain order caused the bookshelf to slide aside, revealing a secret passageway. Raymond embarked down the path without a word, as everyone followed behind, unsure of what he was thinking.
A few minutes of walking later, and everyone found themselves before a stone table with 16 stone chairs seated around it. Additional chairs lined the sides of the room along with a stone throne of sorts against the back of the wall.
Sitting down in the throne, Raymond tapped his cane, summoning 10 hooded figures.
"Mr. President, what is-"
"Maestro Himitsu, you wished to learn more about the executive board, well now all the maestros and privileged arbiters may meet them," Raymond scoffed.
"The executive board... Then, some of you are Gudit, Orit, Sir Kit, and Fidelma."
Four of the figures turned to each other, before turning to Raymond, who gave them an approving nod. The four then revealed themselves to be exactly who Daria thought they were.
"I suppose we were going to have to shed our secrecy before you considering it's public knowledge we're on the board thanks to the Chess Olympics," Gudit smiled.
"I wasn't there, so why do I have to uncloak myself!?" Kit fumed.
"The maestro knows your status, thus, you must uncloak yourself in her presence. Now, onto the topic of business. We are to discuss, Mimoko Tanabe," Raymond stated as he pulled up Mimoko Tanabe's profile on his WWCF card.
Please sign in to leave a comment.