“This… this cannot be…” said Kishi, his fast plastered with shock. “I… how could I have possibly lost? I, the great Kishi? And to Kaburi’s second, no less? I… I…”

“You flatter yourself. You didn’t just lose. You were stomped. Convincingly. In all honesty, I wonder how a person could have played for as many years as you and still be so utterly useless. I’m almost disappointed.” Sai rolled her eyes at his outburst

“Thou… thou art a charlatan! Heathen! Heretic!”

“You’re not using any of those words correctly.”

“Thou… thou must have pulled the wool over my eyes! Some trickery like what thee pulled in the first round! A trick and nothing more! I will accept no such loss!”

“Oh, can it, you overdramatic idiot,” I interrupted. “The match is won, fair and square, 3-2. Just accept it and move on with your life.”

“I will do no such thing! I have my pride as chess club captain to preserve!” He was actively going red in the face. “Thou said three-to-two, yes? That must mean that my warrior bested thee! I see now! The ruse thee hath pulled! ‘Twas not thee who was the strongest on thy team, but the maiden! Yes, thou must have used some trickery to convince her to take thy place and best me, knowing that thee could achieve no such feat thyself!”

“Oh, piss off. There’s no way you actually believe that. Hell, you’re the one who wanted me to play your guy instead of you.”

“Silence! I will hear none of it! I demand of thee to play me here and now, that I prove once and for all who is the better of us!”

***

“I know he was being annoying, but did you really need to promote five queens and embarrass him like that?” Asked Pep

“Hey, it’s common courtesy to resign when a game is overwhelmingly lost. He’s the one who dragged it out longer than he had to.”

“I do understand and empathise with your desire to humiliate him, but you needn’t have wasted our time on it as well.”

“I think my sadism is the part of me that you’re supposed to empathise with the least, Sai. And besides, it’s Pep that insisted we all leave together, I’d have been happy for you two to go on ahead.”

“We couldn’t do that! We have to…” Pep trailed off, seemingly struggling to find her next words. “...we should have a post tourney team meeting, right? We can talk about things on the way back home.”

“Well, I suppose you have a good point. Always good to go over progress.”

I was surprised to hear Pep talk about that, though, since she won with an opening trap. Not a whole lot you can review with a game that goes exactly how you expect it to. She did miss an early checkmate, but that’s just a matter of learning the line a little better, something that takes very little actual review.

As for Sai’s game, judging by the board at the end, it was a slaughter. She still had a rook, three minor pieces and a queen for his lone rook which was on a completely inactive square. Not to mention the three passed pawns she had somehow gained in the dead middle of the board. It was a baffling position and I’d have loved to know how it got there, but considering she completely shut out her opponent, I doubted there was much for her to analyse either.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

No, the only game that was really worth reviewing was my own. Despite my utmost confidence going in, I was convincingly beaten by a player I honestly did not believe to be noticeably better than me. Which is why the next question was one I had completely existed.

“So, tell me. How, among the three of us, was our great and noble captain the only player to lose his game?” Sai asked.

“Man, the sarcasm really hurts my feelings, y’know. And here I thought I had none of those left.” I breathed in heavily before speaking again, trying to word my answer carefully. “My opponent said something that, even though I disagree with it, is sticking in my mind. He said that the reason I lost wasn’t because I was the worse player, but because I was too prideful. That my obsession with winning caused me to throw the game.”

“And you disagree with that assessment? Personally I believe it’s quite astute. Allow me to hazard a guess: you played an unnecessary and risky sacrifice that backfired spectacularly?” Sai said.

“You’re right but… is it really pride? Hubris no doubt, but pride?”

“Not like our Kabucchi has anything to be proud of,” Pep added, skipping happily and humming a tune.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Pep.” I should have guessed I wouldn’t get anything useful out of her. “Still, the thing that really made me doubt what he was saying was that he thought I had ‘something to prove.’ But what could I possibly have to prove to someone like him? I didn’t even know the guy, I don’t care what he thinks of me.”

“For an apparently smart man, you really can be a fool, can’t you?” Sai said, sighing. “It wasn’t him that you were desperate to prove yourself to. It was yourself. Perhaps neanderthal is too kind a label for you, even a caveman could understand that much.”

“Why would I have to prove myself to myself? I know how good I am. What sense does that make?”

“Someone with your grades cannot be this daft. Kaburi, every time I have played a game against you, you have seemed completely desperate to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you’re the superior player.”

“Bullshit, when do I ever seem desperate?”

“Is that supposed to be a joke? You play moves you know are poor because you cannot stand a game without a flashy checkmate or gambit. It’s as if you’re entirely averse to the principles of chess theory. Were I to guess, you want above all else to prove that you can win with your own intelligence rather than ideas you learned from others. But in doing so, you make ridiculous mistakes that no player of your calibre should ever make. Perhaps it is pride, perhaps it is not, but it is undeniably your greatest downfall as a player.”

I wanted to reply, but fell silent. I couldn’t deny what she said. I had always been averse to playing chess the ‘proper’ way, but I never had a concrete reason why. I had always said I simply found it boring, but in truth, there were games that followed the principles to the tee and were still more than entertaining enough. Perhaps it was novelty, not victory I was obsessed with. I didn’t want to win. I wanted to stand out. Perhaps not to prove that I was smarter, but more original than everyone else.

On that front, I simply couldn’t argue.

“But… I think that’s one of the things that’s great about you, Kabucchi…” said Pep. Her tone had previously been bubbly, but now it sounded far more sincere. “You always try to find your own way of doing things. You’re not held down by people’s expectations. You’re free, you do things for yourself without caring whether other people agree or not. I really admire that about you.”

“Peppi, I mean no disrespect but I must say there is nothing admirable about this man. Both as a chess player and as a man, he acts like the most detestable of sorts.”

“And that’s what’s great about you too, Sai. You’re so principled and strong, you make your voice heard and you work to prove yourself right every time. You’re headstrong, but fair and understanding too. You make a wonderful teacher, and a wonderful friend.”

Sai and I looked back and forth between each other, completely confused, while Pep continued walking, a few paces ahead and facing away from us.

“I mean… I really appreciate the compliment, and I’m sure Sai feels the same, but this feels a little… random? What’s with the sudden affirmations?”

“Is it not normal for a girl to talk like this about the people who are dear to her? You two mean a lot to me, and I just wanted you both to know that. And besides, I told you before that I had something to confess, didn’t?” Pep stopped on the spot and turned to face us both. “Kaburi. Sai. I love you.”