Chapter 38:

Lagoon pathways' Himitsudono

En Passant Grandmaster

Everyone stared in awe as they entered the secret puzzle cafe.

"YO! There's a secret lair in here!? Wait! My phone's not working! Why!?" Iori cried as she noticed her phone was unable to record any video.

"We wouldn't be secret if our location was broadcast online, therefore we have protective measures in place, though if you want to record and/or take photos within the cafe, we do allow you to exchange points for the ability to do just that," Himitsudono bowed before turning to Mimoko and smiling. "Welcome, Grandmaster Inoue. Now, shall you attempt the daily puzzle?"

"Bring it on!" Mimoko smiled.

"Excellent, then you may step into the private pods with Grandmaster Tanabe while I explain things to the newcomers."

"There was a puzzle cafe here the whole time? Okaa never told me," Yuusuke sighed.

"Ah, young Shousen. It seems you've been to a puzzle cafe before. So shall you attempt the daily puzzle?"

Yuusuke nodded as he followed Okisato and Mimoko to the back.

"Now allow me to explain the secret puzzle cafe. The first rule is that you must be a WWCF member in order to enter. Non-members are not permitted under any circumstance. Second, you must have a proper WWCF rating in order to attempt the challenges and earn points. It can be in any of the three time control formats, standard, blitz, or rapid as all those contribute to your overall rating. You all just got proper ratings today, so all of you are good. As for the puzzles, the daily puzzle will be offered here, daily. In them, you will be presented with 10 different chess puzzles. Correctly solving one will get you a point, but solving all 10 will net you a bonus 100 points. Of course, that only applies to the beginner level. The points naturally increase at higher difficulties, though the 100 point bonus remains the same across all levels. As for the points you can exchange them for various things, exclusive gear, information, even the right to upload footage of you within the cafe."

"I'm honestly more curious about the mechanism used to form the bridge across the water. Rather than being simple plexiglas, Tanabe-kun mentioned it could retract as well," Maida nodded.

"Ah, the specifications about the lagoon pathway can indeed be exchanged for points. The option will appear on your point exchange menu momentarily.”

Maida’s WWCF card then appeared and activated a tab titled “Point exchange”. In the tab, a list of basic rewards alongside the specifications for the bridge were displayed.

“Quite the hefty sum of points. And can we only exchange points here?” Maida asked.

“Fear not, for you can exchange points on basic rewards and access that tab from whenever. Though some transactions will only be possible if performed in a secret puzzle cafe. Now shall we begin?"

Everyone sat down in some nearby pods and gazed at the tablets in front of them.

"You may skip around as you please, but there is a time limit, and should you fail a puzzle, you won't be able to get a do-over, even if there's time left. You will also get bonus points for how much time you have left. There are various levels of difficulty with higher difficulty puzzles yielding more points. Now, once you select your level of difficulty, you may begin."

As everyone began attempting the puzzles, Himitsudono received a notification that Mimoko had finished. "Well, she certainly is special. Only the top grandmasters were able to get perfect scores on their first day, not to mention they were on the highest difficulty to boot" he smiled as Mimoko emerged.

"Hmm? Oh, everyone seems to be attempting the puzzles. I guess I'll have something to drink then," Mimoko smiled as she sat down at the bar.

"Naturally, some beverages are off-limits to minors and regardless of your age, you will be asked to present a valid ID to prove your age should you request such a beverage. WWCF cards do count as ID though, so no need to worry on that front."

"But what if someone lies about their age?"

"Oh, the WWCF registration is actually quite thorough. Why, there are some countries that even want it to be used as the main form of identification."

Mimoko nodded and opened her WWCF card. While she intended to go straight to the points exchange tab, she was distracted by the fact that she now had badges and quickly shifted her focus to learning more about each one.

As she did that, Okisato emerged from the back."Ugh, finally got a perfect," he groaned as he staggered over to the bar..

"Impressive, now you finally have the perfect puzzle badge at max difficulty, Grandmaster Tanabe,” Himitsudono applauded

"And enough points to get the app."

Mimoko gave Okisato an odd glance. "'The app'?"

"Yeah, it's an app that will let you attempt the daily puzzles from wherever. That way, I'll be able to get enough points to challenge one of the SPCMs."

"You can- HUH!?"

"Haha, one of my favorite things about the secret puzzle cafes is that you learn more secrets by word of mouth," Himitsdono smiled.

"So could I actually challenge you to a chess match?"

"Yes, but it will cost a few points. That and SPCMs can only be challenged if you are present within a secret puzzle cafe. As such, you can only exchange the points to request a match within a secret puzzle cafe."

A new option to the rewards menu suddenly appeared before Mimoko. "’Challenge SPCM Himitsudono’, 100 points!?"

