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Seriously ? A chess tournament ?
When Kalim heard one of their freshmen was participating in the local chess competition on Sage island, he insisted they go encourage him.
By “they”, he meant approximately half of the Scarabia dorm.
Himself included, because where Kalim went, he had to, unfortunately, follow.
Their group was already seated in the tribune, Kalim hyping everyone to cheer for the participants, especially theirs.
He hid an exasperated sigh, he saw the freshman play before, he was a little above average in terms of strategy, but nothing exceptional. He was not going to get very far in the brackets.
His evening was on the verge of becoming very busy for him, with Kalim throwing him a “feel better” party or something.
It was getting harder to hide his abysmal mood. He should have been doing something more productive right now, like preparing dinner, tutoring Kalim or playing basketball.
But no, he was stuck watching a chess tournament.
Why do people even watch chess plays ? It wasn't very eventful, players moving pieces in silence until one loses, nothing interesting.
He looked blankly around the gymnasium getting fuller by the minute, players and watchers filling the room. The organization already placed dozens of playing tables for the brackets and the chessboards were connected to technomancy screens, to project an aerial view of the games for the spectators. People could follow each play easily with this system, since they were so far away to see them themselves.
Exciting
He was going to be bored out of his mind for the next few hours. Sorcerer, he was starting to sound like Floyd, this was not a good thing to become.
He looked around some more while he was ignoring Kalim's chatter next to him, when he saw a familiar uniform.
NRC's board game club uniform.
Seems like their school was participating in the tournament. He found the members from the club easily after that, clustering in the farthest corner of the room. A dozen of their players against one single Scarabia student to win, he was going to be eaten alive by them, knowing their members.
Speaking of their members, he searched for a very specific one, one he was sure was not going to miss this opportunity.
He was right, Azul Ashengrotto was part of the group, he seemed to be speaking to the others, he couldn't hear what he was saying but it was probably something about doing their best and not ruining their reputation.
He rolled his eyes at the thought, when he looked back he saw something he didn't see before.
Surprisingly, Idia Shroud was physically here, no floating tablet for once and he was hiding behind Azul, as if he was the only barrier to imminent danger.
A five years old kid was considered dangerous in Idia's eyes so it did not have much effect on him.
He could only see the top blue flames and his eyes peeking from behind Azul's shoulders, he seemed to be speaking to his clubmates but he wasn't sure.
He hummed thoughtfully, NRC's team presence was sure to add more excitement to the games, at least he hoped.
“Is that our school team there ?!” Kalim shouted, he seemed to have seen them too, pointing straight at them with a finger.
He stood up from his seat and waved his arms around wildly “AZUUUUUUUUUUL !!!” Getting the entire gym attention quickly, even Idia peeked out fearfully from Azul's back “IDIA IS HERE TOO !!! GOOD LUCK ALL OF YOU !!!” The ball of sunshine was jumping around before he pulled him back in his seat, preventing someone from getting hit by his arms.
Azul answered with a cunning smile and a thumbs up, Idia had a much more interesting reaction. He fell to the ground with shriek and did not get back up, the Ignihyde Housewarden was stared down by all of his group in various states of shock. Azul reacted first by kneeling next to him and doing something he couldn't see, but he stayed on the ground.
An organisator went to their side quickly and all panicked, he was soothed down by Azul who probably talked his way out of calling a medic.
The tournament didn't even start and it was already becoming chaotic.
Speaking of it starting, a bell rang announcing the start.
The president of the event stepped to the microphone “Welcome ! To the first Sage Island chess tournament !” The crowd clapped cheerfully “The brackets will be decided by randomized pairings, once the computer finishes pairing you, you may go to the associated table by your name” A new screen lit up right behind the president, names rolling around in suspense until slowly stopping, forming the brackets.
He watched the different pairings, Idia was with someone unknown, as most as the rest of his club. He searched curiously for his first year, wondering if he was going to get lucky or not.
He found it and the name next to it made him feel pity for him.
He was going to play against Azul, the master of strategic play.
He was not going to pass to the second round.
The players went to their seats, Azul lifting Idia's dead body by the collar and pulling toward the latter's chair. He threw the corpse on it, that suddenly came back to life and became aware of his surroundings. Azul walked toward his own table and shook his opponent's hand before sitting down in front of the black pieces with a confident smile.
Said opponent was sweating bullets watching who he was playing against, anyone should be nervous playing a strategy game with Azul.
“Let this tournament commence !”
At each table, a first pawn moved, announcing the start of the battles. The gymnasium was so silent you could hear each piece move on the chessboards.
His own eyes were fixed to his first year and Azul's table, watching on the screen as each hand moved the game forward.
