Nicknames

On the women's side, things were much more peaceful, though tension was still in the air.

"Damn Mongols, are they trying to sabotage us with their stunt!?" Irit fumed as she anxiously chugged down a bottle of water.

"If that's the case, I'd say our men's team was the main target, but naturally everyone caught in their warpath was effected," Daria scowled as she sat down across from Irit.

Irit's gaze narrowed as she placed the bottle down on the table before looking up to face Daria. "Not going to have your daughter face me?"

"One of our players is out, so I have to fill in anyway. Did you think she'd be an easier mark?"

"No, but the lack of Ishikiridokoro is soothing, assuming of course you're being truthful about her being out sick."

"Ever the cautious one, but even if she wasn't sick, I wouldn't field her against you. Now, let's tango."

At board 3, Tenju let out a sigh as she sat across from Golda. 

"Come on, girl. Am I THAT aggravating to be around?" Golda pouted. 

Tenju remained silent, as her sigh was more of one of relief due to seeing what color Golda was playing as. "She's playing as Black... That means her ego will demand she play the Goldsmith... Taira, I think we got this," she thought.

"Ey, look who it is! Uh, who were ya again? Sorry, couldn't tell Mordecai from Haman," Chaya grinned as she waddled up to Utami."

"I need not give you my name. All that matters is punishing you for disrespecting Mimoko-sama last night," Utami glared.

"Huh? You got beef with me, huh, Mimoko?"

"I am Utami, not-"

Utami stopped herself as she noticed Chaya's grin widening. "You... You played me."

"You're the one that started blabbing. Kinda hard not to when I bring the party worldwide. Now let's dance, sweetheart."

"Hmmm, Twoslave," Lea mumbled as she inserted herself into the conversation.

"Uh, what?"

"Twoslave. It's her new name."

"My what?" Utami scowled.

"I always name folks names. See her at the top board? That's my Iririri. Then there's Goldy, Rara, and Teabag. Since you got two patterns on your jeans and serve someone, you're Twoslave. And for your team, Himihimi, Smoothskin, and YinYang."

"Um, excuse me, what-"

"Hmm, guess you want a name for your sick teammate too... Ishikishi," Lea shrugged, completely ignoring Utami.

"Then what's your name?" Mimoko asked.

Lea smiled creepily as she slowly tilted her head and pressed her finger to her chin. "Hmm... Lea is just Lea... Lea Yedua..."

"I see. But why am I "Smoothskin"? Mimoko frowned.

"Uh, cuz you got... smooth skin?"

"Why not "Twintails"?"

"Hmm, you look more like the type that wants to shave them off smooth n' bald, hence, Smoothskin, Smoothskin."

Mimoko went red in the face as Chaya burst into laughter. "Atta girl, Lea, I heard a rumor that after she got shaved bald by the Fairies, she developed a massive bald fetish. So ya bald under that wig?"

Mimoko blushed even harder as she confirmed her hair was in fact real. Worse, Daria jumped in on the teasing, unable to resist, resulting in her receiving a slap on the cheek. 

"Lea thinks you look cute blushing, it makes Lea want to eat you up," Lea giggled as she sat down across from Mimoko.

"Huh!? I'm supposed to play her!" Chaya cried.

"Hmm, can you?"

"Haaaahhh... Guess I gotta dance elsewhere," Chaya grinned as she swung around and plopped herself down across from Utami at board 4. 

"You're playing me!?" Utami gasped. 

"Damn right, so bring it, Twoslave." 

Utami cracked her knuckles as an aura of fury erupted from her. "You know what a dreidel is?" 

"Uh, duh? I'm Jewish? Pretty secular, but still Jewish. Oh, Noa gave Mimoko a dreidel after they hit it off. Noa's kinda like Mimoko in every sense, hmm, bet they'd make a great couple. Oh, but then you'd be the third wheel!" 

"As Mimoko-sama's mad queen, I will accept any marriage should Mimoko-sama's partner be of good character and be one she truly loves. Now since you know what a dreidel is, prepare to be spun like one until you barf out your innards." 

A malicious smile spread on Chaya's face. "Then dreidel we gonna play," she smirked as she waved her hand towards herself.

"You sure you want to play me? You're only rated 2052," Mimoko frowned at Lea.

Lea simply smiled before gently combing her hair over her exposed eye with her hair, obscuring it somewhat. "Just keep your eyes on the board, Smoothskin. Lea will not disappoint," she chuckled.

The round then began with Daria stylishly opening her game with knight f3, while Irit let out a soft groan as she moved her pawn to d5. "She's opening with the Zukertort, dammit. That's her favorite opening, dammit," she thought as Daria moved her pawn to d4.

