Multiversal Chess Championships – Everything Thread

by **Riandera** » Mon Jun 23, 2025 8:56 pm

♚ Last Hope ♛

Now that Sri Nyoman and Rina have been defeated, it is Irene's job to continue what the other two had left. She had one last chance to prove that she was able to get Riandera to make it to the top of the leaderboards, without the other two. Her next match was Felix Tremblay, joint World No. 2 (with Sameul Salucci, both from Vielfaltig). Really, Irene stood no chance against him, but she didn't care. She had two options: go big or go home.

All Rianderans' eyes would be on her. She truly was their last hope.

by **Paradystopia** » Fri Jun 27, 2025 11:54 pm

The first matches had been and gone; the final match had been finished for a few hours at this point. A smattering of foreign press were sending off their reports to their respective news sources over drinks in the lobby of the Hotel le Rivage Blue as three Paradystopi chess players sought the quietest corner this place had available to plan ahead or lick their wounds.

Chirpsijibbers' eye's nearly erupted from her sockets when a member of wait staff brought over a somewhat extravagant 'seafood sharing platter' to the table along with the most alcoholic cocktail Miri found that was available, and an orange juice for Malik.

Pockets of quiet conversation from about the hotel bar the drifted about the Paradystopi table, for there was no-one speaking amongst the Paradystopi. Malik was simultaneously re-analysising his victory over Kristian Theiss and annotating a book on how to maximise one's gains in the middlegame that he'd picked up from a trade stand from the periphery of the tournament. He refuted several points of the Vielfaltigian manual, though did have to concede that the chapter on pawn structures was very well written and had given him cause to re-evaluate his game to see whether he could've finished it sooner. Miri quietly was seething to herself, infuriated that her match had stagnated to a draw thus eliminating both competitors. Chirpsijibbers was greedily devouring the seafood which was doing a beautiful job of making her forget her embarrassment at the mistake that cost her the match to local guy Samuel Salucci.

"King to A1. King to fucking A1 ... Gaaaahh!"

Miri was ranting to herself. In her mind, she'd thrown away the win.

"Why did I play that king move? Why? I had the Tjunian on the ropes, then I played it safe. Might as well as handed over the tempo on a silver platter."

Malik barely looked up from his own musings

"Oh, it was already a draw at that point."

Miri glared at her brother with such intensity even Chirpsijibbers paused her eating momentarily.

"Look ..."

Malik stretched his neck out and placed his papers and books by the side of his on the table, then adjusted them slightly so as to avoid them being peppered with flecks of mussel and grilled sea bass from the ebulliently feasting otter.

"Five moves previously, you moved your knight to defend your pawn and put a bit of pressure upon Ms Altamiranda's bishop whereas, had you moved the other knight instead, you'd have had better lines of attack available on your kingside as well as nullifying the queen with a royal fork threat."

Miri sneered

"You think I didn't consider that?"
"Seemingly not, given it was the winning line."
"Get stuffed! She then pushes the knight back, and I've lost initiative."
"Then you attack the rook."
"I couldn't attack the rook."
"Yes, you could. She moves away, one check, she moves here, then you can retreat the knight whilst claiming a free pawn, and there, you're up."
"And why would she move away when she could just launch a counterattack with that bishop?"
"Because if she counter-attacks it would be ..."

Malik did a quick mental calculation.

"... block with bishop, trade, trade those pawns, knight attacks open pawn, pawn advances, knight moves out of the way, another pawn attacks the knight, then, leave the knight and take the knight's pawn with your queen. Then there's a chance of mate in 6 if she doesn't get her king behind her rook pronto. Otherwise, you can just create a space advantage, trade down, very winnable."

Miri's mind eventually caught up with Malik's. Pieces and strategy fell into place as she finally understood the utterly brutal run of play culminating in a queen sacrifice that left black essentially dead in the water. THAT was the chance she had missed.

"Oh, and given you didn't make it past the first round, don't you owe me my bet?"

A few moments later, Malik was taking himself up to his room to wash the orange juice from his face and hair before continuing his studying privately in his room.

Miri and Chirpsijibbers stayed in the bar for most of the evening. Drinking at their self-titled 'losers table' and giving deliberately erroneous facts about Paradystopia to any rogue foreign journalist they managed strike a conversation with.

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Sat Jun 28, 2025 12:00 pm

Hello and welcome to the Chess Battle Royale, part of the Multiversal Chess Championships, coming to you from the Hotel Le Rivage Blue in Walbourg, Vielfaltig! The aim is simple - win out or get out! No second chances, no repechage, no group stage - everyone who is here at this tournament knows they must win to progress. Even a draw wouldn't be enough, sending both players out the door. The stakes have never been higher but for our three MCC Jaguar Knights, a first taste of individual knockout chess doesn't hurt anyone and getting that experience in before the World Chess Knockouts up next will be key in our players' individual development. Plus as well, any distraction from the disaster that was the ECC will certainly help our Knights' Brigade (the dedicated fanbase) in coping eternal. So then...what happened to start with?

#22 Tshering Gyeltshen
For "team leader" Tshering, the debuting Rina Ramos, a former surfer from Riandera, would be his first test - the #2 player from this debuting nation on the MCC scene. Facing someone with high regard back home did add some interest to this contest, as no one was quite sure what to expect, but what we ended up with was a good game between the two. Rina had her moments in this battle and on another day, she could've well beaten Gyeltshen here - but in the end, the form held through and Tshering advanced into Round 2.

#11 Anne Christian-Warren
For our Lesbian Pirate Queen, a new opponent stood in her way - Jökull Magnusson of The Kytler Peninsulae. A well-known nation on the Chess scene, but Magnusson was playing his debut match, and no one quite knew what to expect out of him coming up against AWC. In the end, our Pitkerner did the job to surive another day.

#16 Margarita Altamiranda
For MA, he contest would be against another debutant - Miri Robertson of Paradystopia, an old sporting nation making a comeback in time to make its Chess debut. Miri was one of two Robertsons at this tournament, and right off the bat, we could tell she was the most chaotic, showing nothing on her face as she opened this contest. But once the trap was set, Miri seemed to pounce, turning what seemed like an easy win for Altamiranda into a stalemate. That was a draw, which meant both players would go home, but you could tell the moral battle went the way of the debutant.

That draw meant the draw for Round 2 would be lopsided, so by chance, ACW was given a bye straight into Round 3. The question is, will Tshering join her in the Top 8? #19 Khanyisa van Lundi of South Newlandia awats...

Player Scores
Tshering Gyeltshen (#22) - 4-13-6 in MCC, 2-5-2 @ ECC, 6-18-8 Overall
1st Round: vs Catarina "Rina" Ramos (RIA) (UR) W (7-18-8)
2nd Round: vs Khanyisa van Lundi (SNL) (#19)

Anne Christian-Warren (#11) - 7-12-4 in MCC, 3-4-2 @ ECC, 10-16-6 Overall
1st Round: vs Jökull Magnusson (KYP) (UR) W (11-16-6)
2nd Round: BYE
3rd Round: vs ???

Margarita Altamiranda (#16) - 5-13-5 in MCC, 2-5-2 @ ECC, 7-18-6 Overall
1st Game: vs Miri Robertson (PDT) (UR) D, Eliminated (7-19-6)

by **The Martian Independent Republic** » Sun Jun 29, 2025 8:25 am

Three games were played with a Martian on one side - in all three, the player with the black pieces won, but only two of those were Martians.

Stardust is a lot better at playing chess when he's not desperate for a win. Yes, he likes to get them with fancy tactics - but if a draw is not enough, it's likely that he'll just go on attacks without first evaluating them. Blitzing out moves does work sometimes, but only sometimes, and against a much younger player in the form of Maria Deering, it never had a chance at working. Throwing all his pawns at the king just saw them all get cut down, and when Deering came straight at his queenside, he resigned rather than trying to hopelessly fend off the attack - he was never going to win the game from there, and a draw wouldn't help him at all.

Many considered sending a younger, more attacking player to Walbourg in place of Eleanor Rigby. She emphatically earned her spot here, however, taking down Hahnea Izorigor in what is (possibly) the match herefeaturing two players who had already played each other the greatest number of times. In this game, Rigby slowly advanced, but Izorigor could do nothing to stop it. The crucial moment came when Izorigor played 31. c3, trying to open up the position and trade off some pawns, and Rigby responded with 31... b3!. From there, it was clear who the victor would be - a battery came around on the a-file, and after Rigby sacrificed her rook to open up Izorigor's king, the Kytlerian resigned with mate on the way.

Speaking of younger, more attacking players, Johnny B. Goode was playing the host nation's own Sebastian Berger. Berger, put in the event at the last moment after world #1 Naomi Etienne was forced to withdraw, was the only Spider with a successful attack - while Stardust flailed and failed, and Rigby just put the pressure on, Goode executed an excellent Greek Gift sacrifice, luring the king out into the open. Knowing that going back to g1 was suicide, Berger brought his king up to g3, and blocked checks with everything he had, but it was too late. Goode sacrificed his knight to bring the king onto the fourth rank, then checked it onto the fifth, and in the end, Berger was checkmated with a pawn in the centre of the board.

Stardust is taking the first boat home, but Rigby and Goode move on to play Brian Bowman and Malik Robertson respectively, both with the white pieces.

by **Katzeburg** » Sun Jun 29, 2025 8:59 am

Josef Brand took a deep sigh in. He was going to try to run it again from the top.

“Ok,” he breathed out as he stood in front of the senior management team at Darmstadt Oliver Nicholls & Grant in the surrounds of their lavish boardroom overseeing the main downtown district of Katzestadt.

“This is what we have planned so far in terms of the new upcoming national chess league. Currently we are projected to have eight teams with enough buy-in from local sponsors from across the country, being able to market ourselves to the general public as the first nation-wide domestic league.”

“What about the Katzeburgian National League?” piped up partner Mike Matthews, a constant thorn in the side of Josef in the communications team, purely because of the simple fact he was as thick as a Katzeburgian Squirrel following a day out at the all-you-can-eat nuts fair; and he was arguably just as nutty too.

“The KNL, while a longer standing league,” Josef sighed, trying to quash his growing rage, “is only based in North Katzeburg. This new league will encompass clubs from all across the country. And with that, let me highlight the proposed teams for this new league.”

Josef clicked a button on the pointer which was grasped in his hands and the screen behind him shifted to a map of Katzeburg. “We’ve currently got the go-ahead for teams from the following cities and towns; Katzestadt, of course, Waldstein, where members of the Chess Club are currently over in Vielfaltig playing in the Chess Battle Royale…”

“The international prestige will no doubt be good for marketing purposes,” Paul added, as if to simmer potential complaints about why Waldstein would even get a team.

“...Exactly. We’re also going to put teams in Konigpool, Inverhaven, Axmund, Braunburg, and Stoneturm.”

“But that’s only seven!” protested Mike. Josef nodded - to his credit, this was the first thing in years that Mike had been able to accurately figure out of his own volition.

