Chapter 707:

Another pop quiz

En Passant Grandmaster

At the secret puzzle cafe, Mimoko frowned as she sat across from Noa.

"Why the long face, Mimoko-nee?"

"It's Yuusuke-kun. I was hoping he could join the team, but it seems now he'll have to pass a test if he wishes to join, and honestly, I'm not sure he can."

"He's gotta beat Miss Pnina, right? That's easy."

"For us, but not him."

Maccabee then approached the two. "Why the sad mood?"

"Mimoko-nee thinks her friend won't make the team," Noa frowned.

"Hmm, not much we can do. How about a little game between us? I've been itching for a rematch."

Mimoko nodded and as soon as the board was ready, Maccabee opened the game by moving his pawn to e4, while Mimoko moved her pawn to e5. Next came d4, prompting Mimoko to capture said pawn with her e-pawn.

"Now let's see if you're really all you've been hyped up to be," Maccabee thought as he moved his pawn to f4.

This gave Mimoko pause. "If I recall correctly, you said you beat Yanchuk-san with this, yes?" she asked as she smiled and moved her knight to c6.

"That's right, and now I'm hoping it can notch a win off you," Maccabee smirked as he moved his queen to e2.

"Then too bad for you, because I know how to handle it," Mimoko smiled as she moved her bishop to e7.

Now came the time for Maccabee to move his knight to f3, triggering the pawn to d5 response from Mimoko.

"Wonder if you'll get this next move," Maccabee thought as he moved his pawn to e5.

Mimoko most certainly did, and moved her knight to h6 without hesitation. Maccabee still wasn't done poking and prodding though, evidenced by his next move of queen to d2. This time Mimoko paused, initially reaching for her f-pawn, before retracting her hand and castling king's side instead.

"F6 was the best move if I'm not mistaken, so why'd she opt for the castle? Well, guess I'll just keep playing," Maccabee shrugged in his mind as he moved his bishop to d3.

Mimoko moved her bishop to b4 as Maccabee decided to ramp up the difficulty of the test by moving his pawn to c3. Once again, Mimoko answered correctly and captured the pawn at c3 with her d-pawn. This was a multi-step question though as Maccabee captured the pawn at c3 with his b-pawn, but once again, Mimoko responded perfectly and moved her bishop to c5.

"Mimoko-nee's relentless. She's not letting any chances slip by," Noa thought as Maccabee moved his bishop to a3.

But as soon as Mimoko moved her queen to e7, Maccabee knew he would now have to do some serious lifting just to try and grind out a draw. He captured the bishop at c5 with his bishop, with Mimoko naturally capturing said bishop with her queen. Yet he still wanted to try and trip up Mimoko, thus, he moved his king to d1. It didn't work, as Mimoko made the best possible move she could by moving her bishop to g4.

"Guess now I'm playing hope chess. Well, maybe she'll at least blunder into a drawn endgame," Maccabee thought as he moved his pawn to h3.

"Check," Mimoko smiled as she captured the knight at f3 with her bishop.

Maccabee naturally captured said bishop with his g-pawn, but as soon as Mimoko moved her pawn to f6, he stared in bewilderment. "So that's why she castled back then... She really is something special," he thought as he moved his pawn to e6.

Ironically enough, Mimoko's next move of pawn to d4, was not actually the best possible move, though it was by no means a mistake. Maccabee moved his king to c1, while Mimoko moved her a-rook to d8, preparing to launch a massive attack. Maccabee countered by moving his queen to c2, but Mimoko captured the pawn at c3 with her d-pawn, carving out a potential path to victory.

"Guess I have to get desperate," Maccabee thought as he captured the pawn at h7 with his bishop. "Check."

Mimoko was now forced to move her king to h8, allowing Maccabee to capture the pawn at c3 with his queen.

"Not bad, but while we're even in points, trading isn't the best move here for you," Mimoko thought as she captured the queen at c3 with her queen. "Check".

While Maccabee did capture the queen at c3 with his knight, this was by no means an even trade as over on the other side of the board, Mimoko captured the bishop at h7 with her king. "Never forget about the king. It can attack and defend as well," she thought as Maccabee moved his rook to b1.

Pawn to b6 instantly thwarted Maccabee's plans, sending him back to the drawing board where he decided that knight b5 was his best course of action. Mimoko attempted to kick said knight out by moving her pawn to a6, but Maccabee decided to step on the gas, and captured the pawn at c7 with his knight.

"A bit too aggressive. You just charged into a nasty pin," Mimoko thought as she moved her rook to c8.

Maccabee didn't let up though, deciding to get revenge on the pawn at a6 by capturing it with the very knight it tried to kick away.

"Check," Mimoko stated as she moved her knight to b8.

Maccabee let out a sigh as he moved his king to b2 and watched as Mimoko captured his knight at a6 with her knight. "Doubt she'll blunder, but hey, never know if you don't press on," Maccabee thought as he moved his h-rook to d1.

Mimoko began her final assault, initiated by moving her rook to c6. Maccabee moved his pawn to h4, but the distraction did little to stop Mimoko from capturing the pawn at e6 with her rook. Maccabee moved his rook to d5, hoping the bolder play might trip up Mimoko. Instead it backfired, resulting in a check in the form of rook e2, sending Maccabee's king to a1.

Mimoko moved her knight to c5, inching ever closer to victory, but Maccabee moved his rook to b4, doing all that he could to hang on. Mimoko moved her rook to a8, eliciting a frustrated scowl from Maccabee as he captured the pawn at b6 with his rook. Mimoko moved her knight to a4, and then, Maccabee moved his rook to b4, blundering into mate in 3.

"And that's a wrap," Mimoko thought as she moved her knight to c3.

Maccabee let out a sigh before smiling. "We're so close to mate anyway, might as well finish things through," he thought as he moved his rook to d2.

"Check," Mimoko smiled as she captured the pawn at a2 with her rook.

"And that's why I continued on, so you get a nice satisfying checkmate for your resume. Here's hoping this tournament becomes a great miracle for you," Maccabee thought as he captured the rook at a2 with his rook.

"Checkmate. Good game," Mimoko smiled as she captured the rook at a2 with her rook, winning the game.

Maccabee smiled and shook Mimoko's hand. "Seems I got schooled by you once again. Hope the game at least improved your mood."

"It did. I thank you for that. Yuusuke-kun... I hope you win."

The full game:

White: Maccabee Ben-Horin (2777) Black: Mimoko Inoue (2870)

1. e4 e5

2. d4 exd4

3. f4 Nc6

4. Qe2 Be7

5. Nf3 d5

6. e5 Nh6

7. Qd2 O-O