Chapter 59
French FIDE Youth Chess Tournament was being held.
The venue was a huge gymnasium on the outskirts of Paris.
Bustle-bustle-.
As soon as we walked in, there were kids swarming everywhere.
Since it was a fairly large open tournament, it seemed plenty of people had come from other countries too.
French kids, German kids, Spanish kids, and even their parents.
There were almost no East Asians to be seen. Unless they were second-generation immigrants born in Europe, there probably were none.
The tournament we had registered for was Under 8.
It was a tournament for children eight and under.
And our goal wasn't to win the tournament, but to meet strong kids our own age here.
You know how the competitive spirit burns more easily when you're matched against kids around your own age?
So we came all the way out here on purpose, to feel the level in Europe for ourselves.
Of course, if I happened to crush the tournament along the way, that'd make me feel a little better too, right? Hehe.
Arin and I took Mom by the hand and headed for the information desk.
The staff member looked at us and said in French.
“Hello, are you here for the tournament?”
“Yes, we're here to check in.”
“Please show me your passports.”
“Mom, they want our passports.”
“Really?”
Rummage-rummage-.
Mom dug through her pocket and handed over two passports.
Clack-clack-.
The staff member checked the tournament participant list on the computer.
“Ayeon Yu, Arin Yu. Identity verified.”
The staff member held out two lanyards.
Our player ID cards, printed with our English names, country code (KOR), and barcodes.
“You'll need these to enter the playing hall. Keep them safe.”
And as a participation gift, they gave each of us a chess goodie too.
It was a necklace with a chess piece hanging from it.
“Merci-. Mom too, Arin too—say merci!”
“Merci.”
“Merci-!”
Arin raised her hand high to show her thanks. The staff member smiled warmly.
“Big sis, this is super cute.”
Arin admired the necklace, fiddling with the king piece.
“Arin, let me put the necklace on you.”
“Thanks! Merci! I'll put yours on too, big sis!”
Arin wore the king-piece necklace, and I wore the rook-piece necklace around my neck.
✒️✒️✒️
Since the gymnasium had been rented out, the venue was huge.
Rows and rows of chess tables.
Clocks placed on every table.
It was a sight that screamed, “Yep, this is a tournament!”
At the entrance to the playing hall, the staff gathered the under-eight kid participants.
Hubbub-hubbub~
Since everyone was a kid, the place was somehow really chaotic.
'Do I look like that to other people too...?'
Demurely-.
When that thought crossed my mind, I neatly folded my hands together.
At formal events, I'm going to be the proper young lady Yoo Ayeon!
“This tournament will be conducted using the Swiss system.”
The announcer explained in French and English at the same time.
“It's a tournament format where no one is eliminated and everyone plays the same number of rounds. Starting from round 2, though, players are matched only against others with the same score. Those who win in round 1 play other winners, and those who lose play other losers. So as the rounds go on, players of similar strength naturally end up grouped together.”
The children nodded.
“And one more thing. Boards 1 through 3, where the top scores are, will be broadcast live in real time. The electronic board sensors detect piece movement and transmit the game live, so if you end up on Board 3 or lower, please pay attention. There will be a total of seven games.”
Arin tugged on my arm.
“Big sis, what does that mean?”
“Basically, we play seven games, and the more you win, the stronger your next opponents get. And the top six players will be on broadcast.”
“Hmm... I see. I'll work hard, so big sis, you have to keep winning too, okay?”
“Okey.”
Arin had already put defeat out of her mind.
As expected, she was born with Dad's competitive streak.
“Do your best. Mom will cheer you on from the back.”
Mwah-.
Mom kissed our cheeks, then headed to the parents' waiting room.
Apparently there was a huge monitor in the waiting room so she could watch our games.
Pitter-patter-.
Arin and I went into the playing hall.
The Round 1 pairings were posted on the wall.
[Board 12: Ayeon Yu (KOR) vs Léo Martin (FRA)]
[Board 18: Arin Yu (KOR) vs Noah Müller (GER)]
“Arin, you're on board 18.”
“Mm-hmm. What about you, big sis?”
“12.”
“Got it-.”
We each found our own table and sat down.
Round 1.
I was matched with a seven-year-old French boy.
“Bonne chance.”
“Bonne chance.”
We shook hands and clicked the clock.
The time control was rapid.
Each player had about 15 minutes on the clock.
My opponent was quite serious, but he made mistake after mistake.
When the chance came, I immediately played a royal fork.
“Ah!”
The French kid's expression stiffened.
In the end, I checkmated my French opponent in just four minutes.
Looking at board 18, Arin had finished her game even faster than I had.
Snap-!
Arin flashed me a thumbs-up.
