Nov 24, 2025
Author's Commentary #3:
Time to talk about Chapter 3: Yuusuke vs Utami.
We'll talk about the game first. Unlike Chapter 1, this game was conceived by me playing against one of the bots on Chess.com. In fact, a good chunk of the games from here on out will be originals. There really isn't many noteworthy things to mention about the game itself, so we'll move on to discussing Yuusuke.
Like Mimoko, Yuusuke has been playing chess at a young age, though unlike her, he was forced to start a chess career then, which is why he already has a rating. He isn't as good as Mimoko either, as his rating is only 1478, but it is still a respectable rating. While some of the ratings in the series will have some meaning behind them, this one does not as I essentially just picked it at random. Though I guess it does show that Yuusuke is a high-intermediate level player, so there's that.
In terms of his character, he's a typical anime delinquent with a heart of gold. He lives alone with his mother, whom he fears to death, and tends to slack in his studies.
承先 悠介 (Shousen Yuusuke) is how his name would be spelled in kanji. His first name, 悠介, can translate to "leisurely" and "helping", which does kind of fit his character since he likes to think of himself as a hero, and tends to do things at a leisurely pace. I honestly just chose it because I liked the kanji within it, and because I was originally thinking of making Yuusuke a defensive-type player. The second half of his name can also translate to "shellfish" or "armor", which would be fitting for a defensive player. His last name, 承先, is far more interesting. It can mean "to listen" and "first". Which is fitting considering he shares his birthday, May 14th, with Austrian-American chess master, Wilhelm Steinitz, the first world chess champion. Funnily enough, Steinitz ended up dethroning Adolf Anderssen (the one Okisato shares his birthday with) for the title of world's strongest chess player at the time.
(If I made any mistakes with the translations, feel free to correct me).
Finally, his favorite piece is the bishop. The reason for that is because he believes the bishops can be the most versatile pieces.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