“That is correct. The eighth team is what we are requiring board approval on. Historically, the sport has gained huge traction from the success of the Ynysgard Chess Club, over on the small island of Dragoonspiel.”

Josef clicked again, shifting the screen to a close-up of the island. It was a place he was intimately familiar with, having lived there during his period of exile after the World Cup Qualifiers debacle a few years earlier, and a faint smile cracked across his face as he spent a split-second dreaming of a life where the only thing he had to worry about was where the next bottle of Harmouth Gold was coming from as he lazily drifted off to sleep on the shores of Dragoonspiel.

“The club of course won the 10th edition of the Elephant Chess Cup, and recently retained the title over in South Newlandia. Alongside that, Mark Jensen - the second board over there - also won the Grand Casaran tournament over in TJUN-ia, meaning the island is like it or not, one of the best beds for talent within the nation for chess. Based on some initial market research among fans of the sport - we’re talking real hard-core fans of course - the league would almost be dead in the water should we not extend a team to Ynysgard. However, the Katzeburgian Chess Federation has been keen to try and market the sport a little wider following these successes, and they are not confident that Ynsygard would have the population large enough to sustain a professional team. Broadcasters we’ve spoken to also indicate that the market share a team like Ynysgard would bring in would easily be the smallest in the league, and instead they are a lot keener to offer the final spot to a city which wouldn’t have as much chess heritage but a lot more to offer commercially.”

Members of the board nodded in understanding, with murmurs radiating around the table as Josef clicked through a few slides showing the data. He knew that a Ynysgard team would be crucial to making the league be seen as a legitimate one, as any attempt to side-step the history of the sport in Katzeburg would be viewed very negatively. But he also knew that above all else, the league was being pulled together to do two things - make money for DONG, and also sportswash the hell out of their less-than-moral legal dealings.

“So where are the broadcasters wanting this final team?” inquired Paul.

“They are wanting the final team to be based out of Harmouth,” Josef answered. “Mostly due to the potential advertising revenue which could be brought in with the brewing company down there.”

The board positively chattered at the fact this could mean more money for them at the end of the day. Paul raised his hands to quiet down the board once more. “So what do you recommend then?” he asked. Josef took a deep breath. He knew that Ynysgard was the right option, the only option really - but anything he suggested would be soundly ignored. After all, he wasn’t on the board. Hell, he wasn’t even a willing participant in this - the whole thing had been dumped on his lap by Paul with absolutely no say in the matter. But he had to give it his best shot, and at that moment, a dangerous thought leapt into his head. One which could only work if he was willing to take a hit himself.

“I think we go with the Harmouth option, to be honest,” Josef said as if he had been deep in thought. “The extra revenue which will come in could naturally deflect to the firm and of course that means more money for partners at the end of the day - something I’m sure all of us would be on board for.” A few members of the board nodded approvingly - they’d be the ones pocketing the large amounts of barins which would come through anything of this nature, not Josef. But they turned their heads to Paul, waiting for the emperor’s tick of approval.

Cogs turned in Paul’s head as he considered the cards laid before him. Finally, after 10 seconds of agonising silence, he spoke. “No… No. Let’s not do that. After all, Ynysgard is home to some of the best chess players in the multiverse, we can’t exclude them just because of the extra revenue it would bring. Honestly Josef, that was a very poor suggestion on your part.” The board slowly shook their heads in one singular motion, as if being controlled by invisible wires attached to the head of their fearless leader. “So it’s agreed then?” Paul said, getting up from his chair. “We’ll give the final spot in the league to Ynysgard.”

“Another great decision there Paul!” Mike piped up. How Josef hated the absolute ass-kisser. But for the moment, he didn’t care. He had gotten Ynysgard a seat at the table, and potentially just kept the town’s relevance in the sport floating for another day.

by **Valentine Z** » Sun Jun 29, 2025 10:29 am

Part 1 – Once she gets going, it will be nigh-impossible to dislodge. Unless of course, you got the better skills!

Head Diplomat Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “완벽한 협상가” Celestie Christine Irelle Dv. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara Whitney Esther Iris Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung has never been one for the game of chess. Instead, other than her journalist and photography job, she mostly prefers the comforts and mechanics of a real-time strategy (RTS) games, passing several hours per session either in one of the internet cafes around her, or at her own home. It would be often times after her work hours or during one of the 4 break days that she would boot up her computer or her portable smart device, followed by finding a game and then simply playing through it either by herself or teamed up. Typically, however, she often play the games on her computer, mainly due to the fact that she has more time there and instead not having to rush through a game on a short train ride. Indeed, in the other games, Charlene fancies herself as someone who likes to play the game slowly, being defensive with her build orders and the like while also rapidly developing her economy. She can be taken out quite easily at the start, to which she managed to – at least for the most parts – wise up and got better at defending against the rushes. If she survived the assaults and reached the end-game, her other opponents will find themselves in a very tough spot.

While she enjoys the rigors of a RTS games and still plays them on a regular basis, it became a little bit clearer that she is not going to become a pro player anytime soon, even when compared to the other Valentian humans, let alone the robotic and cyborg counterparts. The main limiting factor, indeed, was the insane amount of button and hotkey clicking that these games demand. APM – Actions per minute, as it is called, Charlene tends to lack it quite a lot. This her competitors and opponents know, as well as herself. “I still enjoy it, don’t get me wrong. Still, you know, there might be other games that I might do a little better at. Without the craziness that’s the high APMs, haha!”

She picked up a board game of Go at first, baduk as she called it. “It’s actually pretty good, but not something I had in mind. It tend to drag on for a little too long, which is ironic coming from me out of all people. A game of chess, on the other hand, I suppose I found it a bit more lovely just by sheer personal preference alone. It was quite difficult at first and I was pretty darn passive. However, just like what I did in RTS games, I have learned to stay on the more defensive side for as best as I can, and then you go for the strike at the end. Takes a lot of practice, though!” she then produced and showed her own personal chessboard. It’s not the most elaborate and most expensive one, just the way Charlene likes it to be. The pieces are in white and light melon green respectively, and they are relatively bigger compared to the normal size of the board and pieces. Indeed, it’s big even by Valentian standards, with Charlene picking up the green king piece and placing it in her palm. “It’s a shame about what happened to Eveline, though. She got eliminated pretty early, I will say. Now it’s up to me to, well, let’s see where my style will take me.”

Ripped from Sims 4 using TS4Ripper. Rendered in Blender, then edited in Photoshop.

by **Eshialand** » Sun Jun 29, 2025 10:37 am

Let Tomorrow Not Be Our Last Day

The start of the Chess Battle Royale was... about as bad as you could expect it to go for this team.

Let's be real here: the Multiversal Chess Championships have never been an Eshian domain. While team tournaments were always a space for Eshian players to shine, with the Owl side being runners-up in 4 major international tournaments to date, the MCC were always a space for quick crashouts and total underperformance. With a format such as this one, where you can go out as early as the first round, it was recognized that this would be a recipe for disaster... and yep, what a disaster.

Stephanie Jacobson quickly blundered her position against Jacenty Kamiński, and the Jamie-Jason match looked like it was going to be an easy draw, until Jamie horribly misplayed the king and pawn endgame, allowing Jason to squeak out a win with the black pieces. Some onlookers back in Eshialand questioned whether Jamie intentionally blundered to allow at least one of them to keep going in the tournament, but he insisted the blunder was real. "I've just never been good at endgames is the thing... I get distracted by the apparent simplicity and forget it's a delicate dance, that's all.

And then, there was one. Jason's next round would be as black ("seriously, they double-blacked me?" he questioned, wondering why this nation's luck seemed to be perpetually awful) against Charlene Jeannie N. Marceline Myong Suh-Hyung. 15 players left, and just one was Eshian. Again, individual tournaments are not this nation's strong suit.

Jason did promise that, if he's going to be the last player left to represent Eshialand, he'd do as good of a job as he possibly could. "We are a chess nation, our program is a lot better than a lot of people give us credit for... and I want to do us proud here. The odds may be stacked against us, and I'm not going to comment on the host nation's opinion of us... but I'm here for the long haul. We're not leaving tomorrow, mark my words."

by **Vielfaltig** » Sun Jun 29, 2025 12:48 pm

Good evening and welcome back everyone to the Chess Show hosted by your very own Chuck Schumer. Today we cover the first day of the much awaited Battle Royale being held at the Hotel Le Rivage Blue in Walbourg, Marigny. This is a terrific breather from the constant political chaos which has engulfed the region. We are presently joined by the three players representing Vielfaltig in this competition after the first round of play.

"Firstly, congratulations to Salucci and Tremblay for making it through and commiserations to Berger on the tough loss. So beginning with Sebastian, this was your first time playing at the MCCs and it was relatively disappointing. How do you feel you will proceed from here on given your inclusion was due to Etienne's withdrawal?"

"Well, I think this was perhaps the worst tournament for me to debut in. One match definitely does not decide my level of play and I expect people to understand that. The tricky format of the Battle Royale makes it especially difficult for a newcomer like me. I will continue to try to impress domestically and am still in the running to make it to the Candidates for the National Chess Championship. Hopefully better time to come."

"It is definitely an interesting format and that should be noted. Tremblay and Salucci, you're both quite experienced in the MCC and have already played two tournaments. What are your thoughts going into the third tournament of the MCC and how do you feel this contributes to chess?"

"So going first, I am quite an old player especially looking at some youngsters such as Salucci who is nearly twenty years younger than me. Chess is uniquely such a game that this factor of age is quite irrelevant and has never bothered me in my career. The MCC is a great addition to the chess calendar although we perhaps deserve some alleviation from such a cramped schedule. Or maybe that's my age talking haha."

"I mean Tremblay is right in a lot of aspects. It's a great addition, I really enjoy interacting and competing with players from all over the multiverse. The title of World Champion is quite alluring and I hope to be in a position to compete for it. The past few tournaments have been interesting although I have fallen short on both occasions. I hope not to this time."

"The MCC has definitely given us spectators much to be excited about. Now broaching what is the biggest talking point of the Battle Royale so far, Etienne's withdrawal. Felix thoughts?"

"I do not like getting into politics and have maintained that stance of mine since the very beginning of my career. I think its a shame that she chose to withdraw perhaps she's afraid of slipping. I have heard people attribute her withdrawal to numerous causes but all of us received that circular and we all complied. Noemi's withdrawal will have struck the heart of Walbourg even deeper though considering how significant an event this is for the city."

"Sorry to interject but as the player replacing her I feel Tremblay may be misrepresenting the situation. I mean look around us, we are playing amidst what is essentially a police cordon. The politics and chess is intrinsically...."

"I'm gonna cut you off there Sebastian. Unfortunately we are out of time and good luck to all of you for the next rounds. And thank you to all our guests for joining us at the Chess Show, we will be back tomorrow with round 2."

by **South Newlandia** » Sun Jun 29, 2025 12:56 pm

Cutoff for Round two - Hunting the sky or heading home?

