"So, how do you feel~?" Sheva asked with a huge smile on his face. "Hey~ Hey~ Hey~! Don't ignore me like that, please~! Tell me, how do you feel after getting your first WGM norm and getting closer to your big sis? Happy~? Ecstatic~?" The teasing tone in his voice was enough to make everyone who heard that smile probably think that they were really siblings here.
"Oh, shut up, please!" Claudia shoved the boy in embarrassment. However, the smile plastered on her face definitely answered his question. "It is just one norm! I still need two more to get my title, you know?!" She coughed, trying to make herself look like an adult here.
Sheva just smiled at how adorable she was. Still, he didn't tease her more, knowing that the girl got flustered so easily. He turned around, looking at Bagas, who was busy typing on his phone.
"So, what are you doing?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Well, I am currently texting with Master Irfan." He said, while also chewing a piece of bread that he brought from the restaurant too. "I mean, it is a rare occasion for two Indonesian players to get their norms in the same tournament abroad. Even though the hype wouldn't be big since it is just your first, not your final norm that would earn you the title, it is still a big event, and I ask him to give you both the exposure that you deserve."
Now, Sheva was frowning, not having any idea of what his best friend wanted to do. "More detail, please?" He pushed a little bit.
"Oh, well… To put it simply, I want him to pull some strings here, calling the media he is familiar with to do a little interview with you guys." A huge grin suddenly formed on Bagas's face as he saw his best friend turning pale. "Yeah, Shev, a real interview. This time, it is with a proper media, not a YouTube channel."
Blood seemed to be drained from his body, as Sheva felt his soul just leave his body right now. The thought of him having to be interviewed in front of the camera was enough to make the boy vomit on the spot. It didn't help that Bagas laughed his ass off when he saw his best friend's reaction, clearly enjoying Sheva's misery right now.
"Oh, stop laughing at him, Bagas!" Claudia chided the fat boy, but the smile on her face clearly betrayed her. "Don't worry, Sheva. If we are going to do an interview, we will do it together in the future, okay? You can hide behind me like the usual!" She tried to reassure the boy. If anything, though, this only made things worse, as Bagas howled uncontrollably, his entire body shaking from laughter. Sheva also blushed in embarrassment, not expecting that his image was so low in front of the girl.
The atmosphere in the table was light and joyous, and no one could blame them right now. They all had a valid reason to be this delightful. Not to mention the norm that no one expected it before, even their performance was off the charts, as both Sheva and Claudia were crushing in this performance.
For Sheva, the six points out of eight games really made his rating leap into the sky. From 2115, his estimated rating right now was 2290, getting around 175 ELO rating points addition. The jump was so high that it put him from a mediocre player straight into the big league in the country. This was also probably the best performance any Indonesian players had ever achieved in an international tournament, which made it sweeter for Sheva.
As for Claudia, while her performance wasn't as impressive since her opponents' level was quite lower, that didn't mean it wasn't great at all. No, her accomplishment was still top-notch, getting the additional 121 ELO rating points with her 5.5 points in eight rounds. This made her ELO rating bounce far, from 2102 to 2223.
Some people might be wondering here, how could their rating get increased that fast? At a glance, this looked ridiculous and impossible. However, this was the reality here, the result of them still being inside the sweet zone that FIDE set for new players.
To put it simply, FIDE had a rule to make it easier for rookies to climb their ratings here. For anyone below 18 years old and never having crossed the ELO rating of 2300, they were in the period of massive growth, where one win was enough to catapult their rating high into the sky. However, once they entered the 2300 zone, there would be a little buffer to slow them down, and it would be worse once they crossed the 2400 zone.
For now, though, since both Sheva and Claudia still hadn't crossed the 2300 threshold, they'd better enjoy it, as this was the only moment where a win would give them around 30 rating points.
However, that wasn't the only reason they were happy right now. No, their excitement also came from the fact that they were so close to their target, which was a 2300 ELO rating for Sheva and a 2250 ELO rating for Claudia. There were still two months away from the Olympiad, so those two were confident that they could get through the national team easily with one more tournament.
Clink!
Suddenly, Sheva's phone rang, and the boy picked it up within a second. He was still in the middle of a light chat with Bagas and Claudia when his expression suddenly turned solemn at whatever he had just read there. This caught his friends' attention, as the other two leaned forward to take a peek.
"Anything wrong, Shev?" Bagas asked curiously.
"No, nothing." Sheva shook his head quickly, pondering for a moment before adding, "Just… The pairing for the last round is finally out."
This tidbit of information was enough to switch the emotion here. Gone was the light and relaxed atmosphere a moment ago, replaced by the solemnity brought by the new pairing coming out of the tournament's official website. Sheva also frowned immediately when he saw his next opponent, as the man was probably in the same category as Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and any other geniuses in the chess world right now.
The one he would face next was Hans Niemann, the American prodigy and the grandmaster who beat Master Irene way back in the second round.
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