Chapter 30:

The mischivous monster

En Passant Grandmaster Volume 5

In China, Xiao Lin scowled as she limped up the mountain.

"Why ya scowlin, Xiao Lin? You're moving around pretty well considering what happened to ya," Xiu snickered.

"Enough out of you. I'm pissed."

"Why? You're the one that agreed to sell your soul to the Desperados, but hey, the WWCF's merciful and decided to find a way to seal your DESPER to keep me from becoming maestro."

Xiao Lin stopped and clutched her cane angrily. "I was overjoyed that you all were willing to still stick by me, even if you refused to become Desperados as well. But Xiu, I'll have your mouth permanently sealed shut if you keep up that banter," she glared.

Xiu smirked as she gazed at Xiao Lin, zeroing in on the wig she was now sporting. While Xiao Lin did not mind the fact that she was permanently bald, having willingly shaved her head years ago, she did mind the fact that her humiliating loss to Okisato had been inked on the back of her head. Worse, it was permanent thanks to the DESPER so the only way she could conceal it was to cover it with something.

"Xiu, I'll shave you completely bald if you so much as THINK of making a wise crack about my wig."

"Then shave me smooth, sweetheart, cuz I'm laughing at that dumb wig of yours."

SMACK!

"Come on, you said 'I have no issue with being bald', but look at you. Wig, fake eyelashes, you even drew on some eyebrows. That's treason if I ever saw it."

"Xiu, shut up. While I might not have had an issue gazing at my hairless state before, every time I did after that humiliation... angered me. It made me curse that bitch Michiko for botching it all in the end, made me curse you all for failing to stop the boy, and made me remember that boy's maniacal smile as every move of the game was inked atop my head for all to see. My honeymoon with the bald look is over, and I want a divorce."

Xiu began mockingly applauding Xiao Lin's speech, only to nearly get another lump on the head from Xiao Lin's cane. Still, she had to ask Xiao Lin something.

"Why'd you even agree to that plan anyway? I mean, I get you hate Maestro Himitsu, but Michiko? Girl's hardly got any prowess to her name. All she's good for is naming openings, but a dictionary could do that."

"It's true, I hate her, and likely harbor as much envy towards her as Michiko did, but I'm no fool. If some bum on the street claimed that if I joined him, we could take down Himitsu, you think I'd team up with him?"

"Yup!"

Whack!

Xiu rolled around on the ground crying as she clutched her head in pain. "Domestic abuse! I demand... I demand a match," Xiu smirked as she got up.

"The rules-"

"I have beaten everyone else here, just saying. But... I guess we could make it a practice match, for you to save some face."

"You're asking for it now. Xiu, to the board. I'll crush you officially and properly."

...

Back in Japan, the strategy meeting continued, though Hagemi still weighed on everyone's minds.

"Getting back on topic, America, India, and Prussia are the three big teams both teams need to watch out for. However, this doesn't mean they are the only threats, simply that they are the only nations with both strong women's and men's teams. Norway is a strong team on the women's side, but not so much on the men's."

"Huh? I thought Magnus Carlsen was playing," Okisato scowled.

"Yeah, isn't he the best in the world?" Iori chimed.

"Magnus Carlsen is indeed playing for Norway. But that's it. He's the only noteworthy player on the men's team. There's also a good chance that like the maestros, he'll only play 8 games so even if our men's team faces Norway, Magnus himself might sit out feeling that his team can handle it. While his teammates are no slouches, they certainly aren't a title contention team in my opinion. The women are a different story though. Maestro Amelia Stavanger along with some of her top SPCMs and proteges are aiming for gold, and me."

"What do you mean?" Mimoko asked.

"Normally I wouldn't disclose information on maestros you've yet to meet, but since we're likely to face Norway, I'll tell you a bit about Amelia. She's a few years younger than me, but fashions herself my rival. She's actually rated higher than me at 3300, however, she's not once beaten me. Drawing is the best result either of us has had against the other."

"You've never beaten her!?"

"Sadly not. Nor have we ever played an Armageddon match. This will also be the first time we face each other while representing our home nations. Thus, our key to victory will be winning on the lower boards, for if I lose, Norway will likely win the match."

Mimoko stared in bewilderment. Normally, her mother was quite confident in her chess, but to see her so uncertain of a victory showed what a terrifying foe Amelia truly was.

"On the flip-side, China's the reverse problem. I have complete confidence that I can humiliate Xio Lin, but the problem's the lower boards. Not only do they have grandmaster Chen Bao, they've also got Xiu Mei-mo."

Okisato raised an eyebrow as Xiu's image flashed on screen. "I remember her. She was trying to seduce and annoy me as we played fog of war chess."

"I can imagine, but her skills are the real deal..."

...

In China, Xiu opened the game by slamming her pawn down on e4.

"Keep that smirk up and I'll worsen your punishment for losing this match to me," Xiao Lin snarled as she moved her pawn to e5.

"IF you win," Xiu clapped back.

The game quickly became a Four Knights Game after knight f3, knight c6, knight c3, and knight f6.

"Now what will you do now?" Xiao Lin glared.

"Hmm, how about a horror show?" Xiu smirked as she captured the pawn at e5 with her knight.

"The Halloween Gambit? I'm a maestro, and this is how you seek to woo me? Rubbish," Xiao Lin scoffed as she captured said knight with her knight.

Next came the expected pawn to d4, however, Xiao Lin moved her knight to c6, allowing Xiu to push her pawn to d5. Xiao Lin defiantly moved her knight back to e5, but was forced to move it to g6 after Xiu pushed her pawn to f4. But her frustrations weren't over yet as Xiu pushed her pawn to e5, forcing her knight to g8.

"Tch! You seek to incur my furor. You will pay for this you loony vixen."

