Chapter 24:

Forced to draw

En Passant Grandmaster Volume 5

"Ugh! That derpy-faced baby just sucked everything out of me!" Iori fumed as she plopped down on a sofa in the secret puzzle cafe.

"I have more reason to be upset as I fell to Kuon Nanya," Utami scowled.

"Well she is the 2nd best in the whole country, not counting me of course," Daria nodded as she fanned herself.

"You and Inoue-senpai are perfect, right?" Okisato asked.

"To my knowledge, yes. They're not going to reveal the scores until the final round concludes, meaning until then, we'll have to keep track of the standings ourselves."

"That seems dumb," Iori grumbled.

"I imagine it's to try and prevent fixing, as if you know the scores, you might be more willing to make a draw with your opponent than not. I imagine the JFC president doesn't want that."

"That guy... Wouldn't give the guys a chance at a tournament," Yuusuke frowned.

"There just isn't as much talent on our side compared to the women. Though I think they mentioned they'll officially reveal the line-up today as well," Okisato shrugged.

"And are you on the team?"

"More than likely."

"And they couldn't let me go on as an alternate. 'Over 2000, or no go' was what I got when I came into the JFC president's office."

"Did you challenge him to a game?"

"He humored me, and I lost. Hey, the guy's a retired IM, and still 2400-level skill."

"But that's the kind of level you'd need to face and beat, or at the very least draw, if you want to help carry the team to gold."

The pairings for the next round were then posted, prompting all the girls to head out.

"Ah fuck, I'm up against Kuon," Iori grumbled.

"Not fully recovered from you match against Cinnamon-chan? In that case, playing for a draw might be the better play," Mimoko suggested.

"What? You gotta play to win, otherwise you lose!"

"But if you play to win while in a shape you can't guarantee a win in, you could get wiped. From what Utami-chan told me, Nanya-chan seemed frustrated during the whole game. She might be just as exhausted as you and be willing to take a draw as she's currently 4 for 4."

"But didn't your mom just say draws-"

"That was just a theory on why the standings are being hidden until after the tournament. Though with Sophia rules in play, the only way you'll get a draw is if you get a threefold, stalemate, or reach a state where there's insufficient mating material."

"What about the 50-move rule?"

"I doubt things would get to that point, but yes, it is a way to earn a draw. But we both know how much you hate long games like that," Mimoko chuckled.

"Yeah, and that would only screw me for the final round. The faster the game ends, the more time we get to rest."

As Iori sat down at the board, Kuon scowled from afar while slowly trudging over. "Dammit! This is why I hate playing in the 4th round. I might've won, but my rhythm's all messed up! And with the time control, I can barely get any rest between rounds! I'm up against that girl that's also friends with Mimoko. I heard she managed to take down Fianna, so despite her rating of 2044, she's got talent. Tch, I might have to go for a draw. I can't risk losing, but a draw might end up helping me. As long as I avoid being paired against Mimoko or the maestro in the final round, I should qualify without issue," she thought.

The round began a minute later with Iori opening the game by moving her pawn to e4, and Kuon moving her pawn to e5.

More book moves like knight f3 and knight c6 graced the board, but it was at this point Iori began to scowl. "I've got White, so I could go for a Halloween, but I'm spent. I can't lose to her, considering she's on a perfect streak like Mimo-chan and her mom. Fuck, I need to just unwind," she thought before reluctantly moving her bishop to b5.

"Oh? She's going for something standard? I thought the reports said she was more prone to playing unorthodox openings, like the oni-tiger. Well, not much I can do in this position," Kuon thought as she moved her knight to f6.

Iori slowly nodded at the play and castled king's side, sending her silent response to Kuon loud and clear; a draw was on.

"So be it. We'll end this in 20 moves or so," Kuon thought as she captured the pawn at e4 with her knight.

From that point on, a familiar draw line played out. Rook e1, knight d6, knight captures e5, bishop e7, bishop f1, knight captures e5, rook captures e5, a king's side castle, d4, bishop f6, rook e1, and rook e8 signaled what was to come.

"Ugh, I hate having to draw, but that last round wiped me, and we barely get downtime between rounds here," Iori thought as she moved her pawn to c3.

"She looks tired, but the stress of having to avoid losing last round has hampered my mentality. Well, perhaps a draw is for the best as Mimoko and the maestro are winning all their games, meaning this might help me get more favorable pairings for the final round," Kuon thought as she captured the rook at e1 with her rook.

Business as usual seemed to continue with queen captures e1 and knight e8 playing out, but then Iori deviated from the normal line a bit by playing bishop c4. It was far from a blunder though as the best Kuon could respond with was queen e7, keeping things even. From there, bishop e3, c6, bishop d3, d5, knight d2, g6, and bishop h6 all played out before Kuon delivered the first check of the game by capturing the queen at e1 with her queen. She didn't bother saying a word though as said queen was instantly captured by Iori's rook.

This paved the way for bishop d7 and knight f1, initiating a chance to trigger the threefold repetition rule. Knight g7, knight e3, knight e8, knight f1, knight g7, knight e3, knight e8, and knight f1 once more made the draw official. Both players quickly shook hands and trudged out of the playing hall as fast as they could.

"Ugh, two draws in a row. Undefeated, but now I'll need to win to stay viable. This extra rest time better be worth it," Iori thought as she made her way to the secret puzzle cafe and plopped down on the sofa.

...

As the round came to an end, Sodeshiro scowled as he stared at the results. "How is this possible!? She's under 1500, yet she's the only other player aside from the maestro and Mimoko with a perfect score!"

"If you're concerned of fowl play, I can assure you she has been playing with her own abilities, albeit after they were merged with that of her sister's," Raymond stated.

"Hmm, then we'll have her face the maestro. As for Mimoko's opponent..."

The full game:

White: Iori Ishikiridokoro (2044) Black: Kuon Nanya (2807)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bb5 Nf6

4. O-O Nxe4

5. Re1 Nd6

6. Nxe5 Be7

7. Bf1 Nxe5

8. Rxe5 O-O

9. d4 Bf6