Chapter 184:

An executive circuit breaker

En Passant Grandmaster

As Benihime dejectedly moved aside, a man with a large nose, goatee and mustache swapped in. He was known a Sir Kit Ziegler, and didn't appear to be a WWCF member, or at least one that anyone could look up that is.

As soon as Peter gazed at his WWCF card though, he shot him a glare. "So you're one of those executive board members I've heard about."

Raymond let out a sigh as a sinister smirk began to form on Ziegler's face. "Well, secret's out I guess," he shrugged as he displayed his WWCF card.

Everyone but those who were aware of the executive board gasped in shock as they stared at Ziegler's rating of 2900.

"T- That's higher than Madman Důras'," Utami trembled.

"Only by 5 points. The difference is nothing, in fact I dare say his rating's drastically inflated," Peter glared.

"Oh Peter, I know you're a genius, but I'm on the WWCF's executive board. You know what that means, right?" Ziegler sneered as he opened by moving his pawn to e4.

"You have a chip in your brain that feeds you information. In other words, you're a cheater," Peter glared as he moved his pawn to e6.

"It's not cheating, it's evolution!" Ziegler snarled as he moved his pawn to d4.

"'Evolution'? You're just letting a computer do all the thinking while you simply move the pieces," Peter glared as he moved his pawn to d5.

"Yet my rating is higher than yours, thus I am smarter and better than you at chess," Ziegler scoffed as he moved his knight to c3.

"No you aren't. Your rating along with those of a majority of the executive board are just sham ratings," Peter snarled as he moved his knight to f5.

"Sh- 'SHAM RATINGS'!? The nerve of you!" Ziegler fumed as he slammed his pawn on e5.

"But it's true. Those 2900 ratings you and the board have are all thanks to the chips you had implanted in your brains. Though there are a few exceptions with true skill," Peter glared as he moved his f-knight to d7.

"AI can be given elo ratings, not to mention we executive board members refrain from tournament play. Need I also mention the existence of the maestros who truly are the most talented, so cease with your bemoaning," Ziegler scoffed as he moved his knight to f3.

"The maestros truly are skilled; I respect all but one of the 5 I've faced so far," Peter stated as he moved his pawn to c5.

"And that is why. There is a hierarchy you see. Because the maestros and top players are so skilled, we the executive board must have some skill in order to assert our authority," Ziegler stated as he captured the pawn at c5 with his d-pawn.

"More like you just want power and prestige," Peter scoffed as he captured said pawn with his bishop.

"And how else is a normal man like me going to compete against you, Mr. 3rd in the world?" Ziegler sneered as he moved his bishop to g5.

Peter simply shook his head and moved his queen to c7. Ziegler attempted to go on the offensive by moving his knight to b5, but Peter simply slid his queen to b6. Then Ziegler made a questionable move and moved his f-knight to d4, allowing Peter to capture the pawn at e5 with his knight. He then made an even dumber move and captured the pawn at e6.

"Seems like your chip has malfunctioned, Mr. "2900", check," Peter snickered as he captured the pawn at f2 with his bishop, forcing Ziegler's king to d2.

Peter then captured the knight on e6 with his bishop as Ziegler moved his pawn to c4.

"And is hanging pawns some 2900-level strategy I'm unaware of?" Peter snickered as he promptly captured said pawn with his d-pawn.

"It is, you think I haven't found your weakness?" Ziegler scoffed as he moved his rook to c1.

"And that is?" Peter asked as he captured the knight at b5 with his queen.

"THIS!" Ziegler declared as he captured the pawn at c4 with his bishop.

"Seems your chip truly has busted. No 2900-rated player or AI would make the stupid plays you made, though I guess I should thank you. There's an itch I've been wanting to scratch for a while, and you just made that possible," Peter maniacally grinned as he captured the bishop at c4, prompting Ziegler to capture said knight with his rook.

Rather than capture the rook, Peter opted to instead capture the bishop at g5 with his queen, beginning the long cycle of check as Ziegler was forced to move his king to c3. He followed up by moving his queen to e5, sending Ziegler's king back to d2. He then moved his queen to e3, forcing Ziegler's king to c2.

"What's wrong? You've been awfully quiet," Peter snickered as he moved his bishop to f5.

"Chess IS a quiet sport, oh and check," Ziegler snarled as he moved his rook to e4.

"Seems you realized mate's inevitable," Peter nodded as he captured said rook with his bishop, forcing Ziegler's queen to d3.

However, said queen was quickly captured by Peter's queen, forcing Ziegler's king to c1. Yet instead of delivering the checkmate, Peter instead moved his knight to a6.

"Why would you botch the mate?" Ziegler asked as he moved his pawn to a4.

"Because I want to mate you in humiliating fashion," Peter snickered as he moved his queen to c4.

"Huh? How would mate humiliate me? You didn't make any odd openings or attempt any mad gambits," Ziegler scoffed as he moved his king to d1.

"That doesn't mean you can't attempt to mate your opponent in humiliating fashion. Checkmate," Peter snickered as he castled on the queen's side, winning the game.

Ziegler's eyes widened as he stared at the board. "A- A castling checkmate!?"

"Yes, they are quite rare. In fact, this is only my 10th one and my 3rd on the queen's side," Peter snickered as a new badge appeared on his WWCF card.

"You monster. You've gotten 10 castling checkmates!? A- And 5 en passant mates as well!?"

"Yes, though they tend to be against lower leveled opponents. Oh, I wonder what that makes you."

Ziegler slammed his fist down in frustration before storming off.

The full game:

White: Clifford Ziegler (2900) Black: Peter Morphy (2895)

1. e4 e6

2. d4 d5

3. Nc3 Nf6

4. e5 Nfd7

5. Nf3 c5

6. dxc5 Bxc5

7. Bg5 Qc7