Dependence

Miyako was left speechless as to how to respond to Lowri's accusation. "Wh- What do you mean?"

"There's no way you, who lost to Imono in such humiliating fashion, would be able to spot the moves needed to beat me," Lowri glared.

"Sorry, I don't follow. How does me losing to Imono-"

"There's a secret function on each of our chessboards. It's called, training mode."

"'Training mode'?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm the only one who discovered it. In it, you're allowed to see the best possible move and how much a move swings the favor towards one side or the other."

"But how does that-"

"I was awake when you and Imono had your little game. Combining what I heard with your reaction to the training mode, there's no way you could have played the way you did on your own. Admit it, you're getting help."

Miyako's nervous smile slowly contorted into a scowl. "You're saying you heard my match with Imono? WHY DIDN'T YOU SPEAK UP THEN!?"

"You heard the man in charge. He deemed the match fair, meaning he doesn't care that it was won via what I deem, underhanded means. Thus, me speaking up wouldn't have changed the outcome."

Miyako began to tremble with furry.

"Look, I'm just giving you a warning; stop the cheating now, because if you don't, I will expose you."

"THE HELL'S YOUR DEAL!? YOU DIDN'T EXPOSE IMONO'S CHEATING, WHY'RE YOU FOCUSING ON ME!? Oh, it's because I won. I won, and you can't take it!"

"This whole scenario... This guy wants us to become the next big chess star, but what's the point if it's achieved via cheating? In the settings we'd be officially playing, there would be anti-cheating mechanisms that would catch the kind of cheating you're embracing in an instant."

"And?"

"Are you not an athlete? You get caught cheating, that's it."

Miyako spat at Lowri's feet before turning and walking away. "You're all the same. You can't handle it when I win."

Lowri shook her head and began heading back to her cell.

...

That night, Miyako heard Vasily's voice echoing in her mind as she tried, unsuccessfully, to fall asleep. "Hmm... Lowri was quite upset about your victory today."

"..."

"She did raise a fine point. Though cheating can be successful, if it's exposed, it's all over. If we wanted to create such a player, we wouldn't need this program. So, Miyako, would you like to keep using my gift?"

Miyako clutched the covers tightly. "Leave me alone... Get out of my body..."

"I suppose... Very well. Tomorrow, we'll see how you fare on your own."

...

The next morning, Miyako decided to have her game against her black-haired cellmate as soon as the cell doors were opened. Thanks to her win the day prior, even if she were to lose today's game, she wouldn't be in danger of finishing last on the standings, as that position looked to have been all but locked up by Milady. The black-haired woman was also in a position to avoid finishing in last place, which might have been what brought about her surprising proposal.

"Today, we're going to play for real. No draw like last time."

"Um, sure," Miyako shrugged as she sat down across from the black-haired woman.

The black-haired woman then opened the game by moving her pawn to e4, yet despite the clock ticking down, Miyako just sat there in a daze.

"Huh? My body... It... I can move freely!" Miyako thought as she began stretching her fingers.

Yet despite her freedom of movement, a new problem now presented itself to Miyako.

"... What do I move!?"

Though the hijacking of her body did terrify her, when it came to games, it was always a positive as Vasily decided to have her win each time. Without that assistance, Miyako was now nothing more than a fledgling at chess.

"I don't know what to do. Oh, I just need to mirror her, then we draw!" Miyako thought as she moved her pawn to e5.

The black-haired woman then moved her knight to f3, yet before she could mirror her, Miyako's hand brushed against her b-knight.

"You touch, you move!" the guard barked.

"My hand-"

"MOVE!"

"Y- Yes!" Miyako gulped as she moved her knight to c6.

To her delight, the black-haired woman mirrored her and moved her knight to c3, allowing Miyako to get back on the perfect mirror route with knight f6. However, this was where pleasantries ended as the black-haired woman decided to capture the pawn at e5 with her knight.

"Huh? C- Can't I just take the knight? No, I gotta mirror her. If I don't, I'll lose," Miyako thought as she captured the pawn at e4 with her knight.

