Taira vs Mimoko

Mizuse fumed in frustration as Okisato reaped the rewards for his victory over her.

"Wow, so I get a 100,000 yen profit, your badge, and the right to rematch you for a single yen? talk about a bargain," Okisato snickered.

"You fiend! Taira! I believe the others still have yet to pay the-"

"Then I'll just spot the others the "entrance fee" and now we can leave."

"You can't just-"

"It's my prize money. Or are you saying winners can't even use their prize money the way they want. That would be a pretty bad luck for an upstart gambling house."

Mizuse went silent before gritting her teeth and turning towards Taira. "You may permit them to leave, though from here on out, collect entrance fees upfront."

Taira nodded and Mizuse stormed away to the back room. Yuusuke attempted to do the daily puzzles, but after finding out that there was another fee to attempt them, decided to leave.

The secret puzzle cafe app, however, was unaffected, though Okisato decided not to raise that point just yet. Rather, there was something else he was curious about.

"Since you're now directly managing a secret puzzle cafe on your own, are we now allowed to challenge you without first beating the other SPCMs?" he asked as Taira as his normal persona returned.

Taira scowled before affirming it was possible for a fee of 200,000 yen.

"Good, then-"

"I'll play her," Mimoko glared as she approached Taira.

After paying the fee, Taira's WWCF card flashed before Mimoko as a chessboard rose from the counter.

"2631, and you're a grandmaster as well. I look forward to this match," Mimoko nodded as she sat down.

"Y- You play black and time control is an hour and 5 minutes, no delays," Taira stated.

She then opened the game by moving her pawn to c4, while Mimoko moved her pawn to c5.

"E- English opening: Symmetrical variation? N- Not the best play," Taira stuttered as she moved her knight to c3.

"I thought you were supposed to be the strongest SPCM. You should know there are merits to the opening," Mimoko stated as she moved her knight to f6.

Taira descended into deranged cackling and moved her pawn to g3.

"She reminds me of how I was when I was corrupted. I pray Mimoko-sama purifies her," Utami thought as Mimoko moved her pawn to d5.

The two then opted to trade pawns with Taira capturing the pawn at d5 with her c-pawn, and Mimoko capturing said pawn with her knight. A knight trade was also put on the menu as Taira moved her bishop to g2, prompting Mimoko to capture the knight at c3 with her knight and Taira to capture said knight with her b-pawn on her next turn.

Mimoko then moved her knight to c6, followed by Taira moving her pawn to d3. On her next turn, Mimioko moved her pawn to g6 while Taira opted to move her bishop to d2.

"Well this sure is quiet. The last game had loads of banter, but this one's like a lame-o library," Iori growled as Mimoko moved her queen to c7.

"You do realize that is kind of the point of chess, right?" Yuusuke glared as Taira moved her knight to f3.

"But the banter makes the game more intense!" Iori pouted as Mimoko moved her bishop to g7.

After both players opted to castle on the king's side, Mimoko moved her rook to b1 while Taira moved her own rook to d8.

As soon as Taira moved her queen to b3 though, Okisato began to scowl. "Guess Himitsuue is the real deal when it comes to skill. Though I honestly don't get why she opted to get such a drastic makeover. Especially considering most of the tattoos on her head look to have caused her physical trauma," he thought as Mimoko moved her pawn to b6.

Taira countered Mimoko's play by moving her bishop to f4, but Mimoko negated the threat to her queen, simply by moving her pawn to e5. Taira however, wanted blood and captured the pawn at e5 with her knight, unleashing a chain reaction as Mimoko captured said knight with her bishop, Taira captured the knight at c6 with her bishop, Mimoko captured said bishop with her queen, and Taira capturing the bishop at e5 with her bishop.

However, things were still in Mimoko's favor as she slid her bishop to h3, forcing Taira to move her pawn to f3 to avoid mate. Mimoko then moved her rook to e8, prompting Taira to defend her bishop by moving her pawn to d4.

Mimoko decided the time was right, and captured the rook at f1 with her bishop, prompting Taira to capture said bishop with her king. She then moved her queen to e6, but instead of capturing it, Taira moved her pawn to e4. Mimoko also opted not to capture the queen and moved her a-rook to c8.

On the next turn, the queens were traded, with Taira capturing Mimoko's queen at e6 with her queen, and Mimoko capturing Taira's queen with her rook.

Things began to heat up with Taira moving her pawn to g4, and Mimoko moving her pawn to f6. After Taira moved her bishop to g3, Mimoko captured the pawn at d4 with her c-pawn, while Taira captured said pawn with her c-pawn on her next turn.

