A Proper Challenge
T-this guy... wants to experience every single inch of me?
💬 Look at Jansen's face, holy crap
💬 The modern GOAT is struggling against a 6-year-old lmao
💬 Look at the sweat, look at it
💬 He's gonna hyperventilate at this rate
💬 Wait, they're both playing so seriously for just an exhibition match lol
An Seoyeon / Time Remaining: 24s
Magnus Jansen / Time Remaining: 15.5s
The game proceeded tensely.
Both players countered each other with flawless, pixel-perfect endgame technique, not wasting a single move.
Fischer and Jansen—both guaranteed to be in the top three when naming the greatest endgame players of all time.
The battle between these two legendary players was insanely fierce.
Kf8+, Kh8, Re6, Rb8+, Kf7, Kh7, Kh8...
Clack, clack, clack, clack!
Slam!
With only three seconds left on his clock, Jansen slammed the timer as if trying to break it.
"Come on! Whew...!"
The moment Seoyeon's rook defended f6, the white king repeated the same move three times.
Threefold repetition. Draw.
💬 Wow, it's really a draw
💬 Jansen is insane lol. The engine says Kf8+ is the only move, and he found it
💬 And then Seoyeon counters the only move with the only move, holy crap
💬 Seoyeon is crazy, Jansen is crazy, everyone is crazy
"And that's the end of the game...?"
💬 ??????
💬 Whoa
💬 Whoa
💬 Whoa!!!
💬 HOLY CRAP!
💬 First Korean to draw against Jansen, insane
After a grueling rook and pawn endgame, Seoyeon secured a draw.
Clatter.
Jansen stopped packing up his pieces and stared at Seoyeon.
His face was filled with dissatisfaction.
He looked around for a moment before speaking to Seoyeon.
"Why? What are you so unhappy about? Getting a draw against me is a very rare achievement, you know."
"A draw... is just a tie. It's not a win, you know?"
Seoyeon's hands trembled as she packed up her pieces.
As if she would never have sat at the board in the first place if she were going to be satisfied with a mere draw.
"I don't like draws either. But what could I do? You hit me so hard that I had no choice but to run away into a drawing line."
"And besides..."
"What else?"
"It's only right to break the nose of a cocky jerk who slurped down noodles right before a sacred match, you know."
"Huh? Me? Oh... Right! You're not wrong. Hahaha!"
Jansen smiled satisfyingly and slipped his phone out of his pocket.
"Ah, is everything we say here being broadcasted? In real-time?"
"Yes, that's correct. All conversations with player An Seoyeon will be used as broadcast material."
"Yeah, well. I just checked the chat on my phone, and—"
💬 Yeah, it's just an exhibition match
💬 Yeah, it's Rapid, right?
💬 2nd game? Jansen's lateness routine was broken, so his performance dropped. Stop hating lol
💬 He obviously went easy on her, logically speaking
💬 Fr fr, how does it make sense for an Asian girl to go toe-to-toe with the GOAT Jansen?
"They keep talking nonsense. I wanted to say a word for them to hear."
"What is it?"
Seoyeon tilted her head.
"Nothing much, just being honest. In all the games I've played so far... including exhibition matches, I have never once not been serious."
Jansen jumped up and shouted even louder.
"Today is no different, you fools. Seoyeon is the strongest female player of this era... well, that's too obvious so let's skip that. She's not an opponent I can afford to go easy on. I treated both games today as official tournament matches and gave it my absolute best."
💬 And that guy came after eating noodles?
💬 Uh-huh, it's his routine
💬 Jeans + Lateness + Noodles = GOAT
💬 You can't resist $3 Korean noodles
"And in the game just now, anyone who knows chess would have seen that I was the one being chased. For the last ten moves, I was just running away to avoid losing. You all saw it, right?"
💬 It's An Seoyeon!!!! Run away!
💬 Jeans Man officially respecting a Korean player? *patriotic tears*
💬 World No. 1 admitting he played just to not lose to a 6-year-old, insane
💬 World No. 1? Jansen is the GOAT, bro...
💬 Jansen doesn't say that to just anyone. Do the haters even know chess?
"I'm sure of it now. Rapid isn't enough to see Seoyeon's full potential! And since I'm in Korea, I want to experience every nook and cranny of her play. At that age, with that career, she's already Super GM level. She's an absurdly talented genius. She's really, really pro!"
Jansen was scheduled to rest after the exhibition match with Seoyeon before visiting Japan three days later.
But the recent games, which had made the world's strongest player tense for the first time in a long while, changed his mind.
"Seoyeon, do you want to play a Classical game in two days? With increment, for real. We can play with a cheap one-dollar chess set from the noodle shop, or we can play at your house. Let's have a proper match. What do you say?"
💬 Classical????
