Gothic chess gamble

Okisato stared at the sky for a bit, before he was suddenly overcome with a wave a fatigue.

"Tanabe-san!"

Okisato turned to notice Yuzuha running towards him. "What's wrong? Where's Zago-san?"

"'What's wrong'!? You look like you're about to collapse!"

"Well, I have been through a lot."

"Then you should rest first."

"I don't think they allow resting, besides where's Zago-san?"

Yuzuha dodged the question and proceeded to drag Okisato back towards the hotel.

"ANNOUNCEMENT! The chess club team is nearly wiped out! Our queen is attempting a clean sweep and is currently 3-0 going for 4-0. One member also died and another fled the country so only 2 will remain following her victory. And to think they took out all our executives and looked to be winning. That's the power of the queen of the fairies!" Scharlachrot's voice echoed throughout the city.

Yuzuha began to tear up as she realized there was no stopping Okisato from confronting Heather now that he knew everything.

"Tell me everything that happened, and I'll tell you what I've been through," Okisato glared.

...

In the control room, Scharlachrot let out a heavy sigh after turning the mic off. "Heathy, you really are our savior, especially my savior."

...

Okisato and Yuzuha made their way to the prison area to find Heather locked in a game with Zago. All the other members of the chess club that were still in London watched from inside a comedically large cage.

"Well look who showed up. We've been busting our asses here while you ditched," Yuusuke snarled.

Before Okisato could offer a retort, Heather slammed her fist down on the table. "Dammit! I'm the queen of the fairies! How can you be so good at this!?"

"I guess this means I win the bet, Azenira-san. Checkmate," Zago stated as he won the game.

"I would have destroyed you if I could use fairy chess pieces! Wait! Are you even paying attention to me!?"

Zago walked up to the cage and freed everyone inside.

"Nice going. Unlike a certain slacker, you pulled your weight. As club vice-president, I declare yo MVP," Yuusuke declared as he patted Zago on the back.

"So I guess this means we win. Then let us go home," Okisato grumbled.

"Not in the slightest! You still haven't found the Desperado in the city," Scharlacrot smirked as she stepped out of the shadows.

"Wait, she's an exec, right! I call dibs, then we're even!" Azenira declared as she charged towards Scharlachrot.

"Sorry, but you're not welcome in this match," Schalacrot glared as she pulled out a DESPER and aimed it at Okisato and Heather.

Immediately, a chessboard appeared between the two, however, this was no ordinary chessboard. It was a 10x8 board that in addition to the standard chess pieces, featured two fairy chess pieces; the empress and the princess. The princess could move like a knight and bishop, while the empress could move like a knight and rook.

"Capablaca chess!? I thought you said all the games would be normal chess!" Azenira fumed.

"It's not Capablanca chess, it's Gothic chess. If you look closely you'll notice the setup is different from Capablanca chess," Okisato stated as he turned to face Scharlacrot. "So you were with the Desperado league all along."

Scharlachrot began to scowl, and shook her head. "Not everyone with a DESPER's part of the league."

That line told Okisato that things were far more complex than they initially seemed. "And the conditions for the wager?"

"Hmm, you lose, you become our prisoner. Don't worry, you'd get released if the WWCF agrees to our demands, and we wouldn't torture you."

"Fine, and if I win, I along with all members of the Shogikawa gakuin chess club that came with me to London will be warped alongside me back to Kawaguchi, Saitama in Japan."

"Hmm... Well, since everyone's here, guess it's good. Although if you lose, they won't be thrown in prison with ya. Unless of course they lose to Heather-chan."

"But she's out of the game!" Yuusuke protested.

"Then she'll be back in if she wins this game."

"Fear not, for I, queen of the fairies will sweep," Heather declared as she moved her pawn to h7.

"And is your rating of 2520 for just gothic chess?" Okisato asked as he moved his pawn to h8.

"No, that is my overall rating. Seems that's the default used for unrecognized chess variants," Heather shrugged as she moved her knight to j6.

"Oh yeah, if you lose Heather, you gotta have hardcore sex with me," Scharlachrot snickered as Okisato moved his knight to e9.

"S- S- S- SEX!? Y- You can't do that!" Heather protested as she moved her pawn to f7.

"DESPER's active, so my body will move on it's own if ya lose. Better win if ya don't wanna lose your virginity to me," Schalachrot teased as Okisato moved his knight to j9.

Heather shivered in terror before taking a deep breath and focusing on the board. "Then I'll show you why I'm a grandmaster and queen of the fairies," she glared as she moved her princess to h5.

