Fool's mate

"So she blundered," Mimoko sighed.

Seeing Mimoko's disappointment caused Utami to petrify with shock.

"Oi, Tami-chan, you there?" Iori said as she waved her hand in front of the petrified Utami.

"She looks like she turned to stone. Was she that shocked that she lost?" Yuusuke asked.

"No, well maybe she was. Ishikiridokoro-san-"

"Just call me Iori-chan! It's what's on my channel name, which you should totally subscribe to and-"

"So Iori-chan, is it normal for Enoki-san to act like this?" Okisato asked.

"No clue, I just saw her fiddling with a chess board in her dommy state and dragged her over."

Mimoko decided to ease the air by offering to go over the mistakes that occurred in the game. This seemed to be the right play, as Utami immediately returned to normal and agreed to learn from her mistakes.

"I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic, Enoki-chan. While it is nice to win, chess is above all else meant to be fun, win, lose, or draw. Now let's first reset the board to the 10th move just after Shousen-kun captured the pawn at e5 with his knight,” Mimoko nodded.

"Hmm? W- Why there?"

"Because that's where you ran into some trouble. Now to be fair, this was a tight spot. However, you were too focused on Shousen-kun putting you in check with his bishop from the b-file. You were also antsy to castle and presumably moved your knight to e7 out of fear that moving it to f6 instead would eventually lead to Shousen-kun preventing you from castling with his queen, while further destroying your defenses in the process. So first question, why didn't you capture the knight at e5 with your queen?"

"Be- ...Because then the scoundrel would seize my queen. His next move would then be to move his rook to e1, trapping my queen. Since I'd be unable to move my queen due to the rook threatening my king, if I did so, I'd have to move another piece instead, but then lose my queen on the next turn," Utami sighed as her confident persona returned.

"Correct. Capturing that knight would have lost you your queen, even though nothing was protecting the knight. That's why it's important to castle as soon as possible so you don't risk putting your king in such a perilous position. It also frees up a rook as well."

"Yes..."

"If I were in your position, I'd have moved my knight to c6."

"Why?"

"Because it would at the least prevent Shousen-kun's plan. Though this isn’t an ideal position to be in from the get-go. That’s why it’s important to play your openings right. A bad opening will result in you having a poor set up which will more often than not lead to mate. Now how about I show you a good opening first, then have you play against Shousen-kun again.”

...

"Your defensive maneuvers are relentless. Damn you," Utami glared.

"Ugh, my brain's gonna fry. I thought this was supposed to be a quick learnin’ experience," Yuusuke groaned.

"That's why I had you two continue to play. Now I have a better grasp on both of your skill sets. Shousen-kun, your defensive strategies are good. Many would lead to your opponent asking for a draw if they don't decide to go for the win, and even if they do, it would take an expert to properly pull off the moves necessary to beat you," Mimoko stated.

"So you sayin’ I'm practically unbeatable?"

"No, just that it would take an expert to best you. With your current playstyle, you’d do well against intermediate-level players, but an expert-level player would have no trouble exploiting all the mistakes you make,” Mimoko stated as she moved her knight on the board.

"GEH! Ugh, that's mate in two for me."

"I didn't realize I could do that. My apologies, Inoue-sama," Utami trembled.

"You played very well. Just be sure to have a better opening. That's ultimately what cost you. Never underestimate your opponent. Anyone could be a grand master despite their looks and demeanor,” Okisato nodded.

"A good tip indeed, Tanabe-kun. Now how about we see how good Iori-chan is.”

"SWEET! Hold my phone and record, yo!"

"Guess I'll play her," Okisato sighed as he sat down.

"Hell yeah! Now watch this!" Iori grinned as she moved her pawn to g4.

Okisato nonchalantly moved his pawn to e5, internally scowling as he figured what Iori was planning to do.

"Hah! Behold my en passant!" Iori declared as she moved her pawn to f4.

"Oi, is she serious," Yuusuke unamusingly glared.

"That is not an en passant, Iori-chan," Mimoko groaned as she covered her face with her hand.

"Wow, that's... lame," Utami glared.

"Guess you meant to say f in the chat," Okisato said as he moved his queen to h4, checkmating Iori.

"Heh... EHHHHHHHHH!? I GOT TWO-MOVED!?" Iori cried.

"Iori-chan, was that on purpose?" Mimoko glared.

"Play me and find out. But if you lose, you down this tube of wasabi," Iori snickered as she regained her gusto.

...

"AHHH IT'S SO SPICY! AHHHHH!" Iori cried as she chugged a tube of wasabi. She had lost in humiliating fashion, though this time she at least appeared to have tried.

"Why are you doing something so stupid?" Mimoko groaned.

"Cuz I lost, so I get the batsu."

"Ugh, I'm the only normal one here. Though if you're going to punish yourself for losing, study up on chess terminology and moves instead of chugging down wasabi."

"Just curious, but do either of you three have ratings?" Okisato asked.

"Ratings, oh yes, thanks for reminding me, Tanabe-kun. In order to compete in tournaments, all of you will need to become WWCF members if you aren't already.

"Oh, I've been playing for years cuz of Okaa. As for my rating... Uh, it's 1478," Yuusuke stated as he looked at his WWCF card.

"I got one of those cards too! My number's 500. They say batting 500 is good so it must be good," Iori smiled as she whipped out her WWCF card.

"I- I don't have one," Utami trembled.

"No worries. I myself just registered last night. Want me to help you register, Enoki-chan?" Mimoko smiled.

Utami's face lit up as she shook her head yes.

...

After getting Utami registered, the club was dismissed for the day.

"Hmm, you sure it's a good idea to have Enoki-san here?" Okisato asked as he walked home with Mimoko.

"What do you mean? She's got potential," Mimoko glared.

"But something's been bothering me about her. She knew about last night."

"Huh?"

"She said 'Inoue-sama was harassed by a guy trying to hit on her last night'. That means she saw everything last night. Which is weird because it was just us and that delinquent."

"Wait, are you suggesting-"

"Yeah, she might be with Desperado."

"But we just registered-"

"There's ways around that. Especially for someone from the underworld and/or someone with lots of power, and if she’s who I think she is, she at the very least has ties to someone who is related to someone in ties with the league."

“Tanabe-kun… Enoki-chan was genuine.”

“So you trust her?”

“I’m honestly less inclined to believe you anyway, but there probably is some concern behind your words.

“Well, I’m only airing my thoughts anyway. Besides, I’m sure she’ll tell you everything truthfully if you ask her,” Okisato nodded as he briefly glanced over at a nearby bush.

As the two walked away, Utami trembled as she hid in the bush. "Inoue-sama..."

...

After stalking Mimoko for the day, Utami arrived home and headed for the fridge.

"Utami, just where were you today!?" the Shogikawa gakuin student council vice-president glared.

"HEEEEE! O- ONII-SAMA! I- I was Uh- Uh-"

"Well? You were supposed to practice with us today, however I saw you being carried off by that degenerate streamer. Didn't I tell you not to hang out with her?"

"B- But Iori-chan-"

"She is nothing but bad news. I'm surprised she hasn't been expelled yet for all the trash she posts online. Now you'd better come to practice tomorrow, otherwise I shall get father involved."

Utami sank to the floor as her brother stormed away. "I- Inoue-sama, INOUE-SAMA!" she cried as tears poured out of her eyes.

The full game:

White: Iori Ishikiridokoro Black: Okisato Tanabe [Informal match]

1. g4 e5

2. f4 Qh4#