Chapter 41:

Anything but Giuoco

En Passant Grandmaster Volume 3

With Vittoria playing as White, Mimoko prepared herself as Vittoria opened by moving her pawn to e4. She responded by moving her pawn to e5, with Vittoria opting to go for the tried and true response of knight f3.

"Seems she means business," Mimoko thought as she moved her knight to c6.

"Ah, might I ask how good your Italian is?" Vittoria smiled as she moved her bishop to c4.

"Sorry, English is the only other language I know," Mimoko frowned as she moved her bishop to c5.

"And are you also bad at handling the Italian?" Vittoria smirked as she moved her pawn to b4.

"The Evans Gambit... No. The Italian Game and it's many paths are something I'm well familiar with," Mimoko declared as she captured the pawn at b4 with her bishop.

"Bravissimo! You captured the pawn!" Vittoria cheered as she castled king's side.

"Why wouldn't I? I don't want to give you even a slight advantage," Mimoko scowled as she moved her knight to f6.

"AH! Cold, and cruel... I LOVE IT!" Vittoria swooned as she moved her pawn to d4.

"She's going for an aggressive line. I take on d4 with the pawn, she pushes the pawn to e5," Mimoko thought as she captured the pawn at d4 with her e-pawn.

Just as predicted, Vittoria pushed her pawn to e5, but Mimoko turned aggression into advantage by moving her knight to g4.

"Wow, you dodged like an acrobat," Vittoria swooned as she moved her bishop to f4.

Mimoko remained silent and moved her pawn to d6, setting off an exchange on said square with Vittoria capturing the pawn with her e-pawn and Mimoko recapturing with her c-pawn. A predictable play of pawn to c3 came next, with Mimoko capturing said pawn with her d-pawn without a second thought. Vittoria attempted to create pressure by moving her pawn to a3, but Mimoko slid her bishop to the safety of a5.

Vittoria then claimed a pawn at d6 with her bishop, as Mimoko decided to offer her own bishop up by moving it to e6. Vittoria instantly captured it with her bishop, leading to Mimoko naturally recapturing it with her f-pawn. Rook a2 and queen d7 followed along with the head-scratching knight g5.

"She does realize I can castle the other way, yes?" Mimoko thought as she did just that and castled queen's side.

Yet the king didn't seem to be Vittoria's target for the moment as she quickly captured the knight at g4 with her queen. However, it yielded no advantage for her as Mimoko was able to make back the points by capturing the now unguarded bishop at d6.

"Ahaha HA! Behold the triple fork!" Vittoria laughed as she moved her knight to f7.

To many, the fork would be intimidating, but Mimoko wasn't the best for nothing and shook her head as she moved her queen to d3. However, the true test came when Vittoria grinned and captured the rook at h8 with her knight.

"I do have to give you credit, this is a rather nasty trap you set. However, if you wanted to draw, you should have played c3 on move 5," Mimoko huffed as she moved her pawn to c2.

"BRAVISSIMO! You saw through it! You really are strong!" Vittoria swooned as she captured the pawn at c2 with her rook.

"You seem thrilled despite the fact that you're losing," Mimoko noted as she captured the rook at c2 with her queen.

"The game isn't over yet, and I won't be resigning," Vittoria smiled as she closed her eyes and waved her finger while moving her knight to f7.

"True, but I doubt the tables will be turning," Mimoko countered as she moved her rook to d4.

Vittoria slowly opened her eyes and smiled menacingly. "You know why I always go easy on opponents ranked so much lower than me? It's because it bores me to beat the unskilled. I want to beat the skilled when they think they have everything down pat. Check!" she proclaimed as she captured the pawn at e6 with her queen.

Mimoko silently glared and shook her head as she moved her king to c7. Vittoria's gaze also narrowed as she moved her knight to e5, but Mimoko was not intimidated in the least as she moved her rook to d1. Queen f7, check, king b6, knight d7, check, king a6, knight c5, check, king b5, queen b3, check, and suddenly an out from the endless checking as Mimoko could capture the queen at b3 with her queen, at the cost of said queen.

