Jul 08, 2025
Author's Commentary #494:
Time to talk about Chapter 494: Rivoltante.
I really had lots of fun writing this chapter. Okisato absolutely decimating Flavio had me grinning the whole way through. In fact, this moment was incredibly refreshing for me and helped motivate me to write out the rest of the round 9 games and finish up 6B.
The game also featured a Latvian Gambit, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite openings for Black. That combined with Okisato dissing Flavio the whole way through make this a top contender to be in my top 30 favorite games list.
Now let's talk about some series revisions and behind the scenes bits. First off, I'm changing the location of Triple cedar from Tochigi City to Nikko, mainly because I feel Nikko fits better. Tochigi City will still make it's way back into the story as the main setting for a future arc I have planned. And speaking of arcs, Season 7 is on the cusp of being completed. Aside from the game for the 500 chapter special, I just have a single game left to write and then wrapping up Season 7 will be a breeze. This means that I'll be editing the chapter order meaning the latest chapter will not be the one many readers will be on if they read day-to-day. I'll post an announcement when that happens though.
One final thing in the chapter I need to talk about is Flavio slamming the table. In case some of you didn't know, it stems from a incident that occurred at Norway Chess 2025 where after blundering into a losing position against Gukesh, Magnus Carlsen angrily slammed the table before resigning. The moment has spawned countless memes, and with this series being a chess one, I naturally had to reference it. And reference it I did, as this instance with Flavio most certainly won't be the only time I reference it in the story.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