With the c-file open, Mimoko moved her e-rook to c6, prompting Taira to move her rook to d1. Mimoko was willing to trade rooks though and slid her rook to c1. Taira, however, was still reluctant and moved her king to e1, prompting Mimoko to initiate the rook trade by cpturing the rook at d1 with her rook, and Taira capturing said rook with her king on her next turn.

"Finally some action!" Iori cheered as Mimoko moved her rook to c3.

Seeing what Mimoko was planning, Taira moved her king to e2, while Mimoko moved her king to f7.

"You've sure been quiet. You scared?" Taira cackled as she moved her pawn to a4.

"And you've been doing nothing but cackling like a hyena this whole game," Mimoko snarled as she moved her rook to a3.

Taira then decided to make an empty threat by moving her bishop to d6, causing Mimoko to roll her eyes and capture the pawn at a4.

"You were playing well, but now you're starting to slip," Mimoko sighed as Taira moved her pawn to d5.

"Heh heh, I'm a piece of shit!" Taira cackled as Mimoko moved her pawn to b5.

A confused glare overtook Mimoko's face as Taira moved her king to d3. "Are you a masochist?" she asked as she advanced her pawn to b4.

"Nah, I'm shit!" Taira cackled as she slammed her king down on c4.

"Were you always like this? Back when I first saw you, you looked timid and scared," Mimoko sighed as she moved her pawn to a5.

"ALWAYS BEEN SHIT! ALWAYS WILL BE! THAT'S WHY I GOT SUCH A HIDEOUS INKJOB TO SHOW HOW SHIT MY EXISTENCE IS!" Taira cackled as she moved her bishop to c5.

Mimoko let out a sigh and decided talking was pointless as she moved her rook to a3. Taira moved her pawn to f4, but was caught off guard as Mimoko put her in check by moving her rook to c3. As Taira moved her king to b5, Mimoko promptly captured the bishop at c5, but instead of capturing it, Taira instead opted to move her king to a4.

Now Mimoko could see the end in sight as she moved her rook to c3 while Taira advanced her pawn to d6.

"Mate in 10," Mimoko thought as she moved her rook to a3, forcing Taira to move her king to b5.

Mimoko promptly advanced her pawn to b3, while Taira inched her pawn to d7. Mimoko countered by moving her king to f7, as Taira glared and moved her pawn to g5.

As soon as Mimoko advanced her pawn to b2, however, Taira captured the pawn at f6 with her g-pawn.

"C- C- CHECK! How you like that!?" Taira cackled as Mimoko rolled her eyes and captured the pawn at d7 with her king.

"Mate is imminent," Mimoko thought as Taira moved her king to a6.

She then moved her pawn to b1 and promoted it to a queen, sealing Taira's fate. With little choice, Taira moved her pawn to h4 as Mimoko moved her king to c6.

"N- N- No. I- I- I lost!?" Taira trembled as she moved her pawn to f7.

"Yes, though you played well. Think more highly of yourself as punishment for this loss. Checkmate," Mimoko nodded as she moved her queen to b7, winning the game.

The full game:

White: SPCM Himitsuue (Taira Kuroshiro) (2631) Black: Mimoko Inoue (2714)

1. c4 c5

2. Nc3 Nf6

3. g3 d5

4. cxd5 Nxd5

5. Bg2 Nxc3

6. bxc3 Nc6

7. d3 g6

8. Bd2 Qc7

9. Nf3 Bg7

10. O-O O-O

11. Rb1 Rd8

12. Qb3 b6

13. Bf4 e5

14. Nxe5 Bxe5

15. Bxc6 Qxc6

16. Bxe5 Bh3

17. f3 Re8

18. d4 Bxf1

19. Kxf1 Qe6

20. e4 Rac8

21. Qxe6 Rxe6

22. g4 f6

23. Bg3 cxd4

24. cxd4 Rec6

25. Rd1 Rc1

26. Ke1 Rxd1+

27. Kxd1 Rc3

28. Ke2 Kf7

29. a4 Ra3

30. Bd6 Rxa4

31. d5 b5

32. Kd3 b4

33. Kc4 a5

34. Bc5 Ra3

35. f4 Rc3+

36. Kb5 Rxc5+

37. Ka4 Rc3

38. d6 Ra3+

39. Kb5 b3

40. d7 Ke7

41. g5 b2

42. gxf6+ Kxd7

43. Ka6 b1=Q

44. h4 Kc6

45. f7 Qb7#