Soon enough, they transited to the plane that would bring them back home to Indonesia. Since they were travelling so early in the morning, though, the group spent most of their time either watching some movies or just sleeping, not wanting to bother the crowd around.
From the corner of his eyes, Sheva could see Anna sitting quietly, her eyes lacking focus. He knew at first glance that this was not from the sleepiness, but the girl indeed had something bothering her mind right now. Not that he could blame her, since the boy himself also didn't expect the news coming from Dita Karenza earlier.
-A little flashback-
"What? The federation route?!"
"Psst! Don't be too loud!" Dita Karenza hissed immediately when those two teenagers raised their voices unconsciously. Anna and Sheva just clapped their mouth immediately, looking at the woman in embarrassment.
"Sorry, Sister Dita, I cannot help it, though." Anna rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "What do you mean by the federation route?" She asked, fixing her sister's head position on her shoulder.
"It is exactly what I mean." Dita Karenza explained. "For this World Cup, to ensure that all the countries could have a participant, FIDE will give one free ticket to a player from each federation, so we still have one ticket open in the men's and the women's section to fight for."
Well, honestly, they both forgot that the federation still had one more quota for each section freely. After all, this was not something that the federation publicly discussed, and no one really knew how they would pick the players to get that. This was the most unreliable way to qualify, so it was understandable if players would forget this path existed.
"So, you mean they are going to select the players openly?" Sheva asked.
"Yeah." Dita Karenza nodded. "I heard it from Sister Medina, but before this, the plan was for the federation to give the ticket to the veteran player, and what I mean by veteran is those who came from the older generation than Sister Irene herself. They said that this was a big event, and this was also an appreciation for them who built the foundation for the women's chess community in our country."
Hearing that, Sheva could feel the corner of his lips twitching. Sometimes, he forgot that the country was still having a strong seniority culture. It would be okay if those who were chosen were strong. The problem, though, was that he couldn't even remember any names older than Sister Irene in the women's section.
"Wait, does that mean they would treat the open section the same?" Sheva couldn't help but ask, feeling worried. It would be a pity if somehow, this ticket was given to a player who would only be in this tournament before going back to their retired state again.
"I heard so, but you are still lucky enough to have Master Susanto as your veteran." Dita Karenza said with envy. "In our women's section, the best one is Sister Irene, and she doesn't even count as a veteran here, just an experienced player in their eyes. So, can you imagine my despair to go to the World Cup with this kind of veteran?" She said it sarcastically, the tone that Sheva had never thought the woman would be capable of throwing.
"Then, what happened?" Anna asked gossipy.
"Well, Sister Irene and Sister Medina are going to challenge that decision." Dita Karenza explained. "They both had talked to me, asking for my sign to support their campaign. Not only that, they are going to gather more signs for more transparency here, and if you joined the cause, there is no way they could ignore it. I mean, you are our new IM, and once you speak to the public, they couldn't close their eyes, right?"
Anna nodded silently, but her expression was still complicated. It was clear that Dita Karenza wanted to push her to join this agenda, and honestly, she didn't like the feeling of being manipulated like this. However, the cause itself was great, and she would also be the beneficiary of this matter.
"If they decided to cancel their decision, how would they pick the player to get it?" Sheva asked, feeling curious. Unlike Anna, he didn't really think too much about being manipulated like this.
Honestly, this was the first time he heard about this, but if the final decision was much to his liking, the boy wouldn't mind showing his support here. If Anna, who was currently in the public's eyes, were the bullet, he, the one who was considered the best player in this country, would be the bomb that forced the federation to make the decision here.
"Well, that hasn't been discussed yet, but if you consider Sister Irene and Sister Medina's style, they would probably want an internal tournament to determine who deserves to be the one. I mean, it is crude, but you cannot deny that this is the most effective way." She shrugged casually.
Sheva could see that Anna was still hesitant here. Still, after noticing that everything seemed to be great for the younger players like them, Sheva finally made a decision. "After we landed, I would call Sister Irene and Sister Medina to show my support. I am sure that this will be a big help."
This time, Anna snapped her head, looking at him in shock. "Really? You are going to do that?"
"I mean, why not?" Sheva shrugged. "Honestly, I don't have Master Susanto, but if I could choose, I would pick either Arfan or Nayaka. They are younger and could still compete at the highest level in the future. It would be nice to see them have a chance here."
This was the logical decision, and honestly, Anna was swayed a little bit here. However, she was hesitant, not wanting to make a hasty decision here. IN the end, after pausing for a few seconds, she finally took a deep breath, shaking her head gently.
"No, I cannot make a decision right now. Let's wait until we land back in Indonesia first."
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