💬 K-Fischer vs. Just Jansen
💬 Whoa, a declaration of war lol
💬 ???: World No. 1 chess player wants to experience every inch of a 6-year-old girl and asks for her home address
💬 You, get out
💬 (Blocked message)
"I'm sick of the FIDE crowd, but I still enjoy it when geniuses like you appear around the world and challenge me. And among those geniuses, you are the best, An Seoyeon. Will you accept my challenge?"
Seoyeon, who wanted to play as many games as possible with Jansen, had no reason to refuse a challenge he had thrown down himself.
"Fine. I'll make that smirking face of yours turn pale in two days. Puhut!"
As she spoke, a cold sweat ran down Seoyeon's neck.
Huhuhu.
Tomorrow, I'm playing a Classical match against that jeans-wearing bastard.
The venue is our academy.
We're keeping it compact, inviting only people we know.
My absolute favorite style of match.
The perfect environment where I can focus entirely on the game without any spectators or reporters!
Get ready, you jeans-wearing bastard!
A draw and a loss in Rapid can easily be repaid with a single win in Classical.
I feel great!
Even though the bitter taste of defeat hasn't fully faded, leaving a dark cloud in my mind.
But stuff like this will all be resolved once I win tomorrow.
Or will it?
Ping!
A message arrived.
I accepted Miha-eonni's invitation and went to a gym.
Are we going to work out together or something?
Whirrr.
As soon as I opened the gym door, a blast of hot air hit me.
It wasn't as bad as the boxing gym last time, but...
This place smells totally like sweat too!
Walking a bit further inside, I immediately spotted Miha-eonni.
"Welcome."
Dressed in sweat-soaked workout clothes, Miha-eonni approached while wiping her neck with a towel.
"Eonni, why did you call me here all of a sudden? You know I have an important match tomorrow."
"I know. That's why I called you. Physical stamina is the foundation of Classical chess, right? And also—"
"What, that's just the basics! I work out every day too."
It's the basic of basics. Stamina is the foundation of chess.
Ever since I started teaching Miha-eonni, I've been training even harder (by child standards, of course).
"It's not like working out today is going to make me suddenly stronger."
"Muscles don't grow in a single day, but hear me out, Seoyeon. There's something that can improve in just one day."
Eonni smiled.
"What is it?"
"Your mind! Your heart!"
"Booo..."
Eonni pinched my cheeks.
"Your eyes were shaking like an earthquake after you lost yesterday, you know. And you didn't look too happy with the draw either."
Twitch!
How dare she bring up the draw and the loss!
"Don't be scared, Seoyeon. Instead of worrying, let's move together. Moving your body clears out all the distracting thoughts in your head."
"Hmph! I know that too, okay? I can do it by myself!"
"Is that so? For me, it works better when we do it together. When you work out with a friend, the fear of losing and the frustration of defeat just wash away with the sweat. Want to run with me?"
"I'm not scared! And I'm not going to lose!"
"I know, I know. I know very well that Seoyeon will win tomorrow."
Eonni patted my head.
"Oh, you're just too cute."
"Hwaaaah."
Stop calling me cute while patting me.
It makes me feel weird.
"Now, shall we warm up a bit?"
Eonni handed me a jump rope that was as tall as me.
"Jump rope?! That's for babies—"
"Jansen does a thousand of these every day."
"Let's do it right now."
Eonni burst out laughing.
Fine.
I'll show her how it's done.
Hop. Hop!
Strangely, with every jump, with every drop of sweat, and with every chat we had during our breaks...
...the heavy weight that had been pressing down on my chest since yesterday gradually grew lighter.
To be honest, I was a little anxious.
'Fischer, you piece of shit, stop whining.'
'Listen up, Fischer. You're a useless piece of trash who can't do anything but chess. What are you going to do if you lose?'
I was afraid I'd hear those words again, just like in my past life.
But I'm fine now!
Tomorrow, I'll completely crush that jeans-wearing bastard with a crystal-clear mind, even if it takes six or seven hours!
Uhahang! ♥
The next day.
Just as Miha-eonni said, sweating and laughing together had brought peace to my mind.
I could show my strongest chess in peak condition.
With absolute confidence that I wouldn't lose to anyone, I made the first move.
Then, move by move.
I played with absolute seriousness.
Just like back then.
Like when I fought Spassky in 1972, with the fate of nations on the line.
And then, we entered the third endgame against Jansen.
I finally succeeded in teaching him a lesson!
If Fischer brings the bishop pair into the endgame, even God Himself would only manage a draw!
"WOW."
"Puhahang!"
I just banked the most satisfying part of chess once again!
Slam!
"Dad, Jansen is hitting the desk for no reason!"
"A-a rage quit?"
Slamming the desk in front of a child just because he made a mistake and got frustrated.
What a pathetic sight!
"Sorry, I did that without thinking."
Hey, Jeans.
You're trash at chess.
Noob. ♥
Pupuput!