Poland, by far, had probably one of the most luxurious lineups in this tournament. They had the overall ELO rating of 2683, with their weakest member, their reserve player, turning out to be a borderline 2600-rated player. Mateusz Bartel, a 37-year-old grandmaster, had an ELO rating of 2597, with a peak rating of 2677 about ten years ago. If it were in another country like Indonesia, he would be the lead-off immediately, yet the man could only become the lowest-rated member in his own country. That showed how big the difference between the two countries was.
As for the other players on their team, for the lead-off, Poland had probably the most talented youngster in the world right now, Jan-Krzysztof Duda. The man was still 24 years old, yet he had won a lot of prestigious tournaments in the world. His biggest achievement was when the man became the ultimate winner of the FIDE World Cup last year, beating the almighty Magnus Carlsen in the semi-final and cementing himself as one of the most dangerous players on the planet.
Even though in the candidate tournament last month, he didn't really do well, with only sitting in the second-last place on the standings, that didn't diminish Duda's achievement. Even Magnus Carlsen himself was wary of him, stating that he and the French superstar, Alireza Firouzja, were two youngsters who had a chance to surpass him.
His ELO rating was 2750; however, most of the chess analysts outside still believed that Duda was still far from reaching his peak, showing that his potential hadn't been dug deeper enough here. Once again, that showed how good the man was, as even when he was already among the best, people still expected him to get better.
Then came the vice-captain, Radoslaw Wojtaszek. His ELO rating was 2708, with a peak rating of 2750 around 5 years ago. However, that was not the most notable part of his career. No, the fact that he was an integral part of the legendary team that helped Viswanathan Anand win the world championship four times in a row definitely shone a light on the man's career. With his vast experience helping the world champion, he was probably the best man to guide the young superstar like Duda to take one step further in his career.
As for the last two, even though compared to the other members, they didn't look good, but no one could underestimate them. Both Kacper Piorun and Wojciech Moranda had the same ELO rating of 2636, and while their experience was not as good as Radoslaw Wojtaszek, they were still old enough to fight in a lot of high-level tournaments, from the European Cup to the Olympiad in the past.
Overall, the Poland team, with the four veteran players being led by one of the biggest superstars in the chess world nowadays, was definitely one of the most-favored teams to win it all in this tournament.
The more Sheva read the information about that team, the tighter he clenched his fist. Determination burned inside his heart as he wanted to create a ruckus in this matchup. He knew that most people would think that Poland would win against them easily, with a few even thought that Indonesia would be swept without having the chance to put up a fight. However, Sheva still thought that he might be able to steal at least a half point, or even a full point if he was lucky enough.
'So, my opponent is either Wojciech Moranda or Mateusz Bartel, huh?' The boy muttered to himself, scrolling through his phone to find out more information about them. 'Well, I hope that I will face the former one here.' He thought inwardly.
Yeah, even though Mateusz Bartel had the lower ELO rating, Sheva still believed that the man would be a tougher opponent here. After all, Bartel had a great momentum, starting the first three games with a good result, sweeping all of his opponents easily. Compared to him, Wojciech Moranda, who was forced to a draw in the second round against an IM with an ELO rating of 2400, seemed to be easier in this case.
Sheva would never underestimate the importance of a great momentum, since he himself was currently in one right now.
Fortunately, his hope was realized, as the next morning, the pairing for the matchup was finally out. True enough, Sheva found his name at the bottom of the list, playing with the black piece against Wojciech Moranda.
"So, you get the opponent you want?" Bagas asked, noticing the smile on Sheva's face when his best friend saw the pairing.
"Yeah." Sheva nodded, giving the phone to Bagas. Since he couldn't access it in the middle of the tournament, the boy had always let his best friend have it while he was playing, so Bagas just accepted it without question. "I might try to make a noise later, and while I don't know if the end will be good or not, at least I will try to make things exciting. If you find the others are not doing well, just go to my game to lift up the mood, okay?"
"Sure."
Before they went to the venue, Master Susanto gathered all of them once again, giving his final speech before the fateful battle. His expression was solemn, and even without saying anything, it was enough to make everyone realize the pressure on the man's shoulder.
"Honestly, I don't want to say anything about anyone else here, but I don't have the confidence to get even a draw against Duda." Master Susanto started his speech. Even though it was quite depressing and could lower the team's spirit, not a single one of them refuted his words or gave the man any encouragement, knowing that the man was being realistic here.
"There might be a huge chance that we got swept against Poland, or even against France for the women's team today. However, I want to let you know that no matter what happens today, don't be embarrassed." The man continued. "You might be sad, frustrated, or even furious about how the game goes, but never be embarrassed. Be proud of what we have already achieved so far, and if you see a chance to trouble your opponent, don't hesitate and go for it! Let's make them remember our name, you get it?!"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Come on, everyone! Follow my lead! INDONESIA!"
"FIGHT!"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.