Chapter 671:

An En Passant New Year

En Passant Grandmaster

The next morning, Okisato found Mimoko at the chess center. "Happy New Year, Inoue-senpai."

"And a Happy New Year to you too, Tanabe-kun," Mimoko smiled.

"So, want to do a little game?"

"How about another reenactment? One I think is fitting to start off the year with," Mimoko nodded as she ushered Okisato to the board.

Playing as White, Mimoko opened by moving her pawn to e4, while Okisato decided to move his pawn to g6.

"You happen to know the game I'm thinking of, or are you just trying something new?" Mimoko asked as she moved her pawn to d4.

"We'll know in a few more moves," Okisato nodded as he moved his pawn to e6.

The game continued silently with knight f3 and knight e7 being played, but the moment Mimoko moved her pawn to h4, Okisato knew exactly what game she was trying to reenact, and moved his pawn to h6 accordingly.

Mimoko nodded in approval and moved her bishop to f4, with Okisato nodding back as he moved his bishop to g7. Queen d2, d5, e5, c5, and c3 followed along with b-knight c6, before Mimoko played knight a3, putting the ball in Okisato's court.

"I think we might've forgotten to switch things to practice settings," Okisato grumbled as he moved his king to f8.

"Last night's game was rated too," Mimoko huffed as she captured the pawn at c5 with her d-pawn.

"Doubt beating me would bring back the elo you lost from losing to me," Okisato sighed as he moved his pawn to b6.

"I doubt I lost THAT much, considering you're 2800," Mimoko scoffed as she captured the pawn at b6 with her c-pawn.

"Perhaps, but it likely would drop you down to 2865," Okisato theorized as he captured the pawn at b6 with his queen.

Mimoko pouted in silence as she moved her bishop to d3.

"You're sure acting up. Are you actually petty about dropping elo?" Okisato asked as he moved his bishop to a6.

"I lose games to Okaa-chan all the time, but they're not rated," Mimoko mumbled as she moved her pawn to b4.

"Then again, one match usually doesn't change the rating outright. Usually it's 10 matches unless you complete a tournament," Okisato stated as he moved his pawn to d4.

"I know that," Mimoko scowled as she moved her pawn to b5.

"And you're forcing me to play as Magnus. You're surprisingly petty, Inoue-senpai," Okisato sighed as he captured the pawn at c3 with his d-pawn.

"Carlsen is regarded as the best player of our era, if we disregard the maestros," Mimoko countered as she moved her queen to e3.

"Has he beaten a maestro yet?" Okisato asked as he moved his knight to d5.

"Not Okka-chan, but for the others, we'd have to check his profile for badges," Mimoko shrugged as she captured the queen at b6 with her queen.

"Peter never said anything to me about Magnus going after maestros. It might be that he doesn't even know about them," Okisato shrugged as he captured the queen at b6 with his a-pawn.

Things went silent once more as Mimoko captured the bishop at a6 with her b-pawn. Okisato responded by capturing the bishop at f4 with his knight, leading to Mimoko moving her bishop to e4.

"If this weren't a reenactment, I'd be questioning if you're alright," Okisato jibbed as he captured the pawn at a6 with his rook.

"Think of this as a ceremonial game to welcome in the year," Mimoko angrily smiled as she captured the knight at c6 with her bishop.

"Yes, yes, Miss I'm upset I accidentally dropped elo," Okisato grumbled as he captured the knight at a3 with his rook.

"Ta-na-be-kun, don't anger me now," Mimoko angrily smiled once more as she castled queen's side.

"I am winning, I could choose to screw you over," Okisato scowled as he moved his king to g8.

"Don't," Mimoko threatened as she checked Okisato by moving her rook to d8.

Okisato let out a sigh and moved his king to h7.

"Thank you," Mimoko smiled as she checked Okisato once more by moving her knight to g5.

"You're lucky I'm fine with seeing this mate on the board," Okisato grumbled as he was forced to capture said knight with his h-pawn.

"We can have a proper match next if you want, rated of course," Mimoko proudly huffed as she captured said pawn with her h-pawn, opening up Okisato to a discovered check from the rook.

"No, I think I'm good," Okisato grumbled as he moved his knight to h5, allowing Mimoko to gobble it up with her rook, checking him once more.

He then captured said rook with his g-pawn, allowing Mimoko to check him a final time by moving her bishop to e4.

"When the World Chess League begins, no, actually we might have different board assignments... Dang it," Okisato growled as he moved his pawn to f5.

"And my first rated match of the year is a win. En Passant and checkmate to you, Tanabe-kun. Happy New Year as well," Mimoko happily huffed as she performed en passant and captured the pawn at f5 with her e-pawn, winning the game.

The full game:

White: Mimoko Inoue (2870) Black: Okisato Tanabe (2802)

1. e4 g6

2. d4 e6

3. Nf3 Ne7

4. h4 h6

5. Bf4 Bg7

6. Qd2 d5

7. e5 c5

8. c3 Nbc6

9. Na3 Kf8

10. dxc5 b6