Elephant Chess Cup 12 - Everything Thread

[Paradystopia]

"Here we are in Newport, South Newlandia witnessing the Paradystopi penguin engaging in some fascinating behaviour. Unlike other members of the genus pinguinus, these creatures are positively thriving in these heavily human-occupied surroundings and seeming to flourish in curious actions that are anthropological in nature. One may question whether it is a strange quirk of natural selection that has given these animal the ability to play chess, or some other as yet undefined reason which has brought about an advancement in their cognitive abilities. See here as we witness the penguin known as Jim advance a ... ummm ... prawn, is it? ... umm ... advance one of his pieces towards the centre of board which brings about a look of consternation from their opponent. Apparently a wise move it would seem. Likewise, the penguin known as Karen is now deftly performing the delicate act of switching her tower piece with the cross-headed piece in a display I've reason to believe is known as a 'cast Ling'. So far I have been unable to ascertain what a 'Ling' in, or the reason one may have for casting one but clearly this behaviour displays a remarkable amount of knowledge and skill on the part of these penguins. Lastly, we can see here the penguin known as Agamemnon carefully reviewing the positioning of the pieces with his lucky rock. Mineral bonding is a behaviour witnessed among some penguins, much like Pterons or common otters are known to keep and maintain a 'favourite stone'. I have theorised that this display of a similar behaviour in penguins is quite possibly a learned behaviour they may have observed from those of a lutrine persuasion and thus cultivated as a habit of their own. Fascinating. Oh. Now Agamemnon has placed his rock down and has opted to take and swallow their opponent's horsey. Incredible. What's this? One of the arbiters has come over rather angrily and is attempting to persuade Agamemnon to relinquish the horsey and, oh dear ... What we have just witnessed here is a classic defence mechanism of the Paradystopi penguin, and that is the somewhat repulsive, but effective method of faecal spraying. Yes, it is truly breathtaking to witness these natural behaviours in action up close. This has caused a slight hubbub in the hall, what with the fresh streak of penguin droppings all across the floor and over one of the unfortunate arbiters. I wonder what will happen next? Now Jim is ..."

"Check"

"Huh? Sorry? Check what?"

"I have made my move, and you are now in a position of check, Mr. Anders."

"Huh? Ohhh, yes ... ummm ... This one is the piece that moves in straight lines, yes?"

"That is your bishop. It moves diagonally."

"Ohh. Ahhh ... hmmmm ... Then in that case ... hmmm ... I will move my ... ?"

"...King."

"I shall move my king to this place"

"The king can only move a single square, Mr. Anders"

"Really? That's a bit rubbish ... well then ... hmmm ... there then."

"Okay, then I move here, and Checkmate."

"Check what? ... and if I'm honest, we've only recently met Ms. Das. A little presumptuous to call each other 'mate' I would think."

[Katzeburg]

Well, let's try this again shall we?

Katzeburg return to their third Elephant Chess Cup in search of what could be the unbeatable record - a third ECC trophy in a row. The Ynysgard Chess Club - miraculous winners of ECC X after a daring fairytale run to the final which saw them escape from the groups through the power of draws, and winners of ECC XI in which the mysterious circumstances of their victory saw them return to Katzeburg minus one of the winning team - are back for their third bite of the cherry, a little late, and very distracted by external factors.

The team which lifted the trophy in South Newlandia last time around has changed significant, but with two of their players picking up a lot of individual experience and name recognition through their Multiversal Chess Championship participation, there's a feeling that if the Katzeburgians can get firing - they might be one of the ones which could impress once more.

Board 1 - Emilia Ziegler
MCC World Ranking - 6

Emilia Ziegler, a schoolteacher at Ynysgard Primary School, is one of the biggest names in Katzeburgian chess, having helped the Ynysgard Chess Club lift not just one, but two Elephant Chess Cup trophies. Originally picking up the game as a way to distract some of her more unruly students, Emilia found home in the chess club and quickly rose up the ranks to become an anchor to the team’s successes.

Arguably the most astute and knowledgeable of the game itself, Emilia moved up into the first board spot after Rhys Furst stepped down at the end of Elephant Chess Cup X and has been instrumental in creating a more welcoming and inclusive culture at the club - taking full advantage of the explosion of interest in the sport in the wake of the victory and helping guide the club to a successful defence of their title in South Newlandia.

A very well-rounded player, Emilia often spends a lot of time thinking about her move and the next few ahead - often leaving opponents looking at the clock to see how much time she has left. It’s a strategy which keeps her well informed of the game going on, but has been her largest flaw to date, failing to take full advantage of the time available to her and losing more than a few times as a result of running out of time.

She's recently coming off a run to the final three of the first season of the Multiversal Chess Championships - losing the tie-breaker at the Qualifier to miss out on the first ever final but showing a ton of individual pedigree along the way, including a runner-up finish in the Grand Casaran of Chess in TJUN-ia.

She'll lead the Ynysgard team into their third Elephant Chess Cup and their second defence of the title as the side aims to become just the second nation to win three titles in a row, but with a team that is vastly different from the one which left South Newlandia over a year ago - this Cup will be her toughest challenge yet.

Board 2 - Mark Jensen
MCC World Ranking - 9

The former Senior Vice President of Merger Operations for Medium-Size Enterprises and International Affairs at the Bank of Katzeburg, Mark Jensen is now one of the biggest names in Katzeburgian chess and also one of their most decorated. Growing up playing chess on the island of Dragoonspiel, Mark left the sport and his family behind when he opted to move to the mainland to pursue education, creating a long-standing and emotional rift between himself and his father - former Ynysgard Chess Club captain Rhys Furst.

Mark had managed to put the sport well behind him until a chance flight from South Newlandia to Katzeburg he was on gave him a major epiphany unlike anything he had ever experienced. Taking stock in his life, Mark left his high-paying corporate job for a simple life on the docks of Ynysgard. Now the chief financial officer for the town’s council, Mark has been making up for lost time ever since, and not just with his father.

Mark was the second in command for the Ynysgard club's defence of the Elephant Chess Cup, and the first individual winner of a MCC competition from Katzeburg, nudging Emilia to the title in TJUN-ia at the Grand Casaran. He'd eventually end the first season petering out and tying for sixth in the Qualifier despite leading for a good chunk of the event, with rumours circulating around the chess paddock that a year-long quest between Jensen and Ziegler has been running in the background of the MCC relating to their friend and former ECC teammate Klaus Rothbauer.

Board 3 - Nora Keller
MCC World Ranking - N/A

Returning to ECC play as part of the core team is Ynysgard mayor Nora Keller, who returns to the team after an unsuccessful campaign to become the Katzeburgian Parliament member for Dragoonspiel. The 49-year-old picked up the game as a way to secure more votes from locals, who in Ynysgard often vote for whoever they see most recently - and by visiting the Fisherman’s Arms every week, Nora was one of the most recognisable councillors on the island before the ECC win.

After the team lifted the trophy for the first time, her popularity on the island exploded; something she used to great effect to run for mayor between the second winning of the ECC, successfully winning the election with more than 70% of the total vote. But she was unable to leverage the second cup as effectively in her campaign for national parliament in AK23, unable to unseat the incumbent Plaid Dragoonspiel member despite a strong campaign.

She rejoins the team as a way to keep her profile high ahead of looming council elections, while continuing her efforts of ‘diplomatic relations’ with other nations (see: drink wine on the island’s taxpayers barins) through her role on the team.

The desire for her constituent’s attention however does mean she often views chess as very much an afterthought - often distracted during play and incredibly prone to unforced errors and blunders. When she is fully focused on the game, she can be sneakily good at encouraging opponents to fall into traps of their own making, but her lack of consistency is a major sticking point for her in the team.

Board 4 - Billy Sampson
MCC World Ranking - N/A

Billy is one of the Ynysgard new wave of players - those who came into the sport off the back of the town's success in international competition. A young worker who spends the bulk of his days down on the docks of Dragoonspiel working for one of the island's largest fisheries, Billy is quick to stand up for himself and the situations he finds himself in.

To many, there's a scent of former Ynysgard player Klaus Rothbauer in Billy (and it's more than just the strong, fishy scent which would often cloak the man) - showing a brashness and willingness to just burn everything to the ground all for what seems like a very minor step forward. This translates to the chess board in an incredibly aggressive way - making risky and dangerous moves all to take opposing pieces off the board as a way to ramp up the pressure on his opponent.

Billy has a lot of raw chess talent, but hardly views the game as a future career for himself - instead picking it up as a way to eventually move off Dragoonspiel altogether if he can show enough quality to be picked up by a Katzeburgian Chess League side ahead of its first season. Being given a role on the boards for the club will do that, but now he has to put his money where is mouth is and deliver when it comes to the games themselves.

