Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 2

Vol.13 Ch.11: Engine Lines

"Shall we begin?" Fiona asked. She already finished rearranging the chessboard and sat down in front of it, maintaining the perfect posture of a lady.

"Alright, let's get this rolling."

"You can take white if you wish."

"Haha, no." Cato tossed a coin to decide sides. For the better or the worse, he didn't get white.

"So stubborn," Fiona said. "In my humble opinion, you should first focus on beating me with white."

"I can beat you with black just fine."

"Is that so." Fiona disagreed but she didn't pursue the topic any further. And yet, Cato couldn't help but sense pity from her expression.

Tch, that's the most aggravating part about her.

Unlike Cato would have done in her shoes, Fiona didn't say those things to irritate her opponent or throw them off their game. As far as she was concerned, she was merely stating the truth. She was just innocently and unintentionally trampling all over Cato's pride.

I'll show her. Cato declared silently. I've had more than enough time to study our previous games. I'm ready for anything!

In the past few weeks, he went over every single game he lost to Fiona this year. Each and every dubious play he made had to be analyzed in detail.

Thankfully, many smart chess engines existed today. They deconstructed the games for Cato and advised him what he could've done better, even showing him predictions of how the opponent would've likely responded to these alternative lines. That made the reviewing process both easier and fruitful.

I have strong answers this time. I can steal a win or two from her. Cato was convinced.

Fiona opened the game with pawn to e4. And so, the test began. Could Cato's new insights defeat the "Landberht Princess" this time?

"Princess", huh. More like an Ice Queen.

The girl in front of him was like a manifestation of cold winter. There was not a trace left of her earlier friendliness. The moment the game began, her face turned stone cold.

When competing in anything, Fiona was like an empress who stood at the top above everybody. She exhibited unparalleled skill with ice-cold precision as she crushed everybody in her path without any mercy. There wasn't a single crack in her current expression. There were no hints of happiness or sadness. There was only unbreakable concentration on the task at hand.

My, a truly irritating girl. Cato smiled impishly. But, that's what makes her all the more worthy of breaking apart~

Every time he found himself in front of that stoic face, Cato had the urge to claw at it, to tear down that mask of confidence. Doubt, anger, anguish, or despair. This girl should show at least a fraction of any of these emotions.

But, Fiona always refused these demands. She fired one calculated move after another, all the while wearing her stoic expression.

This is getting bad... Cato frowned. The game was about to hit the mid-game, but he could already tell his position was very suspect.

It was difficult to fully analyze all aspects of the position at hand. He wasn't a chess engine, so couldn't deconstruct all the possible lines on the spot, definitely not within the limited time he had to make his moves.

Nonetheless, he had been in similar scenarios before. So, he could tell where this game was headed.

Unlike Karen's kamikaze playstyle, Fiona played chess by the book. She valued swift, but steady, piece development for the early game. Then, during the mid-game, she made smart use of all the pieces she installed across the board, submitting her opponent through the flexible strength of her army formation.