A shaky and nervous hand for his first year with the whites and a relaxed and confident hand for Azul with the blacks.
He was not personally a fan of chess, but how someone played could tell you many things.
Azul played like he did his deals, toying with his prey and confusing it. He cut the different options before his opponent could think about them, he was backing him in a metaphorical corner. He was not surprised to see how he plays, Azul always hated leaving things to chance, always ensuring he came on top. He loves to pull people in his own honey trap, making people believe it was their own choices that pulled them here, not knowing he was pulling the strings all along.
He played exactly like it
With each turn white pieces disappeared from the board, black ones encircling the remaining enemy, blocking them from exit.
The firstie was biting his nails anxiously, eyes shifting around his possibilities quickly and his hand seen on the screen didn't know what to move to avoid the absolute defeat he was about to live.
Defeated, he moved a piece, making his suffering end quickly, by the next turn his opponent would have won.
One last click on the board by Azul's hand finished their game “Checkmate” He announced quietly.
Their screen switched to show the winner's name, Azul, being smug, shook his hand once again with a dejected first year.
Shortly after he joined them in the public, his group was cheering him up.
He continued to watch the brackets advance, as each round eliminated players. Some of NRC's board game club lost, but Azul and Idia were still on course for the win. He was transfixed by Azul's play for some reason, he could not stop staring at those hands, ungloved for once, moving pieces across the chessboard, there was something magnetic about it, something he couldn't explain.
Quarter finals went by, as did the semi until two players were left for the last game.
Azul Ashengrotto and Idia Shroud
It was a guaranteed win for their school, but he was curious about who was going to win.
The competitive grins on both of their faces was promising an entertaining match.
They shook and and started, at first the game advanced quickly, pieces were eliminated but the winner was not determined yet. As the game continued, Azul was starting to lose advantage, Idia taking over the board. They both took more time to think over their moves but Azul was in difficulty, and he knew it.
As each turn went by, Azul's black disappeared from the board little by little, overwhelmed by the constant presence of the white pieces around him.
Each strategy fell flat against Idia's, no matter what he played he would not win the war. It was impressive, even with an impending defeat, Azul took the most pieces he could, down with him. He still played until the last second, until he had no choice but to accept defeat.
With one last move from the whites, he had lost the game, making Idia the winner of the tournament.
He shook Idia's hand one last time, probably with a too tight grip seeing Idia's face contours painfully for a second before letting it go.
The public went wild, cheers and congratulations fell from everyone around him, Kalim being the loudest of them.
“Let's go see them !” He was pulled out of his seat by Kalim forcefully, toward the two finalists who were getting praises.
“IDIA ! AZUL !” He waved at them, he let go of his wrists and ran toward a horror stricken Idia for a hug “CONGRATS FOR WINNING !” Before slamming right into him and throwing them to the ground.
He joined the group and stood beside Azul who was watching a comatose Idia getting hugged by the most extroverted one at their school.
Poor Idia, his anxiety will never survive.
He looked at his side “Congratulations Azul, you almost won” Azul could most certainly hear the sarcasm in his sentence.
Nevertheless, he smiled at him “Thank you Jamil, I hope you cheered up for me”
“Knowing you, you never leave things to chance”
“Well, being cheered on doesn't change anything, but it is a nice feeling to have a fan” The wink he threw at him made him roll his eyes.
“I'm not your fan and I will never be”
“So harsh” He put his hand over his heart dramatically.
“You don't seem too much disappointed you lost here”
Azul contemplated his question before answering “Winning, would have been great, but when Idia and me play against each other, it's 50/50 about who come on top”
“Interesting…”
“And Idia will regret his win shortly”
“What do you-” He was cut by the president talking.
“And now, the winner will make a speech !”
It revived Idia immediately “W-Wait, a speech ?!” He snapped his head toward Azul “You didn't warn me ?!”
“It must have slipped my mind when you were gloating earlier about my “astronomically and absolute defeat to the game god”, sorry” By the smile on his face, he was not sorry at all.
Idia was scrambling to get up and hide, when the president put a hand on his shoulder and took him toward his doom.
It was silent for a short while when Azul started talking again.
“Well, it is a Night Raven College victory, we will have an event at the lounge tonight if you want to attend”
He raised an eyebrow, suspicious “What's the catch ?”
It made him chuckle “No catch, tonight all drinks are 20% off as a one time deal, only tonight, I would love to see you”
He shifted his expression to exasperation “I'll think about it” For once he said the truth, he was thinking whether going was a good idea or not.
“That's all I ask”
Perhaps he will, if his duties didn't get in the way, it was quite an interesting day.
And perhaps he will ask to play chess with him one day.