Xiu merely chuckled as she moved her queen to b4.

"When I win this, I'm shaving your head," Xiao Lin glared as she moved her bishop to b4.

"Oh no! Not my beautiful hair! Lol," Xiu smirked as she slammed her pawn down on f5.

Xiao Lin stared in silence before scoffing and moving her queen to h4. "I guess an exhibitionist like you would revel in a state of hairlessness."

"Just to set the record straight, I'm just a foot fetishist," Xiu clarified as she moved her pawn to g3.

"I fail to see the difference," Xiao Lin scowled as she moved her queen to d4.

"Wow, you really need to get down from the mountain every now and then," Xiu sighed as she captured the knight on g6 with her f-pawn.

"Do not assume I'm a recluse just because of my monk lifestyle," Xiao Lin glared as she captured the knight on c3 with her bishop.

Xiu let out a shrug, and captured said bishop with her b-pawn, but Xiao Lin captured said pawn with her queen, forking the king and the rook. She then opted to move her queen to d2, as Xiao Lin pounced on the opportunity and captured the rook at a1 with her queen.

"And now I'm winning," Xiao Lin glared.

"Not for long... Check!" Xiu grinned as she captured the pawn on f7 with her g-pawn.

Xiao Lin rolled her eyes and promptly captured said pawn with her king as Xiu opted to move her pawn to c3. Not sensing what Xiu was planning, Xiao Lin moved her knight to e7, but that allowed for yet another pawn push as Xiu moved her pawn to d6, threatening the knight.

"You brat! Well this time the knight shan't move instead, your pawn perishes," Xiao Lin scowled as she captured the pawn at d6 with her c-pawn.

Xiu began grinning maniacally as the fantasy of her beating Xiao Lin inched closer to reality. "Ah, I wonder what the higher-ups will think when they hear of this match," she thought as she slammed her bishop down on c4.

Xiao Lin scowled at the play and moved her pawn to d5, but as soon as Xiu castled king's side, putting her in check, she began to go pale. Her queen was trapped!

"No... NO! I can't lose to Xiu!" she thought as she moved her king to e8.

Xiu smelled blood on the water and opened the firing range by moving her bishop to a3, forcing Xiao Lin to capture the rook at f1 with her queen if she wished to keep the game going.

"Ah, bye, bye queen," Xiu taunted as she slid out of her flip-flops, propped her feet up on the table, and captured the queen at f1 with her bishop.

Xiao Lin stared in disgust. "Get your filthy feet off the table," she snarled as she moved her rook to f8 and reached for her cane.

"Just saying, my feet were voted most beautiful in the world, oh, and they smell great," Xiu smirked as she blocked Xiao Lin's cane strike with her foot. "Now how about I prove who's washed up and who's not."

And prove herself, Xiu did. She started by capturing the knight at e7 with her bishop, prompting Xiao Lin to capture it with her king. Next was queen g5, forcing the king to e8, followed by the queen capturing the pawn at g7, eliciting the move of rook to f7.

Xiu danced around the rook and moved her queen to g8, yet by the very next move, the rook moved back to f8. Thus, Xiu captured the pawn at h7 with her queen, causing Xiao Lin to shrug and move her pawn to b6. This marked the beginning of the end as Xiu brought her bishop out to e2. Xiao Lin made one last attempt at counterplay by moving her pawn to d4, but Xiu ignored it and moved her queen to g7. Xiao Lin captured the pawn at c3 with her d-pawn, but it didn't matter; she was going to be mated.

"So are you scared about losing to me?" Xiu sneered as she moved her bishop to h5.

Xiao Lin trembled in silence as she moved her king to d8.

"Hmm, wonder what I should request for your punishment," Xiu mused aloud as she captured the rook at f8 with her queen.

"Don't... you... DARE get all cocky over just 1 victory! Tis a fluke! A FLUKE! I WON'T BE REPLACED AS MAESTRO OVER JUST THIS!" Xiao Lin fumed as she moved her king to c7.

Xiu squealed with delight and moved her queen to d6, forcing Xiao Lin to move her king to b7 in hopes of keeping the game alive. Xiu wasn't giving her an inch though and moved her bishop to f3, forcing Xiao Lin's king to a6. Next was queen a3 and king b5, then queen b3 and king a5.

"Not gonna squirm?" Xiu sneered as she moved her bishop to e2.

"No, I just want to end this practice match," Xiao Lin scowled as she moved her bishop to b7 and gazed at the hooded woman.

"'Practice'? Thought you made the fuss about wanting to crush me so bad, you had me spend my personal point stash to challenge you," Xiu cackled as she moved her bishop to b7.

All Xiao Lin could do at this point was scowl and tear up as she moved her bishop to b7.

"Checkmate! Now bye-bye wig, fake lashes, n' drawn-on brows," Xiu snickered as she moved her queen to b5, winning the game.

Xiao Lin trembled as she stared at the chessboard.

"Well? Want me to do the honors? Oh, and don't forget all the normal rewards I get for beating you," Xiu smirked as she leaned back, and pointed her foot at Xiao Lin's face.

While Xiu Mei-mo did have a more seductive and mischievous personality, her chess prowess were no joke. China's highest rated female player after Xiao Lin and a 2-time women's chess world champion before even turning 18, Xiu Mei-mo was a monster on the chessboard.

Xiao Lin scowled before yanking off her wig and fake eyelashes, rubbing away her drawn-on eyebrows, and giving Xiu her rewards for beating her before storming away in a huff.

The full game:

White: SPCM Xiu Mei-mo (2720) Black: Maestro Xiao Lin (3020)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Nc3 Nf6

4. Nxe5 Nxe5

5. d4 Nc6

6. d5 Ne5

7. f4 Ng6

8. e5 Ng8

9. Qe2 Bb4

10. f5 Qh4+