Okisato paused as he did not have a lot of experience with fairy chess pieces. "That one moves like a bishop and knight, and the other like a rook and knight. Guess I'll take one for a spin," he thought as he moved his princess to f8.

"You've fallen into my trap!" Heather proudly declared as she moved her pawn to e7, only for Okisato to simply capture it with his princess.

Yet she wasn't phased and simply moved her queen to e5. "And you've accepted the fairy queen's gambit!" she laughed as Okisato retreated his princess to g9.

She then moved her knight to k8 as Okisato decided to move his empress to h9. "You think you can wield the power of the empress? NAY! An onit-tiger cannot hope to match a fairy queen!" she declared as she moved her princess to j7.

"Then I'll counter," Okisato glared as he captured the pawn on f7 with his knight.

Heather simply retreated her queen to f5, which then led to Okisato making a horrific blunder, and capturing the pawn at h7 with his princess.

"AS I SAID, an oni-tiger can't wield the power of the fairies!" Heather boasted as she pounced on the blunder and captured the princess at h7 wit her queen.

Okisato let out a frustrated sigh and moved his king to i11, as Heather happily sacrificed her princess to capture the empress on h9. "And now you have no fairy pieces left," Heather smirked as Okisato captured the princess at h9 with his g-pawn. "And I get a horse to boot. Away I ride!" she taunted as she captured the knight at f7 with her queen.

Okisato began to show signs of frustration and angst as he moved his knight to i7. Heather meanwhile was in control of the game and delivered a check by moving her queen to f8, prompting Okisato to move his king to h11.

"And you were said to be feared. You're nothing but an agitated little kitty cat!" Heather taunted as she captured the knight on i7 with her knight.

"I'm just not great at gothic chess," Okisato glared as he captured said knight with his h-pawn.

"Nay, gothic chess is still chess. In fact, it's an amazon shy of what chess should be. Check!" Heather declared as she moved her queen to e8.

Rather than banter, Okisato decided to just go quiet and moved his pawn to f9. Heather then retreated her queen to h5, prompting Okisato to move his bishop to g9.

The others meanwhile watched in shock as Okisato got battered.

"I've never seen him play so poorly," Yuzuha thought as Heather moved her queen to g6.

"Heh, serves him right. He deserves his comeuppance," Yuusuke huffed as Okisato moved his queen to g10.

"But if he loses, we'll still be stuck here," Yuzuha trembled as Heather moved her pawn to j6.

"So, we leave him here and win on our own," Yuusuke countered as Okisato moved his queen to g10.

"But he's the strongest player here. And what if the reaper comes back?" Yuzuha countered as Okisato moved his pawn to h8.

"We got Azenira and Zago. One of them beat him, right? Then they just beat him again," Yuusuke huffed as Heather captured the pawn on i7 with her j-pawn.

"And what if they have to play gothic chess against the fairy queen?" Yuzuha asked as Okisato captured the pawn at i7 with his h-pawn.

"They can beat her just fine," Yuusuke smirked as Heather moved her queen to h7 and Okisato moved his king to g11.

Both Azenira and Zago both stared with skepticism at Yuusuke. While they certainly were rising stars, they felt he was putting a bit too much stock in them. Yuzuha meanwhile began to tremble as Heather began to batter Okisato once more.

"Queen g7, king f10!? Ugh, and there's queen captures d10. The board may be bigger, but the strategy's still the same," Azenira sighed.

"And now, a little payback. Check," Okisato glared as he moved his rook to h11.

Heather paid the threat no heed though, and simply slid her king to i4. Okisato opted to move his pawn to i6, but as soon as he did, Heather went on the attack once more and moved her queen to d8. Okisato countered by moving his pawn to e9, but Heather simply moved her queen to d10, forcing Okisato's king to g11. She then decided to trade queens and captured the queen at g10 with her queen, forcing Okisato to capture said queen with his king. But the assault was far from over.

Heather delivered yet another check by moving her bishop to i8, sending Okisato's king back to g11. "Now allow me to show you to power of the empress," she huffed as she moved her empress to e5.

Now Okisato was starting to get nervous. He had no experience in dealing with an empress, but since it could move like a knight and rook, he figured it'd be trouble.

"... I think he's gonna lose," Rodeo nodded as Okisato moved his pawn to i9.

"I think so too, though, it sounds like he's been through a lot," Yuzuha sighed as Heather captured the pawn at e9 with her empress.

"What do you mean?" Rodeo asked as Okisato moved his bishop to f8.