Reserve - Marcie Marley
MCC World Ranking - N/A

Marcie rounds out the team and will be the first (and only) reserve for the Ynysgard Chess Club as they seek to defend their title. Still in school on Dragoonspiel, Marcie is one of the island's best young chess talents, impressing in games against players more than triple her age with a steely focus and a quick ability to piece together various permutations at once to ensure she can make the best move possible.

However, it's fair to say she's not infallible - despite having buckets of raw talent, she often requires a lot of nurturing and support to come out of her shell at events and games; regularly afraid of the social nature of in-person chess. This means that when she plays at competitions she can struggle from time-to-time as the weight of the surroundings and her circumstances can cause her to overload and make rookie mistakes on the board.

She's making her way to South Newlandia as part of a recommendation of coping from her therapist Dr. Richard Fishgard - one of Ynysgard's finest (and only) therapists. After careful consideration from her parents - and a promise from Emilia that she's only there to get comfortable with the ECC process and surroundings as part of her journey - Marcie will make the trip to soak in the experience in a low-pressure and non-confrontational format. It would only take a disaster of epic proportions which would require her to take to the boards, but given the Ynysgard chess experience - you'd be silly to rule that out just yet.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Roleplay about specific moves made: Please absolutely go ahead, I know close to nothing about the notation and strategy of chess.
Godmod game events: Yes, but please feel free to chat through it with me over TG/Discord!
Godmod other events: Yes, but please feel free to chat through it with me over TG/Discord!

[Riandera]

"Ooh, yes," Ant says, "a win and a draw."

Irene checks the rankings. "That puts us in tied 7th."

"Really, we can't afford to lose," Prissila says.

Haji agrees. "Yup."

Deni secretly has a crush on Prissila, but is too afraid to confess it. Then, he realises he would be breaking his tribe's traditions. So, he says the best thing he could possibly think of:

"Prissila, you look like a princess."

The other four look unfazed.

"That's because she is one," Irene points out.

Haji nods. "Yeah."

Deni looks confused. "Wait, do you even have royal blood?"

Prissila holds in her laugh. "No, silly. They call me a princess because my parents are really famous, and I get treated like one."

Before Deni can say or do anything, Ant asks him a question. "Wait. Do you know who they are?"

"No," Deni says.

The other four gasp. "WHAT? You don't know who Markus and Yuliana are?"

Deni is still confused. "Markus and Yuliana? Who are they?"

"Markus Tabuni and Yuliana Kogoya," Ant replies, "they're reality TV stars."

"What he said," Prissila says, "but do you know On Board?"

Deni sticks his thumbs up. "Oh yeah! I watched that when I moved to Langkamata, at 17."

Prissila can tell. "Yeah. They were in there. All seasons, 1-8." She pulls a picture on her phone of them.

Irene points out something. "You look a lot like your mom, but your personality is like your dad's."

"Yup," Prissila replies. It was true. She'd got the natural wavy hair from her mother, and the 'perfectionist' personality from her father.

Haji does something with his phone. "Got Hawaiian pizza for y'all, since y'all seem to like it so much."

The other four gasp and then shout "Yes!"

[Katzeburg]

Anyone who has had to do a lot of travelling in their lives, be it going on a simple trip down to the local cornerstore to buy your weekly copy of The Weekly Informer - A tripe tabloid of all things dominating the Katzeburgian cultural scene which has dominated print sales for the last few decades with such hard-hitting news as 'Harmouth Celebrity Caught Drinking Beer?!?', 'On Set With The Landsdowns; "My assistant puts my pants on for me"', and 'Katzestadt Actor Files For Divorce, Murders Second Wife' - or to embrace the sweet experience which can come with hopping on a plane out of Katzestadt International Airport and going to any corner of the wider multiverse you could think of (provided it was accessible on the cheap and flown to by one of the airport's charter airlines, of course), there is always a wave of calm and relief when you finally make your way back to the confine you'd call home at the end of it.

The familiarity of the lights being just the right brightness for your eyes, the weird spot in the hallway which was just cool enough to stand in and relax in Summer, but warm enough in Winter it would give you unseasonable warmth, the groove in your couch which was soft enough but just the right level of firmness to sit in comfortably - there's nothing like being home. Which was why, as she sat on a comfortable stool around a slightly crowded table in the restaurant of Newport's Ivory Crown Hotel, Marcie Marley wondered where the term 'home away from home' even came from to begin with.

The Ivory Crown was a spot that most of her teammates in the Ynysgard Chess Club was familiar with. Emilia, Mark, and Nora were here just over a year ago to help Katzeburg win their second Elephant Chess Cup title in a row after all. But it still didn't make sense to Marcie when, after the club's laboured 2-2 draw with Valentine Z in the second round of matches, Mark would try and cut through to the team with a short speech about how the Ivory Crown was the club's home away from home and they'll be fine if they keep pushing on.

There was nothing which felt like home for Marcie here, at least not yet - she was still finding herself lost in the vast corridors of the hotel and getting used to the sheer amount of changes which to many South Newlandians were normal, but to Katzeburgians were completely out of the ordinary. Despite the nations being virtually neighbours in Esportiva, there were some stark differences between the two - Katzeburgians loved a pint or seven, South Newlandians have a total restriction on the sale of alcohol. South Newlandians has had a long history of the power of democracy, Katzeburgians on the other hand violently overthrew the monarchy more than a decade before Macie was born, only now just getting to the growing pains which comes with a rapid change of governmental system.

That's not to say they were polar opposites - the kinship shared between the nations has only grown in recent years, spurred on by their joint hosting of the most recent Campionato Esportiva, and both nations did often stick to the virtue that if someone's in trouble, you help them with a friendly smile - but home away from home stuck in Macie's mind, turning itself over and over again. How could this, a hotel far away from the comfortable confines of Dragoonspiel, be home?

Maybe it was simply a turn of phrase Mark was keen to use to try and rally the team after their average start to proceedings. The reigning champions had lost their opening blockbuster tie to the Martian Independent Republic, with the Ynysgard Chess Club looking basically like ghosts, afraid to actually stick their foot in and appear at the grandest chess stage of all. It's a worrying sign that it carried over into their draw with the Valentians too - as if the club was there in name only, details stripped away by someone who forgot when the registration deadline was.

Maybe this was a way Mark could spark life back into the team - a way to encourage the team to buck up as it was a long competition ahead of them and they had opened their defence with two of the toughest games you could have asked for. But Macie had an angling that there was more to this than just a rallying cry. Something weird had happened to the team at the end of the last Elephant Chess Cup, right here in the Ivory Crown Hotel, and maybe it was the ghosts of the past which were hanging over the heads of the three returnees.

Macie had never asked about what happened at the end of the last Elephant Chess Cup, and only really knew what most others did - that the team got off that flight at Katzestadt International Airport down Klaus Rothbauer, and any mention of him or why he had decided to stay in South Newlandia was quickly scrubbed out of existence by Emilia and Mark. Even the Chess Club itself went dark for a period right after they came back, leaving many of the younger members like Macie clueless as to why that was the case. But then Emilia came back into Ynysgard one day and seemed like a different person - more resolved, more dedicated to something. She restarted the club in-between appearances at MCC events and life would slowly start to return to normal.

But Emilia would occasionally sneak out of the room during meetings to chat with Mark or take a call from someone she could only understand to be someone called Josef. She had no idea what was going on, but played it down to the fact that for the most part, Emilia was trying to pull together a team for the exciting new national league which was due to commence after this ECC. Ynysgard had snared a team, but the playing staff was still up in the air.

But between the hushed whispers of backroom dealings and the state that Mark and Emilia both returned from the Kytler Peninsulae in following their failure to make the MCC Final, it seemed like something which stretched beyond just the ins and outs of trying to line up a domestic team. There seemed to be a second plan in motion, one which - by the sounds of things Macie overheard on the flight over from Katzeburg - seemed to be spiralling out of control and quickly.

"I can't stand this flight," she remembered Mark saying while Macie pretended to sleep in the seat next to him. He was talking with Emilia in quiet tones, trying to get their stories straight. "The sooner we're down on the ground the better I think."

"Agreed," Emilia whispered. "I need to get in touch with Josef about what the next steps are going to be once we're on the ground."

"Do you think he'll be of much help?" Mark said quietly. "It feels like he's been on edge for the last few weeks, ever since we finished up at the Qualifier - like something has gotten to him."

"He's fine - I think he's a bit shaken up still about Rowena and how she fits into everything, especially now we're heading to South Newlandia without her providing that additional oversight."

"At least we'll be safe though - Eulemann won't come for us over here, that's too big of a risk."

"But he might just use it as a chance to turn the screws, like he did last time!" Emilia said, raising her voice ever so slightly. "Plus he knows Klaus is somewhere in the nation, he'll want to use this as a chance for us to flush him out for us."