Chess Battle Royale Round 2:

Sameul Salucci (VFT) ½-½ Jacenty Kamiński (NPU)
Felix Tremblay (VFT) 1-0 Irene Susanti (RIA)
Johnny B. Goode (MIR) 1-0 Malik Robertson (PDT)
Khanyisa van Lundi (SNL) 0-1 Tshering Gyeltshen (TJU)
Charlene Jeannie N. Marceline Myong Suh-Hyung (VEZ) 1-0 Jason Severn (ESL)
Eleanor Rigby (MIR) 1-0 Brian Bowman (KAT)
Rowena Sowards (KAT) 1-0 Maria Deering (KAT)

BYE (automatically advances to R3): Anne Christian-Warren (TJU)

Round 3 Schedule:

Tshering Gyeltshen (TJU) - Anne Christian-Warren (TJU)
Eleanor Rigby (MIR) - Charlene Jeannie N. Marceline Myong Suh-Hyung (VEZ)
Felix Tremblay (VFT) - Rowena Sowards (KAT)

BYE (automatically advances to R4): Johnny B. Goode (MIR)

by **Paradystopia** » Mon Jun 30, 2025 12:13 am

"Wow ... he's actually lost it ..."

From the back of the viewing area, having just about drank enough water to stave off the worst of their hangovers from the previous night, Miri and Chirpsijibbers were being treated to a sight neither of them had truly seen before.

They were witnessing Paradystopia's top chess player being dismantled in a somewhat brutal fashion.

All it had taken was one inaccuracy. That one slightly questionable pawn push in the opening had slowly evolved into a slight material disadvantage, which had become a larger material advantage and the Martian Spider could clearly smell blood.

The only question at this point seemed to be whether Malik would, or could, take Johnny down with him. Force a draw, both eliminated, satisfaction?

With chin in hands, Malik scrutinised the board over and over. How could he even force a draw here? Was there actually any reason to? There was an outside chance of getting into a perpetual check situation, but Goode was much too strong to be drawn into that. Stalemate? Having castled, his king was close enough to barricade himself into the corner, but where was the line that didn't end with him checkmated? He looked again for potential counter-attacking moves, growing ever aware of the seconds trickling off his allocated time. Bishop? No. Queen? Maybe? No, she's tied up with defending that.

Another glance at the clock ... tick tick tick ...

With a deep sigh, Malik toppled his king and proffered a hand to Johnny.

"Good game."

by **Katzeburg** » Sat Jul 05, 2025 4:56 pm

For a very specific window of three days a year, the small fishing town of Ynysgard saw the right combination of perfect sunshine and clear blue skies which made the view off the ferry from the mainland one of pure beauty, and Josef Brand was taking it all in as the motors whirred to signal the approach to the docks. The sun beamed off the multi-coloured shacks which dotted up along the island of Dragoonspiel’s coastline, with the animals of the Katzeburgian Sea out enjoying a lovely day - Josef spotted a few whales splashing water up from below and even a few gulls happily larking as they circled the island from above.

But Josef wasn’t here to admire the view, he was after someone specific in mind - someone he needed to speak to as a matter of priority. Someone, who had seemingly gone off grid these last couple of months following a recent trip to South Newlandia. As he stepped off the ferry and took in the main street of Ynysgard, it seemed almost a different town entirely from the one Josef had left only a couple of years earlier. Back then, the town was grimy, industrial; a town beaten down by years of under-development and a general apathy. But now? The town was still very grimy and industrial, but the atmosphere was palpable. Villagers greeted each other with beaming pride as they went about their days, flags of the island and other decorations adorned the space between buildings to give it an almost permanent celebratory feel, and of course one could barely fail to notice the large newly-erected hall which sat further down the main street - the Ynysgard Chess Hall.

The shining beacon of the island’s new found status, the Chess Hall was built after the country won the 10th Elephant Chess Cup and has become the hub for chess on the island of Dragoonspiel under the watchful eye of Emilia Ziegler. The town now had a disproportionate number of people interested in the sport, and Josef knew that chess when it came to Katzeburg, was born here and nowhere else. His feet tapping in rhythm on the cobblestone street below him, Josef noted that the town did seem to be a little at war with itself. The nation’s general election was nearing and he could tell that the island had seemingly become split - Nora Keller, the current mayor of the island, has leveraged her star pull as a member of the twice-successful chess champions to run for parliament as part of the Katzeburgian Alliance. And her strength as a local candidate was showing - it looked almost a 50/50 split between Keller signs and the signs of the incumbent party Plaid Dragoonspiel.

Finally Josef arrived at the hall, taking a moment to get a full view of a building which was once a sore spot for the local village; now transformed thanks to the power of chess. Something, he was hoping to bring to the island again. Slowly pushing open the door, Josef made his way into the hall, hopeful that his trip to the island would be a relatively quick one. But the hall itself was empty. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy, he thought to himself. A brief note affixed to the notice board which sat just inside the entryway of the hall was his only contextual clue as to why this hall of hope for the island was seemingly dead.

‘Until further notice, all meetings of the Ynysgard Chess Club have been cancelled. We apologise for the inconvenience.’
- Emilia Ziegler, head of the Ynysgard Chess Club.

Josef wandered back onto the main street and turned his attention to the Fisherman’s Arms - the local port of call for anyone on the island and one of his favourite watering holes, stemming back from when he lived on the island for a brief time a few years back. At the very least, if who he was looking for wasn’t there, he could at least expense a few beers on company time. Before he knew it he had downed his second pint of Ynysgard’s Fish Guts - a local pale ale with a name purely to put off tourists more than anything else - and he was still no closer to his goal. Overhearing numerous things at the bar, he learnt that the Ynysgard team had all seemingly gone to ground after coming back from South Newlandia following their win in the 11th Elephant Chess Cup. Mark Jensen had gone on a long sabbatical thanks to some behind-the-scenes shenanigans from Keller at the council level, while Emilia apparently just stopped turning up to work one day, calling into the school with a horrible illness which she is yet to recover from. And the less said about Klaus Rothbauer the better, according to locals - he didn’t even return from South Newlandia in the first place.

Josef ordered another pint and considered his options. With no-one from the club accessible, the chances of Ynysgard maintaining the spot for a team in the domestic league was fading by the minute, and if the island didn’t have a team then the league would be dead in the water. Looking up and down the long-room which housed the central bar, he spotted a copy of the Ynysgard Fisherman - the local paper which Josef himself worked for when he lived here for a period. It was an easy life, but one he occasionally grew fond of; sometimes wishing he could just come back and enjoy a simple life by the sea. But his role was elsewhere, off Dragoonspiel. And he knew it. But the paper did lead to another idea, and he whipped out his phone to make a call. Thankfully, he could remember the editor of the paper and more importantly for his needs - the fact the editor had a daughter who very recently, was the reserve member for the Ynysgard Chess Club.

“Hi Callum? It’s Josef,” he said into the phone. “Josef Brand? I used to work at the Fisherman a couple of years ago… No, not the one with a wooden leg… No, not that Josef - I’m the one who used to work for the KFF? Yep. That one…. No, no mental breakdowns since then thankfully, but you never know working in the line of work I do now! Anyway, wondering if I could ask you for a bit of a favour…”

Forty minutes later, Josef found himself on the western side of the island, well away from the village of Ynysgard and into what could only be described as desolate cliff faces and a sense of facing the vast unknown before him. The island’s sole taxi had dropped him at the edge of a long dirt road and he had been trudging along it for the last 20 minutes; the ocean out to his left and rolling green hills to his right, barely a house in sight and a piercing wind rippling right through him. He wasn’t expecting to be out in the elements during his brief trip here. Josef wondered what would the reaction be when he made it to the end of the road. Would it be anger? Straight dismissal? Or one of curiosity? He had no idea, but he needed things to work here and he would only have one chance to make his case. Rounding a small clump of trees, Josef saw a simple pink shack rise into view ahead of him, nestled within trees with a faint outlook to the ocean as if it was hidden on purpose at the edge of the world. There were no cars or any real signs of life at the shack as Josef continued towards it; it looked almost deserted, save for the simple pile of chopped logs which sat to the left of the shack in a small hut.

Stepping onto the porch, Josef took a deep breath in before knocking on the door.

Silence.

So he knocked again. Silence emanated from the shack once more. A final knock finally saw some movement, with noises starting to creak from inside the building. Josef looked up in a moment of relief, before panicking as to just what the hell was his excuse for standing here, overlooking the ocean and finding someone who seemingly hasn’t wanted to be found. But before he could think, the door had creaked open a slither, just enough for an eye to peer through it. “Can I help you?” came the voice from behind the door.

Josef cleared his throat. Here goes nothing.

“Miss Ziegler? You’ve been a surprisingly difficult person to track down.”

“I’ve not been too fond of being found at this current moment, truth be told. Who are you?”

“My name is Josef Brand, and I work for law firm Darmstadt Oliver Nicholls & Grant. I’d like to talk to you about an opportunity for the Ynysgard Chess Club, a chance to bring the island onto a stage like never before.”

“Look, I don’t think we’ll be interested thanks, but I’ll raise it at the next meeting. Thanks for your time.”

“Miss Ziegler please - I wouldn’t have come all this way if I didn’t think it was absolutely important to speak to you face to face about this. Can I please have five minutes of your time?”

The door slammed shut. Josef dropped his head, only to hear a quick clack from behind the door before seeing it swing open. A smile creeped across his face. He had a chance, he just needed to bring it home.

by **Valentine Z** » Sun Jul 06, 2025 11:51 am

Part 2 – The Big Charlene, the Big Win.

Head Diplomat Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “완벽한 협상가” Celestie Christine Irelle Dv. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara Whitney Esther Iris Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung made one hell of an entrance as she arrived at the hotel alongside Eveline. Many minutes earlier, Charlene and Eveline, the two Valentians that have signed up for the Chess Battle Royale, have arrived via interdimensional travel. With having received the most basic clearance of airspace for the sake of this event, the Valentian airship arrived at the airport of the city of Walbourg in Vielfaltig. “Well, this is the place!” she chimed in to Eveline, who was looking through the brochure handed to her, “The weather is pretty nice as well – don’t need anything that is too thick nor too thin. Perfect, really. Might be a little colder in the evening, though!” While Eveline has already shrunk herself down – a process that which is now magical and more ready compared to the technological counterparts, Charlene decided that she would stay the same size for as long as she could – for the sheer purpose of amusement and surprise perhaps to the others.

With her body being too big for the doors to do a normal walk, she crawled her way into the front reception, much to the surprise and terror of the many (all) in there. Of course, she was more than aware of the security measures and the like, so while it might have looked like a bad joke to play, they certainly would not expect the big Valentian to be a security threat, other than the precariously placed vases. “Oh dear, hello and good day, Ms. Charlene!” one of them exclaimed, looking frantically and thoroughly to make sure that Charlene’s entrance did not damage anything in the process. After a sigh of relief, the receptionist asked Charlene. “I thought you would be smaller, sorry about that. Err… there is a room for the two of you, but I am afraid that we might not be able to accommodate in this… state. If you can please do us a favour by making yourself smaller.” Charlene nodded with a smile, “Of course, no worries! Ahhh, I am just messing with you all a little. Here, let me do it.” She invoked a form of magic and soon enough, she shrunk to a more manageable 7 feet and 7 inches. Charlene got up on her feet, brushing her hands.

