Emeri's chess lesson [Side Story 11 Intro]

July 25th, 2024...

At the Ginkawa mansion, Emeri stared at the chessboard with a scowl on her face. "Mado-chan, what are you playing at?"

"It's a game, right? So, you play it," Madoka smiled.

"I meant... Oh, fine. I'll beat you to get the point across.

The game had opened with Madoka moving her pawn to b3, and Emeri moving her pawn to e5. It was then that Madoka moved her pawn to f4, eliciting Emeri's annoyed reaction before she captured said pawn with her e-pawn.

"Hmmhmmhmm, I got you," Madoka laughed as she moved her pawn to g3.

"Are you trying for a reverse Duras? It's not working," Emeri snarled as she captured the pawn at g3 with her f-pawn.

"Don't know what that means," Madoka smiled as she captured the pawn at g3 with her h-pawn.

Emeri rolled her eyes and moved her queen to g5.

"Ah! I see that! Sorry, but not today!" Madoka proudly huffed as she moved her bishop to g2.

"What a great escape," Emeri groaned as she moved her pawn to d5.

"I ain't the escape witch for nothing," Madoka smirked as she captured the bishop at d5 with her bishop.

"And I'm her smarter assistant," Emeri growled as she captured the bishop at d5 with her queen.

"Ah! No! My pawn's undefended!" Madoka cried as she moved her rook to h3.

"And so's your rook," Emeri grumbled as she captured said rook with her bishop.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"All on you. Want to resign?"

"No!" Madoka huffed as she moved her knight to f3.

"Good enough. Still not winning this," Emeri scoffed as she moved her knight to f6.

"Wanna bet?" Madoka smirked as she moved her knight to c3.

"No, because I don't want to punish you," Emeri growled as she moved her queen to d6.

"You're acting way too confidently!" Madoka pouted as she moved her king to f2.

"Because I'm winning," Emeri glared as she moved her knight to g4. "Check."

"Wait! Uh, I can go... here?" Madoka frowned as she moved her king to g1.

"Mate in 1, check," Emeri scoffed as she captured the pawn at g3 with her queen.

"Uh... um..."

"King h1, only move."

"Yes," Madoka sighed as she moved her king to h1.

"And to teach you a lesson, checkmate," Emeri huffed as she moved her knight to f2, winning the game.

"Done already?" Serika scoffed.

"Looks like it. Not surprising considering how smart Emeri is," Yuni nodded.

"Hey, have some faith in me!" Madoka cried.

"For escaping, yes. Chess, not as much."

"What if I have to play chess to escape?"

"Then I'd hope your instincts allow you to play like a grandmaster, otherwise you're in trouble. Come to think of it, chess really has exploded in popularity this past year."

"Yeah, though I did keep hearing Sensei saying things about how chess was starting to influence world politics or something. Didn't think much of it then, but now, Japan's pretty much one of the few places in the world that isn't ruled by a titled chess player," Serika grumbled.

"I believe it's because of those DESPERs. That's why it's important to raise our ratings so we aren't subjected to the whims of those things," Emeri frowned.

"Ugh, not more practice," Madoka sighed.

The full game:

White: Madoka Ginkawa (300) Black: Emeri Kuramori (2000)

1. b3 e5

2. f4 exf4

3. g3 fxg3

4. hxg3 Qg5

5. Bg2 d5

6. Bxd5 Qxd5

7. Rh3 Bxh3

8. Nf3 Nf6

9. Nc3 Qd6

10. Kf2 Ng4+

11. Kg1 Qxg3+

12. Kh1 Nf2#