"But how could we? We have no idea where he is, or even how to contact him - I still think Nora is full of it when she said she could get something to him. If he comes to watch us make a mistake, we're not going to be doing anything which could put Klaus in harm's way."

"We just need to stick to the plan. If we can draw Eulemann back out, we might just be able to get him for good - that's why we need Josef and Rowena back home."

"Do you trust them?"

"We've got no choice. It's now or never if we want to get Klaus home."

Home. That word again echoed in Macie's head as she drifted back into the conversation which was taking place around her in the restaurant of the Ivory Crown Hotel. Emilia and Mark were talking about the coming match against the North Polish Union - a matchup Ynysgard needed to win to keep early pace with the big hitters at the top of the casaran. Nora was typing into her phone trying to connect with anyone who would be willing to convince the South Newlandian border guards that a bottle of wine (or six) would be solely for her personal use (an often challenging task at the best of times, but one which whittled away the time she had to sit and talk about chess), while other newbie Billy Sampson was leaning back in his chair looking upwards, simply content to take in his surroundings for the moment.

Macie was a long way from home here, and as she looked around at the rest of her team here for the Elephant Chess Cup, she felt a cool chill sprinkle over the back of her neck. Something wicked this way comes.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

"We did say there'd be surprises and breakouts," Prof. John Roach reminded the media, immediately after the Kytlerian Scholars became the second big-name team to be on the receiving end of the team who have apparently marked themselves out for that role at this edition of the Elephant Chess Cup. The Scholars are one of two teams, TJUN-ia the other, who have finished in the top three in five straight ECCs; Nortallius have opened their account here in Newport by beating both of them in succession.

Interestingly, the team have been honed on a defined national circuit, which contrasts with the insular settings - the University of Zube, the Ynysgard Chess Club - that produced the Kytlerian and Katzeburgian teams. It was always slightly odd on some level that these settings could produce top-class talent out of nowhere, and perhaps reassuring on some level that a more traditional developmental route has produced potentially the latest breakout team.

It all started with Ryan Erickson, who has won five tournaments on the Nortallusian National Tour this season. Facing Dr. Ben Higgins on the fourth board and armed with the white pieces, he quickly had the fprmer chessboxing champion against the ropes with a sharp line of the Ruy Lopez, and a couple of shaky moves were all that it took to free up the knockout blow and force Higgins to throw in the towel with checkmate inevitable after just 25 moves. With the top two boards playing out as solidly-played draws, Michael Radley had to push for a win in a double-edged position against Jane Van Duysen after she aggressively traded off central pawns - and, as the old saying in Kytlerian chess goes, the easiest way to lose a game of chess is to try and win one. Radley found that to his cost as he miscalculated in a time scramble and left an opening that his opponent duly took to complete a landmark 3-1 victory to leave the Scholars in the bottom half of the embryonic table after this defeat followed a 2.5-1.5 edging out of the host Elephants with Stijn van Dijk defeating the out-of-form Adam Esteban while the other three boards were drawn.

That does mean an on-paper manageable third match against The Kaisers Syndicates; the fourth opponent is up in the air, but Eshialand loom large as a possibility if their result against the Elephants matches that of the Scholars against the Syndicates, while either side of the Ranoria-Valentine Z match could also easily end up with the Scholars next. Whoever might be up fourth, it's crucial the Scholars win their third against the mysterious Syndicates, as only the top eight advance to the second stage of this competition and you're not getting there without taking care of business against no-namers.

[Eshialand]

The Eshian chess scene has always been a sort of microcosm of Eshian sports as a whole. A good time for chess is a good time for football, which is a good time for baseball, and even sometimes coupled with good times for hockey. Hiatuses and off-periods in chess tend to be coupled with lulls in World Cup Qualifying performance, and WBCs that are just phoned in. Lately, as one could probably figure from the performances in the Multiversal Championship circuit, the sports world in Eshialand is experiencing a bit of a dark age.

Outside of chess, Eshialand hasn't been performing well at much of anything. The World Cup ended with a 5th group stage exit in 6 cycles, the CE title defense didn't go past the quarterfinals, and the WBC didn't go past the Round of 24. There's not too much to be faithful in if you're an Eshian sports fan, so eyes have mostly been off of everyone. On the one hand, it means that there's no pressure when you end up sending your team to tournaments... but on the other hand, it makes securing funding to go to those tournaments extremely difficult.

"So remind me again why we're riding in budget class?" Jamie Cartwright asked as the ferry from Eshialand City to Newport disembarked.
"Well, um..." Lazlo Herefur, the ever-present head of the Eshian Chess Federation, tried to explain, "I may be paying for these tickets out of my own pocket. And we're not technically signed up as like, the Federation... we're just here to play some really damn good chess together."
"I'm honestly not even surprised," Jason Severn lamented, "let's face it, nobody wants to hear from the chess team anymore. We've had way more chances than we should've been allowed, what even is the point of showing up just to fail again?"

The king, who always loved the chess team and wanted to support chess as a sport that everyone could get into, regardless of income or physical fitness, fought tooth and nail in Parliament to support the chess team for just one more event. "You don't understand how much it means to see Eshians out there playing at the top levels of the game. When 8-year-olds at their school chess clubs watch these games and get inspiration from them, when they're able to learn new openings and new tactics from seeing these matches, it means everything. Chess development can only come from supporting those at the top, and they need support now more than ever!"

Unfortunately, these pleas fell on deaf ears, and funding for the Chess Federation was denied. With Kenny Morgan recently retiring as manager of the national football team, what little sports funding the legislature could support was going straight to making sure that squad didn't collapse in his absence. There just wasn't interest in chess from these lawmakers, and even zwischenzug.esh was in too rough of a financial position to sponsor the team going forward. The only sponsor the team could end up getting was GM Herefur himself, and all he could do was buy tickets, sneak the squad into the tournament through the back door, and hope the wheels didn't fall off the train too quickly.

---

As much as professional chess was a struggle for these Eshian players as of late, the ECC was always a chance for them to shine once more. There was something about playing for the team, rather than just for themselves, that always brought out the best in this group. However, the start of this ECC was admittedly quite slow, with the general mood of the Eshian chess world weighing on all four. That sheer joy that managed to get them so far in the past was missing, and they were playing just to get through the games. Quick draws against Banija and Myrtle Beach pointed out just how off this team was at this point, with both of these teams being expected to be much easier matches... but without the love of the game that was normally there, there was just nothing that they could make happen. And with their next match being against hosts South Newlandia, who had just beaten absolute powerhouses TJUN-ia, hopes were very, very low for this matchup.

In a time when the relationship between Eshialand and its sportspeople was more strained than ever, the team was caught in a negative feedback loop where low enthusiasm led to bad results, which led to less public support, which led back to low enthusiasm. This ECC was going to end in a quick Casaran crashout unless some major morale-booster burst through the door, a beacon of positivity in a time when none was to be found...

bang!

"Okay, why the hell are you paying for your own tickets here and what makes you think you can win a tournament without fans?" the king asked, supported by his friend...

"...Danny Stehl?!" Lazlo asked, "I thought I filed a restraining order against you, what the fork do you think you're doing here??"

[Barkhastan]

Rakhmonov 1 – 0 Huldenberg
Zhaksybekova ½ – ½ Keil
Muradov ½ – ½ A. Covert
Kairatova 1 – 0 C. Covert

Rakhmonov 1 – 0 Troutman
Zhaksybekova 0 – 1 Miller
Kairatova 1 – 0 García Latorre
Nurmatov ½ – ½ Caenirol

This article is compliant with recent Barkhastani online safety legislation governing the viewing of pawns.

Barkhastan began the Elephant Chess Cup in strong style, winning their first two games over Choppyhausen and Elejamie. It was the youngsters to the fore with Aydar Rakhmonov and Leyla Kairatova winning both their games, with the other three players each taking ½ across the rest of the games. The pick of the games was between Shavkat Muradov and Alexander Covert playing out a rather complicated draw from what had begun as a fairly standard classical defence to a Ruy López opening.

[TJUN-ia]

Hello and Welcome to the 12th running of the Elephant Chess Club, coming to you from its usual haunt in the form of The Ivory Crown Hotel in Newport, South Newlandia! After a whirlwind of a season, the inaugural World Chess Championship ended with Eleanor Rigby beating Anne Christian-Warren for the crown...but that didn't hamper the spirits of TJUN-ian Chess at all. All in all, everyone gave the MCC Tour a great go and you could say that eveyrone tried...but will that translate into a return to form in the ECC? That is what the TCF is hoping for from its Jaguar Knights...so what could they deliver across the opening bouts if this ECC?

