Chapter 49 - 49: Risky Moment

"Yeah… let's play next time, Jimmy. Let's watch the game first. I'm excited! I have absolutely no desire to play."

"Yeah! You know what, me either."

Everyone was talking about the upcoming match between KAP and M368.

"They're finally meeting! Ah, I'm really looking forward to it. Come on, KAP goddess! Bring it home!"

"I don't know why I'm so excited about a chess match. I don't even know the rules… but I'm just so excited!"

"Love you, my goddess!"

"I want to know, am I the only one who wants to see the goddess meet her nemesis?"

"You are not the only one…"

Something shocking happened before the penultimate round could take place.

Two of the players went off-line at the same moment.

They had both surrendered!

Sophia was a little confused. The two men had worked so hard to reach the semi-finals. What could have happened to them? Why did they throw in the towel?

The winner would enter the final and would win at least 1500 dollars! Didn't they want the money?

The host was shocked, too. They had not prepared for this situation.

The whole tournament had been full of surprises. The players had been far more skillful than they had ever imagined. And the mystery of the M Army, which seemed to have been composed of international players, had never been solved. Now, in the semi-finals, there was a double withdrawal!

This situation was awkward. Should the remaining game now be called the final?

The organizers could not figure out what to do and had to suspend the competition while they took a moment to decide what to do next.

Someone called Albert Pearson and asked for his advice.

Pearson said slowly and clearly, "Just change it to the final. Do you want these two to have another game after this one? It's pointless."

Immediately, the organizers issued an announcement. The semi-final was canceled because two of the semi-final players had abstained, and so the final would be held directly.

Sophia was surprised. She didn't expect to have made the final so easily.

The game began.

Sophia was white and moved first.

M378 quickly followed. His pace was quick and almost equal to Sophia's.

She was a little nervous at first, but after the first ten steps, she was fully engaged in the game and had no more energy to think about anything else.

M378 took a safe way this time. He didn't attack rashly but sought to save his pieces each move. His defense was almost unassailable.

Sophia saw dozens of moves in her mind in a flash, but she found that there was no one-size-fits-all solution. There were always ways to crack them. Every step was extremely dangerous.

The chess players in the chat room were shocked.

"Isn't Mitch good at hitting at the start? He's not daring to attack! "

"Is he worried, do you think?"

Sophia had to admit that she was having a hard time playing chess.

After placing a piece, she had to rethink the layout and consider more possibilities.

She checked the time of the game. It had been two hours. According to the regulations, the winner had to be decided within three hours.

Just then, she heard her mother calling her, "Sophia, time for dinner!"

"I'll eat later, Mom! Don't worry about me. You can eat first!"

Sophia looked back to her computer and found it was her turn.

She had not had time to conceive the layout of the next step fully, so she took a step forward from her previous idea.

As soon as she moved, she shouted, "Dame it!"

Sure enough, after three steps, Mitch took her castle.

It was a very important piece in the game. Losing a castle may not be the end of the world, but it was not inconsequential.

Sure enough, within a few moves, she was gradually at a disadvantage.

She took a deep breath and suddenly made a bold decision.

And she immediately launched into a fierce attack.

It was a very risky moment to attack. It had a lot of flaws, but it was also the only way to change the whole situation.

She would have to bet on her luck!

The offense ripped a gap in Mitch Watson's tight defense. But at the same time, he also took her other castle. And one of her pawns also suffered a fierce attack. And the king and queen were attacked at the same time!

The situation suddenly changed!

M378 hesitated, but there was nothing else to do. He had to remove his king from danger and abandon the queen.

Sophia took her chance and made her victory certain.

With two minutes to go, those magic words appeared on the screen: checkmate.

Sophia had won!

The audience in the chat room went crazy.

"KAP really won! She's so amazing!"

"It's so exciting!"

"I can't understand it, I feel shocked. It looked like a battle between two greats, like war!"

"I'm more nervous than playing Grand Theft Auto!"

Even the host cried out excitedly, "KAP is so great! Taking that risky move at a critical moment, only she would dare do it! I wouldn't even dare to think that way! She's my idol! What a hero!"

He was referring to a move that KAP played, which at first seemed to put her at a disadvantage. He had worried she had made a mistake, but it had been the turning point that changed everything.

The people in the chat room were all offering gifts, and the host was so happy that he almost jumped up to dance. He was not a professional at this, just a chess amateur. But a few days ago, he saw the intense online discussion about the chess competition and out of interest, and he opened a specialized chat room for it.

He hadn't done it for money. It was just a hobby that he wanted to share with others. He didn't expect that he'd make so much money.. After several live broadcasts in the chat room, the gifts from the audience had added up to nearly four thousand dollars. He was still in college, and that amount was even more than the scholarship he had been given for the year!