Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
Yeom Junyeol said he would aim for the win.
Matching his determination, Yeom Junyeol was strong.
It wasn’t at the level of a grand master or high rankers of Elo ranking managed by FIDE, but wouldn’t it be at the level of a national master or FIDE master which were a few grades lower?
‘I better avoid playing moves based on my intuition. Even if it takes time, let’s play one move after move more carefully.’
Looking at the chess clock, I checked the time limit, while I moved the chess piece.
Up to semi-finals the given game time limit was 30 minutes.
It was a game with more free time than the Blitz, whose time limit was below 15 minutes, the Rapidplay Chess, but the finals were different.
‘It seems that this rule was set by Yong Jegeon.’
The final round was progressing with the Standard, more than an hour of limited time.
Each chess Player was given 90 minutes.
In addition, as the exchanged moves accumulated, the limited time increased thanks to having the Fischer mode[1] applied.
With the space show displayed just before the finals, a nicely prepared stage and even enough given time, it seemed like Yong Jegeon was telling us to give all we have.
‘The more I play chess, the headache gets worse, and my hands turn cold, so it’s a disadvantageous rule for me.’
I had no thoughts of showing that on the outside.
Beep.
After moving a chess piece while feigning composure, I pressed the chess clock’s button.
For a moment, Yeom Junyeol’s eyes brushed past my fingertips and widened.
As a fire user, Yeom Junyeol was very sensitive to changes in heat and temperature.
If it’s to this degree, he would notice that my hands got colder compared to the time he shook hands with me.
With his personality, Yeom Junyeol would worry about his junior, but after looking at my hands once, he played the next move without shaking again.
‘Okay, you should face me as a chess Player right now. Place the worry about your junior under the board.’
As expected from my Playable Character, his chess Player’s mindset was also amazing.
‘I also have to do my best.’
Because of the headache, the urge to stop reading moves, leave the moves to my intuition and to play shallow moves raised.
As my fingertips gradually turned colder, moving chess pieces felt like a toil.
Today my condition wasn’t bad, but as the game prolonged in addition to the opponent being strong, it seemed that my state was crumbling.
‘Even though it may not be the best move, let’s play the best move I can.’
Moves which Yeom Junyeol played in the meantime.
Current game situation.
Remaining chess pieces’ movement range.
Combining them one after another, I carefully played the next move.
Beep.
Beep.
With each passing turn while pressing the chess clock’s button, the limited time gradually decreased and the game situation was changing.
‘I’m starting to emerge victorious.’
A chess game is divided into three large stages.
Beginning stage, where the opening unfolds on the main line where more than 1,300 standard moves established by theory are played, or perhaps on the new line where original moves are played.
Middle stage, where the general situation actively develops – a mid-game.
Last stage, where key battles ended or only a minority of chess pieces remain – an end game.
‘Soon the worth of pieces, when excluding the king, will fall below 13 points[2]. We will enter the end game phase.’
After the end game drew closer, signs of Yeom Junyeol’s defeat thickened.
As if Yeom Junyeol also noticed it, the speed of him playing the moves gradually grew slower.
Face of Yeom Junyeol, who was staring at the chessboard, suddenly hardened in determination and he played a completely different move from what I was expecting.
‘The change of mood?’
Yeom Junyeol who completely didn’t show any intention of giving up, even though there weren’t many chess pieces remaining.
Suddenly changing pattern when we reached the end game.
I could figure it out without even thinking deeply.
‘Yeom Junyeol gave up on winning, but he isn’t thinking of losing!’
The biggest difference in chess from the mind sports like go and janggi is the lack of ‘pass move’.
In chess, when your turn comes, you have to unconditionally move a chess piece.
Even if it that move results in loss of a chess piece or reverse of the game situation.
‘I thought it’s the charm of chess and started to play chess because I was drawn to it.’
The problem was that when you can’t pass a move, the situation when you can’t move chess pieces becomes difficult.
There were two main cases when the chess pieces couldn’t be moved.
First, the case when chess pieces’ every way forward is blocked so they can’t move.
Second, the case when the current situation isn’t a check, but no matter the move I play I will end up in a check.
In the second case, if I forcibly move, it in fact turns into a king’s suicide move, but in chess the king’s suicide move is prohibited, so a contradiction occurs.
‘Because of those attractive rules, a contradiction formed and ‘Stalemate’ became necessary.’
As it’s a rule in chess that a person has to move on their turn no matter what, when the chess pieces can’t move, it turns into a stalemate, and the game ends in a draw.
One side may have nothing but a king remaining, the opponent may have a king, queen, bishop… no matter how many chess pieces remain, it will be like that.
‘Yeom Junyeol probably gave up on the victory and started to move, aiming for the stalemate, uh?’
The moment I figured out Yeom Junyeol’s intentions.
For the first time since the match started, I could smile suspiciously.
Seeing me smile, Yeom Junyeol’s eyes opened wide, and he stared at me.
Beep.
The sound of the pressed chess clock button rang out cheerfully.
