Happy Halloween Gambit

In China, Xiao Lin scowled as she limped up the mountain.

"Why ya scowlin, Xiao Lin? You're moving around pretty well considering what happened to ya," Xiu snickered.

"Enough out of you. I'm pissed."

"Why? You're the one that agreed to sell your soul to the Desperados, but hey, the WWCF's merciful and decided to find a way to seal your DESPER to keep me from becoming maestro."

Xiao Lin stopped and clutched her cane angrily. "I was overjoyed that you all were willing to still stick by me, even if you refused to become Desperados as well. But Xiu, do you know WHY I actually agreed to that plan?"

Xiu wagered it was simply because Xiao Lin hated Daria so much, but that was shot down.

"It's true, I hate her, and likely harbor as much envy towards her as Michiko did, but I'm no fool. If some bum on the street claimed that if I joined him, we could take down Himitsu, you think I'd team up with him?"

"Yup!"

Whack!

Xiu rolled around on the ground crying as she clutched her head in pain.

"I know you said that just to be a smart ass. Keep that up and I'll hate you as much as Himitsu. But to reveal the solution to my question, the reason I agreed to give Michiko the time of day was both due to who she sent as a proxy, and Ai Kamuro's chess prowess..."

...

As soon as Xiao Lin's match against Peter concluded, she found herself staring face to face with Ai Kamuro and a mysterious hooded woman.

"Why hello Xiao Lin. It is I, Maestro Himitsu of Japan. Care for a quick game of just chess?"

By her voice alone, Xiao Lin was able to tell Ai was not the real Maestro Himitsu. "So what is the nature of this visit?" she glared as the hooded woman stepped forth.

She then pulled down her hood to reveal long blonde hair and a pretty face.

"Oh? I don't think I've seen you before."

"But we have, just not like this. See, the girl before you is my proxy and the maestro-"

"That's not Maestro Himitsu. Are you trying to mess with me?"

"Oh, no, no, no. In fact, we would like to request you aid in taking out Maestro Himitsu for good."

A malicious grin appeared on Xiao Lin's face, however she kept her hopes in check. "You know my number, but I don't know yours. I'm not just going to jump in with some unknowns that aren't even with the WWCF. And you know what that means, right? This entire area is my secret puzzle cafe, thus trespassers get kicked off the mountain."

"Oh, but Ai not being a member is actually the key to our plan working."

"What do you mean?"

The woman briefly bit her lip before smiling and stating that Ai was maestro-level, causing Xiao Lin to burst into laughter. It was natural to doubt that claim, however, the woman decided to persuade Xiao Lin a bit by revealing her secret.

"If someone like me says Ai is strong, will you at least grant her a test in the form of a simple chess match?" the woman asked as she displayed her WWCF card.

Xiao Lin's eyes widened as she stared at the card. Not only was the card purple, but the rating listed was 2944.

"You're from the executive board!?"

"Yes, and a Desperado too," the woman smirked as she flashed a DESPER.

Xiao Lin paused, before agreeing to play Ai in a match to test her mettle. But before that, Ai suddenly threw off her wig, revealing a seemingly bald and browless head beneath.

"And the point of thar was?"

"TO BE BALD AND FREE!" Ai cackled as she opened by slamming her pawn down on e4.

Xiao Lin let out a disappointed sigh and moved her pawn to e5. The game quickly became a Four Knights Game after knight f3, knight c6, knight c3, and knight f6.

"Now what will you do now?" Xiao Lin glared.

Ai giddily tapped her head and let loose a deranged smile. "I UNLEASH COMPLE HORROR ON YOU, THAT'S WHAT!" she laughed as she captured the pawn at e5 with her knight.

"The Halloween gambit? I'm a maestro, and this is how you seek to woo me? Rubbish," Xiao Lin scoffed as she captured said knight with her knight.

Next came the expected pawn to d4, however, Xiao Lin moved her knight to c6, allowing Ai to push her pawn to d5. Xiao Lin defiantly moved her knight back to e5, but was forced to move it to g6 after Ai pushed her pawn to f4. But her frustrations weren't over yet as Ai pushed her pawn to e5, forcing her knight to g8.

"Tch! You seek to incur my furor. You will pay for this you loony vixen."

"Loony? Try smoothy! As in smooth bald like me!" Ai cackled as she slapped her head and moved her queen to b4.

"And is your head truly shaved?" Xiao Lin glared as she moved her bishop to b4.

The question caused Ai to scowl. "No... Bald cap... BALD CAP! MICHIKO WOULDN'T SHAVE ME BALD SO SHE JUST SLAPPED A BALD CAP OVER MY HEAD AND EYEBROWS! AHHHH! I WANNA BE SHAVED BALD!" she maniacally shouted as she slammed her pawn down on f5.

Xiao Lin stared in silence before scoffing and moving her queen to h4. "Then you need your head checked, because you're deranged."

"Its called a bald fetish, and for your information, I'll be shaving YOU bald when you lose!" Ai cackled as she moved her pawn to g3.

"Not on your life!" Xiao Lin fumed as she moved her queen to d4.

Ai captured the knight on g6 with her f-pawn, prompting Xiao Lin to capture the knight on c3 with her bishop. Ai captured said bishop with her b-pawn, but Xiao Lin captured said pawn with her queen, forking the king and the rook.

Ai opted to move her queen to d2, as Xiao Lin pounced on the opportunity and captured the rook at a1 with her queen.

"And now I am winning."

