Chapter 4 Four

The second set was no different from the first, except that our group was slightly larger, with several more curious spectators and a more active presence.McConnor kept his eyes on the board, as if trying to influence the pieces with his will to win.I feel that he would be more than happy to sacrifice a thousand dollars for the joyful cry of "checkmate" to our pitiless adversary.Strangely enough, his sombre excitement infected us all without knowing it.Each move was now more heated than before, and we argued until the last second before we agreed to signal Czentovic to come to our table.We gradually reached the seventeenth step, and to our surprise, an extremely favorable situation appeared at this time. We were afraid that the good chance of winning would be too obvious. Of course, we felt very uneasy. Everyone was a little suspicious. The advantage we won may be a trap set by Czentovic for us. Isn't he watching a few more moves than us?But despite all of our hard research and discussion together, we still couldn't see what his trap was.Finally, with the allowed thinking time running out, we decided to take a risky move.McConnor had already picked up his pawn, and was about to place it on the last square, when suddenly he felt someone grab his arm, and someone whispered softly but fiercely, "Don't be so Walk!"

We all turned our heads involuntarily.Behind us stood a man of about forty-five, whose sharp, thin face had caught my attention during my earlier walks because of its strange, almost lime-like pallor.He had joined our group probably a few minutes earlier when we were engrossed in discussing our next move in chess.Seeing us looking at him, he added hastily: "Now if you turn a pawn into a queen, he will immediately eat it with a bishop, and you will eat his bishop with a horse. During this time, he will eat his untethered pawn. The rook is threatened by getting the pawn into the position. Even if you use the horse general, you will still lose the game - nine or ten moves and you will be checkmate. Alyoshin in 1922 It was almost exactly the same formation against Bogorlyubov in the round-robin round of Bisgiren."

Surprised, McConnor put down his chess pieces and, like all of us, stared in amazement at the guardian angel who seemed to have fallen from the sky.A man who could figure out the outcome of a game before a dozen or so moves, must be a first-rate chess player, perhaps even a title contender on equal footing with Czentovic, who was now heading to the same tournament .His sudden appearance at such a critical moment, and his sudden participation in the battle, seemed to us a supernatural and extraordinary thing.It was McConnor who woke up first. "How do you suggest going?" he asked excitedly in a low voice.

"Don't attack the pawns, just avoid them for now. Get the king out of the danger zone first--this way, your opponent will probably turn to attack the other wing. But you can move the rook to block it. This way, he will have more Take two moves and lose a pawn, so you lose the whole advantage. So you both have pawns against each other. As long as you defend well, you can still draw the game. You can't do anything else Hope no more." Once again we were dumbfounded.The accuracy and speed of his calculations surprised us.He looked like he was following a chess record step by step.Thanks to his participation, our chess game can actually be tied with the world champion. This kind of unexpected opportunity is very attractive after all.We all retreated to the side at the same time, obstructing him from watching chess with rabbits.McConnor asked again:

"So, my lord?" "Of course, the most important thing now is to avoid it." McConnor obeyed, and we tapped our glasses. Czentovic walked up to our table with his usual casual gait and only glanced at our moves.He then moved the pawns of the king's wing into position, exactly as our unknown helper had predicted.And the man whispered excitedly again: "Get in the cart, get in the cart, then he will have to protect his pawns. But it won't help him! Don't worry about his bottom line pawns, you attack, move the horse here, and the balance of power will be restored. Charge with all your strength In the past, don't keep it!"

We don't understand what he means by that.For us, what he spoke was all Chinese.However, now that he was fascinated, McConnor followed his instructions without thinking.We tapped the glass again and called Czentovic over.At this time, for the first time, he did not make a quick decision, but looked nervously at the chessboard.Then he made a move, which was precisely what the stranger had predicted to us.Czentovic had already turned to leave, but then something strange and unexpected happened: Czentovic raised his eyes and looked around at us.Evidently he wanted to know who among us was suddenly resisting him so strongly.