Suddenly, I recalled a conversation I had with my university junior, Cheon Seongheon, before coming to this world.
— Uisin hyung, while hyung lived as a chess player, you had a nickname.
After I got close with Cheon Seongheon, sometimes Cheon Seongheon talked about chess.
I had a feeling Cheon Seongheon was wishing I returned to being a chess player or at least played chess as a hobby.
But I always pretended I couldn’t hear it.
— Stalemateless, right?
At one point, I had such a useless, long nickname attached.
‘A teenager who loathes stalemate.’
— Even when looking at hyung’s records until now, there is not even one stalemate. Among the matches that hyung lost, there were also those that could be steered into a stalemate… Does hyung hate stalemate?
I hated to be driven into a stalemate and to steer into a stalemate.
The chess’ best rule was that when the person’s turn comes, they have to make a move no matter what.
However, in the situation which isn’t even a check, where you end up not being able to play a move and as a result you end up with an indecisive draw?
It was a truly a horrible rule.
— Uh, I hate it.
— … Worthy of Stalemateless.
— When the end game got closer, I always watched out for a stalemate. And if there is a bastard who tries to draw me into a stalemate…
I have no idea what kind of expression I was making at that time, but it was probably that expression they call suspicious.
— I smash it.
“Check.”
I was someone who had learned the most poisonous way to destroy a stalemate.
I have the confidence to capture the king of the chess Player who tried to draw me into a stalemate.
Immediately, as a result of my checkmate declaration, Yeom Junyeol’s black king collapsed.
Whoaaaa—!
Bang! Baaang!
It looked like Yong Jegeon’s space art was released the moment the king fell.
I heard some sighs of disappointment from Yeom Junyeol’s fans, but as they were buried in the louder cheers and fireworks sounds, I didn’t hear them well.
Perhaps the sound was buried because the 2nd year class 0’s students set off the supernatural fireworks concentrating in the place where Red Dragon fans were.
“Uisin, it was an excellent match. Did you read my intentions at the end?”
Yeom Junyeol, who stood up from his seat, asked for a handshake.
I also grabbed his hand and nodded.
It seemed that the hands of Yeom Junyeol as a Flame Art user were a bit higher in temperature compared to other people.
But it also may have been because my hands were relatively cold.
“Your hands are cold. There was completely not a trace of it on your face. I thought I was wrong.”
I guess that as I expected, he noticed it and was worried.
Worthy of my disciple, he was a deeply considerate and kind student.
“When I started to move aiming for a stalemate, you smiled, you know? At that time, you somehow resembled my master-nim.”
He didn’t react like that when seeing me smile just because I looked suspicious?
When I met Yeom Junyeol as his master, I always had an appearance of Yeom Junyeol and wore a crow mask.
Where the hell did we look similar?
***
At the place where I received a medal and reward money, the awarding of ‘Suspicious class vice president Jo Uisin’ was safely completed.
Yong Jegeon performed a closing show using the Space Art for the audience.
Before I joined the class children, Yong Jegeon handed me a device code while saying.
“When you want to play, contact me or find me in the club room at any time.”
When he spoke like that, Yong Jegeon’s handsome face changed strangely as he smiled.
I’ve seen that expression a few times.
In the days when there were still some users left, it was a particular ecstatic expression that even the fans of Dragon Teacher said it made them think that ‘something doesn’t look right’.
‘I also received a device code of Yeom Junyeol, so… Jin people and descendants in the address book increased, huh?’
I still couldn’t completely overcome my chess trauma.
Even if it was just to shake it off like that, it was necessary I continued to play chess, so it didn’t seem bad to sometimes ask the two for a match.
“Suspicious Uisin suspiciously won! Congrats!”
“Hahahaha! Sure, Jo Uisin. Suspicious even now!” [3]
After I arrived at the place promised with the class children, I was greeted by Kim Yuri and Hwang Jiho.
Listening to Kim Yuri saying pure congratulations[4], I was infinitely happy, but the words of Hwang Jiho, said while laughing, were a bit annoying.
‘Is it a difference between Playable Characters and NPCs? If not, is it like that just because those words were said by Hwang Jiho?’
The second one had a higher chance.
But it wasn’t that I didn’t feel thankful to Hwang Jiho who came to support me without skipping even a day.
“Congrats, Uisin!”
“Congratulations!”
“Congrats.”
Other children also congratulated me in order.
“Thank you.”
Seeing them more happy than me who won a victory, natural words of thank you came out of my mouth.
“Let’s go eat beef. I made a reservation.”
At my words, the children made a noise.
“Yes? Did you make a reservation before your victory was decided?”
“Vice president, did you reserve it knowing that you would win?!”
“Haha, that’s something for if you lose.”
It was something prepared to feed you beef somehow even if I lose?
While listening to the children’s conversation, we headed towards the promised BBQ restaurant.
Around the time we arrived at the BBQ restaurant, the headache disappeared as if it was washed away, and warmth returned to my hands.
