Dec 26, 2025
Author's Commentary #23:
Time to talk about Chapter 23: Arctic blitz.
This is easily more of a build-up chapter, but it still features a fun atomic chess game. There is also a big change from the original, being that Daria and Hagemi pop in to check on Okisato and give Xiao Lin a scare. Daria showing up is especially important as now it help builds up the eventual face-off between these two on the chessboard.
As for the game, I was actually debating whether or not to have Tao check Okisato instead of attempting to destroy his king, but decided that her capturing the pawn at c7 and then realizing the king wasn't destroyed was better.
As for the title, it's a reference to the Zukertort Opening: Arctic Defense, which goes 1. Nf3 f6. In normal chess, this isn't the greatest of openings, but in atomic chess, it's essential if white opens with Nf3. Now let's talk more about one of the players in the game, Xun Tao. I'll also do all the other SPCMs as well.
迅涛 (Xun Tao) is how her name is written in kanji. 涛 means "large waves" while 迅 means "fast". シュン・タオ (Xun Tao) is how it would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is May 22nd. I chose the date at random so there's no greater significance behind why this date is her birthday.
Her favorite piece is the knight, mainly since it's the only piece that can't be blocked from checking and threatening pieces.
辰苞 (Chen Bao) is how Bao's name is written in kanji. 苞 means "bud" while 辰 means "morning. チェン・バオ (Chen Bao) is how her name would be written in katakana.
Her birthday is April 30th. I chose the date at random, so there isn't any greater significance behind why this date is her birthday.
Her favorite piece is the rook, mainly because she views it as the most silent piece on the board. Speaking of which, she voluntarily sews her mouth shut due to her being a bit of a chatterbox when it comes to chess. In other words, she's the complete opposite of Katie who gets quiet and serious during a match. Since talking during official matches is generally not allowed, though exceptions can be made, she tends to have her mouth sewn shut. While it doesn't prevent her from attempting to speak, is does reduce her noise level drastically.
雷佳 (Lei Jia) is how Jia's name is spelled in kanji. 佳 means "beautiful" while 雷 means "thunder". レイ・ジア (Lei Jia) is how her name would be spelled in katakana.
Jia actually claims to be descended from Chinese royalty, though her claims have yet to be verified. Nevertheless, she is quite wealthy and a woman's grandmaster to boot.
Her birthday is February 28th which is also the day Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and declared himself the emperor of the Han dynasty, bringing an end to the Qin dynasty.
Her favorite piece is the queen, mainly because she herself believes she's royalty.
凰芬 (Huang Fen) is how Fen's name is spelled in kanji. 芬 means "perfume", while 凰 means "phoenix". ホアン・フェン (Huang Fen) is how his name would be written in katakana.
His birthday is September 30th. I chose the date at random so there's no greater significance behind why this date is his birthday.
His favorite piece is the bishop, mainly because he likes making use of them to strike on the diagonals and take advantage of players blundering away their pieces.
秀魅魔 (Xiu Mei-mo) is how Xiu's name is spelled in kanji. 秀 means "beautiful", while 魅魔 means "succubus". シウ・メイモ (Xiu Mei-mo) is how her name would be spelled in katakana. Considering her name literally means succubus, I'm sure you can guess what her personality is like. Unlike the other Chinese characters, her name is stylized more in a Western manner with her first name being Xiu, and her last name being Mei-mo. In the context of the story, this was deliberately done by Xiu, as Mei-mo was not her original surname, but rather one she chose for herself.
(If I made any mistakes with the translations, feel free to correct me).
Her birthday is January 31st, which she shares with the 17th Women's world chess champion and Chinese grandmaster, Ju Wenjun. The fact that she shares a birthday with one of the strongest female chess players in the world should be a hint that despite her personality, she's pretty good at chess.
Her favorite piece is the queen, due to it being the most powerful piece on the board.
As for the bit about Chaturaji at the end, that's an obvious hint that the next bout will be a Chaturaji match. You actually can play a modern version of Chaturaji on Chess.com, which is how I got the material to make the game. I was actually afraid I might have to delay the original chapter due to me not being able to get a win, but I managed to finally get one. I'll explain more about it in the commentary on the next chapter.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
