Jun 22, 2026
Author's Commentary #15:
Time to talk about Chapter 15: Santa Kļava's in town.
She's making a list, and checking it twice. Gonna kick anyone's ass that cracks a Santa joke around her. And that's why in the original, this chapter was uploaded on Christmas Eve 2024. Now before we do the bios for the Latvians, let's talk about the game.
First up, Japan lost to India. Arun was unphased by Okisato's attempt at mirroring Peter's Důras gambit strat, which ended up costing his team the match. Even if he hadn't played it though, Arun is just too strong and would have won, or at worst drew, the match anyway. If the latter had happened, Ginji would have likely been forced to play on, not because he wanted to, but because him resigning outright would truly cause a scandal. At this point, Ginji will only resign outright if he has no other choice, as if he doesn't, the team would have grounds to bench him for the rest of the tournament, making it much harder for him to sabotage the team.
The Santa vs Laura match features another Latvian Gambit. Santa's the type that will normally put on a cheery and cutesy mask, and play in a manner befitting of that personality. But when she gets pissed, the gloves are off and she goes for her best openings, with one being the Latvian Gambit. Since many don't know the lines of said gambit, it can easily catch people off guard, as was the case with Laura and Volkner. Though Volkner now knows how to counter the gambit thanks to his training from Edeltraud. And with the games covered, onto the bios.
イルゼ・バロンズ (Ilze Barons) is how Ilze's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is January 27th, which is name day for Ilze.
Her favorite piece is the king.
オースマ・ウパトニエクス (Ausma Upatnieks) is how Ausma's name is spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is June 26th, which is name day for Ausma.
Her favorite piece is the knight.
ジントラ・ズヴィルブレ (Dzintra Zvirbule) is how Dzintra's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is September 4th, which is name day for Dzintra.
Her favorite piece is the pawn.
グンデガ・カルニシュ (Gundega Kalniņš) is how Gundega's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is September 25th. This means her birthday will occur during the Chess Olympics, falling on the second scheduled rest day for the tournament.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
サンタ・クヤヴァ (Santa Kļava) is how Santa's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is December 25th, which is Christmas day.
Her favorite piece is the rook, because she likes using it as a battering ram.
Just as stated in the chapter, Santa is a name for girls in Latvia. Sinta is as well, and as such, I'll confirm there is a Sinta Kļava that exists in this universe as well. I will confirm though that the two have no relationship to each other.
And with that, it looks like that's it for the 4th round of the Chess Olympics. While the women's side has potential opponents, we still have no clue who the men could face, though that could change soon.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