***
Meanwhile, Yeom Junyeol, who had escaped the chess tournament venue earlier than Jo Uisin.
Yeom Junyeol changed into a prepared beforehand suit, and hurriedly headed towards the promised place.
‘I won’t be narrowly late!’
Instead of participating in the boat party tomorrow, the Red Lion and Yong tribe decided to have a banquet together with the key people from Ju-Oh and TC Groups today.
As he had a chess tournament, he thought of skipping the banquet and participating in the boat party instead, but the Yong tribe, Red Lion’s members and his family were all against it.
‘Master-nim was also against it, so it can’t be helped. Let’s diligently attend the banquet.’
The banquet place was the highest floor of the air hotel owned by the TC Group, the ‘Snow and Air’ hotel.
Yeom Junyeol saw the people waiting for him at the entrance to the hall.
“Junyeol, you came.”
Those people caught the news that Yeom Junyeol was defeated in the finals.
The dragons and humans didn’t mask restlessness.
It was beyond their abilities to accept the difficult reality that Yeom Junyeol truly lost.
However, thinking that their violent reaction may hurt Yeom Junyeol, they restrained themselves.
Yeom Junyeol, who figured out their thoughts, decided to also act calmly.
“Yes, I’m back.”
The Yong tribe’s head, Cheongryong, cleared his throat a few times and asked:
“Yong Jegeon?”
“He has to organize today’s chess tournament, and then he is going to the after-party with the Stalemate staff, so he said it would be difficult to come.”
It was awkward, but it was an inner mood of subtly caring about each other.
While exchanging greetings with the families of each Group’s next heads who were at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the banquet started.
‘Um, I can’t taste it.’
Shark tail fin braised in abalone sauce.
Buddha’s Temptation boiled down with the Shao Xing Lao Jiu[5].
Even the menus beside those all looked delicious, but when he actually ate them, he strangely couldn’t feel any taste.
Was it because even when he was aiming for the victory with all his might, and even when he chose the second best solution, stalemate, he was completely crushed because of junior Jo Uisin?
‘I wanted to show master-nim a good image, but…’
Was the shock bigger than he thought? He kept recalling the appearance of a smiling Jo Uisin overlapping with his master-nim over and over.
‘I can’t. Let’s get out and get some air.’
Yeom Junyeol politely excused himself and rose from his seat.
Some people openly sent worried glances, but at the end of the silent fierce communication, an argument broke out over whether to leave the current Yeom Junyeol alone.
Like that, Yeom Junyeol was left alone.
Even when looking at the wide open nightscape in the air hotel lounge, he couldn’t relax inside.
‘Was the entire floor emptied for today? There isn’t even anyone in the hotel lounge.’
When he stared outside of the window, while repeating the chess match with Jo Uisin in his head.
“Hi.”
A woman in a red dress spoke up to him.
Just moments ago, he thought that there was no one here, but she appeared from somewhere without him realizing.
‘It’s a Jin.’
Jin people and descendants, who possess a true name, can recognize each other.
But they couldn’t tell which tribe from among the Jin people they were.
“Huhu, as expected, you look more immature than that child.”
That child?
Who was she talking about?
He bitterly experienced his worst defeat, but to say he was immature or something, the feeling of rage welled up in him.
“I want to talk for a minute, can you please follow me?”
The Jin woman spoke with an alluring smile.
Yeom Junyeol resolutely replied without a second thought:
“Can’t. My master-nim told me not to follow people I don’t know.”
Yeom Junyeol, who followed master’s words well, was a good student.
*~*~*
[1] Fischer mode – referring to the Fischer clock explained before.
[2] will fall below 13 points – chess pieces have assigned different values to help in analysis of strategies and predicting the victory. Pawn is worth 1 point, bishop and knight 3 points, rook 5 points and the queen 9 points. King doesn’t have an assigned value, because capturing it is the goal of the game. When the game begins, the overall worth of all pieces is 38. In other words, 13 points is when there are extremely few chess pieces left.
[3] “Suspicious Uisin suspiciously won! Congrats!”, “Hahahaha! Sure, Jo Uisin. Suspicious even now!” – As a reminder, suspicious in korean is the same word as ‘awarded’. So Kim Yuri’s actual sentence in raws is “Suspicious Uisin was awarded! Congrats!” and Hwang Jiho could also be saying “Awarded even now!”.
[4] Kim Yuri saying pure congratulations – As per note [3], Kim Yuri’s actual sentence could just be Suspicious Uisin was awarded, but I’m sure Kim Yuri would be very aware of the pun and wouldn’t miss out on it, and Jo Uisin is probably just ignoring it very well.
[5] Shao Xing Lao Jiu – type of Shaoxing wine/ yellow wine. Looking at the name, I suspect it just means old yellow wine?
Translator’s note: Yeom Junyeol … ㅠㅠ How are you supposed to stop being called little, when you’re such a good child. Why are you so good…
Note about Note no. 1 from the previous chapter: 군 will be translated as ‘uh’ for now, unless I or you come up with something better.
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
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