Chapter 47 - 47: I’m Your Fan

The current market value of the property was about 200,000 dollars. Kevin could get hold of about 100,000 dollars. He had 300,000 dollars worth of legacy left by Sophia, from which he could take out 100,000 dollars to buy the house from Linda, or he could ask for 100,000 dollars from Linda.

As for the crime of abandonment, Sophia had only mentioned that on a whim. It would be difficult to prove, considering it had all happened so long ago. She didn't care if they could win the case, as long as it scared Linda off a bit. Linda was a cowardly bully, and something like that would make her cautious.

Anyway, she didn't care if Linda went to jail or not.

The day of the final chess tournament arrived. Sophia turned on her computer early that morning. It wasn't time yet. The game had not started.

She logged on to her blog and found so many letters and messages to her.

"I'm your fan and want to be your friend!"

"I want to play chess with you. I really, really want to, please!"

"Hi, I'm a chess player. May I have the honor of playing chess with you? Your performance in the competition is amazing!"

"Looking forward to your match with Mitch Watson!"

***

It was only at this moment that Sophia realized how much attention this online chess contest had attracted.

Was it that chess was very popular nowadays? Weren't all the boys talking about Grand Theft Auto or something? Was that now out of fashion, and everybody had started to play chess?

Who was Mitch Watson?

She turned off the dialogue and didn't respond to any of the messages. She just wanted to make money. She didn't want a distraction. She didn't want to lose.

She googled "Mitch Watson" and found that he was the world number one chess player. What did this man have to do with her? Why would anyone expect her to be playing a match with Mitch Watson?

How would she ever beat Mitch Watson? What a joke! She was just an amateur, and she could not be compared to professional chess players!

She took a quick look at the comments and realized that everyone was guessing that "M378" was this Mitch Watson!

She decided these people had wild imaginations. Maybe they hadn't realized the situation? Didn't they know? "M378" was at the same level as her at chess. How could they possibly be the world number one chess player? If that really were the case, she would be able to compete in international competitions!

She entered the game interface to wait.

It wouldn't be too long until the finals began!

The list with the names of the thirteen contestants appeared on the screen, ordered by the ranking of the previous round.

There was a list of Ms on the chart. However, in seventh place, there was an anomaly:

Knowing A Person.

This account was like a lonely white lotus, blooming in the middle of the list, standing out in its difference.

The chat room immediately fired up, full of discussion.

"Great! My KAP goddess!"

"Feels like my heroine is surrounded. Haha, it's so funny! Kick their ass, my queen!"

"Come on, my goddess! Kill them! Do us all proud!"

The final applied a knockout system. That was to say, and once a contestant lost one match, it was all over for them. There was no chance to enter the next round.

There were thirteen contestants, and it wasn't even. The system automatically paired them up. And the thirteenth contestant would get a free pass to the next round. The surviving contestants continued to compete till they got a clear result.

Sophia played with "M006". She was in black, and it was her opponent's turn to start first.

However, after waiting for a while, "M006" had still not started. As time was counting down for his first move, he began.

"M006" played very slowly. They knew every step would count. That was fine by Sophia, and she was not in a hurry. After all, it was the final. Her opponent must be very cautious.

But Sophia played quickly, and when it was her turn, she played in five seconds. The time that her opponent waited was long enough for her to think of several ways to play.

"M006" was good at chess. It was not an easy match for Sophia. But after nearly an hour, Sophia got the advantage after taking her opponent's queen.

At this point, her opponent suddenly quickened up their pace. No longer as before, slowly, and methodically moving each piece.. Sophia began to enjoy herself and went on playing.

Since "M006" had sped up the speed of their playing, it seemed that the chess skills of M0006 seemed to have improved all of a sudden. Sophia thought for a while and changed her game plan. After a further hour, she finally checkmated her opponent's king and won.

Luckily as it was the final, there was no time limit. If it had been in the first few rounds, these two would have been at a deadlock for so long that Sophia sure would have been knocked out due to a lack of points. She always worried about this loophole in the previous rounds. When two good players are playing together, it would certainly use a lot of time. They might even both be eliminated due to a lack of points and not a lack of merit.

Of course, the rules of the game were fair to everyone. In addition to the competition of the chess skills between players, there was almost always some element of luck.

If the number two contestant came across the number one contestant in the first inning of the finals, there was no way around it. One would have to eliminate, and one is eliminated.

When Sophia finished the game with "M006", other players were still playing. Everyone had to wait until the last player had finally finished.. Then, the system would assign opponents for the next round.