Unlike both Sheva and Claudia, who were bantering back and forth outside of the hall with ease after they had won their games, Anna wasn't really in a good mood at the table, finding the situation on her board to be pretty much dire. The girl didn't even know how things could go south like this when, in the beginning, she thought that her opponent was going for an easy quick draw.

Right now, Anna was playing on board 2, facing the veteran French player Sophie Millet. Playing with the white piece, the girl was forced into a Petrov Defense by Sophie Millet, and with a lot of exchanges happening pretty early, the game had already entered the endgame phase in just fifteen moves. Then, in the 25th move of the game, both players also exchanged a rook, officially agreeing to enter the endgame phase with the same color bishop.

Normally, this kind of an endgame would end up in a draw, as none of them could advance their pawn further. However, this time, Sophie Millet had the space advantage, starting to take control over Anna's territory with her pawns.

Now, the girl was in a dilemma here. She could just advance her pawn to challenge Millet's strong structure, yet doing so would give the initiative to her opponent directly. However, not challenging Millet's pawn chain was also not an option, as it would've been stronger the further the game went by, and Anna would be pushed back further into her own territory if she didn't make a move now.

'Why do I put all of my pawns on the light squares?' The girl couldn't help but let out a deep sigh, feeling regretful over her own position. 'Now, she could just infiltrate from the back of my territory and stab me from that spot, eating all of my pawns and advancing hers easily.'

More than three hours had already passed, and yet, they still hadn't reached the 40 moves threshold to get the additional time. The only reason that they could still survive right now was due to the 30-second increment for each move that they made. However, time was ticking away for both players, and with less than five minutes on the clock, they needed to navigate their way through the game flawlessly to get what they wanted right now.

Anna couldn't help but bite her lips nervously, trying her best to force every single cell of her brain to work. She also glanced sideways, just to find out that only her game and Laysa's were still going right now. However, the girl also noticed that her friend was so close to drawing the game, so the pressure was completely on her shoulders right now.

'If Laysa gets a draw, with Sister Irene and Claudia's result, we will be up to one point. I just need to draw my game too, so that we can steal the win. However, my situation is definitely not the best right now. This endgame is killing me slowly, and except for if she made a mistake, there is no way I could overturn this situation.'

Well, that was a fair assessment. Even the computer engine showed -4.3, telling everyone on the live broadcast that Anna was on the verge of losing this time. Honestly, if the girl knew about that number, she would be more devastated, and there was a huge chance that she would resign from the game prematurely.

However, Anna didn't really do that. No, she still believed that it was hard for the black piece to navigate her way to win this endgame. With only a bishop and some pawns on the board, one slip from Millet was enough for Anna to trap her into a draw, either from the threefold repetition or the 50 moves rule. Hell, at some point, that scenario was so close to happening, just for Millet to refuse the unspoken draw offer and continue the game.

Sheva and Claudia, who watched the game from a close distance, also grew nervous at how it went.

"Sheva… Do you think Big Sis has a chance here?" The girl bit her lips in exactly the same way as Anna did earlier, showing how nervous she was.

"I really want to say that she has a slight chance, but that will be a false hope for you." Sheva smiled bitterly. "In this exact position, any experienced player should know how to convert this endgame, so it will take a miracle for Sophie Millet to make a mistake here."

Claudia could only clench her fist when she heard that, feeling frustrated about her sister's situation. Even all the good mood after winning her game earlier had already gone, as it would be nothing if her sister lost this game.

Time passed by, and they both finally got their 40th move of the game. With the additional 30 minutes on the clock, it would be hard for Sophie Millet to make a mistake. The woman also managed to infiltrate deep, taking Anna's two pawns that blocked the G and H file so that she could let her own pawns run amok. It seemed that everything went well for the woman, and she only needed to be careful about which pawn she had to advance first to win the game.

However, that was probably the miracle that Anna had been waiting for.

It seemed that God was still kind enough to the players who didn't give up until the end. Right when all the things that Sophie Millet had to do was to march her pawns forward, the woman made a mistake in the move order, moving her G pawn first instead of the H pawn. It was such an easy mistake to make, especially if the player's confidence was at its highest. However, it cost everything, as the evaluation bar that seemed to be covered with black color was back once again to the equilibrium, showing that the game was equal once again for the first time in such a long time.

"She makes a mistake!" Sheva whispered a little bit too loudly, enough for Claudia to hear him. "Sophie Millet makes a mistake! Now, Anna's king and bishop are close enough to kill the pawn that tries to advance further! It is a draw game again!"

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