Chapter 27:

Pop quiz

En Passant Grandmaster

Once everyone had finished their first game, they convened in a skittles room to discuss what happened. Yuusuke had lost, resulting in Iori gloating over the fact that she won her game. Both Utami and Rodeo had also lost, putting a damper on their moods. Yuzuha had managed to get her opponent to agree to a draw, while Numakawa had managed to stalemate his opponent. As for Azenira and Zago, both had drawn, but the draws were against high-level opponents.

"I won my match, how about you, Inoue-senpai?" Okisato asked.

"I won as well. It was a very fun experience," Mimoko smiled. "Now let's all review our games before the next round starts.

As Mimoko began her post-game analysis, Okisato noticed Maida entering the room and asked her how her game went.

"I managed to get a win. I feel that if I'm to supervise this club, I should have respectable prowess in the field. It will also help with the science experiment if I have greater knowledge on the subject I'm researching,” Maida stated.

"That's our science teacher for you. Plus, if you get a high rating, the Desperados won't be able to force you into a DESPER match so easily."

"I see, so there is a larger benefit. Is that why you were insistent on taking as many club members as possible?"

"Yeah, since most of them are unrated, having them participate in a tournament will both give them experience and a rating."

"Seems you're more of a grandmaster than you let on. Speaking of which, when will you be considered a grandmaster?"

"Once I get a rating over 2500 and secure one final norm."

"Norm?"

"Basically a high performance in a tournament. You need to have a certain tournament performance rating in order to get the norm, but if I continue to get paired with opponents rated 2600 and up, I should only need to get 4 out of 5 points and the final norm is mine. Then I just have to hope my rating is over 2500 by the end of the tournament and I get the grandmaster title."

"I see. I wish you the best of luck."

"You too, Maida-sensei."

...

A man with side-slicked black hair clad in formal attire walked into the hotel. He quickly pulled out his pocket watch and clicked his tongue as he saw the time. "Tch! I shouldn’t have taken that bye point. There was plenty of time left for me to win. Seems I'll have to get lucky in the pairings."

"Still carrying that pocket watch? Do you not have a smartphone?" a voice asked.

The man turned to see Gyro approaching him. "You know well that I DO have a phone. This watch is also a hybrid antique."

"Yes, Peter. I'm well aware. Now let me brief you on what's gone down..."

...

As the pairings went up for the second round, Okisato once again scoured the names. "Looks like everyone's avoiding the Desperados, but it's possible we'll play them in later rounds. As for tough opponents, it looks like- Uhp, Numakawa's playing Peter. Even though he ended up taking a bye for the 1st round, he can easily sweep all the remaining games. I actually don't know if Inoue-senpai could soundly beat him. Then again, maybe I shouldn't let all the times he schooled me cloud my judgment."

Entering the playing hall, Okisato found himself paired against a young woman with short blonde hair. This was Montenegrin grandmaster, Mirjana Majić, who with her 2600 rating, looked to be more nourishment for Okisato's quest for a GM norm.

As for Mimoko, she found herself against a bearded man with shoulder-length wavy brown hair. This was 2770-rated grandmaster, Maccabee Ben-Horin.

"A high school girl? You look like you're around my daughter's age."

"You have a daughter?"

"Yes, plays chess too. Probably got it from me."

"That's lovely. By the way, your Japanese is really good."

"My wife was Japanese after all, that's why me and my daughter can't help but visit Japan every so often. And if we're in town, might as well compete in the local chess tournaments."

"So your daughter's competing too?"

"Yes, but she often struggles with nerves, and didn't have a great first round. She's got lots of potential though."

"Then I hope she's able to fully achieve it. Here's to a good game."

As soon as the round began, Maccabee opened the game by moving his pawn to e4, while Mimoko moved her pawn to e5. Next came d4, prompting Mimoko to capture said pawn with her e-pawn.

"Now let's see if you're really all you've been hyped up to be," Maccabee thought as he moved his pawn to f4.

This gave Mimoko pause. "The Israeli Gambit, aka, the Halász-McDonnell Gambit. It looks dubious and puts White at a disadvantage, but only if you know how to properly handle it, which at times is easier said than done. I guess he's testing my mettle with this move. Well, challenge accepted," Mimoko thought as she smiled and moved her knight to c6.

"Oh? She's off to a good start. In that case, let's add some confusion to the mix," Maccabee thought as he moved his queen to e2.

Once again, Mimoko smiled. "Another test. But I'm afraid that I'm going to pass at your expense," Mimoko thought as she moved her bishop to e7.

Now came the time for Maccabee to move his knight to f3, triggering the pawn to d5 response from Mimoko.

"A rookie would never get this next move," Maccabee thought as he moved his pawn to e5.

But despite being unrated, Mimoko was no rookie to the game of chess, and moved her knight to h6 without hesitation. Maccabee still wasn't done poking and prodding though, evidenced by his next move of queen to d2. This time Mimoko paused, initially reaching for her f-pawn, before retracting her hand and castling king's side instead.

"F6 was the best move if I'm not mistaken, so why'd she opt for the castle? Well, guess I'll just keep playing," Maccabee shrugged in his mind as he moved his bishop to d3.