"And that is per attempt, though smart folks like you tend to rack up points quickly, speaking of which since you solved all puzzles perfectly on the highest setting and with plenty of time to spare, you now have 1,150 points. Would you like to spend some now?”

“Hmm, I think I will. I challenge you, Himitsudono.”

Himitsudono smirked as the points were exchanged and a chessboard emerged from the bar counter. “It shall be my pleasure,” he bowed as his WWCF card appeared. Unlike normal WWCF cards, his was red to denote his status as an SPCM. His name was listed as Himitsudono, oddly enough while his rating was a mere…

“100?”

“Yes, I am regarded as a “first boss” so to speak. As such, there are no extra conditions, meaning you may choose which color to play as, and there is no time limit.”

“I choose White then.”

“The first move is yours.”

Mimoko nodded and opened by moving her pawn to e4 while Himitsudono mirrored her and moved his pawn to e5. She then moved her knight to f3 as Himitsudono countered by moving his knight to c6.

“You’re playing really solidly,” Mimoko smiled as she moved her bishop to b5.

“Perhaps it is due to experience, but alas, my level is still quite low,” Himitsudono chuckled as he moved his pawn to a6.

“But you look like you’re enjoying yourself,” Mimoko smiled as she captured the knight at c6 with her bishop.

“Perhaps I am,” Himitsudono smiled back as he captured the bishop at c6 with his d-pawn.

Mimoko then opted to castle king’s side while Himitsudono moved his pawn to f6. As soon as she moved her pawn to d4, Himitsudono captured it with his e-pawn as a happy smirk formed on his face. Mimoko began to giggle and captured said pawn with her knight, however, Himitsudono threatened it by moving his pawn to c5.

Willing to trade queens, Mimoko happily moved her knight to e2 as Himitsudono promptly captured her queen at d1 with his queen. She then captured Himitsudono’s queen with her rook as Himitsudono moved his bishop to d7.

“You certainly look like you’re enjoying yourself,” Himitsudono smiled as Mimoko moved her bishop to e3.

Mimoko smiled and stated the amount of fun and joy she was feeling was what she believed made chess fun.

“So that is why you play chess?” Himitsudono asked as he moved his bishop to d6.

“Yes, and the reason I wanted to form the chess club was so others could experience the joy I feel,” Mimoko replied as she moved her b-knight to c3.

Himitsudono nodded happily and moved his pawn to a5. Mimoko countered by moving her pawn to a4, however, Himitsudono made a mistake by capturing said pawn with his bishop.

“You see, I am still very much a “first boss”,” Himitsudono chuckled as Mimoko captured the bishop at a4 with her knight.

“You were playing really well though,” Mimoko smiled as Himitsudono moved his pawn to h5.

“Don’t fret. I’m actually quite satisfied with my skill set. In fact I find it preferable to keep it this way,” Himitsudono chuckled as Mimoko captured the pawn at c5 with her bishop. “Though, I am capable of beating challengers. Check,” he nodded as he captured the pawn at h2 with his bishop.

Seeing no danger, Mimoko promptly captured said bishop with her king, eliciting a chuckle from Himitsudono as he moved his pawn to g5. Mimoko quickly moved her a-knight to the safety of c3 as Himitsudono advanced his pawn to b6, threatening the bishop.

Undeterred, Mimoko moved her knight to d5, but instead of capturing the bishop, Himitsudono opted to advance his pawn to f5, giving Mimoko the chance to capture the pawn at c7 with her knight, forcing Himitsudono’s king to f7. The rook at a8 was clearly toast, but instead of capturing it, Mimoko made a smarter move and advanced her rook to d7.

“Splendid, Grandmaster Inoue,” Himitsudono applauded as he moved his knight to e7.

His defense was short lived as thanks to her bishop, Mimoko was able to capture the knight at e7 with her rook without any repercussions. Himitsudono didn’t seem saddened in the slightest, in fact a warm smile had found his way to his lips, even though his chances of winning were pretty much gone.

As Himitsudono moved his king to g8, Mimoko decided it was time to capture the rook at a8 with her knight, but Himitsudono countered by capturing her pawn at e4 with his f-pawn. Yet the glint in Mimoko’s eyes seemed to suggest Himitsudono’s “counter” had in fact been a blunder.

“That is the look of someone who sees mate,” Himitsudono chuckled as Mimoko moved her rook to d1.

“I had lots of fun. How about you?” Mimoko asked as Himitsudono captured the bishop at c5 with his b-pawn.

“Indeed, this was fun,” Himitsudono smiled as Mimoko moved her rook to d8, winning the game.

"Checkmate. I'm glad it was. I hope we can play again someday."

The full game:

White: Mimoko Inoue (2700) Black: SPCM Himitsudono (100)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bb5 a6

4. Bxc6 dxc6

5. O-O f6

6. d4 exd4