“Now, where were we? Oh yes, the room, if you please!” With a small amount of paperwork done, as well as the security check (including using a step stool to reach some parts for a metal wand scan), Charlene and Eveline were presented with their room – a cozy room for two. Good amount of lighting everywhere, an unassuming nightstand right beside the single king-sized bed, which, essentially, was not meant with the size of the large Valentians in mind. Still, the two Valentians laughed it out, all of this typical for them in a positive manner. “Quite a lot of heavy security though,” Charlene remarked, “Not going to lie, that stunt that I pulled down there, I am glad that they, at the very least, know that we are Valentians. It could have gone really, really badly.” The two shared some laughs, with Charlene turning on the television while Eveline took a bottle of non-alcoholic drink from the fridge, with the brochure still in her hands. “The rules on alcohol are pretty relaxed, so we can share some beers once we made it quite big!” Eveline said, “No smoking, cannabis only from state-sanctioned places, other drugs are fine, no selling!”
“Oh yeah, some beer will be nice,” Charlene replied back in turn, surfing through various channels on the TV – most of them local-made movies. “Wow, these look pretty good! Should watch it together and have some beer, haha!”

Right after the two have finished looking around and showered, Charlene and Eveline went up to the fifth floor, particularly to the conference hall. “That is where this Chess Battle Royale is taking place,” Eveline said. With a sharp ding, the doors opened to the sight of corridors, some of them leading to the conference hall itself. They walked slowly and surely, looking at the security details that were all over the place. Raising a slight eyebrow at the sight of the two Valentians, they were a little intimidated by their heights but nonetheless were steadfast in making sure that it’s well-guarded. “Yeah, it’s quite expected,” Charlene left a small remark as they walked towards the entrance of the hall, only to be stopped politely by a security guard. “Sorry, ma’am. The area is off-limits until the tournament itself,” they were told. “Ahh, we can’t see the hall itself?” Eveline asked. “No, sorry. You’ll get to see it tomorrow.”

So there was that. It was not so much that they were insistent on going in there, anyway. They can still pull it off tomorrow if needed. “So, you want to do this together with me?” Charlene asked, to which Eveline replied back with a polite but uncertain shake of the head, “Might be a little awkward. Too much attention on me, you know?” Charlene: “Yeah that’s all fair, no worries. Well hey, since we cannot… let’s go back and watch some movies on the TV. ”

Fast forward to the first match, Eveline and Charlene entered the hall, and much to the latter’s delight – it was a huge place! Charlene, naturally, made herself taller back to her original height. “Hehe, now this is great!” she said to herself, hundreds of pairs of eyes on her. There were technically no rules against this, since it only mattered that she would be able to play and that there is no benefit from her being able to watch the other tables or her opponent. It’s not games like poker. Slowly and carefully walking up to the table and towards her opponent, she picked and moved the chair provided for her and instead sat on the floor, making sure that her dress is fully covering. “Well, hi there!” she said cheerfully and with a bit of mischief in her voice, with Miefodij Ihnatjew no doubt being a little daunted by her size as the handshakes and greetings are exchanged. Soon enough, matches began, it’s time to shine.

Charlene had a bit of trouble picking up the pawn, altogether giving up on picking up and instead sliding them across the board. “It will have to do, hehe,” she said, as she put her hand on the clock. WHAM! With the force that is a little bit too much and not something that she has not expected, Charlene nearly broke the clock and the table that it has, all the while rattling the entire thing and its immediate vicinity. “Ooooh, oops, sorry about that! I do hope the clock is fine!” she said, her eyes slowly looking at the clock as she carefully raised back her hand. The good news is that the table is fine, and the bad news being that they had to get another clock; it was not smashed into a large number of pieces and instead, it was just slightly damaged. “I will pay for that later,” Charlene said sheepishly. Not a good start that could very well be avoided, but there’s just not a lot of fun in being relatively normal size.

[OOC: Would like to thank SNL, Boll, and a lot of people in NSS Discord for this idea and for running with it! ♥]

by **The Martian Independent Republic** » Sun Jul 06, 2025 12:18 pm

Both remaining Martians survived to the second day in Walbourg - although neither game was pretty, both Eleanor Rigby and Johnny B. Goode held on to secure a win with the white pieces. By luck of the draw, Goode got himself a bye into round four and the top four competitors. Only one spot in the WCC qualifiers can be won here, and both remaining Martians will surely be fighting for the spot.

Goode isn’t a player known for his opening prowess. He plays f4, or sometimes e4, and that’s about it. However, the format of this event meant that players had little time to prepare for their opponents, and nowhere was this more clear than when Goode took on Malik Robertson of Paradystopia. Not many know the Bird as well as Goode does, and a minor error from Robertson - isolating his queen’s pawn - led to a minor advantage for white, if black realized he couldn’t properly defend the pawn. Robertson tried to maintain material equality, though, and that gave Goode a much larger advantage. Although the d-pawn stayed on the board, one queenside pawn fell, then another, and soon Robertson found out that, in defending one aspect of his position, he had allowed a pair of passed pawns to come down the board unopposed. Facing the choice of allowing promotion or being checkmated, Robertson, knowing any tricks he tried would get shut down, resigned. Goode essentially got two wins from that match, as receiving a bye meant he was guaranteed to survive until tomorrow afternoon.

Rigby won her game in a different fashion. After the retirements of John Roach and Cecilia Blossom, one could argue Rigby is the most experienced player competing in this event, and she’s certainly played plenty of champions, be they club or even national. Brian Bowman came into this event as Katzeburg’s number one, and he was riding high after a victory on the first round, so Rigby tried a new strategy - just don’t lose. Normally, this would lead to a draw, but here that would knock both players out. Rigby was willing to bet that Bowman would fight hard enough that she’d just be able to play solidly and pick up the win. Indeed, it worked. Bowman embarked on a questionable attack, Rigby stopped any funny business, and by the end of it, Rigby had two knights for a bishop. Although this led to a complicated endgame, Rigby managed to hang onto enough material to checkmate, eventually finishing the longest match of the round with an elegant knoght mate.

by **South Newlandia** » Sun Jul 06, 2025 12:58 pm

Cutoff!

Chess Battle Royale Round 3:

Tshering Gyeltshen (TJU) 0-1 Anne Christian-Warren (TJU)
Eleanor Rigby (MIR) ½-½ Charlene Jeannie N. Marceline Myong Suh-Hyung (VEZ)
Felix Tremblay (VFT) 0-1 Rowena Sowards (KAT)

BYE (automatically advances to R4): Johnny B. Goode (MIR)

Round 4 Schedule:

Anne Christian-Warren (TJU) - Johnny B. Goode (MIR)

BYE (automatically advances to R5): Rowena Sowards (KAT)

Round 5, if required, will be scorinated at the same time as Round 4.

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Thu Jul 10, 2025 2:22 pm

Hello and welcome to the Chess Battle Royale, part of the Multiversal Chess Championships, coming to you from the Hotel Le Rivage Blue in Walbourg, Vielfaltig! The aim is simple - win out or get out! Last time we checked in on this unique event, TJUN-ia was one player down with another having a bye straight into the 3rd Day - so for the next two days, things would become simple in terms of watching this event back home. Why? Let us explain...

#22 Tshering Gyeltshen
As we mentioned before, #22 Tshering Gyeltshen would be facing #19 Khanyisa van Lundi of South Newlandia in Round 2, with Anne Christian-Warren watching on from her hotel room. Facing up against this young prodigy of the SNL chess scene, one who can strike very quickly if left unchecked, wasn't going to be easy at all and everyone knew that...but Tshering seemingly had a plan. He managed to play a bit defensive during the opening salvos of the contest, absorbing the pressure that van Lundi was sishing out early, before applying the pressure himself when things started to calm down. In this sort of tournament, that did seem risky...but he made it work and by the skin of his teeth, he managed to put van Lundi away to make it to another day...where eveything would happen.

#22 Tshering Gyeltshen vs #11 Anne Christian-Warren
The draw had happened and thus, Gyeltshen and the Lesbian Pirate Queen were forced to duel. The winner stayed alive and the loser went home, though a draw would send both packing. Both players would enter this context with a simple mindset at hand - no matter the result, there weren't going to treat this context like it was special. They would play it like any other and see what happened...and in the end, ACW would end up coming out on top as her chaotic playstyle confused Gyeltshen enough to produce checkmate. Another Jag Knight down but at the hands of the other. An admirable way to go out.

So Anne is the last one standing and with three players remaining, things are now very simple:
Johnny B. Goode of The Martian Independent Republic awaits.
Beat him, and ACW will be in the Final against debutant Rowena Sowards of Katzeburg.
Lose, and she finishes third with a KAT v MIR final on the final day.
A draw would see both players go home, with Sowards taking the crown by default.

So two players enter, looking to make the Final Duel, while a third watches on, either to see his opponent decided or for the crown to end up on his head.
No matter what, all eyes on tomorrow's only game in Hotel Le Rivage Blue.

Player Scores
Tshering Gyeltshen (#22) - 4-13-6 in MCC, 2-5-2 @ ECC, 6-18-8 Overall
1st Round: vs Catarina "Rina" Ramos (RIA) (UR) W (7-18-8)
2nd Round: vs Khanyisa van Lundi (SNL) (#19) W (8-18-8)
3rd Round: vs Anne Christian-Warren (TJU) (#11) L (8-18-9)

Anne Christian-Warren (#11) - 7-12-4 in MCC, 3-4-2 @ ECC, 10-16-6 Overall
1st Round: vs Jökull Magnusson (KYP) (UR) W (11-16-6)
2nd Round: BYE
3rd Round: vs Tshering Gyeltshen (TJU) (#22) W (12-16-6)
4th Round vs Johnny B. Goode (MIR) (#T-35)

Margarita Altamiranda (#16) - 5-13-5 in MCC, 2-5-2 @ ECC, 7-18-6 Overall
1st Game: vs Miri Robertson (PDT) (UR) D, Eliminated (7-19-6)

by **Katzeburg** » Fri Jul 11, 2025 6:22 am

“And lastly tonight, it’s been announced that Katzeburg will soon have a second national domestic league gracing your screens, although not in the sport you’d be expecting - chess. It has been announced in conjunction with the Katzeburgian Chess Federation that a national domestic league will be starting up in the coming months. Eight teams will take part in the inaugural edition, with teams established in major cities across mainland Katzeburg and the island of Dragoonspiel, the homeland of the Ynysgard Chess Club, which navigated the nation to a pair of successive Elephant Chess Cup victories.

