May 10, 2025
Author's Commentary #369:
Time to talk about Chapter 369: Toxic ego.
More characters are being introduced, but this time it includes some characters who were previously mentioned many chapters ago. I'm of course referring to the Ethiopian players. Now without further ado, let's discuss them.
トゥファ・ケベデ (Tufa Kebede) is how Tufa's name would be spelled in katakana. ቱፋ ከበደ (Tufa Kebede) is how it would be spelled in Amharic.
トラ・ケベデ (Tola Kebede) is how Tola's name would be spelled in katakana. ቶላ ከበደ (Tola Kebede) is how it would be spelled in Amharic.
Their birthday is April 8th. I chose this date at random, so there's no greater significance behind why this day is their birthday.
Tola's favorite piece is the pawn, while Tufa's favorite piece is the queen. Tola tends to like pawns because they look cute, while Tufa likes the queen because it wields the most power.
Originally, Tufa was actually the only character with the strainer on her head, and had a very generic personality, but after settling on what Lea's role in the story would be, I also decided on what Tufa's role would be, and tweaked her personality to match said vision. Now she's easily one of the series' more complex characters.
Tola on the other hand, is the DSPCM of Addis Ababa. She's the more photogenic of the two, but also not as smart as her sister. Nonetheless, she is steadily improving her chess game.
カミラ・バサラブ (Camilla Basarab) is how Camilla's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is October 31st, which is Halloween.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
One thing I'll mention about Camilla is her surname, Basarab, is actually that of the parent family to the Drăculești family. Perhaps that will offer some clues as to what her character arc might entail.
ジャレ・クズ (Jale Kuzu) is how Jale's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is November 28th, which is the day the first World Snooker Championship first began.
Her favorite piece is the pawn since they remind her the most of billiard balls.
Jale is a pool player as well as a grandmaster. As for why that is, the reason is simply that I looked at her design and thought she'd look great shooting pool, and that's how she became a pool player. She also plays snooker and billiards as well.
クリスティーナ・コスティルヴァ (Kristina Kostyleva) is how Kristina's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is April 23rd, which she shares with Russian-Swiss grandmaster, Alexandra Kosteniuk.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
Kristina is an obvious homage and parody of Alexandra Kosteniuk. This was actually one of the reasons I wanted to introduce her as soon as I got the chance to. While I'm unsure if she'll play a major role this arc, she's sure to play a role in future arcs.
レア・イェドゥア (Lea Yedua) is how Lea's name would be spelled in katakana. Her name is actually a pun on the Hebrew word, לֹא יְדוּעַ, which means "unknown". In fact, this served as the basis for her name in-universe as well.
Her birthday is unknown, but for administrative purposes, her birthday is listed as January 1st, which is New Year's Day.
Her favorite piece is the pawn.
Lea has a very interesting history. Originally, she was part of the Simien team, however, I felt Golda fit the team dynamic much better, so I had her replace her on said team. I also didn't really know what to do with Lea's character, who then went by a different name, which may or may not come back in some form in the story. But now, I have a very clear vision on what Lea's role in the story will be as well as Tola and Tufa's. I don't want to spoil things, but if you want to theory craft, I've left plenty of hints regarding Lea in this chapter alone.
ツェハイ・ロバ (Tsehay Roba) is how Tsehay's name would be spelled in katakana. ፀሃይ ሮባ (Tsehay Roba) is how it would be spelled in Amharic, while צחי רובה (Tsehay Roba) is how it would be spelled in Hebrew.
(If I made any mistakes with the translations, feel free to correct me).
Her birthday is December 21st. The reason for that is because this date can be one of two possible days the December solstice, the shortest day of the year, can fall on. This fits Tsehay since she is primarily a sprinter.
Her favorite piece is the knight since horses are good runners.
Tsehay is Golda's lifelong rival. Originally when Golda was initially part of the Ethiopian team, her rivalry with Tsehay was meant to be the main theme of the Ethiopian team's story arc. Naturally, when I shifted Golda over to the Simien team and Lea to the Ethiopian team, the theme of the Ethiopian team changed, but despite that, Golda's rivalry with Tsehay remains intact. While Tsehay currently is representing Ethiopia, she will end up changing federations to that of the Israeli Kingdom of Simien once she officially accepts the DSPCM position in Gondar, which is now part of Simien in this universe. She's currently a novice at chess, but rapidly improving her game, much to Golda's annoyance.
As for the game, it's main purpose was to turn more cute girls sticky and blue. This time it was Camilla and Venera. As such, I went for a short and simple atomic chess match as I simply wanted to get things over and done with quickly. However, I'm glad I finally got around to properly introducing the rest of the Ethiopian players as they will most certainly have major roles to play in future arcs of the series.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
