Chapter 943:

Cheater

En Passant Grandmaster

The next day, Miyako found herself pitted against Lowri, meaning that her black-haired cellmate would be her final opponent the following day. With Lowri currently leading the entire field, odds were looking like Miyako was going to be beat. However, that was only if Miyako played on her own.

"You're going to need some help if you want to beat Lowri. Why don't you sit back and watch as I show you the power of the little gift I've given you," Vasily's voice echoed through Miyako's head.

"What!? Stop! Get out!" Miyako cried.

"Um, you alright?" Lowri asked.

Miyako smiled and nodded, however, this was not her in control of her body.

"Now, you've already bested 2 foes and drawn the 3rd. How will you handle your toughest challenge yet, prodigy?" Vasily thought as Lowri opened the game by moving her pawn to d4.

Internally screaming, but outwardly smiling, Miyako found herself moving her knight to f6. "I can't control my body. It's just like when I played... what was her name... The Russian... Ngh, this doesn't matter! I need to try and regain control, somehow," she thought as Lowri moved her pawn to c4.

"Now that's an interesting response. Why not put her to the true test of skill," Vasily thought as Miyako found herself moving her pawn to e5.

"Huh, a Budapest. Not sure I've ever played against one of those... No, stop thinking about the past. But, I can't really escape it here, huh," Lowri thought as she captured the pawn at e5 with her d-pawn.

However, she was soon left stunned after Miyako moved her knight to e4. Slowly, the memories of training, no matter how bad or good, came bubbling back up to the surface.

"The other matches didn't require me to think too much. But her? Fuck. I never wanted to go back to chess," Lowri thought as she moved her knight to c3.

Miyako instantly captured said knight with her knight, with Lowri returning the favor by capturing said knight with her b-pawn. Pawn d6 from Miyako brought out knight f3 from Lowri, but then came Miyako's play of pawn to h6.

"She saw the attack? Making me work, dammit," Lowri thought as she moved her pawn to e4.

As Miyako watched her hand move her knight to c6, she took note of the captured knight and pawn on Lowri's side of the table. "She has more pieces than me. I'm losing, aren't I? Why? Why am I stuck being forced to grin and watch my demise!?" she thought as Lowri captured the pawn at d6 with her e-pawn.

As Miyako quickly captured said pawn with her bishop, Lowri began to scowl. "She really moves pieces fast. Hmm... But was that the best move? I mean, I guess it was obvious, but she's been moving fast this whole game... Let's go for a trip up," she thought as she moved her queen to d5.

Once Lowri hit the clock, Miyako began smiling as she moved her queen to f6.

"Again? No way. She couldn't have- Shit! She's going for a fork," Lowri thought as she gritted her teeth in frustration and moved her bishop to b2.

This time, Miyako didn't immediately move a piece, first finding herself tauntingly waving her finger at Lowri before tapping said finger on her bishop and moving it to e6. Lowri's eyes bulged at the play, sending Miyako into an internal panic, but it was actually Lowri that was more panicked.

"Shit! I didn't see that!" Lowri thought as she moved her queen to d1.

"She looks mad. Oh no, I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!" Miyako internally screamed as she castled queen's side.

"Fucking hell, why's she finding all these good moves!? I thought she didn't even know notation!" Lowri thought as she gritted her teeth and moved her bishop to d3.

Miyako felt her face stretching out into a deranged grin as she found herself moving her bishop to a3.

"Oh, she lost it," Lowri scoffed in her mind as she captured the bishop at a3 with her bishop.

"... Heh... Heh... Heh... Check," Miyako cackled as she captured the pawn at c3 with her queen.

Lowri froze with fear. "The heck was that vocalizing? But forget that, I fucked- No, rook's guarded by the queen so she can't take it... Almost got me," she thought as she let out a relived sigh before moving her king to e2.

However, she was pale again in seconds as soon as Miyako captured the pawn at c4 with her bishop.

"No... My queen... FUCK!" Lowri groaned in her mind as she captured the bishop at c4 with her bishop.

Said bishop was mopped up a second later by Miyako's queen, prompting Lowri to move her king to e3. However, rather than take the queen, Miyako moved her pawn to f5.

"I... I'm safe... Maybe I'll offer a draw... No, doubt she'd accept," Lowri thought as she moved her queen to b1.

"Why didn't I take her queen!? Oh no, I'm going to lose... IT'S NOT MY FAULT! WHY DO I HAVE TO SUFFER FOR IT!?" Miyako shouted in her mind as her body was forced to move her h-rook to e8.

Lowri, on the other hand, was feeling a bit more relieved, though still far from calm. "Up by two, think of how to convert, girl... Why am I getting so into this? I thought I swore I'd never touch this shit again. Does that asshole running this shit know about me? Probably. Wouldn't have been dragged here if he didn't," she thought before moving her king to f4.

"Ch-eck," Miyako grinned as she captured the pawn at e4 with her rook.

"What the fuck? Are you alright? You're creeping me out with all that vocalizing and grinning," Lowri scowled as she moved her king to g3.

"I'M NOT ALRIGHT! I'M NOT ALRIGHT! I CAN'T CONTROL MY BODY!" Miyako screamed in her mind to no avail as she moved her rook to g4.

Suddenly, Lowri went pale.

"D- Did my voice reach her?" Miyako anxiously thought.

However, Lowri's face instantly contorted in rage as she shook her head and moved her king to h3.

"Huh? did she not hear me?" Miyako frowned in her mind as she moved her rook to h4.

"Fuck!" Lowri fumed as she captured the rook at h4 with her knight.

"OH NO! SHE'S ANGRY, AND I JUST LOST A ROOK! I'M GOING TO-"

"Black has won," the board declared.

"H- Heh?"

Finding herself able to move again, Miyako stared down at the board to find that she had moved her queen to g4.

"Fuck... How'd you see all that shit. I thought you were a rookie," Lowri grumbled as she got up.

"Uh- Um, my body-"

But Lowri had already stormed away.

"Looks like you won. See, letting others guide you is the path to fortunes," Vasily's voice chuckled within Miyako's mind.

An unsettling smile began to form on Miyako's face. "I was winning. I won... Maybe, not being able to control myself... is good."

With plenty of free time to spend as she pleased, Miyako elected to camp out at the dining table, hoping by chance the guards might come out with a decent meal. "I need more protein. Milady said they had meat, so maybe since I beat the leader, they'll reward me," she thought.

However, the one to show up a few minutes later was not a guard, but a scowling Lowri.

"Hmm? What is it?" Miyako asked.

Lowri slammed her hands down on the table and stared directly into Miyako's face. "You cheated."

The full game:

White: Lowri Winn Black: Miyako Suwabe

1. d4 Nf6

2. c4 e5

3. dxe5 Ne4

4. Nc3 Nxc3

5. bxc3 d6

6. Nf3 h6

7. e4 Nc6