“In a short launch announcement this afternoon in Katzestadt, the KCF and the league’s headline sponsor, law firm Darmstadt Oliver Nicholls & Grant, described the league’s formation as a ‘landmark moment’ for chess in the nation, as the federation looks to build on the strong swelling of interest in the sport. All teams will be professional from the get-go, with at least six players per team. Games will see four players from each team play against each other, with the team with the most points at the end of the round claiming victory.

“It is expected that the initial season, due to kick off in the coming months, will see each side play each other twice in league competition, as well as participate in a straight knockout tournament, the finer details of which are yet to be finalised. Early odds released following the announcement has the teams from Waldstein and Katzestadt as the initial favourites, although this has been caveated with the note that it is as of yet unconfirmed who will be lining up for the Ynysgard team - should it be the team which brought home the Elephant Chess Cup you’d imagine they’d be early favourites by a mile. That’s all from us here on KBC Evening News, I’m Matt Fletcher and thanks for watching, Katzeburg…”

Josef Brand slammed a finger down onto his remote, clicking the channel away from the KBC News. It was out there in the wild now, and there was very little he could do at this point. He glanced down at his phone, waiting for the inevitable call he knew was coming his way. Thankfully, he didn’t need to wait long before his phone would start buzzing. “Hello,” Josef said as he continued to flick through the channels looking for something to watch. He was back home in Katzestadt following his trip out to Dragoonspiel a few days earlier, trying his best to convince Emilia Ziegler to reband the team to take part in the upstart national league. It was a long discussion, but ultimately one which saw an end result, albeit one he wasn’t overly happy with. But he kicked that down the road for the moment; he had other things he needed to prepare for.

“Josef!” came the positive reply down the other end. “It’s Paul. Great work with the press announcement - great to see we managed to sneak in at the end of the national news!”

“Well, I can’t take all the credit for that,” Josef said with a hint of sarcasm. “Afterall, it’s a big national league which is coming to the country, that in itself is very newsworthy.”

“Yes, well of course - having these ideas is why I am at the very top you know,” Paul said. “Have we received any inquiries yet about the… other piece of work?”

“Not yet. But I imagine once this starts to die down a little, we might have some more people digging into it, especially as we are out there as headline sponsors - I can just imagine some journalist will want to have a dig around to see where this money is seemingly coming from.”

“And they won’t find anything, right?”

“I imagine it depends on how well our litigation team has documented things publicly, sir.”

“Well, let’s make sure they don’t find anything, shall we? After all, if this explodes, it won’t just be our firm on the chopping block here.”

“I’ll get working with Lee on this in the morning and we’ll have an update ready for you later in the week.”

“Good. Good. I need to go, partner’s dinner with some prospective clients. Have a good evening Josef, don’t get up to too much!”

Before he could respond, telling Paul that he barely made enough in his role to afford a decent night out to begin with, Josef was met with a dial tone. He sighed and put his phone back down on the coffee table and returned to flicking through channels. There was never anything on at this time of evening - not since Paint Drying wrapped up with its explosive season finale a few weeks earlier, and as he circled back around the channels for a third time, Josef was coming to accept this. Finally he landed on a rerun of Chess Tonight, letting it play in the background as he slung his head to look towards the ceiling. He turned his mind back to his trip to Dragoonspiel and his meeting with Emilia. He ultimately wasn’t there for that long, probably less than half an hour all up with Emilia - which made the entire day’s search seem like a bit of a joke, but it was something which ultimately was incredibly useful. Emilia wouldn’t go into much detail about what had her hiding out in a shack at the edge of the world, but she gave Josef a promise - if he was willing to help with something of great importance, than the team would be willing to take part in what crazy scheme Josef was pulling them into.

With a heavy sigh, Josef turned to the document he had brought back with him from Ynysgard. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it, but it was an important condition of the discussion which took place with Emilia. Unfolding it, he carefully placed the document down on his coffee table and began to read. How the hell was he even going to start unpacking this, he thought to himself as he ran his eyes over the name which was emblazoned across the top in large letters - Jack Eulemann.

“Just who the hell are you Jack,” Josef whispered to himself. “And more importantly, who are you working with that has made the Ynysgard Chess Club so afraid?”

by **The Martian Independent Republic** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 11:55 am

Unsurprisingly, Rigby's drawish play caught up to her - in a game where she had several appealing chances, she went after none of them, and her Valentian opponent was able to squeeze out a draw in the endgame, knocking them both out. Goode, now the only Martian remaining, has to win his next two games to win the tournament - first against Anne Christian-Warren then, if he wins that match, against Rowena Sowards of Katzeburg.

Both players came into Rigby's match thinking they could outlast the other - and arguably, they were both right. Rigby tried to squeeze an advantage out of Suh-Hyung's position, thinking she could pick up a slight advantage and run with it. Suh-Hyung, however, didn't make any careless attacks, and while Rigby had several opporunities to attack - the most promising one being 28. f4!, allowing her rooks to start an attack that would spread Hyung's resources too thin - she was too wary that an attack might end in a loss. Besides, after forcing her Valentian opponent to double her pawns on the b-file, Rigby was confident she was better - and she was, as Stockphant evaluated the position as +1. However, Rigby made one crucial mistake in the execution, and that got her eliminated.

Charlene Jeannie N. Marceline Myong Suh-Hyung is known for her endgame prowess, and Rigby was a bit too careless, trading off her pawns left and right in order to pick up the b-pawns, and that series of inaccuracies made the position a draw. Even though Rigby promoted, Suh-Hyung promoted on the next move, and despite a series of checks, where Rigby desperately tried to find a skewer or an advantageous exchange, she couldn't find anything - black's king would always prevent her pawn from promotion after a trade. Eventually, the game ended in a draw due to the 50-move rule - the first time that's happened to a Martian player in years, be it in domestic or international play.

Goode, on the other hand, had a bye, and now he has a very simple task - defeat Anne Christian-Warren, TJUN-ia's Lesbian Pirate Queen, with the black pieces, then survive against Rowena Sowards of Katzeburg. The first game should produce fireworks and a decisive result - neither player is known for caring whether or not their attacks are sound. If Goode wins, then he'll be facing a relative unknown, but the country of Katzeburg has produced a lot of chess superstars, and nobody would be surprised if it produced another.

by **South Newlandia** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 12:50 pm

Cutoff! Time to crown a champion.

Chess Battle Royale Round 4:

Anne Christian-Warren (TJU) 1-0 Johnny B. Goode (MIR)
BYE (automatically advances to R5): Rowena Sowards (KAT)

Chess Battle Royale Round 5/Final:

Rowena Sowards (KAT) 1-0 Anne Christian-Warren (TJU)

P
 1 Noemi Etienne (VFT)
 2 Felix Tremblay (VFT)
   Sameul Salucci (VFT)
 4 Istvan Barany (KGY)
 5 Stijn van Dijk (KYP)
 6 Miefodij Ihnatjew (NPU)
 7 John Roach (KYP)
 8 Glacia McDorrey (APH)
   Kristian Theiss (NPU)
10 Sebastian Grob-Coltman (APH)
11 Anne Christian-Warren (TJU)
12 Geza Horvath (KGY)
13 Elani Jabulan (SNL)
14 Eleanor Rigby (MIR)
15 Norman Heartwell (APH)
16 Margarita Altamiranda (TJU)
17 Charlene Jeannie N. Marceline Myong Suh-Hyung (VEZ)
18 Zygfryd Zurowski (UNC)
19 Khanyisa van Lundi (SNL)
20 Emilia Ziegler (KAT)
   Mark Jensen (KAT)
22 Tshering Gyeltshen (TJU)
23 Adam Esteban (SNL)
24 Julia Willis (KYP)
25 Ilona Adam (KGY)
   Ziggy Stardust (MIR)
27 Jacenty Kaminski (NPU)
28 Prince Pierre-Alexandre 1er de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer (UNC)
29 Jason Severn (ESL)
30 Aydar Rakhmonov (BKH)
   Nurgul Zhaksybekova (BKH)
32 Mila Walkowiak (BMT)
33 Eveline Valeria Annalise Tieu Xuan Ngoc (VEZ)
34 Oskar Lancelot (CRN)
35 Shavkat Muradov (BKH)
   Johnny B. Goode (MIR)
37 Angela Weissel (LID)
   Klaus Rothbauer (KAT)
39 Stephanie Jacobson (ESL)
40 Jamie Cartwright (ESL)
41 Jonathan Troutman (EJM)
42 Spike Wigstan (CRN)
43 Hannah Thompson (HAP)
   Raatrani Czouhan (NTR)
45 Denver Fong (HKA)
   Hitomi Ogata (HKA)
   Mo Steiner (LID)
   Tobi Al-Amim (BMT)
49 Curt Matthews (HAP)
   Klaus Moeller (NPU)
   Luka Vasilievi (CSR)
52 Valerio Hassan (CRN)
53 Rose-Emilie Neveu (UNC)
54 Eudoxia Kozlovi (CSR)
   Vyktor Undersen (EDS)
   Yuvraj Kumar (NTR)
57 Erii Chulanont (HKA)
   Kurt Friedlander (LID)
   Layan Al-Saud (BMT)
   Robert Astrhmann (NSA)
61 Reud der-Wijner (EDS)
62 Makkehenst Virgrensteure (EDS)
63 Grebatu Akanabu (QCA)
   Keven DMcgroar (NSA)
   Omori East (SGH)
66 Dave McDaverson (PPT)
   Freya Laitala (SKF)
68 Dave the Hobo (PPT)
   Parvos Fadahana (SFL)
   Rafokeli Nandrasoa (SFL)
   Sevastian Sheshtakovi (CSR)
72 Ahmed Michaels (NSA)
   Carl Baddsen (SGH)
   Rabado Kawakai (QCA)
75 Mannfred Honwar (RLS)
   Vladimir von Gaienrath (RLS)
77 David Matney (IMP)
   Linda Woodmere (IMP)
   Sam Hawbret (NKR)
80 Akulia Swalialau (QCA)
   Harold Jackson (SGH)
   San Farein (TOL)
   Soleth Dreiloon (TOL)
   Vulin Creit (TOL)
85 Hari Venkatesh (VAI)
   Jazeps Dantekars (RLS)
   Midjima Bahalari (SFL)
   Pietro Volkov (VAI)
89 Adam Debinf (NKR)
   Ashwin Varkav (VAI)
   Richard Pulza Jr. (IMP)

These rankings will not be used for scorination. Their in-character relevance is up to you. They are the calculated weighted average performance in the most recent MCC competitions.