"NOT FOR LONG! CHECK!" Ai maniacally shouted as she captured the pawn on f7 with her g-pawn.

Xiao Lin rolled her eyes and promptly captured said pawn with her king as Ai opted to move her pawn to c3. Not sensing what Ai was planning, Xiao Lin moved her knight to e7, but that allowed for yet another pawn push as Ai moved her pawn to d6, threatening the knight.

"You brat! Well this time the knight shan't move instead, your pawn perishes," Xiao Lin scowled as she captured the pawn at d6 with her c-pawn.

Ai began grinning maniacally as the fantasy of her shaving Xiao Lin bald swarmed into her head. "Ah, I can't wait to see your makeup smear when I WAX your head!" she sneered as she slammed her bishop down on c4.

Xiao Lin scowled at the play and moved her pawn to d5, but as soon as Ai castled king's side, putting her in check, she began to go pale. Her queen was trapped!

"No... NO! I just lost a match to that impatient bastard! I can't lose twice in a row!" she thought as she moved her king to e8.

Ai smelled blood on the water and opened the firing range by moving her bishop to a3, forcing Xiao Lin to capture the rook at f1 with her queen if she wished to keep the game going.

"Ah, bye, bye queen. YOU'RE MY BALD BITCH WIFE NOW!" Ai cackled as she captured the queen at f1 with her bishop.

Xiao Lin stared in disgust before a sinister smile suddenly spread across her face. "So this is your talent then. Well then, prove you can hold, and my power is yours," she chuckled as she moved her rook to f8 and gazed at the hooded woman.

And prove herself, Ai did. She started by capturing the knight at e7 with her bishop, prompting Xiao Lin to capture it with her king. Next was queen g5, forcing the king to e8, followed by the queen capturing the pawn at g7, prompting rook to f7.

Ai danced around the rook and moved her queen to g8, yet the rook moved back to f8. So Ai captured the pawn at h7 with her queen, causing Xiao Lin to shrug and move her pawn to b6. This marked the beginning of the end as Ai brought her bishop out to e2. Xiao Lin made one last attempt at counterplay by moving her pawn to d4, but Ai ignored it and moved her queen to g7. Xiao Lin captured the pawn at c3 with her d-pawn, but it didn't matter; she was going to be mated.

"So are you scared about going bald?" Ai sneered as she moved her bishop to h5.

"Hmm, it would make me more aerodynamic, so I guess not," Xiao Lin shrugged as she moved her king to d8.

"I'M GONNA DESTROY YOUR HAIR FOLLICLES!" Ai cackled as she captured the rook at f8 with her queen.

"Mmm, then do. I care not if I'm bald, only if you can bring down the woman I hate so much," Xiao Lin sneered as she moved her king to c7.

Ai squealed with delight and moved her queen to d6, forcing Xiao Lin to move her king to b7 in hopes of keeping the game alive. Ai wasn't giving her an inch though and moved her bishop to f3, forcing Xiao Lin's king to a6.

Next was queen a3 and king b5, then queen b3 and king a5.

"Not gonna squirm?" Ai sneered as she moved her bishop to e2.

"No, I feel like submitting and selling my soul o you, or is it the one controlling you," Xiao Lin mused as she moved her bishop to b7 and gazed at the hooded woman.

"I'M IN CONTROL OF ME! I'm the one that beat Michiko!" Ai cackled as she moved her bishop to b7.

"Michiko, is it? Well, I heard she was childhood friends with that bitch. So we were one in the same. Intriguing," Xiao Lin sneered as she moved her bishop to b7.

"Who cares. I'm gonna shave you bald! Checkmate!" Ai declared as she moved her queen to b5, winning the game.

...

As Xiao Lin finished recounting the events of the past, Xiu shot up and began chuckling. "So you got your ass kicked again. How'd you even become maestro anyway?"

Another smack to the head from Xiao Lin's cane followed as Xiao Lin replied that she became a maestro back in the mid 2000s. The revelation caused Xiu to crack the joke that Xiao Lin was getting too old, but that simply resulted in a third smack to the end.

"I am 34 years young!"

"Old in chess years. I'm only 18."

Xiao Lin clicked her tongue and decided to cease the discipline for now. "Xiu, you're lucky the Chess Olympics are a team event, otherwise you'd be at the top of my hit list after Himitsu," she snarled as she hobbled away.

The full game:

White: Ai Kamuro (n/a) Black: Maestro Xiao Lin (3020)

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Nc3 Nf6

4. Nxe5 Nxe5

5. d4 Nc6

6. d5 Ne5

7. f4 Ng6

8. e5 Ng8

9. Qe2 Bb4

10. f5 Qh4+

11. g3 Qd4

12. fxg6 Bxc3+

13. bxc3 Qxc3+

14. Qd2 Qxa1

15. gxf7+ Kxf7

16. c3 Ne7

17. d6 cxd6

18. Bc4+ d5

19. O-O+ Ke8

20. Ba3 Qxf1+

21. Bxf1 Rf8

22. Bxe7 Kxe7

23. Qg5+ Ke8

24. Qxg7 Rf7

25. Qg8+ Rf8

26. Qxh7 b6

27. Be2 d4

28. Qg7 dxc3

29. Bh5+ Kd8

30. Qxf8+ Kc7

31. Qd6+ Kb7

32. Bf3+ Ka6

33. Qa3+ Kb5

34. Qb3+ Ka5

35. Be2 Bb7

36. Qb5#