GIC Tshering Gyeltshen drew with Ivan Oladevsky
GIC Anne Christian-Warren drew with Francisco Serrano
GIC Margarita Altamiranda beat by Jane Van Duysen
CM Gideon Irosaea drew with Ryan Erickson

We kicked off against one of the debutants of this ECC, Nortallius, and what was supposed to be a good start against a foe unfamiliar to this place instead turned into a matchup of chaos for all those who witnessed it. Across three of the boards, stalemates were being had all day, but Board 3 would end up being decisive as Altamiranda was taken out by Jane Van Duysen to secure the historic 2.5-1.5 win for the debutants. Not a good start at all.

GIC Tshering Gyeltshen beat by Khanyisa van Lundi
GIC Anne Christian-Warren drew with Adam Esteban
GIC Margarita Altamiranda drew with Elani Jabulan
CM Gideon Irosaea drew with Prince Khatoon

To be drawn immediately against South Newlandia after that performance was as obvious as the sky being blue, especially considering the history between these two nations at ECC level. This was another contest that seemed packed with tension and stalemate but once again, we were on the back foot...and it was on Board 1. Khanyisa van Lundi has developed into a fine player and taking down Tshering here is only more proof of that...and with that, we fell 2.5-1.5 again.

0-2, P27, 0 points. Not great at all. Devonta awaits us next, followed by either a Tank Bowl with an 0-3 team or (hopefully) a comeback tour against a 1-2 team. This hasn't gone to plan thus far. But there is still time to make things right. GO JAG KNIGHTS!

---

Records: TG: 0-1-1 / ACW: 0-2-0 / MA: 0-1-1 / GI: 0-2-0

[The Martian Independent Republic]

KAT 1.5 - 2.5 MIR
Rigby (MIR) 0.5 - 0.5 Ziegler (KAT)
Jensen (KAT) 0.5 - 0.5 Stardust (MIR)
Goode (MIR) 1 - 0 Keller (KAT)
Sampson (KAT) 0.5 - 0.5 Tuesday (MIR)

MIR 3.5 - 0.5 BNJ
??? (BNJ) 0.5 - 0.5 Rigby (MIR)
Stardust (MIR) 1 - 0 ??? (BNJ)
??? (BNJ) 0 - 1 Goode (MIR)
Tuesday (MIR) 1 - 0 ??? (BNJ)

Two wins for Goode as Spiders second through two games
It was a surprisingly good start to the tournament for this throwback Martian team, narrowly sneaking by two-time champions Katzeburg, before hammering Banija in one of the Spiders' biggest wins in their history. Of course, the better the Spiders play, the better the opponent they'll face, due to the Casaran system, and now they're paired against #1 Cardenao in their third match.

Match 1: Goode attack proves decisive vs Katzeburg
The first round pairing was certainly a source of much consternation among the Spiders when they arrived in Newport from the MIR (or, in Rigby's case, visiting South Newlandia, there not being enough time to get back to Borealis without having to immediately turn around), but the individual boards, at the very least, seemed favorable. Rigby played Ziegler thrice at the World Chess Knockouts, winning, losing, and drawing once each, so she knew enough about the Katzeburgian's style of play to hold off any pokes and prods that she might offer. For Board 2, the match itself was similar, just with the nations reversed - Mark Jensen held off anything Ziggy Stardust had to offer in terms of attack, and Stardust was more than happy to get a draw. The third board, and the only decisive one, was actual attacking chess at its finest, in contrast to the previous two. A poorly-timed h6 push gave Goode exactly what he needed for a bishop sacrifice, his queen got in, and although g7 could be defended, it came at the price of allowing a royal fork on f7, with resignation from Nora Keller not long after. Last but not least, the nervous Ruby Tuesday got into a setup where she was running out of good moves very quick, but Billy Sampson wasn't patient enough, going for an all-out attack - according to Stockphant, simply improving is +3 for white. As it was, he gave up enough material that he had to settle for a perpetual check, deciding the match in favor of the Spiders.

Match 2: Who cares for bishops when you've got queens?
By virtue of the t in 'the' being late alphabetically, the Spiders were paired against a team that had drawn their first match - that being Banija, who had held level against an Eshian team that is always a threat. Here, for once, the Spiders showed what they expected of themselves. Both Huygentians gave up bishops, with Ruby Tuesday's being a deflection that forced her Banijan opponent's rook off the back rank, and Goode's an unsound one more meant to intimidate his opponent than anything else - the bluff was called, but it didn't matter anyway, as a couple of moves later White defended improperly, and checkmate followed not long after. Past Ziggy Stardust showed up as well, a seemingly innocuous d5 pawn break being the catalyst for a relentless kingside attack from his bishops, and when his rooks got in the game, it was all but over. Only Eleanor Rigby didn't get the memo about a sweep, playing out a solid draw with black, just like she always aims to. 3.5-0.5 is still incredible.

Up next, the Spiders have Cardenao, who swept Xanneria in round one - although they're relatively new to this tournament, they're still a threat to watch out for.

[South Newlandia]

Cutoff for matches 3 and 4.

M3 scores
The Martian Independent Republic 2½–1½ Cardenao
Nortallius ½–3½ Barkhastan
South Poopistan 2½–1½ The Jade Order
Free Republics 2–2 Paradystopia
Riandera 3½–½ Croblade
Elejamie 3–1 Yellow Transcaucasia
Choppyhausen 2–2 City of Myrtle Beach
Eshialand 2–2 South Newlandia
Ranoria 1–3 Valentine Z
The Kytler Peninsulae 3–1 The Kaisers Syndicates
Katzeburg 3½–½ The North Polish Union
Banija 0–4 Natkr
New Rotterdam City 1½–2½ Indusse
United States of Devonta 1–3 TJUN-ia
Kendoria 2–2 Xanneria

P M3 Standings                       Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 Barkhastan                          3    3   0   0     9    3   +6     6
 2 The Martian Independent Republic    3    3   0   0     8.5  3.5 +5     6
 3 Riandera                            3    2   1   0     8.5  3.5 +5     5
 4 South Poopistan                     3    2   1   0     8    4   +4     5
 5 Cardenao                            3    2   0   1     8.5  3.5 +5     4
 6 Elejamie                            3    2   0   1     7.5  4.5 +3     4
 7 Free Republics                      3    1   2   0     7    5   +2     4
   The Jade Order                      3    2   0   1     7    5   +2     4
   Valentine Z                         3    1   2   0     7    5   +2     4
10 Paradystopia                        3    1   2   0     6.5  5.5 +1     4
   The Kytler Peninsulae               3    2   0   1     6.5  5.5 +1     4
12 Nortallius                          3    2   0   1     6    6    0     4
13 Katzeburg                           3    1   1   1     7    5   +2     3
   Natkr                               3    1   1   1     7    5   +2     3
15 Choppyhausen                        3    1   1   1     6    6    0     3
   City of Myrtle Beach                3    0   3   0     6    6    0     3
   Eshialand                           3    0   3   0     6    6    0     3
   South Newlandia                     3    1   1   1     6    6    0     3
19 Indusse                             3    1   1   1     5    7   -2     3
20 TJUN-ia                             3    1   0   2     6    6    0     2
21 Yellow Transcaucasia                3    1   0   2     5.5  6.5 -1     2
22 Croblade                            3    1   0   2     5    7   -2     2
23 Ranoria                             3    1   0   2     4.5  7.5 -3     2
   The Kaisers Syndicates              3    1   0   2     4.5  7.5 -3     2
25 New Rotterdam City                  3    0   1   2     4.5  7.5 -3     1
26 Kendoria                            3    0   1   2     4    8   -4     1
   The North Polish Union              3    0   1   2     4    8   -4     1
28 Xanneria                            3    0   1   2     3    9   -6     1
29 Banija                              3    0   1   2     2.5  9.5 -7     1
30 United States of Devonta            3    0   0   3     3.5  8.5 -5     0

Match 4 Schedule
Barkhastan v The Martian Independent Republic
South Poopistan v Riandera
Cardenao v Elejamie
The Jade Order v Free Republics
Valentine Z v Paradystopia
The Kytler Peninsulae v Katzeburg
Nortallius v Natkr
Eshialand v Choppyhausen
City of Myrtle Beach v South Newlandia
Indusse v TJUN-ia
Yellow Transcaucasia v Croblade
The Kaisers Syndicates v Ranoria
Kendoria v New Rotterdam City
Xanneria v The North Polish Union
United States of Devonta v Banija

