Chapter 194: Civil War! Anna Marisa VS Claudia Marisa!
Anna took a deep breath, trying to calm down her nerves. In front of her, Claudia sat with determination burning in her eyes, not wanting to become the punching bag that everyone thought she was going to be.
Well, Claudia was the lowest-rated player here, and the fact that she had just crossed the 2200 club a month ago showed that she was the weakest one among the ladies here. After all, the other three were in the 2300 club, so the gap between them and Ia was still pretty big. However, looking at her sister’s determined gaze, Anna knew that this game would not be easy.
’Speaking of which, her rapid improvement sure is amazing.’ The big sister couldn’t help but think. ’In the past, I could beat her three out of five games, with two usually ending up in a draw from the boring opening that she picked. But after her escapade in Reykjavik, she could force three or four draws out of five games, and in her best state, she could force five draws out of five games. Could it be because she trained together with Sheva?’
Yeah, even though Anna herself didn’t know what triggered her sister’s rapid improvement, she could have a guess here, and it fell on one boy who had been changing their lives in the last couple of months. She herself also had several chances training together with the boy after he was back from Reykjavik, and even during that short period, Anna could feel her game was improving, so it was no wonder Claudia could reach this height quite quickly.
However, that didn’t mean Anna would give up so easily here. No, if anything, the girl was more determined to win than she would ever be. She wanted to prove that even though Sheva’s skill had already passed hers, Anna was still a strong player, and it was all because Sheva was a genius, not just because she had reached a stagnancy here.
’Sorry, Ia, but you will become my stepping stone today.’ She apologized to her sister inwardly, knowing that it would be a bloodbath game.
As the alarm rang, she moved her pieces immediately, and her sister also returned the favor in a blink. They went for a Queen’s Gambit Three Knights Variation, a boring and defensive line of this opening. If it were a classical game, there was a huge chance that this would end up in a draw. However, since it was a rapid game, everything could happen on the board.
All the people who saw this opening choice could also understand why the siblings went for this.
They wanted to go for a complicated and sophisticated middle game, wanting to entangle each other in a positional warfare that would take a long time to be resolved. Both Marisa girls wanted to exhaust their sister to death, and once the time scramble or their opponent made a mistake, that was when they would send their decisive blow.
"What an insidious pair of siblings..." Sheva shivered unconsciously, finding the girls to be more terrifying than he thought.
True enough, within the next few moves, they were officially out of the opening phase, entering the suffocated positional battle that could give everyone a headache. Besides one pawn that was exchanged earlier, all the pieces were still intact, ready for the first action of the game. It was clear, though, that none of the sisters wanted to take the initiative here.
However, during the time they improved their position, it was clear that Anna had a better situation on her own side. Even though both players still hadn’t castled their king yet, Anna’s pieces were in a very good position, with two bishops staring at Claudia’s kingside while the queen was behind the light bishop, creating a battery that was ready to snipe on the H7 square whenever the little girl castled into the kingside. Not only that, she also managed to shut down all of Claudia’s minor pieces, forcing them to stay on the sixth rank without being able to get a better look at the entire board.
Even if material-wise, they were still equal, Anna’s position was so good that even the computer gave the evaluation +1 for her, as if the big sister was up a full pawn against Claudia.
*Author note: If you want to visualize the position better, check the comment below.
Still, there was no panic in Claudia’s eyes. This was exactly her favorite type of battlefield, and there was no way she would lose her patience in this attrition war. She glanced sideways at her sister, who was having both hands on her head, and the little girl couldn’t help but smirk.
’Yes, that’s it, Big Sis... Just think more and burn your time! Let me get this game under my bag!’
Yeah, Claudia came here with a great ambition to beat her sister. She had all the reasons in the world to do so. Not only would the win boost her chance to get the first spot in the tournament, but it would also tell the others that she was indeed a strong player here, not just someone to complete the list of the team. Who knew, if she could impress them all here, maybe she would be recommended to get the fourth chair of the Olympiad team instead of Laysa Latifah, the girl who was currently still abroad for another tournament.
Still, there was one bigger motivation for her to win.
Claudia was aiming for her first-ever win against her big sister. After all, she knew Anna for the rest of her life, yet the little girl couldn’t even remember a single occasion of her snatching a win against Anna, so a win would definitely be a huge thing for her. Not only would it boost her confidence, but winning would also be a testament that, indeed, Claudia had improved a lot compared to the past.
Still, Anna herself wasn’t just a paper tiger. No, she fought back, improving her position slowly while also luring her sister into a deep, dark side of the board where all of her pieces lurked in the shadows. Looking at Claudia’s resolved gaze, she could only say sorry inside her heart, but Anna had no intention to lose here.
’Come on, Ia! I will give you what you want, so be ready to get killed!’