The black-haired woman slowly glared as she moved her queen to h5. Miyako continued to mirror her with queen h4, but then..."

"You're a fool," the black-haired woman glared as she captured the queen at h4 with her queen.

Miyako sat dazed with a dumbfounded smile on her face. "I- I can't mirror. H- How do I take the queen?" she trembled.

"You don't. You blundered it away."

The dumbfounded smile morphed into a horrified frown as Miyako began sweating buckets. "The knight, I should've taken it," she shuddered as she captured the knight at e5 with her knight.

"Too late," the black-haired woman snarled as she captured the knight at e4 with her queen.

"Ah! What do I do!?" Miyako frantically thought as she moved her bishop to b4.

"I recommend resignation. Check," the black-haired woman scoffed as she captured the knight at e5 with her queen.

"AHHHH! BISHOP COME BACK!" Miyako cried as she moved the bishop to e7.

"Are you stupid? Or are you trying to delay in hope that I blunder? Not happening," the black-haired woman glared as she moved her knight to d5.

"What do I do!? WHAT DO I DO!? If I move the king, my bishop's toast, but if I don't move my king, the knight guards the square, so queen takes, mate. My other bishop's stuck, and my rooks- MY ROOK! I can do that move I used to beat the Russian!" Miyako thought as she castled king's side.

"The best move, but the best can't save you from this mess," the black-haired woman scoffed as she captured the bishop at e7 with her knight.

"What!? Why'd you take with the knight!?" Miyako cried as she was forced to move her king to h8.

The black-haired woman remained silent as she rolled her eyes and moved her knight to f5.

"No! Stay back!" Miyako shouted as she moved her pawn to f6.

"Why so panicked? You're not going to finish last, so spare your image the disgrace," the black-haired woman snarled as she moved her queen to e7.

But Miyako was unable to remain calm. "Why was I not assisted!? I was winning when I had it, I was winning when I had it!" she thought as she moved her rook to f7.

The black-haired woman let out a heavy sigh. "So you have no talent after all. Check," she growled as she moved her queen to e8.

The line struck a nerve with Miyako. "No talent? I'M THE ACE OF THE CURLING TEAM! I CARRIED THEM TO SILVER!" she shouted as she slammed her rook down on f8.

"Maybe you're talented there, but not here in chess. Checkmate," the black-haired woman sighed as she captured the rook at f8 with her queen.

"White has won!" the board declared.

Miyako began swaying to and fro as her vision became blurry. "No, I need the help. Come back. Come..."

Thud!

From the control room, Vasily smirked as he spun around to face Ivo. "Well, happy?"

Ivo scowled and shook his head. "No. You tainted her. Now my theory is untestable."

"How so!? She was given the chance to think-"

"IT'S TOO LATE! Why her? Why not one of the others?"

"Because we needed someone who never played chess before. She fit the bill."

"There's-"

"Ivo, I am the rules here."

Ivo gritted his teeth and charged for Vasily, pulling out a knife and stabbing him in the chest.

"Guh!? I- Ivo... You're stupid."

"Huh-"

Before he could react, Ivo was hit hard across the face by Vasily and sent sprawling to the floor.

"Ivo, when you kill a man, always go for the neck," Vasily chuckled as he yanked the knife out of his chest, and stabbed Igor through the throat. "A good soldier always guards his heart with layers," he smiled as he watched Ivo bleed out.

The full game: 

White: The  black-haired woman Black: Miyako Suwabe

1. e4 e5 

2. Nf3 Nc6 

3. Nc3 Nf6 

4. Nxe5 Nxe4 

5. Qh5 Qh4 

6. Qxh4 Nxe5 

7. Qxe4 Bb4

8. Qxe5+ Be7 

9. Nd5 O-O 

10. Nxe7+ Kh8 

11. Nf5 f6 

12. Qe7 Rf7 

13. Qe8+ Rf8 

14. Qxf8#