Nayaka took a deep breath, trying to contain his excitement. He glanced sideways, finding several tables away from him, Duta had been sitting and locked in, eyes on the chessboard. Shaking his head, he turned back to the board in front of him, trying to force himself to focus.
'This is the first game, so I cannot mess this up badly.' He said to himself.
Glancing secretly at the other side of the board, he saw an oriental face with eyes closed, muttering something as if he was in the middle of a prayer or meditation. That was his opponent today, a Mongolian player whose rating was not that far from his.
Zoljargar Angar (1765) – (1844) Nayaka Buddhidarma
Even though there was about an 80 ELO rating difference, Nayaka didn't dare to underestimate his opponent. He remembered very well what Sheva said about the grassroots level chess and how volatile it was.
