After a few moves, she knew that her opponent was ridiculously good. Their chess strategy was similar to that "M" she had met before.
She got excited. To have such an opponent, she loved it! And it makes her more eager to pursue the game.
Mitch (because of course, it was Mitch) was excited, too. This excitement was something he hadn't felt in years.
He told his friends about it on Twitter. They were all in the chess circle. So the news spread quickly. He knew that this small online contest had attracted the attention of the chess world.
Almost all the master chess players were watching the game nervously in front of their computers.
And, it was just the first game in the first round.
The game interface displayed the number of people watching. As long as you had a registered account, you could log in to watch.
Sophia did not notice that the number of onlookers had exceeded two hundred. All her attention was on the game, and she didn't notice anything else around her.
She was more nervous playing this game than she had been against "Pacific M." She had to contemplate every move, analyze which was the best of all, and never let up.
The opponent was so good that if she slackened, for even a moment, she would lose the whole game.
Mitch was extremely tense, his eyes staring straight at the computer screen, his fingers slightly trembling as he held the mouse. The air-conditioner was on in the room, and the temperature was normal, but he was still sweating.
His friend nearby picked up a towel nearby and wiped his forehead lightly, not daring to use any strength, for fear of disturbing him.
Mitch was not disturbed. In fact, even if someone had hit him, at that moment, he would not have felt it. All his senses were honed on the game.
It was no less than a battlefield.
Kip watched the game at home. His computer master had written a program that registered four hundred accounts into the tournament, hoping that one of them would be assigned to compete with KAP. Fortunately, it had done the trick.
Kip thought that was the most intense game he had ever seen. The intensity was comparable to a world championship chess game. It was very exciting for a chess player to witness such a match.
Toby, sitting beside Kip, could not help asking, "Kip, who do you think will win?"
"It's hard to say… No one has an absolute advantage yet! Either of them could win!"
"How? Mitch is the world champion!" Toby was staring at the computer screen. He was also a professional chess player and could see the strength of both sides, "I think this KAP is definitely a computer program! Let's see, and after the game, there must be a company that announces they developed this program!"
"Oh, shut up!"
"Sophia. Time to eat!" Kate walked into the room.
Sophia didn't look up, "Wait a minute; I have to finish this game!"
Seeing her daughter's focus, Kate didn't want to disturb her. She just let her be. "Remember to eat once you've finished."
Sophia didn't notice what her mother was saying, but answered on autopilot and continued the game.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, there were less than ten pieces left on the chessboard. The system decided: over!
In other words, they had reached a situation where the rest of the pieces were unable to take each other.
The two sides had drawn!
Sophia stood up. Her neck was very sore, and she needed to rest for a while.
She hadn't eaten her lunch yet. Kate went out. She went to the kitchen and microwaved her meal before she returned to the tournament.
After that, she didn't meet any strong opponents. Basically, she could finish a game in three minutes. Half an hour later, Sophia saw that her score had entered the top five hundred and stopped.
It was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and she had to accompany Kevin to meet the lawyer.
Professional chess players chatted excitedly in the most popular chess chat room.
"OMG! Did I get it wrong? Someone had drawn with Mitch Watson at chess! How long has it been since that happened last time?"
"Who is this person? A new player? How come I never heard about them?"
"This competition is so exciting! I have to register an account and join the game!"
"Me, too! No. It seems that we have to sign up…"
"Didn't Mitch register hundreds of accounts? They were all signed up. You can just ask him for one!"
"Those weren't registered by Mitch, and it's Kip Strong!"
"Let's go to Kip!"
***
Sophia, who was already offline, naturally didn't know that the tournament was about to become populated with chess masters.
Dozens of accounts named "M" popped up and quickly occupied all the top spots on the scoreboard. Sometimes, these "M" accounts played against each other, and the games were not pretty.
By the end of the first stage, the rankings were spectacular. At the top of the list, the names of accounts were all composed of "M" plus numbers.
All the players in the game left messages on the official blog, reflecting on the situation.
"Has the program gone wrong? Why are there so many Ms occupying the top of the ranking list?"
"They were real players! I have met two Ms. Their chess skills are indeed very impressive. I lost in just two minutes!"
"I have met one, too. Who are these people?"
"It's horrible! It's not about the program. I suspect it's a bunch of masters coming to make trouble!"
"I think they're world-class masters! I've studied chess for three years and was defeated in five minutes! Unbelievable! Are the players with international rankings?"
"Why do I feel that all the chess masters from all over the world are playing? Ha-ha… Of course, it's impossible. This competition is only at the amateur level."
"Are Ms going to rule the world? Are they aliens?"