Chapter 197: Aftermath
"I win, huh?" Claudia muttered to herself as she saw that her big sister’s clock was running out of time. The adrenaline seemed to block her excitement here, as it was still delayed inside her head. However, once the dopamine was released from her brain, a huge grin curled slowly on her face, and in the next second, the girl jumped out of her chair in excitement. "I win! Big Sis, I win!" She squealed.
"Yes, congratulations, Ia." Anna smiled, albeit a little bit stiffly. Still, she was happy for her little sister, knowing full well how hard Claudia worked to stand by her side like this. "You did a good job in this game."
"Yes, thank you!" Claudia nodded enthusiastically, letting her ponytailed hair bob up and down cutely. The smile shining on her face was so radiant that it spread across the room, as everyone also felt the happiness radiating from the girl.
As she saw her sister’s happiness, though, Anna also fell into self-doubt.
She knew that she was good. Hell, the title she earned a month ago was a big testament to her talent. However, in the last couple of weeks, the girl felt like she hit a wall here. Nothing she could do felt like an improvement, and sometimes, Anna even felt like her quality also started to decline, especially whenever she went for an online game on or a similar platform. She even suffered defeat from some weaker opponents who should’ve never been a problem on paper, which was a huge sign that something was wrong with her chess.
’No, I have to find out the problem and solve it as quickly as possible, or I will just be a burden in the next Olympiad.’ She shook her head, trying to get rid of all the negative thoughts haunting her mind right now.
Still...
’It is easy to talk, but finding the error of my style is not easy to do, especially in a short time.’ She sighed in frustration. ’Should I find outside help or what?’ Her gaze fell unconsciously on Sheva, who was still congratulating Claudia for the win earlier.
Coincidentally enough, though, Sheva suddenly turned around, and their eyes met for a solid few seconds. Looking at the confusion and self-doubt in the big sister’s eyes, Sheva couldn’t help but sigh, inwardly thinking, ’Oh, well, this is indeed a problem that needs to be solved quickly. Let’s just wait until the tournament is over before addressing this matter thoroughly.’
Claudia herself somehow hadn’t noticed her sister’s distraught state yet. It was quite rare for her not to be oversensitive over her sister’s defeat. However, even though Anna always took care of her, they were still siblings, and the rivalry they had ran thicker than blood.
Claudia would always cry whenever someone beat her sister, because it was always her goal to do that. In her mind, she was the only one to be allowed to beat Anna, so when this really happened, the little girl was too overwhelmed by the deep desire she always had inside her heart, and she couldn’t care less about her sister right now.
"What an upset, huh?" Irfan shook his head in disbelief. "Who would’ve thought that Anna would make a blunder in such a crucial moment?" He whispered to Master Susanto.
"That just shows you how formidable the youngsters are." The GM whispered back, staring at the final position on the board in admiration. "It is understandable to make a lot of mistakes in a time scramble situation, but for Claudia to capitalize on it without throwing out her advantage is admirable. Claudia is getting stronger in every game, and if Anna didn’t want to be overtaken by her sister, she has to work harder to get better in the future."
As the veterans of the game, they were both happy to see something like this happen. After all, only through competition would a player improve, and now that Claudia had emerged, Anna’s potential would be stimulated further in the future, and they both would be the backbone of the women’s chess community in this country once Irene and Medina retired. Adding the fact that there was still Laysa Latifah, who was also a very talented player, the future of women’s chess in this country seemed to be very bright.
"Okay, the first round of the tournament is over! Break for five minutes, and after that, be back here for the second round!" Irfan announced. Right after that, the crowd dispersed immediately, leaving an empty room with only two veterans of the group left there.
Claudia herself was still on cloud nine. After all, not only did she just win against her big sister, but the girl also found out that she was the current leader of the standing, topping Irene and Medina, who went for a conservative draw. This was a result that no one could predict beforehand, as with Claudia’s usual stable playing style, everyone thought she would aim for a quick draw against her big sister.
Even though it was still the first round of the tournament, and she still had five games to go, at least, a win this early was enough to boost her momentum.
"Don’t worry, Shev! Just wait, because it will be me who is going together with you!" The girl voiced her thought with full confidence, as if it were a sure thing to happen.
"Don’t be too cocky, okay?" Sheva sent a playful karate chop straight to her head, then turned to Anna and gave her an apologetic look. It was a weird scene, as if he were Claudia’s sibling here. "Also, don’t count your sister out yet. This is just the first round, and the defeat here would be the trigger for her to let out the pressure on her shoulder. Once she can go all out without worry, she will be a dangerous competitor in this tournament."
Anna was taken aback when she heard that, not expecting that Sheva would think so highly of her. Hell, she herself didn’t have any expectation, so she couldn’t help but feel touched by this gesture. It also became a new motivation for her, as the girl didn’t want to disappoint Sheva more than this.
’At least, if I couldn’t win for myself, I have to do that for Sheva, who still believes in me!’