Chapter 729:

Utami's late-night warmup

En Passant Grandmaster

Going back in time to the night before, Utami decided to challenge Fifi to a game at the secret puzzle cafe. She decided to open by moving her pawn to d4, hoping to play a London System, yet Fifi denied her by moving her knight to f6, initiating an Indian Game. That didn't stop Utami from playing bishop f4 though, eliciting a nod from Fifi.

"Bold, but bold can lead to blunders. That's why you always do a sketch first before you start stitching fabric," Fifi thought as she moved her pawn to c5.

And bold the plays would be as Utami responded with d5, goading Fifi into queen b6, marking the start of a bold line. Knight c3, e6, e4, knight captures e4, then knight captures e4 before the true boldness of the line took hold.

"Check. I have to say, I like the punk drip. Really personifies your playstyle," Fifa smiled as she moved her queen to b4.

Utami silently glared as she moved her queen to d2.

"Hmm, silent type. Check," Fifi shrugged as she captured the knight at e4 with her queen.

Utami blocked the check by moving her knight to e2, sending Fifi into a deep think. She eventually settled on knight a6 as her next move.

"Perhaps I'll go for blood," Utami thought as she captured the pawn at e6 with her d-pawn.

"Not good. Utami here's emboldened, meaning I gotta fight back with bold," Fifi thought as she captured the pawn at e6 with her queen.

Utami castled queen's side, opening up the door for Fifi to capture the pawn at a2 with her queen, putting her in a position that could lead to her victory, if Utami failed to counter that is.

"You must be squirming. Tanabe's drilled positions like this into me over and over. I won't fall for such tricks again," Utami thought as she moved her knight to c3.

"Check. A shame you spotted it, but fear not, I'll piece together the mate, shortly," Fifi smirked as she moved her queen to a1, forcing Utami to move her knight to b1.

She then moved her bishop to e7 as Utami kept up the momentum by moving her bishop to d6.

"Now for run number 2," Fifa thought as she moved her bishop to f6, and got up to walk around.

She wasn't roaming for long though as once she gained some distance, she turned to notice Utami moving her pawn to c3. Thus, to keep her time from ticking down to far, she came back briefly to move her queen to a4 before heading off once more.

Returning to the board, Fifi was greeted with the gift of knight a3 from Utami, prompting her to respond by moving her king to d8.

"About time you came back. Now, offer up your queen's head," Utami thought as she let loose a mad grin.

"That's a little unsettling. Hmm, she must've thought my queen was trapped. Sorry, but no," Fifi thought as she frowned and moved her queen to a5.

"You think your queen isn't trapped? I think it is," Utami thought as she moved her h-rook to e1.

"Mmm, things are getting a bit cramped, but if it's sturdy, we stick with it," Fifi thought as she moved her knight to c7.

"CHECK!" Utami grinned, barely stopping short of bursting into maniacal laughter, as she moved her bishop to e7.

"A bishop for me," Fifi thought as she smiled and captured the bishop at e7 with her bishop.

Utami slowly relaxed her smile. "Ah, control. Mimoko-sama despises gloating. Modesty should be shown," Utami thought as she captured the pawn at d7 with her bishop.

Unsure of what Utami had planned, Fifi cautiously moved her knight back to e8. Then came bishop c6, check, from Utami, forcing Fifi to evade with king c7. Then came another check as Utami captured the bishop at e7 with her rook.

"My, trying to equalize. I like the boldness, but bold can be costly," Fifi thought as she captured the bishop at c6 with her king.

"GOT YOU! CHECK!" Utami laughed, unable to hide her maniacal grin, as she slammed her queen down on d5.

Fifi grimaced as she was forced to move her king to b6, but relaxed when Utami went for another check by nudging her queen up to d6. "My, you got a bit greedy with the checks. Now bid adieu to the leading lady," Fifi thought as she captured the queen at d6 with her knight.

Utami then took a deep breath before relaxing her smile. "You were a worthy opponent, but you must fall for the sake of Mimoko-sama's glorious reign. Be honored you're the path we'll walk across."

"Hmm? What-"

"Checkmate!" Utami laughed as she captured the knight at d6 with her rook, winning the game.

Fifi's jaw dropped in shock before she slowly began to laugh. "Ahaha... I got too bold..."

The full game:

White: Utami Enoki (2300) Black: SPCM Fifi Beualiu (2400)

1. d4 Nf6

2. Bf4 c5

3. d5 Qb6

4. Nc3 e6

5. e4 Nxe4

6. Nxe4 Qb4+

7. Qd2 Qxe4+