M4 scores
Barkhastan 1–3 The Martian Independent Republic
South Poopistan 1½–2½ Riandera
Cardenao 1½–2½ Elejamie
The Jade Order 2–2 Free Republics
Valentine Z 0–4 Paradystopia
The Kytler Peninsulae 2½–1½ Katzeburg
Nortallius 4–0 Natkr
Eshialand 2–2 Choppyhausen
City of Myrtle Beach 2–2 South Newlandia
Indusse 2–2 TJUN-ia
Yellow Transcaucasia 2–2 Croblade
The Kaisers Syndicates 2½–1½ Ranoria
Kendoria 3–1 New Rotterdam City
Xanneria 1½–2½ The North Polish Union
United States of Devonta ½–3½ Banija

P M4 Standings                       Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 The Martian Independent Republic    4    4   0   0    11.5  4.5 +7     8
 2 Riandera                            4    3   1   0    11    5   +6     7
 3 Paradystopia                        4    2   2   0    10.5  5.5 +5     6
 4 Barkhastan                          4    3   0   1    10    6   +4     6
   Elejamie                            4    3   0   1    10    6   +4     6
   Nortallius                          4    3   0   1    10    6   +4     6
 7 The Kytler Peninsulae               4    3   0   1     9    7   +2     6
 8 South Poopistan                     4    2   1   1     9.5  6.5 +3     5
 9 Free Republics                      4    1   3   0     9    7   +2     5
   The Jade Order                      4    2   1   1     9    7   +2     5
11 Cardenao                            4    2   0   2    10    6   +4     4
12 Choppyhausen                        4    1   2   1     8    8    0     4
   City of Myrtle Beach                4    0   4   0     8    8    0     4
   Eshialand                           4    0   4   0     8    8    0     4
   South Newlandia                     4    1   2   1     8    8    0     4
16 Indusse                             4    1   2   1     7    9   -2     4
   The Kaisers Syndicates              4    2   0   2     7    9   -2     4
   Valentine Z                         4    1   2   1     7    9   -2     4
19 Katzeburg                           4    1   1   2     8.5  7.5 +1     3
20 TJUN-ia                             4    1   1   2     8    8    0     3
21 Yellow Transcaucasia                4    1   1   2     7.5  8.5 -1     3
22 Croblade                            4    1   1   2     7    9   -2     3
   Kendoria                            4    1   1   2     7    9   -2     3
   Natkr                               4    1   1   2     7    9   -2     3
25 The North Polish Union              4    1   1   2     6.5  9.5 -3     3
26 Banija                              4    1   1   2     6   10   -4     3
27 Ranoria                             4    1   0   3     6   10   -4     2
28 New Rotterdam City                  4    0   1   3     5.5 10.5 -5     1
29 Xanneria                            4    0   1   3     4.5 11.5 -7     1
30 United States of Devonta            4    0   0   4     4   12   -8     0

Match 5 Schedule
The Martian Independent Republic v Riandera
Paradystopia v Barkhastan
Elejamie v Nortallius
The Kytler Peninsulae v South Poopistan
Free Republics v Cardenao
The Jade Order v Choppyhausen
City of Myrtle Beach v Indusse
Eshialand v The Kaisers Syndicates
South Newlandia v Valentine Z
TJUN-ia v Katzeburg
Yellow Transcaucasia v Kendoria
Croblade v Natkr
The North Polish Union v Banija
Ranoria v New Rotterdam City
Xanneria v United States of Devonta

[City of Myrtle Beach]

The Myrtle Beachian team’s first season in the ECC, so far, has gone swimmingly. It could be better, with the team currently sitting tied at 12th, short of the 8th needed to enter the knockout round, but it’s good enough for now. In four matchdays, the Myrtle Beachians have gotten four ties, tying with ECC mainstays and newcomers alike. However, if they want any chance at making the knockout round, eventually, they’re going to have to win. Unfortunately, they are far more likely to lose before then.

PATH TO KNOCKOUT ROUND: Win

The problem with saying "just win" is that the Myrtle Beachians have always had a problem with getting over the finish line in domestic chess. There really isn't a whole lot of consistency in the domestic competition, which is part of the reason why the team was formed and sent here. If some Myrtle Beachian players could play against some more consistent foreign players, then the idea is that they would greatly improve and the overall quality of domestic chess in Myrtle Beach would improve as the skills of these players filter out among the rest of the players through watching them play. Obviously, this has not panned out as expected. The players who win matches change each matchday, and they seem to be incapable of holding a long streak. If these players could keep focus and allow themselves to not be distracted by other things like supporting their own endeavors (which they have been attempting to do through this competition), then, in theory, they could win matches. They just have to focus in...

[Barkhastan]

Oladevsky 0 – 1 Rakhmonov
Serrano 0 – 1 Muradov
Van Duysen ½ – ½ Zhaksybekova
Erickson 0 – 1 Nurmatov

Rakhmonov 0 – 1 Rigby
Muradov 0 – 1 Stardust
Zhaksybekova ½ – ½ Goode
Nurmatov ½ – ½ Tuesday

I am RPing these two matches as occurring on the same day. This is consistent with recent Barkhastani online safety legislation governing the viewing of pawns, but may not be consistent with other players' fluid time.

Leyla Kairatova missed the second session of the Elephant Chess Cup with a stomach ailment, believed to have been contracted from food served on the BIA flight to South Newlandia. Barkhastan International Airways is Barkhastan’s national flag carrier and has a notoriously poor service record, including numerous technical malfunctions, low quality of onboard food, and, most disturbingly, exclusively screens Rob Schneider in-flight movies (which may have contributed to its unusually prevalent history of air rage incidents). Though sad for Leyla, and devastating for the cleaner assigned to her hotel bathroom, her absence cost Barkhastan little, as Daler Nurmatov played outstandingly in her place, top-scoring with 1½ points across his two games, including a brilliant victory over Ryan Erickson as the two aggressive players combined for a highly entertaining duel. Erickson attacked the centre while Nurmatov brought out the Taimanov defence¹. Erickson led until the 23rd move, withdrawing a bishop that allowed Nurmatov to develop a winning position.

¹ Named for Barkhastani chess player Kodir Taimanov; it is coincidentally completely identical to the RL Taimanov.

[Katzeburg]

Jack Eulemann often stared out the window of his office when he needed to think to himself for a moment. The head of Owl Holdings had secured himself the best viewpoint on the entire floor when he moved the business in several years earlier - a corner office with a view of central Katzestadt on one side and a chance to gaze out onto the River Cuomo as it wove its way through the city and out westward, onto the gentle banks of the looming Mount Mercer far in the distance. It was a scenic sight, and one Jack often found himself returning to time and time again when he needed a reminder of why he had decided to do the many actions he had done to get him to this position - this corner office high above the bustling streets of Katzestadt - as it hadn't been an easy road.

Born into poverty, Jack Eulemann was someone who had to work hard to get to where he stood now. But even someone who worked hard every day of their lives knew that you'd never get to the top through work alone, so Jack decided he'd make his own path by playing dirty and boxing clever. But he had always been on the fringes of trouble, never in it - as for as long as the Katzeburgian Winters are dark, there is always a chump who is willing to step into the firing line to take the hit if you can find the right type of leverage over them. Jack had operated this way for all of his life - crafting a deep web of connections and safeguards to ensure that he never had to step into the spotlight himself. So why did he feel the need to do so with Klaus Rothbauer a few years earlier? It's a thought Jack often turned his mind to over the last few months as more information began to be circulated to him that there were forces starting to piece this vast web of connections together, and all of it could be traced back to this simple chess player from Ynysgard.

Maybe it was out of boredom - a desire to do more than just operate in the shadows. Or maybe it was just sheer overconfidence that nothing he could do in or out of the light would make an impact on his own future now. All because he had worked to get to where he needed to be, right here in this corner office overlooking the grand Katzeburgian capital.

Today was one such day where he needed that reminder, and for good reason based on the recently read back page of the Katzestadt Times. Nestled within the main headline of the back page story about Katzeburg's chaotic Cup of Harmony campaign was a sub-story; a simple little nub of a piece which made no sense being on the back page of the paper and even less sense it being positioned within the headline of another story altogether. A piece about the Elephant Chess Cup and the Ynysgard Chess Club's attempt to win a third straight title. Of course, the nub was absolutely minuscule in the physical print copy - Jack had to go online to read the entire article - but the point was the same; the team was in South Newlandia and seemingly flailing to maintain form good enough to extend their stay past the initial casaran round. It meant he had to act fast. Jack took a deep breath in while looking at the Katzestadt skyline for one final time before swiveling on his heels and returning himself to his desk. Pulling out his mobile, he tapped away to quickly put himself in a call with one of his most trusted advisors. The phone would only ring once before it would be picked up.

"Jack! How is my favourite property developer?" came the voice down the line.

"Lee, I think you have a perfectly understandable idea of how I am at the moment," Jack said calmly. Lee Reynolds was the general counsel at law firm Darmstadt Oliver Nicholls & Grant and unbeknownst to many others, the point of contact for ensuring that any of Jack's less than legal operations would be by the book. "What's the latest on our friends over in Ynysgard?"

"The Chess Club? From what I understand from my guys keeping tabs on things, it's all quiet. None of them have even attempted to make contact with Rothbauer, even after falling to their second loss of the competition. I'd have thought they'd be panicking now and trying to find a way to get him back on board."

"Who have you got with eyes on the team?" Silence filled the void as Lee debated for a second how to respond to this in a measured manner. Eventually he couldn't figure out a way so slowly begin to stammer nervously.

"W-well, here's the th-thing," he started. "The Ivory Crown aren't letting anyone into the hotel who isn't a part of the tournament."

"So you've got no-one inside."

"Well, I wouldn't say no-one!"

"Who then?"

More silence filled the air between the two men. "Ok, no-one," Lee finally replied sheepishly. "I've got no eyes on anything going on in there regarding that team. I'm sorry Jack."

Jack rubbed his forehead with the tips of his fingers for a moment as he processed the news. "You mean to tell me, we actually have no idea whether they've brought Rothbauer in from the cold at all then?"

"Not as such, but they'd never do it - they'd find it impossible to get him released from the witness protection programme, especially while the case itself is still open."

"So we close the case."

Lee stammered for a moment. "Th-that's not possible though, n-not without you basically going and confessing in person to anything you may have done to force Rothbauer into the scheme in the first place."

Jack laughed. A simple chuckle, almost as if he was dismissing everything his legal counsel had just advised him on. "I'm surprised you haven't figured out the plan yet, Lee - normally you aren't this slow to the punch. Everyone has a price, we just need to figure out the price of young Mr Jensen and Miss Ziegler. And I think I know what it would be."

Jack could hear Lee gulp audibly over the phone. "Jack," he said nervously. "I really think this line has to be drawn here, it's too risky to do what you're thinking."

"How quickly can you get a message to South Newlandia letting them know I'd like to meet in person and discuss finalisation of our sponsorship agreement?" Jack said, ignoring Lee as he rose out of his desk chair and began to slowly walk around his desk.

"I'd... I'd be able to do it this afternoon. Probably after our board meeting about the upcoming KCL season."

"You're finalising the teams there no? I think it might be a good time for you to convince the rest of the board to ensure that all teams participating must have some sponsorship backing otherwise they'll be removed before play even kicks off - Ynysgard will be the only team yet to secure anything, and with the threat of losing the team entirely - they'll need to accept whatever we put before them."

"Surely they won't go for that! They've been up to something to try and find a way to discredit you and entrap you for close to a year, all in a vain attempt to bring some fishmonger back to Katzeburg - it's even spread into my own firm; people I've worked with for years!"

"And why has that occurred in the first place, Mr Reynolds?" Jack snapped back. "You've been asleep at the wheel and we're only in this position because you've failed me too many times of late - your little gambit to trap that communications staffer failed, as did your pathetic attempt to bribe Miss Sowards with career advancement. The only reason they're this close to me, to unraveling this entire thing at all - is because of you. You've got one last chance here - failure again will not be tolerated and I'm sure you of all people will understand the lengths I go to to ensure failure isn't a word in my operations."

Jack heard nothing back from Lee for several moments as the lawyer contemplated his numerous options silently. "I'm sorry Jack, I won't let you down again," he finally said. "What do you need me to do?"

"Push the board to enforce a sponsorship requirement to remain in the KCL as a team and get a message over to Ziegler and Jensen. Then get someone in position to monitor all national entryways here in Katzeburg for when Rothbauer is released from witness protection. I want someone waiting at every port in the country to pick him up and bring him to me."

"What are you going to do in the meantime?"

Jack walked back to the window which gave views of the city and stood silently for a moment, letting the noise of the city float up and into his office. "My mother always used to say that if you wanted something done right, you need to do it yourself. Of course, she never understood the importance of those words when it came to ensuring you did the right thing by your own family, but she was right about one thing - I can't rely on anyone else but me to get this done."

Jack abruptly hung up the phone on Lee and took another deep breath in as he gazed over his city. He had a lot of work to do.

[Free Republics]

A couple matches ended in draws leaving the Barjavel chess club tied for 9th in the table with 5 matches left in the Casaran stage. With chess over for the day, the players headed back to their rooms. Except for Chelsea Murphy, who pretended to head for her room then headed for her boyfriend's room. She knocked on the door and he invited her in.

Lukas Jung - Chelsea, what are you doing here?

Chelsea Murphy - Lukas, I wanted to see you. What do you say we leave the hotel and explore the city? The weather's nice outside.

Lukas Jung - Why would I want to do that? The foreigners seem to ignore us.

Chelsea Murphy - How about we go visit one of the local colleges and see if anybody wants to hang out? It'll be a great chance to get away from our highly structured lives as Barjavel students for a little bit.

Lukas Jung - I guess. Besides, you don't take no for an answer.

Chelsea Murphy - If we get in trouble, I'll tell Mr. Fletcher that it was all my idea and that he shouldn't punish you for it.

Lukas Jung - That works for me.

The 2 of them left the hotel room and, after making sure that the coast was clear of their teammates and their teacher, they headed for the exit and out into the city streets. They walked past many shops selling a wide range of items from all over Esportiva. Foreign fashion hadn't been fashionable in the Free Republics since around the time they were born. Hence there was no reason for them to look in clothing stores, if either of them had even cared about fashion in the first place. There were also stores selling the forbidden smartphones. Just not the Citrus and Googol phones that Republican adults had. Purchasing such a device was a sure-fire way to get expelled and possibly worse. So they kept on walking past the shops.

Finally, they found a college campus and wondered around until they found the campus library. They walked inside and saw many computers. Chelsea sat down at one of them and discovered that she needed a login to use it. Eventually one of the students noticed 2 teenagers who clearly looked like they weren't locals and came over to talk to them.

Local Student - Hello. Do you need help?

Chelsea Murphy - Hello. We're here for the Elephant Chess tournament and were looking for a place where we could access the internet to find out what's going on in our country.

Local Student - Are you unable to connect to the guest network on your phones?

Chelsea Murphy - In our country, we're not allowed to own phones.

Local Student - Really? That sounds strange.

Lukas Jung - The Grand Immortal Imperator banned everybody under the age of 18 from owning phones.

Local Student - Grand Immortal Imperator? What kind of dictatorship do you 2 live in?

Chelsea Murphy - We're from the Free Republics and, believe it or not, my boyfriend's father is a Senator.

Local Student - A Senator's son? How do you have an Imperator and a Senate?

Lukas Jung - Let us on the Internet and I'll show you what our Senate is like. And why I want to be a physics professor not a politician.

Local Student - OK. I'll enter my login details.

Once they had internet access, Lukas Jung navigated to the viral Sanctustube video of Senator Shadow and Senator Princess introducing legislation. The Grand Immortal Imperator's cats chased each other around the Senate chamber and used the litter box on the Senate floor instead of depositing the bill in the appropriate place.

Local Student - What the actual fuck! Is that seriously your Senate?

Lukas Jung - Yes. My father actually has to keep a straight face during those proceedings. Let's continue the video.

They continued the video to the point where Senator Alessandra Udinese brought up the rape accusations against the soccer coach and got literally whipped on the Senate floor by the Senate Whip.

Local Student - Your country whips Senators on the Senate floor? That is not normal.

Chelsea Murphy - What if I told you that I actually got into the school we go to by hacking into their computer system and accepting myself as a scholarship student? I was caught but they allowed me to stay enrolled.

Local Student - Really?

Chelsea Murphy - It was a very tough first year for me. They tried everything they could to drive me away.

Lukas Jung - But Chelsea was tough enough to defiantly take everything they had and keep coming back for more.

Local Student - What a fucked up situation. I'm sorry about that.

Chelsea Murphy - It is what it is. I just have to make the most of it and get power. One day, the Imperator will prove to be anything but Immortal.

Lukas Jung - I've never seen this side of you, Chelsea. I had thought you were a true believer. You certainly seem to know the ideology better than anybody else.

Chelsea Murphy - This happens in any society. If there's a hegemonic ideology, ambitious people will cynically pretend to believe in it. Because that is the path to power. Besides, there are many things the Grand Immortal Imperator's regime does well. He's done a great job of making our streets safe and making our trains run on time.

Lukas Jung - Anyways, I want to know what's happening at home.

Chelsea pulled up News Magazine's web site and the leading stories were mostly about the latest high profile public executions.

Local Student - It sure seems like the main news stories in your country are about executions.

Lukas Jung - They're considered a form of entertainment.

Chelsea Murphy - Sometimes, they even have a stadium vote on whether to execute somebody who did something that isn't a death penalty offense. But arguably should be.