"You hold up so well, like taking a million lashes without flinching or submitting!" Vittoria gushed as she captured the queen at b3 with her queen.

"I won't ask. Check," Mimoko grumbled as she captured the rook at d1 with her rook, forcing the king to take back.

"Traded rooks just like that," Vittoria pouted as Mimoko moved her king to c4. "Don't think this is the end of the lashing though. Check!" Vittoria shouted as she moved her 1-knight to d2.

"Seems you're in the mood for trading," Mimoko growled as she captured the knight at d2 with her bishop.

"You want another check! Ah, maybe I should whip you a good thousand times to see if you'll fold," Vittoria swooned as her cheeks went red as she captured the bishop at d2 with her knight.

"Excuse me?" Mimoko cringed as she moved her king to d3.

"Ahaha, I was a dominatrix back in Rome. But well, I broke people so quickly it felt like bullying. Subs just don't turn me on, so I quit," Vittoria shrugged as she moved her knight to f3.

"I wasn't asking," Mimoko scowled as she moved her pawn to b5.

"Did you need to?" Vittoria smirked as she moved her knight to g5.

"No, no I did not," Mimoko sighed as she moved her pawn to a5.

Things got quiet once more as Vittoria moved her pawn to g3 and Mimoko moved her pawn to a4. Though she had been losing nearly all game, now was the time Vittoria finally began to show unease on her face as she moved her king to e1. Mimoko wouldn't be giving her any mercy though as she moved her king to c2, cutting off the king's path. Vittoria grimaced and moved her king down to e2, but with a clear shot to the finish, Mimoko pushed her pawn ahead to b4.

Vittoria desperately captured the pawn at b4 with her a-pawn, but after Mimoko captured said pawn with her knight, all she could do was capture the pawn at h7 with her knight and watch as Mimoko advanced her pawn to a3. She tried to give chase and moved her knight to g5, but with the pawn now at a2, Vittoria wouldn't make it there in time.

"Ah, that's it," Vittoria dejectedly thought as she moved her pawn to f4.

And with Mimoko's pawn reaching a 1 and becoming a queen, mate was a definite, not a hypothetical. Vittoria tried to fight on by moving her knight to f3, but given a check via queen d1, her king found itself on f2, deflating any tempo and motivation Vittoria had going. Mimoko's king then came in to d3, beginning to tie a noose for Vittoria's king. Vittoria moved her knight back to g1, completing an incredible journey for the piece as Mimoko moved her knight to d5, tightening the screws on her mating net.

"You know... Eh, doubt you'd be impressed by it," Vittoria mumbled as she moved her pawn to h3.

"Check. You mean the knight ending in it's original position, assuming you no longer move it?" Mimoko asked as she moved her queen to c2.

"You kept track!? Wow, you really are strong," Vittoria giggled as she moved her king to f3.

"I'm always keeping track of things best I can on the chessboard," Mimoko nodded as she moved her knight to e3.

"Could ya... maybe smile?" Vittoria nervously chuckled as she moved her pawn to f5.

"Perhaps if you didn't kidnap me, shave my head against my will, and try to recapture me, I might have granted you warmer reception," Mimoko huffed as she checked Vittoria by moving her queen to c6.

"Ah, you're really gonna whip me now," Vittoria sighed as she moved her king to f4.

"Please stop with the "whipping"," Mimoko groaned as she moved her queen to e4, checking Vittoria once more.

"But whipping's what I know," Vittoria pouted as she was forced to move her king to g5.

"Check... Fill your mind with something else," Mimoko growled as she captured the pawn at f5 with her queen.

Vittoria's cheeks turned bright red as she smiled and began to drool. "B- But... Thinking of someone strong whipping my ass, tying me up, humiliating me... Heh, heh, ahaha," she gushed as she moved her king to h4.

"Ah, I see... You're a masochist. Checkmate," Mimoko glared as she moved her knight to g2, winning the game.

The full game:

White: Vittoria Giallo (2317) Black: Mimoko Inoue (2730)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bc4 Bc5

4. b4 Bxb4

5. O-O Nf6

6. d4 exd4

7. e5 Ng4

8. Bf4 d6

9. exd6 cxd6