Oct 25, 2025
Author's Commentary #603:
Time to talk about Chapter 603: Mimoko vs Mimoko.
First thing's first, I've edited the previous chapter to include the buildup to the events of this one. I'd recommend giving it a quick reread in order to understand why Mimoko's now facing Mimoko Tanabe. Now, onto the main discussion.
This matchup has been planned ever since I first created Mimoko Tanabe a few months ago. It was originally going to be the main Mimoko match featured, while the majority of the season would focus on Yuusuke. Obviously, the reverse ended up happening with Mimoko getting more focus than Yuusuke. However, I do plan to have him get the honor of having his final round game be shown in full either next chapter or the next, depending on if I want to try doing an additional game besides his.
Speaking of the game, this was played against Chess.com's 2999-rated Grandmonster Danny bot. It's a monthly bot, but so far it's had amazing high-level play, leading to many high-level games, but also long games. Though I didn't draw when I first played the bot, using assisted mode, I was actually going back and forth on whether Mimoko should lose this match or not. I ultimately went with a draw as it allowed for three things. First, a shorter writing experience, second, a way to properly showcase the strength of Mimoko and Mimoko Tanabe, who we'll now refer to as MT henceforth, without the need for a checkmate, and finally, it reduces the chance of a headache for me latter down the road, as had Mimoko lost, I'd have to think up what her punishment would be and how it would effect her going forward. I can't see that far into the future, so I went with the easier option for me.
Now, Season 9 is in it's final chapters. No hard confirmation yet, but it'll be 3 more chapters at most, 2 at the least. After that, we jump straight into Side Story 8. I'll have quite a bit to talk about with that one, but for now, I'll focus on finishing up the current arc.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
