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The time was 10:52 am.

The next stage of the finals was scheduled to take place. Looking around, I saw the other three victors of the previous round. The chess prodigy—Kanako, the Outcome of the Ideal Human Project—Hasegawa and the surprising winner from Class 2-E—Murakami. We four were set to play our next matches.

Well, I didn\'t really care that much, but I guess I\'d have to get one more win.

Taking another seat, I was opposite my next opponent, someone very familiar to me. It looked like I was going to have another match with Kanako then. Grinning at me, she looked as if she was having the time of her life.

"M-mizuhara, I suppose we\'re playing each other again."

"I guess so."

"Do you want me to go easy on you~?" she giggled, twirling her hair between her fingers.

"I actually learnt some theory just before."

"Oh? Fufu, I expect great things from you, teacher~"

I looked into her bright, amber eyes. This was the first time I would be playing against her after being relieved of my tutoring duties.

Suddenly, she looked away, covering her face bashfully.

"Hey... don\'t just stare at me like that..."

"Sorry."

Regaining her composure, she looked down at the board.

The time was 10:59 am.

This wasn\'t really a match I could afford to go easy on if I wanted to win. Kanako\'s play style is sharp, tricky and technical. Even a few inaccuracies could spell a loss against her. Thinking about some of the openings in my mind, I considered my options.

Well, I\'m playing to win—so she doesn\'t really stand a chance.

***

11:00 am.

I was playing with the white pieces giving me the ability to take charge to some extent. I took a few seconds before playing my first move.

Picking up the dense, wooden pawn, I moved it to E4.

Kanako smiled before moving her pawn to E5.

I followed up with Knight to C3.

She then played Knight to F6.

Then, I played D4, initiating the Scotch Game. There was a noticeable reaction on Kanako\'s face when I played this.

She responded with pawn takes on D4.

After which, I played Bishop C4, the Scotch Gambit.

We were playing the exact same line as the one time I won against her at the beginning of my tutoring \'career\'. However, this time Kanako was playing much more cautiously and much more accurately. Unlike last time, she played perfect moves, not giving me the opportunity to quickly trade off pieces.

I figured as much. Instead, I slowly developed my position. My ultimate goal was to push the game to an endgame as fast as possible, like that time. In terms of pure chess tactical knowledge, Kanako was still above me. I needed to break down and simplify the game as much as possible.

Move after move, I slowly consolidated my formation. It was clear that Kanako was purposely trying to keep as many pieces on the board as possible. As such, our game developed incredibly slowly, with both of us being stuck in incredibly cramped positions. She was playing with the intention of choking both of us.

However, as the game went on, pieces were inevitably traded off. Kanako was still unable to make a significant breakthrough as the game transitioned through the middle game. At that point, I was careful not to leave an opening. We continued to play, very precisely adjusting our pieces around.

All of a sudden, several pieces were forcibly traded off the board. Kanako stared at the position. It seemed that she didn\'t think that it was too problematic. There were still quite a few pieces, including Rooks, Knights and many pawns.

We played a few more moves each.

Ah.

Kanako hadn\'t seen it yet, but—the game was over.

I had already won.

There was a forced mate in exactly 11 moves.

She played another move.

I then played mine.

She played one more.

Then I played another.

All of a sudden, she froze in place.

Just before putting her hand on the pawn that she wanted to move, her entire body went still. Looking down at the position, she realised it.

"—ah."

I heard a sound come out of her mouth.

She saw the same thing I saw.

Instead of picking up the piece, she stuck out her hand toward me.

Well, that was it then.

"I resign," she said.

I took her hand and shook it. However, as I pulled away, I noticed that she was still holding onto it. Grabbing onto my fingers, she didn\'t let go.

"Kanako?"

"Mizuhara, you might not think anything of me at the moment... But I promise I\'ll make you look this way."

She let go.

A teacher came over to verify the result.

[Mizuhara Ayato Victory]

***

On a nearby table, Hasegawa Mio and Murakami Akio were playing against each other.

In the beginning, it would appear that the match was relatively close, with neither side showing that they were clearly stronger than the other. However, as the game progressed and the number of pieces was reduced, it became very apparent who had the upper hand.

For someone who was more athletically driven like Murakami, even despite his incredible intelligence, he was simply incapable of calculating the depth and accuracy of someone from the Ideal Human Project. Hasegawa could practically see into the future when it came to her game against Murakami.

After not a great deal of time, Hasegawa was simply consolidating her position and slowly swallowing up Murakami\'s pieces, one by one. It was a positive feedback loop as the fewer pieces there were on the board, the easier it was for Hasegawa to pick them off. One after another, Murakami\'s pieces were taken.

Eventually, the game was all but over. Murakami was both losing in material and positioning, and Hasegawa could calculate further than him.

After a few more moves, Hasegawa was able to force a checkmate.

"Checkmate."

The two shook hands as Murakami looked down at Hasegawa.

"I see, so this is what she meant by \'monster\'..." he mumbled.

[Hasegawa Mio Victory]

***