P
 1 Felix Tremblay (VFT)
 2 Sameul Salucci (VFT)
 3 Anne Christian-Warren (TJU)
 4 Eleanor Rigby (MIR)
 5 Charlene Jeannie N. Marceline Myong Suh-Hyung (VEZ)
 6 Noemi Etienne (VFT)
 7 Miefodij Ihnatjew (NPU)
 8 Tshering Gyeltshen (TJU)
 9 Kristian Theiss (NPU)
10 Istvan Barany (KGY)
11 Stijn van Dijk (KYP)
12 Margarita Altamiranda (TJU)
13 Khanyisa van Lundi (SNL)
14 Jacenty Kaminski (NPU)
15 Elani Jabulan (SNL)
16 Johnny B. Goode (MIR)
17 John Roach (KYP)
18 Glacia McDorrey (APH)
19 Sebastian Grob-Coltman (APH)
20 Jason Severn (ESL)
21 Geza Horvath (KGY)
22 Adam Esteban (SNL)
23 Ziggy Stardust (MIR)
24 Norman Heartwell (APH)
25 Zygfryd Zurowski (UNC)
26 Emilia Ziegler (KAT)
   Mark Jensen (KAT)
28 Eveline Valeria Annalise Tieu Xuan Ngoc (VEZ)
29 Julia Willis (KYP)
30 Ilona Adam (KGY)
31 Prince Pierre-Alexandre 1er de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer (UNC)
32 Aydar Rakhmonov (BKH)
   Nurgul Zhaksybekova (BKH)
34 Stephanie Jacobson (ESL)
35 Mila Walkowiak (BMT)
36 Jamie Cartwright (ESL)
37 Oskar Lancelot (CRN)
38 Shavkat Muradov (BKH)
39 Rowena Sowards (KAT)
40 Angela Weissel (LID)
   Klaus Rothbauer (KAT)
42 Jonathan Troutman (EJM)
43 Spike Wigstan (CRN)
44 Hannah Thompson (HAP)
   Raatrani Czouhan (NTR)
46 Denver Fong (HKA)
   Hitomi Ogata (HKA)
   Mo Steiner (LID)
   Tobi Al-Amim (BMT)
50 Curt Matthews (HAP)
   Klaus Moeller (NPU)
   Luka Vasilievi (CSR)
53 Valerio Hassan (CRN)
54 Rose-Emilie Neveu (UNC)
55 Eudoxia Kozlovi (CSR)
   Vyktor Undersen (EDS)
   Yuvraj Kumar (NTR)
58 Brian Bowman (KAT)
   Irene Susanti (RIA)
   Malik Robertson (PDT)
   Maria Deering (KAT)
62 Erii Chulanont (HKA)
   Kurt Friedlander (LID)
   Layan Al-Saud (BMT)
   Robert Astrhmann (NSA)
66 Reud der-Wijner (EDS)
67 Miri Robertson (PDT)
68 Makkehenst Virgrensteure (EDS)
69 Grebatu Akanabu (QCA)
   Keven DMcgroar (NSA)
   Omori East (SGH)
72 Dave McDaverson (PPT)
   Freya Laitala (SKF)
74 Dave the Hobo (PPT)
   Parvos Fadahana (SFL)
   Rafokeli Nandrasoa (SFL)
   Sevastian Sheshtakovi (CSR)
78 Ahmed Michaels (NSA)
   Carl Baddsen (SGH)
   Rabado Kawakai (QCA)
81 Catarina "Rina" Ramos (RIA)
   Chirpsijibbers Clambanger (PDT)
   Hahnea Izorigor (KYP)
   Jökull Magnusson (KYP)
   Michael Radley (KYP)
   Sebastian Berger (VFT)
   Sri Nyoman Yuli (RIA)
88 Mannfred Honwar (RLS)
   Vladimir von Gaienrath (RLS)
90 David Matney (IMP)
   Linda Woodmere (IMP)
   Sam Hawbret (NKR)
93 Akulia Swalialau (QCA)
   Harold Jackson (SGH)
   San Farein (TOL)
   Soleth Dreiloon (TOL)
   Vulin Creit (TOL)
98 Hari Venkatesh (VAI)
   Jazeps Dantekars (RLS)
   Midjima Bahalari (SFL)
   Pietro Volkov (VAI)
102 Adam Debinf (NKR)
   Ashwin Varkav (VAI)
   Richard Pulza Jr. (IMP)

These rankings will not be used for scorination. Their in-character relevance is up to you. They are the calculated weighted average performance in the most recent MCC competitions.

Signups for the next tournament, the World Chess Knockouts, are coming later today!

by **South Newlandia** » Sun Jul 27, 2025 2:43 pm

Welcome to the World Chess Knockouts in Vaynorth, Eshialand!

Format:
The World Chess Knockouts are a chess tournament, contested by individual players. Both players have 120 minutes each to play all of their moves. For more information on the game of chess, here is the Wikipedia article on chess. Chess knowledge is absolutely not required for RPing this tournament, though.

The 47 entrants will play each other in head-to-head matchups. In each round, two players will face each other in two Classical time games. If they are tied after this, the match proceeds to rapid and, if needed, blitz tiebreakers. One player will progress from every matchup until only one player remains. In-character, the first Classical game, the second Classical game, and any tiebreakers take place on three consecutive days.

I recommend posting a fresh player overview post for this tournament, as you have at least one additional player who hasn’t played in the MCC before.

Matchups:

Quick access bracket

Schedule:
The cut-offs for every scorination will be occurring on Sundays, between approximately 19:00 and 21:00 UTC every matchday.

August 3rd: First Round
August 10th: Second Round
August 17th: Third Round
August 24th: Quarterfinals
August 31st: Semifinals
September 7th: Final

RP Information:
You may now start posting in this thread. It is recommended, although not required, that you post a Player Overview for your players to let other roleplayers know a little more about what they’re going up against. You can go into further detail about whatever you want (ages, heritage, club team (if any), play style, favourite openings etc. etc.). Otherwise, you can Roleplay about whatever you like; it doesn’t have to be chess, either. If you do choose to cover chess, you’re not forced to cover all your games either – feel free to go where inspiration strikes!
You are also advised to include a Roleplay permissions box in your roster post. An example may look like this:

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Roleplay about specific moves made: Yes/No
Godmod game events: Yes/No
Godmod other events: Yes/No

This can reduce conflicts between you and your opponent when you both want to RP the same match, but the best plan to do that remains to message your opponent on discord or by telegram. Don’t be intimated by the amount of opponents it may seem like you need to consider simultaneously - you only need to worry about the games you actually want to talk about in-depth.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a telegram or message me on discord - I know some of this stuff is confusing, so please ask if anything is unclear!

by **Eshialand** » Sun Jul 27, 2025 2:43 pm

Welcome to Vaynorth!

Vaynorth is located at the purple dot, at the farthest north reaches of the Eshian coast.

Vaynorth was just a small city at the time of Eshian unification, which never saw much economic development due to the hard winters which can occur there. It sits on Eshialand's far northern coast around Cape Vay, sometimes considered the northeasternmost point of Mardujsha, although this claim has been disputed by other points which are further north and further east, even within Eshialand itself.

While other areas around the same latitude have warmer weather than Vaynorth, it finds itself in an anomalous cold pocket, meaning winters often drop to -20 degrees Celsius, and can even get colder if the conditions are right. This tournament will be played in the winter, but luckily, a "winter heatwave" is headed through -- expect temperatures to "only" be -5 degrees. You'll still have to bundle up, but not as much as your usual Vaynorth winter!

Vaynorth's modern development was kickstarted when Tony Beaujoleil, eccentric billionaire and Vaynorth native, chose this city as the mainland docking site for his innovative Union Stadium, making it a second home for the Eshian national football team. While the stadium -- along with Beaujoleil's wealth -- disappeared a few years ago after the Lahaira Papers scandal, the ball has never stopped rolling for the city of Vaynorth.

To get to Vaynorth, it should be noted that the city doesn't have its own airport, meaning travel must first be done from Eshialand City, which can be reached either from Penrose Airport, Trans-Esportiva Rail for those coming from elsewhere in Mardujsha, or from the seaport for boat-loving elefriends (or anyone else who prefers boat travel, of course!) From there, Eshian Rail connects Eshialand City to Vaynorth on the fully-electrified Sunrise Line. While the Sunrise Line is only up to high-speed rail standards from Bellvale (just south of the capital) to Queensboro (at the country's furthest east point), there are plans to extend high-speed service all the way to Vaynorth to further connect the city to Eshialand's urban core.

The World Chess Knockouts will be held in the North Star Convention Center, a shiny new home for the city's most important events, connected by both a ground-level tunnel and skybridge to the Snowflake Hotel, which will be providing accommodations for the event. The Snowflake Hotel is a new government venture in the downtown area, built as the tallest building north of the capital region. This height gives it space for rooms to suit all kinds of travelers, from families making affordable trips to high-class international visitors. The entirety of the 5-star suites from floors 26 to 30 will be reserved for WCK players and their aides, with lower floors largely being occupied by fans coming to watch the festivities, which there are sure to be many of.

Recent tensions between Eshialand and Vielfaltig have brought into question what the security situation would look like, but Prime Minister Kevin Labbett assured everyone arriving that "no more precautions will be taken apart from what you'd expect at a major tournament," with security being positioned at the building to prevent any major fights from breaking out or unexpected terrorism incidents, but "that's just standard procedure. We're not letting international squabbles ruin a good time."

If there's anything else you have questions about for an RP, feel free to ask me either in telegrams or on Discord! I'm happy to help work with you on anything you might need to know.

by **Paradystopia** » Tue Jul 29, 2025 3:59 am

1. g4(?)

"Khwaark"

Malik flashed a questioning glance in the direction of Chirpsijibbers which received, what he could only assume to be, some Pteron version of a double thumbs-up. Following on from a rough showing at the Battle Royale, the Paradystopi chess team had acquired a new member. This member was none other than the notorious penguin footballer, Jim whom Chirpsjibbers had passionately insisted was, in addition to an unusually talented footballer, also unusually adept at chess.

Watching the penguin poke forward their king's knight pawn two spaces awkwardly with their beak before loudly vocalising did not nothing to assuage Malik's reservations.

1. ... d5
2. Bd2

"Khwaark"
" ... "
" ... "
"Does he have to do that?"

Dismissing his current opponent, it was Chirpsijibbers whom Malik addressed. This caused Jim to cock his head accusingly and Malik to wonder why he felt bad for inadvertently offending a penguin. Chirpsi clarified that Jim was only telling Malik that it was his go, and Malik rather brusquely clarified that he did understood very well how a game of chess worked. This led Jim to click his beak a little in such a way that were it not the mere clacking of a beak, Malik could've sworn the tone was somewhat bitchy.

2. ... c6
3. c4

"Khwaark"
"He said ..."
"Yes. Thank you Chirpsi. I think I follow ..."

3. ... Bxg4
4. Qb3

"Khwaark"
"You can just tap the clock, you know?"

Not that Malik would've admitted it, but the penguin was surprising him slightly. Whilst Jim was hardly playing a particularly solid line, he was moving pieces with a speed and purpose that had caught the Paradystopi champion off-guard. At this point, he knew in himself that he needed an extra defender on his queen's pawn but his curiosity got the better of him.

4. ... e5

Jim paused for a second at this, cocking his head and scrutinising the board somewhat. It appeared that he had been caught off-guard by a blunder (albeit intentionally) from Malik.

