Chapter 647: Teaching the Three Students Again!

“That bitch? Apologize?” Devi snorted coldly when Sheva delivered the message. “Hell must be freezing, right?” The girl sneered sarcastically.

The other boys could only bow their heads silently, trying their best to make their presence as low as possible and not attract the girl’s attention. They knew the explosive rivalry between Devi and Claudia, and getting in the middle of it would definitely be a suicidal move for them.

“I don’t expect you to forgive her straight away or become buddy-buddy tomorrow, but can you at least appreciate her effort to make amends here?” Sheva couldn’t help but sigh. He had already lost count of how many times he sighed today, which was bad since that meant a lot. “Anyway, I am not expecting you to be my best friend, but at least, can you be civil? She would also try the same, you know? If you don’t try to keep up, you will only look like an asshole.”

It was cheap to emotionally blackmail the girl like that. However, Sheva didn’t have a choice here. He himself didn’t expect that Devi, a super polite girl who would always smile at anyone she met, would have that snarky side inside her.

’I thought it was just Ia, but thinking again now, the conflict is definitely not one-way, right? It seems Devi also has a fair share of pettiness, enough to spark the conflict again once they are in a more peaceful time.’ Sheva couldn’t help but murmur.

Devi went quiet for a moment before, in the end, much to Sheva’s relief, nodding in agreement.

“Don’t get me wrong, I will not try to act kind to her! But as long as she didn’t do anything stupid first, I would just ignore her! At least, I would do that for your sake, Brother!” Devi snorted while also throwing away her face as if she didn’t care about this.

’What a tsundere…’ Sheva snorted amusedly.

It was quite late at night already, and yet, somehow, the sky was still quite bright. Sheva checked for a moment, just to find out that the sunset here in July was around 9:30. Then, after knowing that they could still stay awake for a while, he turned his attention to the two unusually quiet boys next to Devi and asked, “So, how are you guys doing?”

“Eh… How should I say it…” Nayaka just rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, which was not a bad sign since he was the opposite of awkward.

Duta, though, didn’t have any intention to sugarcoat things.

“It is terrible, Brother Sheva.” He said it darkly. “It is so infuriating how everyone is celebrating their win, and Devi is also happy with her draw, when we are the only players losing our game. We even have to act happy for them when we are bleeding inside!” He ranted out of frustration.

Well, not that Sheva didn’t expect this, but he was indeed surprised that the outburst came from Duta, the quietest person among the three. In his mind, it should be Nayaka, the most animated one, who expressed his frustration.

However, Sheva couldn’t care less for now, as he took out his phone and said, “That’s why I am here, to help you prepare so that you won’t fall twice in a row. Come on, open your phone. Let’s see your pairing tomorrow.”

This time, not just Duta, but Nayaka and Devi followed the order quickly, checking the phone to find out their next opponent. There, after looking for a moment, they finally found out their opponent tomorrow.

Safira Devi (2074) – (2428) Vantika Agrawal

Fabian Frey (2212) – (2122) Satria Duta Cahaya

Nayaka Buddhidharma (2111) – (2198) Ozcan Kaan

“So, you guys are going to face a…” Sheva frowned as he narrowed his eyes at the phone. “A local guy for Duta, a Turkish FM for Nayaka, and a big game against another talented woman for Devi. Well, other than Devi, I don’t think your opponent is that tough.” The boy concluded.

Devi just pouted right now. Of course, she knew Vantika Agrawal. While her name was not as resounding as the other Indian players like Humpy Koneru or Harika Dronavalli, Vantika was a high-level IM who was trying to climb to the GM level.

She remembered the stories from the other veteran female players, like Medina, of how they faced Vantika, and one thing Devi was sure of was that Vantika was never an easy opponent. The woman had the drive to fight till the last breath, even if she was in a worse position, which often gave her opponent a headache.

Who would’ve thought that Devi would be so unlucky to draw Vantika Agrawal in the second round after having to fight Aryan Chopra earlier?

“It seems you are right, Brother Sheva. I have the worst luck in the world.” The girl huffed annoyedly.

“Well, that’s what you get for getting a strong draw against one of the top-seeded players.” Sheva shrugged. “Anyway, let’s get straight to the point. I will help you prepare for tomorrow’s game, so bring out all your preparation books, because I will check everything!”

Both Duta and Nayaka had their eyes shining like children. They saw the training Sheva had with Devi earlier in the morning, and while the method was brutal, none of them could deny that the effect was there. I mean, a 500-rating difference, and yet, Devi could still force a draw? That should tell a lot, right?

That was the beginning of their brutal training session.

The method was simple. Sheva would ask them to make a move first and ask why they would do that. Then, Sheva would start asking what would happen if the opponent made this move, or that move, anything that Sheva thought could possibly happen in the game. He would always ask his students to analyze the position by themselves, only stepping up when they were stumped for more than five minutes without any answer.

Of course, he wouldn’t just give the answer straightaway. No, everything was delivered as a hint, forcing them to think more. This was good to train their analytical ability, not just following the best computer line without knowing anything.

Duta and Nayaka also gained a lot in just one training session. They really benefited from Sheva’s vast knowledge, having to face so many weird scenarios that they thought were impossible, but the older boy pointed out the exact game in history with that kind of situation.

At least, once the training session was over, they would have an idea of what kind of response they should throw for every possible move that their opponent could pull.

“Thank you for the session, Brother Sheva.” Nayaka bowed deeply, showing his respect in an old-fashioned way. “Don’t worry, tomorrow will be our redemption arc! Just wait for our good news!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep