"Yesh!"
It was right after the handshake was made, and Anna couldn't contain her emotions anymore. She even forgot to keep her voice low, clenching her fist and smiling so widely right in front of Aryan Chopra, whom she had just beaten. This was a risky act, as it could be seen as an attempt to provoke the opponent here.
Fortunately, Aryan Chopra was a chill guy. That, and the man also knew that this was a big game for Anna. So, he just offered a handshake with a genuine smile, giving the girl an approving nod.
"Good job." The man said in a thick Indian accent. "You should be learning from Sheva's game, right? I can see a glimpse of his style on your game today." He commented casually while setting back the board to the original position.
"Yup! He is my trainer in this tournament." Anna nodded along, her face was still flushed red in excitement. "Today's game is way too close to my liking. If only you didn't slip in the last few moves, I think I will just try to drag it until we agree to a draw." She confessed.
Aryan Chopra paused for a second, looking at her with a wry smile. Honestly, that would be a better result rather than losing today's game, as that meant he lost probably 10 ratings in one go just from this defeat. However, no matter how many 'what-ifs' scenarios he could think of, everything had already happened, and regret would never be able to turn back time here.
"I was being a little bit too greedy." He laughed bitterly. "I thought I had a chance to create something by rushing all of my pawns on the queenside earlier, just to find out that they all were gone in the next moment. This is a mistake on my part…"
Yeah, the man might praise Anna for her performance, but ultimately, he still blamed himself for the defeat here. In his mind, everything was equal today, and with his superior ability, this should be an easy game to avoid defeat. Unfortunately, just like what Aryan Chopra said, he was a bit too greedy, and now, it was also he who had to pay the cost here.
Anna herself just smiled a little, not really caring about how Aryan Chopra justified this loss. She just knew one thing, and that was the fact that she won the last game of the tournament, and now the girl had a chance to stand on the podium here.
Of course, there was still a chance that she would be out of the top three. After all, there were at least six players whose point was six, and if two of them managed to get a win, Anna wasn't sure if she could still sneak into that spot.
However, once she left the venue, looking at the huge smile on Sheva's face when he saw her, the girl knew that she got it through.
"Congrats, Anna! The third place!" Sheva opened his arm, offering a hug. "You did so well, even beating all the top players here!"
Well, Anna didn't need to be invited twice. The girl leaped immediately, accepting the bear hug with a happy squeal like a teenage girl she was.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" She jumped around even when under the hug, laughing her ass off as tears even came out of her eyes. Sheva just accepted it gracefully, not even caring that they were the center of attention right now. "Shev! I get it! I got third place in the tournament!"
Any of the other players might look at her strangely. However, this was the biggest achievement in Anna's life so far, and it was also a huge thing for the women's chess community in the world. After all, it was rare for female players to get a good ranking in such an open tournament, and now, Anna managed to get it with the stacked list of players here?
Sheva didn't know the history of women's chess enough, but if this wasn't the first time something like this happened, Anna should be joining an elite company right now.
*Cough!*
A familiar cough suddenly snapped them out of their happy daydreaming. When those two turned around, they could see the other Indonesian players waiting with a similar huge smile on their faces, even if there was also a hint of jealousy flashing onClaudia's expression.
Anna herself felt the heat rushing to her cheek. She didn't expect to get caught offhandedly like this. However, before she could say anything else, Laysa had already jumped on her with another excited hug.
"Come on, girl! You rock!" The hijabi girl laughed in an unladylike manner, a contrast to her image here. "Girl, I am so envious right now! The third place? Are you kidding me?! Do you really want to leave me that quickly?!" She retorted, and yet there was no heat in her tone.
"Hey, Laysa, what makes you think you are at the same level as Big Sis?! She has been leaving you to dust, you know?!" Claudia said smugly, somehow being the proudest little girl in the world.
"Bah! This is just temporary! I will get to her level right before the year is over!" Laysa glared at the younger girl fiercely. "Also, I might not be at her level right now, but I am definitely above you! So, you don't have the right to mock me at all!"
Seeing the two girls she held so dearly in her heart bickering at each other like this, Anna couldn't help but smile fondly at them. Compared to winning today's game and even getting third place in the tournament, this tranquil moment seemed to be as precious here, something that would be engraved deep inside her head.
While looking at the people surrounding her, the girl checked her phone one last time, and after seeing her name being placed on the third spot of the list, she sighed one more time, saying something that had been uttered over and over again today.
'Yes… I did it…'
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