Delicately, Jim pushed his c-pawn to d5. Carefully and tenderly, he grasped the deposed black pawn and then with a rapid flick that caused both Malik and Chirpsi to jump, flung the pawn over his head. The beaten pawn bouncing off a hotel room wall and rolling under a bed.

5. cxd5

"Khwaark"

Malik continued with his test.

5. ... Nf6(?)
6. Qxb7

Another pawn joined it's comrade beneath the bed, via the wall.

"Khwaark"

6. ... Nbd7
7. dxc6 Nb6
8. c7 Qc8
9. Nc3

Malik smiled. Knight to c3. He'd been half-expecting a bishop check, or maybe a queen check. Both of which would've been fruitless attempts at maintaining the tempo whereas bringing in the knight into play whilst letting that tension linger. No real counterattack opportunities, black's defences in tatters. The penguin clearly could play.

"Good game, err, Jim. Shall we try a round with you as black now?"
"Khwraaa ... Khwraa ... Khwaark"

Malik looked expectantly to Chirpsi who seemed to have a better grasp of penguin communication than anyone else.

"So, he says 'Sure, but only if you're not going to take the piss and throw the game this time'."

by **Vielfaltig** » Thu Jul 31, 2025 3:56 am

Vielfaltig (VFT) Player Overviews

Noemi Etienne
Age: 24
Hometown: Walbourg
Club: Walbourg Warblers
Second/Trainer: Lucas Felix
Repertoire: Catalan, Ruy Lopez (White); Grunfeld, Sicilian (Black)
World Rank: 6
Domestic Rating: 2831
Bio: Noemi Etienne was born in Walbourg, Marigny and started playing chess at the age of 6. She was introduced to the game by her father, an avid chess player, and the president of a local chess club. She rose through the ranks rapidly and was the youngest female player to achieve a rating of 2000 at the age of 9. She repeated this feat when obtaining her Grandmaster title at the young age of 15. She became the highest-rated woman in Vielfaltig in 1994 at the age of 17 and broke the 2700 barrier. Her rise was met with disdain and shock from the old guard as chess had primarily been a male-dominated field in Vielfaltig. Etienne was responsible for bringing change to the narrative that women could not compete at the highest level of chess. She elevated her game further and qualified for the 1996 and 1998 Vielfaltig Chess Championship Qualifiers winning the 1998 iteration. This set up a clash against reigning champion Felix Tremblay in the following year. The 1999 Vielfaltig Chess Championship match has been etched in history and is colloquially referred to as the "Match of the Century". It witnessed Etienne ascend onto the summit of Vielfaltigian chess defeating Tremblay who had held the crown since 1983. She has taken this opportunity to refine and develop her style of play further. Etienne prefers a dynamic and tactical style of chess and is not afraid of going down material for an attack on the opposition. Her boldness on the board is a risky approach however her defensive skills are equally up to the mark when she is in a bit of a worse position. She put this style on full display in the inaugural SN3C eventually winning it in a nail-biting armageddon game against Salucci. She mostly appeared comfortable in the tournament except for the two uncharacteristic losses to Tremblay and Salucci in which she failed to convert tactical opportunities. Her victory in the SN3C assures her of a spot in the World Championship Qualifiers next year. Etienne put up a great performance in the Grand Casaran narrowly missing out on another tournament victory despite maintaining her spot at the top of the world rankings. That was before her notable protest against the Battle Royale held in Walbourg in which she chose not to participate. This was a brave decision by her potentially jeopardising her chess career. She returns to the world stage with the World Chess Knockouts in Eshialand looking to reassert herself and perhaps make another statement this time on the chessboard.
Noemi is a fan of popular music and is a regular at the VIP boxes of numerous concerts. She can often be seen preparing for games by vibing to the newest pop record. She is also an avid student of chess and can often be seen making notes perhaps for a future book featuring a study of her games.
Lucas Felix (aged 38) has been Noemi's trainer since she was 17. A close friend of her father's Felix has been an integral part of Noemi's journey in chess so far. He led the team for her Championship effort and developed numerous novelties to catch out Tremblay. Felix was a much more active player in his 20s having achieved a peak rating of 2706. He has greatly reduced the number of tournaments he plays since taking up the Etienne challenge. He is a great sparring partner for Noemi too due to his strength as a chess player. He continues to dabble occasionally in Rapid and Blitz tournaments with the short formats keeping him excited. He is believed to have shaped much of Etienne's tactical tendencies and is one of the greatest proponents of hypermodern chess.

Felix Tremblay
Age: 37
Hometown: Vicchio
Club: Vicchio Vultures
Second/Trainer: Gabin Duchamp
Repertoire: Queen's Gambit, Italian (White); Caro-Kann, Nimzo-Indian (Black)
World Rank: 1
Domestic Rating: 2802
Bio: Felix Tremblay is an individual who has stood at the summit of Vielfaltigian chess perhaps the longest. Born in 1964 in Vicchio, Palma, his prodigal skills were visible from his early childhood. His father was a notable Minister in Julio Kalio's cabinet and a chess enthusiast. It was not much of a surprise when a young Felix took up the board game. He slowly became obsessed with the positional dynamics of chess and delved much deeper into the game. He made his debut in tournaments at the age of 12 and within a few months had obtained a rating of 2000. He had taken the chess world by storm and was quick to rise through the ranks. He was granted the title of grandmaster at just 14 years old and by the time he was 17 years old, he was already playing in a Championship match. The 1981 Championship Match was a pivotal moment in Felix's career as despite a close defeat to then-champion, Martin Travere, this served as fuel for him to touch newer heights. He breezed through the following qualifying cycle and once again faced Martin, this time winning dominantly with 5 wins and no losses in the 20-game match. Tremblay then proceeded to hold the crown from 1983 to 1999 when he was finally dethroned by Etienne in his 10th Championship Match and only the second match he lost. An 8-time Vielfaltig Chess Champion, Tremblay's legacy is cemented in history and he could very well retire. But what makes him special is his undying love for the game of chess and thus he carries on. Following the loss in the 1999 Championship Match, Tremblay has suffered a bit of a slump which he will be hoping to recover. He has also been very vocal about his fixation on regaining the crown and there is quite a heated rivalry developing between the two. The rivalry, however, has turned sour on various occasions especially before and during the championship match when Tremblay made numerous misogynistic remarks regarding women in chess. This rivalry saw its next phase in the SN3C where both Tremblay and Etienne were making their best effort to win the coveted title and secure that World Championship Qualifier position. In the two games, they played each other, both of them secured one win each. Tremblay appeared to have the upper hand going into the last two days before blowing the minute lead he held over Etienne and Salucci. Eventually, he crumbled in the rapid tiebreaker. The GCC was a disappointment for Tremblay too given his very high standards as he did not make a notable mark lagging behind Etienne. Etienne's withdrawal from the Battle Royale overshadowed the actual chess played on the board. Tremblay failed to make a major mark there too and he is still without a tournament victory in this Multiversal Chess Championships and the closest he came was the SN3C. The WCKs represent another opportunity for him to secure his place in the Qualifiers. He is known for his rock-solid, methodical style which seeks to grind out small advantages rather than making bold tactical plays. That, however, does not mean he overlooks tactical sequences rather he prefers to play more conservatively.
Felix Tremblay is sort of the old-school player who will show up in a suit and stare you down before the game. He enjoys jazz and classical music in his off-time however before matches, you will most likely see him preparing for the game by learning the newest line of the Bongcloud (my bad, the Italian).
Gabin Duchamp (aged 43) has been a childhood friend of Tremblay's and was a colleague and competitor of his for many years. Having reached a peak of 2731 in his early 20s, he has opted to join Tremblay's team as his main trainer following his loss at the 1999 Championship. He has looked to revamp Tremblay's game with deeper opening preparation and an expansion of his repertoire to include more niche openings. Duchamp was a fairly successful player in his own time having been a Championship contender in 1977 and having won the National Open on three occasions. He is also one of the most reputed theorists having developed much of the theory in the Reti and the Italian through his books on both openings.

Sameul Salucci
Age: 16
Hometown: Bogen
Club: Bogen Blackhawks
Second/Trainer: Lambert Garnier
Repertoire: English, Reti (White), Sicilian, Modern Defence (Black)
World Rank: 2
Domestic Rating: 2763
Bio: Sameul Salucci, born in Bogen, Kaunus, is a young and upcoming talent whose rapid rise in the chess world has been nothing short of astonishing. Only 16 years of age, his qualification for this tournament in itself is a massive feat. He began playing at just 4 years of age and having been formally trained since 6 years of age, he is the most promising young player in Vielfaltig at the moment. He is the youngest grandmaster in Vielfaltigian history having obtained the title at just 12 years 216 days. He comes into the SNL Chess Cup with notable tournament victories such as the Victorin Memorial Cup and the recently concluded Vielfaltig Rapid Open. He is believed to be among one of the players who can challenge Tremblay for the contender spot in the Championship Match next year. Salucci is a player blessed with a tremendous ability to calculate positions while also being able to rely on his intuition sufficiently. This deadly combination makes him one of the most accurate players, especially in the longer Classical format. The SNL3C was Salucci's breakout tournament. While being a really strong player coming into the tournament, his ability to hold his own against the world's very best was in question. He proved his doubters wrong by going toe to toe with Tremblay and Etienne before eventually losing to Etienne in the armageddon. Salucci's progress since the SN3C has slowed down as his performances in the GCC and the Battle Royale have not been noteworthy. Much like Tremblay, this is a major opportunity for Salucci to final assert himself as someone who can win it all.
He behaves like the average 16-year-old teenager and you may even confuse him for a spectator as he is often more intrigued by what is going on in the boards of others. A fan of hard rock and metal music, he enjoys playing the guitar to the newest Mouldy Metalloids track in his free time. He is well acquainted with all the latest computer technology which he utilises to its full potential in preparation. His favourite format of chess however in his own words is blitz which he can often be seen playing on the online platform, ChessVFT.org.
His trainer, Lambert Garnier (aged 61), has been coaching him since he was 6 years old. This long time has built quite a bond between the two. Garnier was never a very strong player in his heyday having hit a peak of 2610. He, however, remains an expert on positional dynamics and was referred to as the Boa Constrictor in his playing days for his constricting style of play. His influence on Salucci's game is visible, especially with his reliance on calculation to find the best move in each position. Garnier has spent much of his training period in preparing deep lines and theory much of which is greatly useful to Salucci who is known to play into deep engine lines to confuse his opponents.