✒️✒️✒️
Arin Yu didn't know French.
So whenever the referee rattled something off before the game, she just smiled and answered by reading the room.
“Oui! Oui!”
Most of the time, that was enough.
Besides, Big Sis had already taught her the rules beforehand, so there wasn't much chance of anything going seriously wrong.
Arin Yu apparently thought that method was pretty efficient, because whenever she heard French, she'd shout, “Oui!”
The sisters won round 2 without much trouble as well.
As the rounds went on, the level of the players the sisters faced gradually rose.
That was only natural, since the kids were paired with others who had the same score.
Round 3.
Arin Yu's opponent was a six-year-old French girl.
She wasn't quite as pretty as Ayeon, but she was pretty and full of confidence.
Arin Yu moved her pieces quickly.
Her opponent tried to keep up, but couldn't match the speed of Arin Yu's thinking.
Fork. Pin.
Under Arin Yu's tactics, the opponent's pieces went flying in an instant.
In the end, it was an overwhelming checkmate.
The other child welled up with tears.
As Arin Yu held out her hand, she said,
“Merci-!”
But the other child huffed and turned away, still sulking.
Round 4.
Ayeon Yu's opponent was a seven-year-old German girl.
Ayeon Yu made the position complicated.
The opponent put up a pretty good fight, but eventually lost the initiative and the position started to turn against her.
After 30 moves, the opponent began blundering pieces away.
Checkmate.
The girl collapsed onto the board and started whimpering and sniffling.
She looked so pitiful.
Reading the room, Ayeon Yu quickly slipped away and let her have some alone time.
Round 5.
Arin Yu's opponent was an eight-year-old French boy.
A matchup between the oldest player in the tournament and the youngest player in the tournament.
The opponent snorted the moment he saw Arin Yu's tiny frame.
He looked like he thought she'd be an easy opponent.
“Bonne chance.”
“Oui.”
After shaking hands, Arin Yu moved her pieces without changing her expression.
Her opponent was also on a five-game winning streak.
That made every move heavy, and it forced Arin Yu to think for a long time.
The game stayed close, but eventually the gap opened in the middlegame.
Arin Yu attacked the opponent's undefended pawn to gain a one-point lead, and from there she steadily created piece imbalances and pressured him.
The opponent seemed to sense that something was off and began to worry more and more.
But by then it was already too late.
The position had already tilted against him.
Checkmate.
She finished it with a deadly kiss-mate, bringing the king and queen face to face.
“Mon Dieu... (Oh my God...)”
The boy froze stiff in his chair.
Arin Yu held out her hand for a shake, but the opponent refused with an angry expression.
And then.
The boy huffed and pointed at Arin Yu while saying something.
“You just got lucky! If we play again, I'm the one who wins!”
Judging by the vibe, it didn't seem like anything nice.
And Arin Yu instantly picked up on the tone.
Arin Yu normally would have tried to brush it off with something positive.
But she couldn't stand not saying something to this cocky French brat.
So Arin Yu firmly uttered a word of refusal.
“No!”
At that shout, the other child ended up looking dazed.
He must not have expected a child four years younger than him to answer so decisively.
Arin Yu stood up from her seat without changing her expression.
✒️✒️✒️
Round 5 was over.
Both Arin and I were undefeated at 5-0.
‘European kids are stronger than Korean kids... but maybe I'm too well-trained. This is pretty manageable.’
Maybe because we'd been smashed so many times by the older advanced-class students at our club, who even occasionally produced national team members, we had become unbelievably strong.
“Getting stronger... feels so empty...”
Spouting something a little chuunibyou-esque (though I still had eight years left before I'd actually be that age), I looked at the Round 6 pairings.
[Board 1: Ayeon Yu (KOR) vs Gabriel Dubois (FRA)]
[Board 2: Arin Yu (KOR) vs Louis Bernard (FRA)]
“Oh-.”
Since we were leading by five points, we were assigned to Board 1 and Board 2.
Cameras clustered around Boards 1 and 2.
Hearing the cameramen whispering from far away, it seemed the rumor had spread everywhere.
The rumor that the sisters from Korea were climbing up the standings after defeating European kids one after another.
And that one of those sisters was Yoo Ayeon, the child prodigy who had recently become a hot topic around the world!
“Woo-hehing-.”
I never thought I'd get broadcast exposure in France more than twice.
“Mom! I'm on broadcast again-!”
Peace-peace-!
I flashed a V sign at the camera and smiled brightly.
Of course, it's not like any Koreans would be watching the live broadcast of this tournament.
Still, the more chances you get to be on camera, the better.
The announcer said.
“Board 1 and Board 2 are currently matches between undefeated players. Live broadcast is starting now.”