"He played that reaper guy twice in a row, then warped to China and bashed all the SPCMs and the maestro there, before coming back here and playing the reaper again along with another tough Desperado," Yuzuha stated as Heather moved her empress to e11.

"Huh!? Are you saying he's got an excuse to be playing this bad!?" Yuusuke gasped as Okisato moved his king to h10.

"Shousen-senpai, you should know that fatigue is a part of the game. He must be reaching his mental limit with all the opponents he played," Zago glared as Heather captured the pawn at f9 with her empress.

"I know fatigue's a thing, but he's an asshole. He deserves a batsu or two," Yuusuke huffed as Okisato moved his king to i11.

"After all he's been through? I don't think so," Zago glared as Heather captured the bishop on f8 with her empress.

"Not to mention, he's had to play a lot of chess variants, some he's not to familiar with," Yuzuha added as Okisato moved his rook to h5.

Yuusuke didn't seem to care though. "That guy looks down on me cuz he thinks he's high and mighty. Well he's crashing down to earth," he scoffed as Heather moved her empress to g10, sending Okisato's king to h11.

"Empress e11, check, king i11, empress captured c10, check, king i11, empress e11, check, king i10, nope, knight f5. Looks like she won't threefold repetition," Azenira thought.

Okisato then moved his pawn to j9, prompting Heather to move her bishop to g6. Okisato simply slid his rook to h10, but Heather wouldn't let up and moved her rook to h4. Not wanting to lose the rook, Okisato moved it to d10 as Heather once again unleashed an assault on his king.

First, she moved her bishop to f7, forcing Okisato's king to j10. Then she captured the bishop on j11 with her bishop, promting Okisato to capture it with his rook. However, Heather countered the attack on her empress by moving her rook to h11. Okisato thought for a moment before making a head scratching move and capturing the pawn at d5 with his rook.

"A king and a rook. Oh, and some pawns too I guess. The queen of the fairies shall triumph soon!" Heather boasted as she captured the rook at j11 with her rook, prompting Okisato to move his king to k9.

It was then, that the decisive move of the game came. Unable to put Okisato in check, Heather opted to move her knight to h6, freeing it from the attack by the rook. It was in that moment that for the first time in the game, a sadistic smile appeared on Okisato's face.

"Oi, why's he smilin' like that? He- ...!" Yuusuke went quiet as he realized the massive blunder Heather had just made.

Scharlachrot noticed everyone beginning to go pale with shock and stared at the board before going pale herself.

"I'm so glad you're human," Okisato snickered as he slammed his rook down on d4.

"Hmm? What do you mean by that? Well anyway, that's a feeble attempt at- ...!"

Color began to fade from Heather's face as she realized her king's escape was cut off by the pawn at i6. There was only one legal move she could make, and then it was mate. Tears began to pour out of her eyes as her hand began to tremble while she moved her knight to g4.

"No, I didn't see the pawn! I was winning! I don't want to become bald!"

"That's why I said I'm glad you're human. Humans make mistakes and you just made one big one. Checkmate," Okisato snickered as he captured the knight at g4 with his rook, winning the game.

The full game:

White: Heather Fairy (2520) Black: Okisato Tanabe (2630)

1. h7 h8

2. Nj6 Ne9

3. f7 Nj9

4. Hh5 Hf8

5. e7 Hxe7

6. Qe5 Hg9

7. Nk8 Eh9

8. Hj7 Nxf7

9. Qf5 Hxh7

10. Qxh7 Ki11

11. Hxh9+ gxh9

12. Qxf7 Ni7

13. Qf8+ Kh11

14. Nxi7 hxi7

15. Qe8+ f9

16. Qh5 Bg9

17. Qg6 Qg10

18. j6 h8

19. jxi7 hxi7

20. Qh7+ Kg11

21. Qg7 Kf10

22. Qxd10 Rh11+

23. Ki4 i6

24. Qd8+ e9

25. Qd10+ Kg11

26. Qxg10+ Kxg10

27. Bi8+ Kg11

28. Ee5 i9

29. Exe9 Bf8

30. Ee11+ Kh10

31. Exf9+ Ki11

32. Exf8 Rh5

33. Eg10+ Kh11

34. Ee11+ Ki10

35. Exc10+ Ki11

36. Ee11+ Ki10

37. Nf5 j9

38. Bg6 Rh10

39. Rh4 Rd10

40. Bf7+ Kj10

41. Bxj11 Rxj11

42. Rh11 Rxd5

43. Rxj11+ Kk9

44. Nh6 Rd4+

45. Ng4 Rxg4#