Oct 28, 2025
Author's Commentary #606:
Time to talk about the Side Story 8 intro chapter, Chapter 606: Omega idiot.
That's right, this time we're finally doing a proper Halloween special. To be honest, I wasn't sure if things would line up for this, but since they have, I'm going to take advantage of it. Obviously, you can expect a Halloween Gambit or two in the coming games, but for the intro chapter, I decided to go with something fresh.
Though the Chess.com bot I played against for this game was definitely lower than Mona's skill of a 2400-level player, I decided to have her be Iori's opponent for this game, simply because she's one of the oldest characters in the series, if not the oldest that hasn't had an on-screen game yet. Even if I somehow misremembered and she does have a game, now we know for sure. As for the opening, it's the Indian Game: Omega Gambit. I braced myself for a long match, but since the bot decided not to capture on e4, it led to a flashy 20-move masterpiece. With an en passant and a queen sac bishop capture mate, you couldn't ask for flashier.
As for the Side Story itself, this was the main reason I was rushing with Season 9 as I wanted to finish it with enough time for me to do the Side Story properly i time. This one won't be a long one, maybe 10 or less chapters. After that, the series will likely go into semi-hiatus mode, where I'll just write some bios on the many side characters in this series. There might also be the chance of another Side Story or two, but for now, hope you enjoy this one.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