From this instant on, our excitement grew to incalculable proportions.Before this, we had played chess with Czentovic without any real hope of winning, but now, the very idea that we could dampen Czentovic's cold arrogance set our blood boiling and our spirits running high.Our new friend has pointed out the next move, and we can invite Czentovic over.I tapped the glass with a tea spoon, my fingers trembling slightly.Now our initial victory has been achieved: Czentovic, who had been playing standing up until now, hesitated and finally sat down at the chess table.He settled himself slowly and heavily into the chair, and that alone broke the old "condescending" relationship between us and him.We force him to be on an equal footing with us, at least outwardly.He thought for a long time, his eyes fixed on the chessboard; his heavy eyelids were drawn so that we could hardly see his eyes.His mouth was slowly opening in nervous thought, which gave a silly look to his round face.Czentovic thought for a few minutes, then walked and stood up.Our friend immediately whispered:

"This move is to delay time! Good idea! But don't bother with it! Force him to fight. Must fight! After fighting, it will be a draw, and no one can help him!" McConnor made a move as he said.The moves of the chess players on both sides (all of us have long been reduced to dispensable supporting roles) are inexplicable moves of chess pieces for us.After walking for seven or eight steps, Czentovic thought for a while, then raised his head and said to us, "It's made." For a moment, there was silence all around.Suddenly I heard the crash of the waves, the sound of jazz music from the radio in the adjoining living room, every footstep of the walkers on the upper deck, and the slight sound of the wind through the window frames.We all held our breaths, it happened so suddenly, we were all horrified by the unbelievable thing: this stranger could force the world champion to bend to his will, and it was by accident A half-lost game of chess.McConnor let out a loud breath, leaned back, and let out a triumphant "ah."I took another close look at Czentovic.When he took the last few moves, I felt that his face seemed to have turned pale.But the world champion is good at controlling himself.Still maintaining a dull look that seemed indifferent, he pulled the pieces on the chessboard aside with a steady hand, and asked:

"Would you like to play a third set, gentlemen?" He posed the question in a matter-of-fact tone, but oddly enough, the champion seemed to pay McConnor no attention at all, but was looking intently into the eyes of our savior.Just as a horse recognizes a new and better knight from the firmer posture of its rider, so Czentovic must have seen from the last few moves who his real opponent was in fact.We can't help but follow Czentovic's eyes, staring curiously at this stranger.But before the man had time to think or answer, the vain and excited McConnor shouted at him triumphantly:

"That goes without saying! But this game you have to play against him alone. You play against Czentovic alone!" But then a completely unexpected thing happened.The stranger had been gazing very nervously at the empty chessboard strangely, and he found all eyes on him, and he shuddered to hear McConnor speak to him with such enthusiasm.The expression on his face was very flustered. "Absolutely not, gentlemen," he stammered, looking very panic-stricken, "it's absolutely impossible...I absolutely can't...I haven't played chess for twenty, no, twenty-five years .I just now realize how inappropriate it is to participate in your game without your permission. Please forgive my recklessness. I don’t want to disturb you any more.” We were still surprised, he Has turned around and walked out of the smoking room.

"However, this is completely impossible!" The excitable McConnor slammed his fist on the table and shouted loudly: "This man says he hasn't played chess for twenty-five years. It's absolutely impossible." Didn't he figure out every move and every countermeasure before five or six moves! This kind of thing is not easy for anyone to do. It's simply impossible, isn't it?" McConnor couldn't help asking Czentovic the above question.But the world champion looked very cold. "I can't judge the matter. But anyway, this gentleman's game of chess is very interesting; so I deliberately gave him a chance to gain the upper hand." As he spoke, he lazily stood up, and added in his usual matter-of-fact tone: "If this gentleman or you gentlemen want to play another game tomorrow, I will be at your command from three o'clock." We couldn't help but smile.It was clear to each of us that Czentovic was not out of generosity in giving our unknown helper a chance, and that his statement was nothing more than a stupid evasion to cover up his own failure.So our desire to see this arrogant man humiliated is all the more intense.All of a sudden we, the peaceful, idle travelers, had a strong, ambitious desire to fight.On our ship, out on the open sea, the world champion will be defeated by us.And the idea that this record will be broadcast to the world by the news agencies excites us and intoxicates us.In addition, there was something mysterious about the unexpected arrival of our savior at the crucial moment, his almost shy humility contrasting sharply with the unshakable self-importance of a professional chess player.Who is this stranger?Could it be that by chance, another undiscovered chess genius appeared before our eyes?Or is it that, for some as yet undiscovered reason, a famous chess master withheld his name from us?We discussed all these possibilities with great excitement, and even the most incredible assumptions were not bold enough for us. His mysterious timidity and his unexpected confessions could not be compared with his obvious chess excellence. coordinate.However, there is one thing we all agree on: we must never give up the opportunity to fight again.We decided to do whatever it takes to get our helper to face Czentovic the next day.McConnor had agreed to bear the material risks of the contest, and I, as a countryman of the stranger—whom we had now learned from the waiter to be an Austrian—was given carte blanche to convey our request to him.