Ch.2 – EP22 A Lightly-Made-Up Victory (Momoko vs. Hiroki)

【The announcement unravels against the venue’s ceiling.】

“For the first quarterfinal match—Hiroki, representing Hiroshima Prefecture. Versus Momoko, representing Tokyo.”

The crowd’s murmur immediately takes on the warmth of “unsolicited evaluations.”

“Hiroki’s a regular with ELO 1950.” “That Momoko girl is ELO 1000? First time here. She’ll be borrowing his chest to practice on.”

Right nearby, Sōma shrugs and mutters.

“If you think she’s just some first-timer schoolgirl, you’re dead wrong. She’s a jack-in-the-box.”

Momoko pulls out her chair. She lightly tidies the cuff of her uniform and smiles softly.

(I’ll face last year’s champ, Rei, next. I won’t show everything. —I’ll win coyly.)

Across from her, Hiroki sits with motivation pooled behind his glasses. His shoulders are a bit tight, but his eyes on the board are straight.

(First appearance? If I stay calm I can push through. If she’s the type who hates losing material, then if I induce impatience…)

The arbiter presses the clock.

“Pleased to play you.”

“Pleased to play you.”

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【Opening (to move 14): A sheer veil of defense】

White is Hiroki. His first move, 1. c4—the English Opening.

(There it is, his pet line. Just like the info Sōma-senpai gave me.)

As Black, Momoko lets her hand float her piece forward. …e6.

She chooses only landings that look “passive.” Harmless brushstrokes that paint a picture of defense.

2. e3 / …Nf6

3. Nf3 / …d5

4. Nc3 / …Bd6

(A “normal kid’s” normal defense—that’s what I’m making it look like.)

Hiroki applies a light press to the center. 5. d4 O-O

White’s pawns don’t overreach; the development is tidy. 6. c5 / …Be7

The eval holds steady at +0.3 to +0.5 for a slight white edge. The spectators relax and watch.

Momoko (inner voice):

(The advance info said ELO 1890, never sacrifices material, solid defense, uses the opponent’s impatience to reverse… right? Heh—then I’ll do the reverse and make you impatient♡)

7. b4 / …b6

8. Bb2 / …a5

9. a3 / …Bd7

10. Ne5 / …Be8

11. Bd3 / …Nfd7

—The eval doesn’t budge. +0.5.

To the eye, Black is “just defending.” She shows no attacking ideas, displays no annoying quirks.

Voices from the commentary desk (low):

“Black’s only assuming a stance… a defensive posture. At this rate, White will slowly improve.”

“This is the kind of game where Hiroki can leverage his strengths.”

Momoko nods as if to say “mm.”

(What I want to show is my weakness, and control the unseen places—that’s today’s job.)

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【Middlegame (moves 15–30): Suffocation by rhythm】

Hiroki glances at the clock and ups the tempo.

“This girl isn’t that strong. I’ll crush her while I can!”

15. e4 (White cracks the center)

Momoko meets it with …Be6, “removing” the contact for now. 16. Nd5 / …Nb8

(Always one step short of best—but not bad—she keeps playing those kinds of moves.)

Hiroki starts moving a bit fast.

17. Nxf6+ / …Qxf6 18. d4 / …Bxc4 19. dxe5 / …dxe5 20. Re1 / …Nc6

The eval hovers around +0.6.

(I can push. I can push. If I keep it like this, I’ll overwhelm her on evaluation.)

At that moment, Momoko doesn’t touch a piece.

She only pretends to think.

Her gaze seems to look nowhere on the board—yet it strokes everything.

(Right here I’ll nudge your beat by half a count. Hehe, it’s kind of Sora-like, isn’t it?♡)

21. Bf1 / …Rad8

22. Qc2 / …Re7

23. Bc3 / …Red7

—The engine’s best is …Re8 (+0.35). Momoko chooses …Red7 (+0.28). “Not bad, but not piercing.”

Hiroki doesn’t notice.

That his own move speed has, before he knew it, sped up.

(Why can’t I finish this? Pick a move that makes her collapse already!)

Momoko laughs only with the length of her breath.