Mimoko moved her bishop to b4 as Maccabee decided to ramp up the difficulty of the test by moving his pawn to c3. Once again, Mimoko answered correctly and captured the pawn at c3 with her d-pawn. This was a multi-step question though as Maccabee captured the pawn at c3 with his b-pawn, but once again, Mimoko responded perfectly and moved her bishop to c5.

"Really giving wait to Hagemi's claim that you're capable of winning the whole tournament, which is exactly why I'm going to keep hitting you with all these attacks. I want to win too, you know," Maccabee thought as he moved his bishop to a3.

But as soon as Mimoko moved her queen to e7, Maccabee knew he would now have to do some serious lifting just to try and grind out a draw. He captured the bishop at c5 with his bishop, with Mimoko naturally capturing said bishop with her queen. Yet he still wanted to try and trip up Mimoko, thus, he moved his king to d1. It didn't work, as Mimoko made the best possible move she could by moving her bishop to g4.

"Guess now I'm playing hope chess. Well, maybe she'll at least blunder into a drawn endgame," Maccabee thought as he moved his pawn to h3.

"Check," Mimoko smiled as she captured the knight at f3 with her bishop.

Maccabee naturally captured said bishop with his g-pawn, but as soon as Mimoko moved her pawn to f6, he stared in bewilderment. "So that's why she castled back then... She really is something special," he thought as he moved his pawn to e6.

Ironically enough, Mimoko's next move pf pawn to d4, was not actually the best possible move, though it was by no means a mistake. Maccabee moved his king to c1, while Mimoko moved her a-rook to d8, preparing to launch a massive attack. Maccabee countered by moving his queen to c2, but Mimoko captured the pawn at c3 with her d-pawn, carving out a potential path to victory.

"Guess I have to get desperate," Maccabee thought as he captured the pawn at h7 with his bishop. "Check."

Mimoko was now forced to move her king to h8, allowing Maccabee to capture the pawn at c3 with his queen.

"Not bad, but while we're even in points, trading isn't the best move here for you," Mimoko thought as she captured the queen at c3 with her queen. "Check".

While Maccabee did capture the queen at c3 with his knight, this was by no means an even trade as over on the other side of the board, Mimoko captured the bishop at h7 with her king. "Never forget about the king. It can attack and defend as well," she thought as Maccabee moved his rook to b1.

Pawn to b6 instantly thwarted Maccabee's plans, sending him back to the drawing board where he decided that knight b5 was his best course of action. Mimoko attempted to kick said knight out by moving her pawn to a6, but Maccabee decided to step on the gas, and captured the pawn at c7 with his knight.

"A bit too aggressive. You just charged into a nasty pin," Mimoko thought as she moved her rook to c8.

Maccabee didn't let up though, deciding to get revenge on the pawn at a6 by capturing it with the very knight it tried to kick away.

"Check," Mimoko stated as she moved her knight to b8.

Maccabee let out a sigh as he moved his king to b2 and watched as Mimoko captured his knight at a6 with her knight. "If she had a rating that reflected her true skill, I'd probably resign at this point, but since she's still an unknown, I'm going to try and press on. Maybe I'll get lucky and finally land on gimmel, or at the very least, he," Maccabee thought as he moved his h-rook to d1.

Mimoko began her final assault, initiated by moving her rook to c6. Maccabee moved his pawn to h4, but the distraction did little to stop Mimoko from capturing the pawn at e6 with her rook. Maccabee moved his rook to d5, hoping the bolder play might trip up Mimoko. Instead it backfired, resulting in a check in the form of rook e2, sending Maccabee's king to a1.

Mimoko moved her knight to c5, inching ever closer to victory, but Maccabee moved his rook to b4, doing all that he could to hang on. Mimoko moved her rook to a8, eliciting a frustrated scowl from Maccabee as he captured the pawn at b6 with his rook. Mimoko moved her knight to a4, and then, Maccabee moved his rook to b4, blundering into mate in 3.

"And that's a wrap," Mimoko thought as she moved her knight to c3.

Maccabee let out a sigh before smiling. "We're so close to mate anyway, might as well finish things through," he thought as he moved his rook to d2.

"Check," Mimoko smiled as she captured the pawn at a2 with her rook.

"And that's why I continued on, so you get a nice satisfying checkmate for your resume. Here's hoping this tournament becomes a great miracle for you," Maccabee thought as he captured the rook at a2 with his rook.

"Checkmate. Good game," Mimoko smiled as she captured the rook at a2 with her rook, winning the game.

Maccabee smiled and shook Mimoko's hand. "Your skills are the real deal. I can see why Hagemi spoke so highly of you. Best of luck in the rest of the tournament."

"The same goes for you. Just try not to play too aggressively without thinking things through."

"And here I thought I was the teacher here," Maccabee laughed as he headed off.

The full game:

White: Maccabee Ben-Horin (2770) Black: Mimoko Inoue (unrated)

1. e4 e5

2. d4 exd4

3. f4 Nc6

4. Qe2 Be7

5. Nf3 d5

6. e5 Nh6

7. Qd2 O-O

8. Bd3 Bb4