Sebastian Berger
Age: 23
Hometown: Lutzkampen, Kaunus
Club: Comines Crows
Second/Trainer: Leander Schulz
Repertoire: Spanish, Catalan (White), French, King's Indian (Black)
World Rank: 81
Domestic Rating: 2705
Bio: Sebastian Berger is a talented player from Lutzkampen, Kaunus. Yet to have made his mark on the stage of multiversal chess having missed out on the cut for the SN3C and GCC so far. His chess career has been one of numerous ups and downs. As a player, he made his mark first in the Lutz Challengers section winning the event at just the age of 14. He showed signs of immense prodigal potential and quickly ascended the ranks of Vielfaltigian chess. That was until he hit a ceiling at a rating of 2600, failing to climb further and was stuck at that point for much of his last few teenage years. Unlike some other players at the very peak of chess, he pursued an education after graduating from high school. He studied Philosophy at the University of Comines and was largely inactive during these years. It was just last year when he made his full time return to chess after graduating from University. He emerged onto the chess scene with fresh ideas and a completely distinct aggressive style which caught some of the more cautious players by surprise. This style has become very rewarding in the shorter time controls as his opponents often miss the critical ideas leading to a crushing advantage for him. He relies on aggressive positional play and positional dynamics combined with acute tactical awareness making himself a very strong player in shorter time controls. He showed his proficiency at shorter time controls by winning the last two editions of the National Blitz Open and finishing runners up in the last National Rapid Open. He was subsequently picked up by the Comines Crows for the 2000-01 Bundesliga season and has been appointed as team captain. He was also an important part of our winning team in the inaugural Esportivan Chess Cup earning him a reserve spot on the ECC team. Sebastian is an interesting personality in the chess world due to his academic background. He can often be seen studying ancient philosophy in his free time. He also greatly enjoys listening to instrumental compositions and is a proficient pianist. He is the author of the book, "Chess and Metaphysics" which explores metaphysical concepts with reference to chess (don't ask me what this entails).

Jessica Page
Age: 28
Hometown: Walbourg, Marigny
Club: Struppen Sparrows
Repertoire: Queen's Gambit, English (White), Petrov, Caro-Kann (Black)
Domestic Rating: 2728
Bio: Jessica Page is best renowned for her pivotal role in Etienne's 1999 Championship victory. She comes from Walbourg and is a childhood friend and contemporary of Etienne. She was introduced to the game through the local Walbourg Chess Club which is now the Walbourg Warblers in the Bundesliga. Her game rapidly grew as she rose through the ranks locally becoming one of the best players in the region. She won her first major tournament, the Brunson Cup, at the age of 23. Despite her quick rise to the heights of national chess, she failed to make that last step to establish herself as one of the best in Vielfaltig. She was also constantly overshadowed by her contemporary Etienne and undervalued due to prevailing misogynistic ideals in Vielfaltigian chess. This meant that she had very few opportunities to show her mettle and hone her skills. Despite these things holding her back, she developed herself as one of the best positional players. She prefers a careful approach slowly building up positional advantages before eventually striking for the win. Her cautious approach makes her one of the hardest opponents to beat especially when it comes to the longer time controls. She joined the Struppen Sparrows as captain for the upcoming Bundesliga season to assert herself on the biggest stage of chess and look to gain experience to make that next jump to multiversal chess. Her friendship with Etienne is quite remarkable as they have stuck together since their childhood. They share many of the same interests and can often be seen together outside of their time in chess. She, by her own admission, loves to cook and often spends her time off cooking. She is also an avid fan of concerts and can often be seen with Etienne at some of these concerts.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Roleplay about specific moves made: Yes, but probably lemme know first in case I am preparing something too.
Godmod game events: Reach out to me
Godmod other events: Reach out to me

by **The North Polish Union** » Thu Jul 31, 2025 11:51 am

CHESS PLAYER OVERVIEWS - THE NORTH POLISH UNION

Miefodij Ihnatjew:
An extremely strong grandmaster and political dissident from a neighboring country who fled from his home country and was granted asylum in the Union several years ago, Ihnatjew has become a fixture of the nation's scene, although prior to the Multiversal Chess Championships his participation in international tournaments had been limited due to security concerns. His return has been marked by inconsistencies in his play that had not been present before his hiatus, which have been frequently accompanied by complaints about lax security situation and fears about threats from the secret police from his homeland. These issues culminated at the Elephant Chess Cup 11 where despite an excellent start Ihnatjew suffered a near-total collapse that saw him lose several games and ultimately accused Epicly Amazing Giraffes' player Mawuli Tamandani Ayodele of being a master hypnotist who had induced him to make a losing blunder using psychological manipulation, resulting in him being replaced by the team's reserve for the remainder of the tournament. Despite the volatility, he remains the best player from the Union and the only one to receive a first-round bye.

Jacenty Kamiński:
Kamiński made waves at the Grand Casaran of Chess, finishing in 5th place out of the 62 participants and sporting an undefeated record. He plays a solid positional style that typically eschews speculative play, making him a difficult player to beat, but also one who may struggle at times to find an advantage and win. His preferred opening is the English for white and the Open Ruy Lopez and Slav for black. Kamiński will face Kytlerian Julia Willis in the first round.

Kristian Theiss:
The 18-year-old wunderkind of Union chess, Theiss's play exemplifies youthful vigor and attacking mentality. An extremely imaginative player, he will look to attack (or counterattack) from any position. Despite this aggressive style's proclivity for the attacker to overextend himself and lose, as Theiss has developed as a player he has also become harder to beat. From a rocky start in his international debut as a 17-year-old at the SN3C, he has improved as he's gained experience and his aggressive play has at times permitted him to sacrifice a piece in a worse position to force a draw by perpetual check. He will face South Newlandia's Prince Khatoon for the right to play Ihnatjew in round 2.

Klaus Moeller:
The aging Moeller has been a staple of Union chess since before Ihnatjew and Kamiński appeared on the scene, indeed before Kristian Theiss was even born. He played in and even showed flashes of brilliance at the SN3C but opted out of the Grand Casaran, citing exhaustion. Present in a reserve role for Elephant Chess Cup 11, he saw action in Ihnatjew's absence and played acceptably, drawing all his games. At his best, Moeller is likely still stronger than Theiss, but likely lacks the stamina to maintain such for over the duration of a longer tournament. Paired against Eshialand's Mary Nerata, Moeller will have to work his hardest to ensure that he's the one proceeding to the next round.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Roleplay about specific moves made: Yes
Godmod game events: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes

by **Valentine Z** » Thu Jul 31, 2025 4:09 pm

Part 0 – The Valentians are at it once again. Same routines.

OOC: The rosters are half-copied from Elephant Chess Cup 11, but are modified accordingly. Please see the original here.

Head Diplomat Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “완벽한 협상가” Celestie Christine Irelle Dv. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara Whitney Esther Iris Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung took the first spot of the group as she has been always doing. At this particular moment, it’s more or less clear that she is the main player of her group, as well as like a quietly-appointed captain of sorts, with the other three (or whatever the number of people are in the team at this point) following her for advice, as well as for the coverage on their plays. Well, not for the subsequent ones, for the time being. As it turns out, it was a very time-consuming and busy endeavour to be covering as the press for the matches while also thinking about her next set of games. As a result of this, she is simply going to be playing her games as intended instead of overstretching herself. Charlene will still be honing her Endgame Technician skills, the one that has managed to get her quite an impressive ranking after 5 seasons on the international grounds. “If it is not broken, do not fix it! And it has not broken me yet so… I will be going with this method!”

Eveline Valeria Annalise Tiêu Xuân Ngọc was still at it with her Hyper Aggressive plays, punting out the pieces of her opponents one by one – so long as she has the pieces to spare and that she was not running out of steam. It was quite a gamble at first, what with her being unable to get the wins against many of the opponents she played with. Of course, just like the rest of the Valentians, Eveline does not give up her strategy. She knows deep down that it was not her strategy that was causing her problems and instead, it was that she needs practice. “Let’s hope for a better outcome than the Battle Royale! Some days you get a break, other days, well, can’t win them all!”

Zastępca Strażnika Adriana Krystal Desiree “Cudowny Manipulacja Światłem” Venus Kowalski Faith Stanisława Engelse I. Cherise Krystyna Zaborowska Sztormowska Pamela Alina Re. T. Lillian figured that she can take in this Chess tournament into her schedule, though not that it has ever stopped her (or the other Valentians). With NSSCRA and WGPC at off-season and their subsequent data processed, Adriana has more than enough memory and resources allocation. This game from centuries ago has certainly out-aged her many-folds, but to Adriana, she has packed in the experience of a billion games already in her mind. She is still uncertain as to what strategy she would like to go for, with both her emulated brain and the strings of codes working in tandem. “It will be far, far better than those “AI”s that are in their infancy, haha! No, we are NOT going to be using those here. I am far better!”

Vice Foresittend Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Moira “Неуловимая, Женщина-шпион” Marlene Wendy Lucille Lapis Jill Khorosheva Vin. Zolina łnt. Natasha Vasilisa Helen Ceeta Tescelyn Maximovna is the last but not the very least, coming back to the world of chess, having been relatively absent compared to other Valentians when it comes to interdimensional sports commitments. That’s a given, since she currently only participates in NSSCRA and Chess. School teacher, principal, and Head Minister of Education for Valentine Z, she can be described as smart and knowledgeable in a lot of fields, but Jolyn is not one to brag about such a matter, of course. She keeps it to herself, only correcting people politely if there are dangers and risks involved. Otherwise, her favourite times include simply spending time in public schools all over Valentine Z in order to help students and teachers alike. Jolyn describes her playstyle as Pragmatic, being able to adapt to different situations on the fly, though a little weak in the realms of offensive strategies. “Typically I leave it to Charlene and Eveline, but hey, can’t say no to good Chess matches!”

Reference: https://www.chessworld.net/chessclubs/OpeningGuide/chessplayingstyles.asp

My opponent, should they RP first, may do the following:
Decide board results: Absolutely!
Decide moves made: Yes, please!
Godmod game events: Yes!
Godmod other events: Yes, as long as my players don't get violently hurt, thanks! ^^;

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Fri Aug 01, 2025 3:34 pm

Welcome back to the MCC where this time, it is time for some more knockout chess! After the fire and fury of the Chess Battle Royale saw Rowena Sowards beat Anne Christian-Warren in Vielfaltig, the Multiversal Chess Championships move to North Star Convention Center in Vaynorth, Eshialand for the World Chess Knockouts - a simple knockout affair where wins are decided by tiebreakers if necessary and we fight it out until one player is standing. This traditional knockout format means our players know the stakes and their path...all four of them, as Gideon Irosaea will make his MCC debut alongside the rest of the Jaguar Knights. With everyone back, the obvious question is asked: who will survive the longest?

Player Scores
Tshering Gyeltshen (#8) - 8-18-9
Round 1: BYE
Round 2: vs Johnny B. Goode (MIR) (#16) OR Chirpsijibbers Clambanger (PDT) (#T-81)

Anne Christian-Warren (#3) - 13-6-7
Round 1: BYE
Round 2: vs Miri Robertson (PDT) (#67) OR Khanyisa van Lundi (SNL) (#13)

Margarita Altamiranda (#12) - 7-19-6
Round 1: vs Irene Susanti (RIA) (UR)

Gideon Irosaea (UR) - 4-4-1 (incl. ECC)
Round 1: vs Jessica Page (VFT) (UR)

Multiversal Chess Championships – Everything Thread

Check!: Survival of the Victors

Check!: A Duel For The Ages

Check!: Back To The Classics

Who is online