24. Bb5 / …Rd6

25. Bxc6 / …Rxc6

26. Qb2 / …Rce6

The shapes line up, but White’s influence doesn’t increase.

Black shows no gaps. White doesn’t get better.

The eval bar is fixed at +0.5 to +0.8.

(White mistakenly “feels ahead” vs. Black who “isn’t losing”)

Hiroki takes a sip of water, looks at the clock, and freezes.

11:40 remaining.

Momoko, meanwhile, has 23:10 remaining.

(Eh—since when!?)

Momoko taps the corner of the piece box with her finger.

(You noticed, did you. —Hehe, then it’s about time you started to panic♡)

27. Nxe5 / …Rxe5 28. Bxe5 / …Qxe5 29. Qe2 / …Rd4 30. b5 / …c5

Momoko keeps playing subtly unpleasant defensive moves, setting only positions that won’t let him push through.

Some spectators’ eyes grow sleepy; others are sharpened by a “strange discomfort.”

“It’s just proceeding normally.” “There’s no flash.”

“But only White looks tired.”

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【Endgame (moves 31–45): What falls are the “seconds”】

The clock digits cling to Hiroki’s vision and won’t let go.

4:15 remaining. The main time is 45 minutes + 30 seconds/add-move. The deeper you get, the stronger you are if you can make your opponent do the thinking.

(This is bad, faster. Faster—)

31. Rbd1 / …Be7 32. Qf3 / …Rxd1 33. Rxd1 / …c4

With monotone moves, Momoko shoves the complications onto White.

The one doing the thinking is the opponent. The one spending time is the opponent.

Commentary: “Uh-oh, Hiroki’s clock here… down to 10 seconds!”

The audience’s breath catches.

Momoko keeps her eyes on the board and doesn’t move a muscle.

Only the shadow of her eyelashes sways at the same angle as the pieces’ shadows.

If …Qe5, the shape holds; if …Qd6, the rook pawn will run—this two-choice weight becomes the weight of the ticking seconds.

Hiroki: “…Uh, uh—w-which was it!?”

His fingers shuttle between his queen and bishop.

9, 8, 7—

Beep—

Time out.

The arbiter’s voice is dry.

“Black wins (on time).”

For an instant the air lags, then it rustles.

“Wait, that was time?” “Huh, she kinda won normally.”

Even though the AC wind is the same, only the sound of the clock had grown hard.

Momoko lifts her face.

“Oh… it’s over? —I see. Thank you very much♡”

Her voice is gentle; her bow impeccably polite.

It looks like the way a person “who did nothing” would win.

In the score sheet’s margin, the eval staff jot a rough note:

All positions stable around +0.5–+0.8.

“A drab intermediate’s win”—on the surface.

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【Off-board: Those who can see, speaking】

Sōma whistles, then laughs with his shoulders.

“…Momoko’s playing shamisen—reading the room with a sly, traditional tune.”

Akira folds his arms.

“Time management, psychology, forcing lines of play. She controlled all of it. Doing nothing, while doing everything.”

A foreign journalist watching from the press seats twirls a pen and mutters in English.

“Is she… sandbagging?” “No—more like hiding her fangs under silk.”

Sandra, passing by, gives the board a sidelong glance and smiles. Her English accent is grains of ice.

“She wins by subtracting herself. How elegant.”

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【Exit: The afterheat of calculated coyness】

Hiroki signs the score sheet and doesn’t click his tongue. He only exhales a long breath.

(I could push, I should’ve been able to push… where, when. My breath ran out before the finishing blow.)

Momoko watches him out of the corner of her eye and makes a small apology only in her heart.

(Sorry. —I can’t show everything to my semifinal opponent.)

She brushes hair back to her cheek and smiles.

“Hehe, my next opponent is the winner of Rei vs. Keita. Well, if things go by seed, that’ll be Rei.”

At that, Sōma shrugs.

“You sure are relaxed after all.”

A lightly-made-up win that looks plain is the backstage leading to the main stage.

Momoko dusts her sleeve and smiles lightly.

(Alright then—how close to the real thing should I show you next?)