Local Student - That's really fucked up. Like something out of the Dark Ages.

Chelsea Murphy - We're definitely not in the Dark Ages. Our classmates on the National Soccer Team used some kind of virtual reality headset to attend school while they were physically in other countries for World Cup qualifying.

Local Student - That sounds physically impossible.

Lukas Jung - The physics of it don't make sense to me either. But Citrus isn't sharing secrets or even offering the technology to the general public.

Local Student - What a strange country you 2 are from.

They finally came across a story about new legislation to simplify the process of obtaining passports and exit visas.

Chelsea Murphy - Sounds like it's going to be easier to leave the Free Republics going forward.

One detail stood out: "Should anybody abuse their international travel privileges and fail to return to the Free Republics, that will be a felony. The immediate family of such traitors will forfeit their property to the Federation Government."

Local Student - So wait, if you defect your government takes everything that belongs to your family? You're definitely from a totalitarian state.

Lukas Jung - Looks like my father is the primary sponsor of this legislation. Passports and exit visas remain may-issue. They can still turn down your request for any reason or no reason at all.

Local Student - You are living in the Free Republics. In the Free Republics, you must stay. Orwell would be proud.

The local student thought for a moment and something clicked.

Local Student - Wait, the Free Republics? The nation that cheated their way to a World Baseball Classic title about 20 years ago?

Chelsea Murphy - I've never been much of a sports fan so I wouldn't know.

Lukas Jung - I actually met Honomi Kamei once. After the collapse of the XBL, she ended up signing with the Blitzburg Buccaneers for a bit. My dad's a big fan of them. Even made me play little league. Really nice lady.

Chelsea Murphy - I've never heard of her.

Lukas Jung - She was the star of the team and shortstop. Along with Sarah Fuerst, the second baseman who wrote the infamous sign stealing program. Sarah is now a Sporting World reporter.

Chelsea Murphy - She's really fallen.

Lukas Jung - I believe she's on the WBC banned list.

Lukas pulled up Sporting World and navigated to the baseball page. The lead article was "Honomi Kamei named Manager of National Baseball Team". Clearly, they were preparing for a WBC comeback. Then Chelsea noticed the time on the computer screen.

Chelsea Murphy - Lukas, we really need to get back to the hotel before Mr. Fletcher notices we're gone.

Local Student - It was nice meeting you 2. Good luck in your chess tournament and now you've got me curious about your country's impending return to the WBC.

Lukas Jung - It was nice meeting you as well.

Local Student - Maybe I'll see you around?

Chelsea Murphy - Possibly. I figure we'll come back here if we get another chance to sneak out.

Local Student - See you.

They went back to the hotel and managed to get back to their rooms without being seen by their math teacher. But unaware that their teammates had tried to find the 2 of them for a practice session...

[The Jade Order]

Sutra Gara, Part Two

After a rather routine trip to Sutra Gara, the expedition set foot across the dense jungle island. Though they could use drones to scout ahead, there was no way to traverse the island except on foot. It was tough going - the land was swampy, the sunshine was unbearable, and there was a smell in the air that was suffocating.

Per the legends from both the Dynasty and the Horde - rather rare - the Island of Sutra Gara was famous for supposedly having the Golden Arrow located deep within it. A gift from some heavenly being (depending on which nation you asked), the Arrow meant a lot to both the Dynasty and the Horde. The Dynasty was hoping that their acquiring of the Arrow would yield a victory over the Horde, and that they would be able to even the playing field due to how focused their country would be.

It took three hours for an expedition member to realize a fundamental difference within the Island of Sutra Gara - that time was flowing differently. When they tried to check in with the ship, it took longer than expected - and the reply back was very much slowed down.

They were in the right place. The Dynasty expedition members started to really press the Orderites to continue onward, saying that the Horde would attack the Dynasty any day now. To save the most lives as possible on both sides, they needed the Golden Arrow.

That's when the shrieking started happening. A high, shrill, pitched shriek that prolonged for a long, long, long time...

[Elejamie]

Four games in and, honestly, things weren't looking too bad.

It all started with that opener. They were up against Ranoria, a team that were repeatedly outmatched at the last Elephant Chess Cup. We're talking a team that didn't win a single match, only drawing twice (back to back against Ireleand ^[sic] and Lanansia at the tail-end of the first group stage) and losing all five of their remaining games. And here it seemed like more of the same. Jonathan Troutman kicked things off with a win when he started with a Kan Variation of the Sicilian Defence and went the distance with his opponent, who only threw in the towel after Troutman promoted his pawn to a queen. Elizabeth Miller also managed to get a win in her match, with her opponent going with a Modern Variation of the Benoni Defence only to make the biggest blunder of all by moving his king in the wrong direction that lead to Miller getting the checkmate. Valentina García Latorre managed to get a Caro-Kann Defence that not only managed to hold on but also lead to her opponent resigning rather than getting the checkmate. And Vili Caerinol ended up losing his game when his Slav Defence didn't exactly work out, but considering his teammates had already gotten their side the W it ended up not mattering.

And then came the match against Barkhastan. A team that had won their opener against Choppyhausen and then went on to get a much narrower victory over the Chess-a-phants. Youngster Aydar Rakhmonov managed to beat the older Troutman in their match, and Leyla Kairatova managed to eke out VGL. However it wasn't all bad as Elizabeth Miller managed to get the Scandinavian Defence to work in her favour, slowly edging Nurgul Zhaksybekova's king into a corner before forcing her to throw in the towel. It meant that it was now up to Caerinol to get the win so his side could salvage the point. However, whether it be due to the stress of the situation or because Daler Nurmatov's attacking style combined with his blitz background was a good counter to Vili's more defensive style both sides could only manage a stalemate. A disappointing end to the first couple of games but it wasn't all bad. They were in joint 10th, yes, but the good news was that they wouldn't have to play all 29 other teams. So if they could get lucky with their next load of matches then maybe they could snag a spot in the group stage proper. From there, who knows.

But they still have to get there, and Yellow Transcaucasia was their next stop. A team that was 1-0-1 as well, having won their opener against Devonta 3-1 but lost their follow-up to the Jade Order 2½-1½. With both teams having the same run so far, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if they drew. And you wouldn't have been a fool if you put money towards that. Instead, what happened was that Elejamie managed to win again. 3-1. Troutman may have drawn his first match but Miller managed to put her side up in front with a win. The Italian Game worked out well for her and while her opponent tried to go for a Normal Variation of the Knight Attack, she still managed to hold her ground and force them to resign rather than make that last move into checkmate. Valentina tied as well, albeit more because of a misplaced queen accidentally forcing a stalemate rather than giving her a chance to take the W. But Vili finally managed to get things into gear with a win of his own. He opted for the London System which gave him a bit of an edge and he managed to force his opponent to the side of the board, with them opting to resign rather than be forced into a checkmate.

And he came through in their next match against the last match against Cardenao. A tough opponent who shut out Xanneria, beat Croblade 3-1 and only managed to just about lose to the incredibly tough Martian Independent Republic 2½-1½. And this match ended also ended 2½-1½, but in the Chess-a-phants' favour. While Jonathan, Elizabeth and Valentina all drew their matches in various ways Vili was the one who actually managed to achieve a proper result. A Queen's Pawn Opening soon gave way to a Blackmar Gambit and then a brief exchange of pieces. It seemed like the opponent had the upper hand and could cruise along to a victory, but a rather questionable blunder involving a bishop pretty much scuppered their chances. They tried fighting on valiantly but by turn forty they just opted to throw in the towel rather than continue with the mess that they've made.

So with that out of the way, where does that leave Elejamie? In fourth place with a 3-0-1 record, along with 10 points for and 6 against making a point differential of +4. They wouldn't be the only ones with that record, as Barkhastan and one other opponent were also in the same boat, but it did mean that they had a bit of breathing room ahead of them. The Martian Independent Republic were, unsurprisingly, leading the tournament having won all four games which means that they're either going to go far or they're going to start suffering some very embarrassing losses soon. Riandera's currently in second, with their only non-win being a 2-2 draw with the Free Republics. And Paradystopia of all nations have somehow made it into third place with a 2-2-0 record. A team consisting of three penguins and someone who's more interested in watching them than he is in actually playing chess. To be fair, penguins are adorable just as long as they don't open their mouths so it's easy to see why they're doing so well.

On the other end of the table, the United States of Devonta have lost all four of their matches so far (by an average of 3-1), and while both New Rotterdam City and Xanneria are also winless they both have a draw each to cushion the blow. Hosts South Newlandia are in joint 12th with a 1-2-1 record and a point differential of 0, something that would please Thanos but probably wouldn't please the team or any of its supporters. And reigning back-to-back champs Katzeburg seem to have gotten a bit too complacent, as they're currently in 19th place with a 1-1-2 record. Not a good place for them to be in but, then again, them tearing up their remaining five games and snatching a spot in the group stage proper isn't out of the question.

