The cruel and the cowadrly

Mimoko scowled as she stared down the figures before her.

"Oh, and I thought you wanted to face the maestro as soon as possible," Katryana scoffed.

Mimoko remained silent.

As it turns out, both Katryana and her husband, Col Vladilen Moskal had decided to show up, meaning she could challenge both, and get one step closer to challenging the maestro. However, she was naturally weary of both.

"So, will you challenge me? Everything's random from the position, to the colors, to the time control," Katryana smirked.

"Very well," Mimoko snarled.

With the points exchanged, it turned out that Mimoko was playing as White with rapid time control with a setup that looked almost normal save for the fact that the kings and queens had swapped places. She started out by moving her pawn to d4, yet to her surprise, Katryana moved her pawn to a6.

"Hmm? I saw you played something like this just now," Katryana sneered as Mimoko moved her pawn to e4.

"And you're copying it why?" Mimoko scowled as Katryana mockingly moved her pawn to c6.

"Because I can. I get easy money and no worry of losing elo."

"Perhaps you're just hooked on the new opening, but in this position, it loses on the spot. Check," Mimoko growled as she moved her queen to a5.

"Oh does it now?" Katryana shrugged as she moved her pawn to b6.

"Yes, checkmate," Mimoko glared as she captured the pawn at b6 with her queen, winning the game.

Katryana didn't seem the least bit upset though as she rewarded Mimoko her spoils before heading off. Next up was Vladilen who stepped forth, with a different kind of challenge.

"My choice of time. 90 minutes plus 30 second increment."

Mimoko accepted, and finding herself as White again, opened by moving her pawn to g3. Vladilen, however, just sat there.

"Feel like resigning? It would lessen the time you sit here," Vladilen snarled.

"No thank you. I've only made a single move," Mimoko huffed.

Vladilen kept talking, attempting to persuade Mimoko to resign to make him stop, yet Mimoko simply tuned him out. Thus, 90 minutes later, Vladilen lost on time.

"Looks like you just gotta beat one more SPCM to challenge the maestro. Time to call Avian for a freebie," Galina grinned.

The full games:

White: Mimoko Inoue (2880) Black: SPCM Katryana Moskal (2590)

1. d4 a6

2. e4 c6

3. Qa5+ b6

4. Qxb6#

White: Mimoko Inoue (2880) Black: SPCM Col Vladilen Moskal (2699)

1. g3 (White wins on time)