May 10, 2025
Author's Commentary #362:
Time to talk about Chapter 362: A host of encounters.
With a title like that, you know there's going to be plenty of new characters introduced this chapter. Though there is a returning face in the form of Õnne. And it's fitting she's here, as her father and younger brothers are debuting alongside some of her neighbors. So without further ado, let's go over everyone.
ミーリス・ソック (Meelis Sokk) is how Meelis' name would be written in katakana.
His birthday is January 7th, which he shares with Estonian grandmaster and chess writer, Paul Keres.
His favorite piece is the king.
Of all the Estonian male players, Meelis was the only one I was somewhat leaning towards making until the power of music inspired me to create a full team. This once again emphasizes that music truly is one of the top sources of inspiration for me when it comes to writing. Meelis is an old fashioned man who despises computers and smartphones with a passion. He's also not in the best of relationships with his daughter, Õnne, as evidenced in the chapter.
ゲオルク・ロイヴァス (Georg Rõivas) is how Georg's name would be spelled in katakana.
His birthday is November 12th, which he shares wih Estonian grandmaster, Mikhail Rychagov.
His favorite piece is the queen.
Georg is Maila's father and one of the town elders alongside Meelis. Being a grandmaster, he hopes one day Maila can surpass him and become the savior of the entire world.
キューベル・ハウアカエバジャ (Kühvel Hauakaevaja) is how Kühvel's name would be spelled in katakana. In Estonian, his name translates to "Scoop Gravedigger".
His birthday is October 31st, which is Halloween.
His favorite piece is the bishop.
Kühvel is by far the character who was most inspired by the Estonian folk song, Kui mina ükskord noores eas võtsin vana naise. Said song not only served as inspiration for the Estonian men's team, but also served to give me a renewed sense of what to do with the women's team. Though in terms of individual characters, Kühvel is easily inspired directly by the song's lyrics themself.
パーヴォ・ソック (Paavo Sokk) is how Paavo's name would be spelled in katakana.
フェリックス・ソック (Feliks Sokk) is how Feliks' name would be spelled in katakana.
Their birthday is February 20th, which they share with Felix Hugo Fraldarius from Fire Emblem Three Houses.
Their favorite piece is the bishop.
With so many sets of female twins, I decided there needed to be a set of male twins too. The Sokk twins' whole point is to basically act creepy, as if they're from a horror movie. They tend to speak in unison, though secretly have individual personalities.
マエストロ・ムイグ (Maestro Muigg) is how Maestro Muigg's name would be spelled in katakana.
His birthday is December 17th, which is the day famous German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, was baptized.
His favorite piece is the king.
Speaking of characters inspired by music, I previously mentioned in a past commentary that the Austrian men's team came to be thanks to me listening to antiphona (音源) by a_hisa vs KV.S&はらたま from the arcade game, MÚSECA, which is why the Austrian team has a musical theme going. Maestro Muigg is the head of the team, and is the older brother of Wolfgang and father of Friedl. "Maestro" actually is his legal first name, though it wasn't his birth name. He simply changed it to "Maestro" in order to inflate his ego, and give off an aura of grander authority.
コンラート・ヨッピヒ (Konrad Joppich) is how Konrad's name would be spelled in katakana.
His birthday is October 30th, which he shares with Austrian composer and conductor, Johann Brandl.
His favorite piece is the bishop.
ハンスヨルグ・ドプファー (Hansjorg Dopfer) is how Hansjorg's name would be spelled in katakana.
His birthday is November 27th, which he shares with Czech composer and violinist, Franz Krommer.
His favorite piece is the bishop.
ウット・コルンフーバー (Utto Kornhuber) is how Utto's name would be spelled in katakana.
His birthday is March 5th, which he shares with Austrian pianist, Alfred Jaëll.
His favorite piece is the king.
アリイ・アイペルタウアー (Arii Eyepeltauer) is how Arii's name would be spelled in katakana. 愛里依 is how her first name would be written in kanji and means, "yo be devoted to", "hometown", and "trust in".
Her birthday is February 7th, which is the day the first volume of The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio was released.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
油比 松波 (Yuhi Matsuba) is how Matsuba's name would be spelled in kanji. 松波 means "pine" and "wave", while 油比 means "oil" and "ratio".
Her birthday is April 10th, which is when the first episode of The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio's anime first aired.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
Both Arii and Matsuba are based off of the two main leads of The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio, Yasumi Utatane and Yuhi Yugure. Arii is actually Half-Japanese, Half-Austrian, and has connections in Austria which allowed both her and her friend, Matsuba to make the Austrian women's team. I will confirm that both her and Matsuba did participate in the qualification tournament for Japan's women's team, but obviously failed to make said team.
フレイドル・ミュイグ (Freidl Muigg) is how Freidl's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is September 7th, which she shares with Grete from Spy Kyoushitsu.
Her favorite piece is the knight.
Freidl is a character who initially started out as just another lazily designed character, but after getting the inspiration I needed for the Austrian team, I now have an intricate and tearjerking story in mind for her character.
イゾルデ・オーバーライトナー (Isolde Oberleitner) is how Isolde's name would be written in katakana.
Her birthday is October 16th, which she shares with German-Austrian composer, Julie von Webenau.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
アルムート・ピルチャー (Almuth Pircher) is how Almuth's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is August 31st, which she shares with Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite, Alma Mahler.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
アイダン・ビュルビュル (Aydan Bülbül) is how Aydan's name would be written in katakana.
Her birthday is May 28th, which is the day the Azerbaijan People's Republic was founded.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
ディナラ・パード (Dinara Pərdə) is how Dinara's name would be spelled in katakana. Her surname is the Azerbaijani word for "veil".
Her birthday is April 30th, which is the day the Statue of a Liberated Woman was built.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
アファグ・タギエワ (Afag Taghiyeva) is how Afag's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is May 11th, which she shares with Azerbaijani sculptor, Fuad Abdurahmanov.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
アイグル・オルジョバ (Aigul Orujova) is how Aigul's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is May 20th, which she shares with Azerbaijani and Soviet writer, Jafar Jabbarly.
Her favorite piece is the pawn.
トゥラキナ・ハトゥン (Turakina Khatun) is how Turakina's name would be spelled in katakana. Туракина Хатун (Turakina Khatun) is how it would be spelled in Mongolian.
(If I made any mistakes with the translations, feel free to correct me).
Her birthday is December 4th. The significance behind this is that 1204 was the year Genghis Khan gave Töregene to Ögedei as his second wife.
Her favorite piece is the king.
Turakina is based off of the historical figure, Töregene Khatun, who was also known as Turakina. I originally meant to properly have her debut back when the Mongolian women's team was facing off against the Israeli Kingdom of Simien back in round 4, but just forgot. Anyway, here she is now.
And that's everyone. Obviously, if this series had a video game adaptation, these characters would all have their backstories explained there. However, I am flirting with the idea of writing out the backstories of all the side characters from various countries, though if I did that, it would be written in a separate novel after this arc in the story concludes. It just goes to show I really do have a grand ambition for this series.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
