Chapter 10:

The overwhelming Irish Gambit

En Passant Grandmaster Volume 3

Before Carol and Iori could react, a group of people clad in pink uniforms suddenly formed a circle around Sorcha and Carol.

"Whoa, whoa, the hell's this!?" Iori cried as she found herself blockaded outside the circle.

"My apologies, but since the game has begun, I am required to play you. Fear not, my rating's 777, the second-lowest of the Rainbow Executives. Now, Seo le cluiche maith [Here's to a good game]," Sorcha smiled as she summoned a board before her and Carol.

Carol blinked in confusion. While Sorcha's rating of 777 was certainly impressive in its own right, what had her wracking her brains was what Sorcha had just said.

"Ah my apologies, what I just said was Irish for "Here's to a good game"," Sorcha stated as she moved her pawn to e4.

"Irish is a language!?" Carol gasped as she moved her pawn to e5.

"Yes, and it is predominantly spoken in Gaeltacht districts in Ireland, though sadly faces a decline. I actually grew up speaking both Irish and English and am fluent in both."

"Your Japanese is good too."

"I seem to be a polyglot so I'm told," Sorcha smiled as she moved her knight to f3.

"So do you wear green cuz you're Irish?" Carol asked as she moved her knight to c6.

"It's the reason I pushed to be the green fairy. Though I won't deny that I'm quite prideful of my heritage. Am chun do thóin a chiceáil [Time to kick your ass]!" Sorcha happily shouted as she captured the pawn at e5 with her knight.

Iori stared in shock along with Carol at the play. "Uh, isn't that a free knight?" she asked as Carol nervously captured the knight at e5 with her knight.

"Yes, it's called the Irish Gambit," Sorcha smiled as she moved her pawn to d4.

"Wait, like for real!?"

"Yes. Though I imagine your friend Mimoko would call it bad. But it can turn into an Irish, Chicago Gambit," Sorcha smiled as Carol moved her knight to g6.

Iori shrugged and nodded as Sorcha moved her bishop to d3. Carol thought for a bit before deciding to move her pawn to d5, which was actually the best response. With the ball in Sorcha's court, she opted to move her pawn to e5, putting Carol's knight in the bishop's firing line and prompting her to move it to h4.

Starting to sense she had an advantage, Sorcha castled on the king's side and smiled as she awaited Carol's next move.

Carol didn't seem deterred and immediately captured the pawn at g2 with her knight, prompting Sorcha to capture said knight with her king. "YES! You fell for it!" she shouted as she moved her queen to h4.

"Ara, ara, seems you're truly just a beginner," Sorcha giggled as she moved her king to h1.

"Huh? What are you giggling about!?" Carol fumed as she moved her pawn to c6.

Iori bit her lip as she stared at the board. "If Mimo-chan were here, what would she say? ...Ugh, it'd be bad," she thought as Sorcha moved her pawn to c3.

Sure enough, Iori's fears gained traction as Carol moved her pawn to h5, allowing Sorcha to regain the advantage by moving her rook to g1. Had Carol opted to capture the hanging pawn at f2 with her queen, she'd be in a better spot, but instead she moved her bishop to e6 allowing Sorcha to move her bishop to g5. Carol decided to capture the pawn on f2 with her queen, but now her position was compromised and after Sorcha moved her rook to g2, her queen was trapped.

Carol quickly began to panic and instead of trading queens by moving her bishop to g4, she instead captured the rook at g2 with her queen, forcing Sorcha to capture said queen qith her king. At this point, Carol had little to no chance at winning unless Sorcha made a massive blunder. She dejectedly moved her knight to h6, however, that just made her situation worse when Sorcha captured the pawn at h5, pinning the knight at h6 to the rook on h8.

With no idea on what to do next, Carol moved her pawn to b6 while Sorcha moved her knight to d2. She then moved her rook to b8 while Sorcha moved her pawn to c4.

As soon as Carol moved her bishop to d7, Iori began to shake her head. "Now she's definitely gonna lose," she sighed as Sorcha captured the pawn at d5 with her c-pawn.

Carol responded by capturing said pawn with her c-pawn, but Sorcha was one step ahead of her and moved her pawn to e6, forcing Carol to move her bishop to c6. Sorcha continued her attack on the bishop by moving her rook to c1, but then Carol blundered both her bishop and the game by moving her bishop to b4.

Sorcha immediately captured the bishop at c6 with her rook, while Carol, unaware of the mate threat, captured the knight at d2 with her bishop. She then captured the knight on h6 with her bishop and even though Carol captured said bishop with her g-pawn, it was still mate in 2 for her.

"Check. I think this is the first check I've delivered all game," Sorcha smiled as she captured the pawn at f7 with her queen, leaving Carol with no other choice but to move her king to d8. "And that's checkmate. Good game, but sadly it's off to the prison area for you," she smiled as she moved her queen to d7, winning the game.

The arbiter squad quickly descended on Carol and hauled her away before she could even scream. Now just Iori and Sorcha remained.

"So if I challenge you, could I free Carol-chan?" Iori asked.

"Unfortunately not. There is a cooldown period, not to mention, I do have a proper post I'm supposed to be at."

"So I gotta bust her out on my own then. Great."

"As a courtesy for jumping you right off the bat, I'll give fair warning that the one currently on guard duty at the prison is Bette, and she's got a rating of over 2300. Whether you chose to go after her or try to find the Desperado is up to you. Farewell, and best of luck," Sorcha smiled as she threw down a smoke ball.

When the smoke cleared, she was gone. Iori scowled and looked around but no one else was around but her. "Fuck, now it's just me in a whole city of hostiles. Heh, challenge accepted," she grinned.

The full game:

White: Sorcha Glas (777) Black: Carol Cooke (500)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Nxe5 Nxe5

4. d4 Ng6

5. Bd3 d5

6. e5 Nh4

7. O-O Nxg2

8. Kxg2 Qh4

9. Kh1 c6

10. c3 h5