"As you're the Hebrew Federation's rep at the WWCF and Beersheba's DSPCM. Naturally, you'd know of just how good I am, which should make getting in your headspace much easier," Daria thought as Irit moved her knight to f6.

C4, c6, Knight c3, d captures c4, a4, and bishop f5, later, the game was a Slav Defense: Modern, Alapin Variation, Czech Variation. A bit on the uncommon side, but far from unfamiliar territory for Daria.

"Now lets see how you handle the Krause Attack," Daria thought as she moved her knight to e5, sending Irit into a think.

"Look at that foot tap. Irit may be a paranoid wreck, but she has great fashion sense. Look at those all-white Mizuse Niimi brand sneakers tap," Danny swooned.

"Converse-style to be more specific," Nancy angrily smiled.

"Oh, thank you-"

SLAP!

"Now chat and viewers, behave yourselves, although I guess since Mizuse Niimi inc is sponsoring us, we can zoom in on apparel, but not at the cost of the chess," Nancy warned.

On board 4, Chaya opened the game by moving her pawn to e4, while Utami moved her pawn to e5. Next came d4, prompting Utami to capture said pawn with her e-pawn.

"All right, time to holla for da Challah! L' CHAIM!" Chaya thought as she smiled and moved her pawn to f4.

This gave Utami pause. "As Tanabe predicted, she played the Halász-McDonnell Gambit, also dubbed the Israeli Gambit, and more recently, the Challah Gambit thanks to my very opponent before me making it one of her go-to openings. It looks dubious and puts White at a disadvantage, but only if you know how to properly handle it. Given her grandmaster status, she's clearly won some games with this, but I've lost so many games to this gambit thanks to Tanabe, that I know the counter lines," Utami thought as she moved her knight to c6.

"Oh? She's trying to swing a counter? Not against Chutzpah Chaya you don't," Chaya thought as she moved her queen to e2.

"She's getting swept up in the heat of the moment. Now I just need to remain calm," Utami thought as she moved her bishop to e7.

Now came the time for Chaya to move her knight to f3, triggering the pawn to d5 response from Utami.

"Bet you ain't getting outta this one," Chaya thought as she moved her pawn to e5.

However, Utami moved her knight to h6 without hesitation, rattling Chaya.

"Oi, you fucking with me, huh? Ain't no way you grandmaster level!" Chaya fumed in her mind as she slammed her queen down on d2.

This time, Utami paused, initially reaching for her f-pawn, before retracting her hand and castling king's side instead.

"Huh? Why'd she castle? Well, better than her going f6. I gotta keep myself together. I ain't losing after all that provoking I did," Chaya thought as she scowled and moved her bishop to d3.

Back at board 1, Irit finally decided to move her b-knight to d7, but quickly found herself sent back into another think after Daria captured the pawn at c4 with her knight. "Ugh, age isn't doing a damn thing to her thinking skills. Oh who am I kidding, this woman's a monster," she thought as she moved her knight to b6.

Daria followed up by moving her knight to e5, with Irit quickly playing pawn to a5 in response.

"Hmm, looks like she knows how to navigate this line," Daria thought as she moved her pawn to f3.

Indeed, Irit did as she quickly moved her f-knight to d7, but after Daria captured the knight at d7 with her knight, she made a slight misstep and captured said knight with the bishop instead of the knight.

Daria slowly began to smile as she reached for her e-pawn and moved it to e4. "When you give me an advantage, I don't let go of it. Mimoko, Peter, and of course my dreamboat are the only ones that can make me cede an advantage to a draw or loss," she thought as Irit began anxiously scratching her head.

"Shit, I saw that smirk. She sees something, or is she messing with me!? Fuck, this is why I hate playing against players like her," Irit thought as she moved her pawn to e6.

Daria continued to hold the advantage with bishop e3, bishop b4, bishop e2, and both players castling king's side leaving Irit with little to work with. "Ngh, I've gotta try something to throw her off, but maybe that's what she's counting on... Ngh, how about a safe move," Irit thought as she moved her pawn to f6.

Daria's gaze narrowed as she moved her queen to b3. "Seems she's beginning to clam. Perhaps now is the time to scan the other boards," she thought as she got up to look around.

Liking what she was seeing, she quickly returned to her seat to find that Irit had moved her rook to c8.

"Chaya... Your gambit looks like it's getting countered. This is why I told you NOT to try playing that, but of course, you beat to your own damn drum. I sure hope your position is drawable, because I'm not liking what I'm seeing on Golda's board, and if you both go down, me and Lea will have to win on demand!" Irit fumed in her mind as Daria moved her knight to a2.