The Phoenix gambit

Carol somberly straggled into the playing hall 10 minutes late. She had still arrived in time to avoid an automatic forfeit, but was still a bit shaken from her bout with Theresa, that she wasn't able to play at her best, eventually eking out a draw. Daria also won her game with ease, but perhaps the most fireworks occurred during Utami's game, mainly due to who she was playing.

Utami scowled as she found herself seated across from a young woman with purple hair clad in a blue yukata. It was Bibi Biwaki, an opponent she had reduced to tears following a clash at the Triple Cedar blitz tournament back in August. The two had somehow managed not to encounter each other again, until today.

"Things will not go the same as last time you foul psychopath. Today I have black, and you have white," Bibi glared.

"I apologize. I was not in the right headspace at time. Regardless, I will beat you again."

Bibi scowled, but before she could lob in another quip, the round began. Utami opened by moving her pawn to a3, leading Bibi to cautiously respond by moving her pawn to e6.

The position reminded Utami of something Okisato told her.

...

"And this is?"

"Hmm, not sure what to call this one. Maybe a place that starts with "A". Andora? Alaska? Hmm, maybe Arizona since it's a knight and a pawn, kind of like a cowboy with a holster. Yeah, and if things play out like this..."

...

Utami sighed and moved her knight to f3. "So this is to be dubbed the Arizona opening," she thought as Bibi responded by moving her knight to f6.

She then continued by moving her pawn to d4, but after Bibi moved her pawn to d5, she let out a sigh as this was the exact position Okisato had shown her.

"Then I guess I'll attempt, the Phoenix gambit," she thought as she moved her pawn to c4.

Bibi instantly captured said pawn with her d-pawn, however Utami instantly responded by moving her pawn to e3. Bibi then impulsively brought her queen out to d5, and at that moment, she had jeopardized her chances of winning. Utami naturally brought her knight out to c3, sending Bibi's queen to c6. The queen wasn't done running though as it was sent to d6 after Utami moved her knight to e5.

Now Utami was free to push her pawn to e4, but then Bibi moved her pawn to b5, too little too late to do anything, and now just a hanging pawn, which was promptly swooped up by Utami's knight.

Bibi gritted her teeth and moved her queen to b6, allowing Utami to swoop up the pawn at c4 with her knight, leading to Bibi blundering and capture the seemingly defenseless knight at b5 with her queen.

A malicious smirk appeared on Utami's face as she realized Bibi had fallen right into a nasty trap. "I'll have to thank Tanabe... No, I think I'll just slap him again as that's what Mimoko-sama would want," she thought as she moved her knight to d6. "Check!"

Bibi scowled and quickly captured said knight with her c-pawn, but immediately went pale as Utami instantly captured her queen at b5 with her bishop, putting her in check once more. She dejectedly slid her bishop to d7, but that didn't stop Utami from moving her queen out to c2. Down a queen, Bibi couldn't think of anything better to do but move her pawn to h5, and that quickly led to Utami sending her queen to c8, leading to the forced move of king e7.

Now after Utami moved her queen to b7, she was guaranteed to snatch a rook. Bibi vainly moved her pawn to a6, and while it did delay the capture of her rook, it allowed Utami to trade off the bishops by capturing the bishop at d7 with her bishop, forcing Bibi to capture said bishop with her b-knight if she didn't want a worse time.

Now Utami could capture the rook at a8 with her queen, and all Bibi could do was move her pawn to h4. Utami slid her bishop to e3, and Bibi, still dejected, but refusing to resign, moved her pawn to h3. Utami swiftly captured said pawn with her g-pawn, as Bibi decided to capture said pawn with her rook.

The game was completely lost for Bibi at this point, yet she refused to resign, largely due to pride. Utami also sensed this and moved her rook to c1, as Bibi dejectedly moved her pawn to d5. Now it was simply a matter of tightening the screws as Utami moved her pawn to e5, sending the knight to g4. She followed up by moving her rook to c7, and at that point, Bibi snapped and captured the pawn at e3 with her knight, ensuring her defeat.

"And that's it. Now how much more will she flail?" Utami thought as she moved her queen to c6.

Tears began welling up in Bibi's eyes. She was going to lose again, but refused to accept it, not to a maniac like Utami.

"CHECK!" she shouted as she slammed her knight down on g2.

Utami simply slid her king over to f1, prompting Bibi to deliver another check by moving her knight to e3. But after Utami moved her king to e2, there were no more checks, nor anything Bibi could do to stop the mate, leading to her letting out an enraged scream as she slammed her pawn down on g5.

"And that's checkmate," Utami declared as she captured the knight at d7 with her queen, winning the game.

The full game:

White: Utami Enoki (1630) Black: Bibi Biwaki (1430)

1. a3 e6

2. Nf3 Nf6

3. d4 d5

4. c4 dxc4

5. e3 Qd5

6. Nc3 Qc6

7. Ne5 Qd6

8. e4 b5

9. Nxb5 Qb6

10. Nxc4 Qxb5

11. Nd6+ cxd6

12. Bxb5+ Bd7

13. Qc2 h5

14. Qc8+ Ke7

15. Qb7 a6

16. Bxd7 Nbxd7

17. Qxa8 h4

18. Be3 h3

19. gxh3 Rxh3

20. Rc1 d5

21. e5 Ng4

22. Rc7 Nxe3

23. Qc6 Ng2+

24. Kf1 Ne3+

25. Ke2 g5

26. Qxd7#