That's right, five games. Despite everyone seeming to be drawn into one huge group of 30 teams, in reality they only play nine games and then the top eight will move through into two groups of four. That's good because it means that no one would have to worry about the competition running a bit too long; after all, if all the teams were to play at least one game against each other then at that point you might as well call it the "Elephant Chess League". The downside is that no one seemed to know who their future opponents would be. Only their next opponent. And in Elejamie's case it would be Nortallius, the other other team who had the same record as them. They got off to a respectable start with a 2½-1½ win over TJUN-ia before getting an even better 3-1 win over the aforementioned Kytler Peninsulae. This was sadly followed by Barkhastan stomping them 3½-½, but at least they were able to come back with a stomping of their own. As in, they completely shut out Natkr 4-0. Ouch. And now Elejamie was in their sights. This was going to hurt.

At least it would if the Chess-a-phants don't essentially chess for their life.

[Paradystopia]

OOC: Apologies for short RP. Having to make the most of a c.15 minute window to try and get something/anything posted ahead of cut-off, so this is going to have to do for now.

---

A Short conversation between Jim and Karen
Translated from Penguin to Common-Anglic for ease of reading

"I can't believe Anders won. The guy's an idiot."
"I know. How did that happen anyway?"
"Not sure exactly, but I think Anders got distracted watching Agamemnon pissing about with that pebble of his, made some comment about 'adorable penguin behaviour' or some shit like that, and whatsherface, Vice Forehead Jolyn Maxine yaddi-yaddi-ya went to lean over the table to see what was going on, you know how fascinated the Valentinians are with us penguins, and inadvertently knocked over her king in the process. Got ruled as a forfeiture, I think."
"Really? That seems a bit harsh."
"Oh yeah, totally, but I think she was a bit too distracted by Aggy to notice what was happening and didn't realise to contest it before it was too late."
"Shame. Why does he even have that rock anyway?"
"Fuck knows, he's hardly the warmest body in the huddle*. From what he's told me, it gives him advice on his moves."
"Good grief. I can't see us winning this with the likes of Anders and Aggy on the team then."
"Eh ... we're not doing bad so far."

* A more recognisable human idiom for this turn of phrase would be 'not the sharpest knife in the drawer'

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Well, we knew there'd be exciting action the moment the Scholars wound up being assigned a clash with defending champions Katzeburg in round four after, as expected, taking care of business against no-names in the prior window. And sure enough, this one was fun, with the pivot coming on the third board where Michael Radley faced the ever-unpredictable Nora Keller and had the advantage of the white pieces:

Radley v. Keller, Elephant Chess Cup 12 Casaran Round 4/9, Newport, South Newlandia
1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Be3 Nf6 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Qe2 Ng4 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 c5 11. O-O-O cxd4 12. Nxd4 Ngf6 13. f4 Nh5 14. Rhf1 Rc8 15. f5 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 Rxc3 17. bxc3 Ne5 18. g4 Nf4 19. Rxf4 g5 20. f6 gxf4 21. fxe7 Qa5 22. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 23. Rb4 Qa3+ 24. Kb1 Qxc3 25. Rxb7 Kg7 26. Rb3 Qc8 27. h3 Ng6 28. Bf2 Ne5 29. Qd2 Qe6 30. Qxf4 Nc6 31. g5 hxg5 32. Qxg5+ 1-0

As expected, Radley opened e4 to see if his opponent would give him a Sicilian to face; as expected, none was forthcoming; perhaps not so expectedly, Keller's response was in fact d6, the Pirc, and after 2...g6 it was clear she'd gone full Hahnea Izorigor and oopted for a hypermodern approach. As early as 5. Bb5+, we were in effectively unchartered territory* with an early-game check that actually still had several viable responses to block; Keller's choice of 5...Bd7 left Radley with a choice of retreating or trading, and he opted for the latter before intruigingly moving his queen to e2 to create the potential for queenside castling that he eventually exercised.

That created a complex position, one that Stockphant slightly preferred black in... if she could find Re8. She didn't, opting for cxd4? instead - her preceding advance to c5 having seemingly invited a trade to open up a d-file that White's queen had vacated, only for the rook to take over that duty after O-O-O. After 13...Nh5? Stockphant suddenly much preferred white's position, and when pieces started flying off the board after that Radley had traded his knights off for a rook and Keller's remaining bishop, with one of the black knights trapped on the flank to boot. Then, just as Keller thought she could snaffle a rook with 19...g5, Radley spotted 20. f6!, leaving 20...gxf4?? as a blunder that let the advancing pawn claim a rook right back. Now hopelessly short on material and low on time to boot, Keller played out the string for a bit but offered the handshake soon enough - and with the other three boards ending in draws, that was enough for the Scholars to claim a statement victory over the team who beat them twice in a row to end their successful ECC defence here last time.

"I can't say I was expecting that opening from Keller but obviously it's a valid line and I'd planned that bishop push sideline as something I might use some day," Radley told NBO afterwards. "And I thought to myself, Elephant Chess Cup against Katzeburg, when am I going to get a better time than that? - so I used it and obviously there were a few complications after that but it worked out very well in the end."

The result put the Scholars up into seventh - inside the qualifying zone for the first time this tournament - and with a very winnable fifth match against a seemingly overachieving South Poopistan to come. If they can flush these no-names down the toilet, potential opponents to follow include Elejamie, Paradystopia, and perhaps even the Martian Independent Republic if Riandera put an end to the Martians' 100% record. Chances are that at least one, and perhaps all, of these three are still to come at some point in some order for the Scholars anyway. Many challenges lie ahead - but this team have put themselves right back in the mix at yet another ECC.

*OOC: this was the move that created a position with no precedents in the Lichess masters database

[TJUN-ia]

Hello and Welcome to the 12th running of the Elephant Chess Club, coming to you from its usual haunt in the form of The Ivory Crown Hotel in Newport, South Newlandia! It wasn't the best of starts for the Jaguar Knights at this edition of the campaign, going 0-2 and feeling like we're playing catch-up already. It isn't a great position to be in, that was certainly the truth, but everyone wasn't exactly too concerned at this moment in time. There were still 7 rounds of this madness left to go, there was still plenty of time to get into that Top 8...so how was that going?

GIC Tshering Gyeltshen drew with
GIC Anne Christian-Warren beat Player #2
GIC Margarita Altamiranda drew with Player #3
CM Gideon Irosaea beat Player #4

The United States of Devonta was up first in this portion of the competition, and in this battle, it was the first time we looked content in one of these ECC contests - and it showed in the final results. The team seemed to click together during the break to come out as a stronger unit overall, and with both ACW and Gideon Irosaea winning, this 3-1 win overall certainly felt like a much-needed step in the right direction.

GIC Tshering Gyeltshen drew with Aakansh Gupta
GIC Anne Christian-Warren drew with Paul Hendricks
GIC Margarita Altamiranda drew with Kanika Bhansal
CM Gideon Irosaea drew with Niveditha Das

And then, against Indusse, TJUN-ia encountered a classic of ECC level competitions - "Oops, All Draws!", the act of all four games in a matchup end in a draw, resulting in a 2-2 tie across the series. Everyone was just so on their game in this one, that no one could move past the other. Sometimes, it is as simple as that.

So from the bottom, TJUN-ia is up to 20th and only 2 points off the Top 8 in this congested Cesaran phase. Next up is a huge clash with Katzeburg, which could very much set the tone for what is to come. GO JAG KNIGHTS!

---

Records: TG: 0-3-1 / ACW: 1-3-0 / MA: 0-3-1 / GI: 1-3-0

[The Martian Independent Republic]

MIR 2.5 - 1.5 CAD
??? (CAD) 0.5 - 0.5 Eleanor Rigby (MIR)
Ziggy Stardust (MIR) 1 - 0 ??? (CAD)
??? (CAD) 0.5 - 0.5 Johnny B. Goode (MIR)
Ruby Tuesday (MIR) 0.5 - 0.5 ??? (CAD)

BKH 1 - 3 MIR
Eleanor Rigby (MIR) 1 - 0 Aydar Rakhmonov (BKH)
Shavkat Muradov (BKH) 0 - 1 Ziggy Stardust (MIR)
Johnny B. Goode (MIR) 0.5 - 0.5 Nurgul Zhaksybekova (BKH)
Daler Nurmatov (BKH) 0.5 - 0.5 Ruby Tuesday (MIR)

Spiders perfect through four thanks to two Stardust wins
After defeating Cardenao 2.5-1.5 and Barkhastan 3-1, the Spiders finished Thursday on top of the table as the only team to not yet have drawn or lost. However, due to the nature of this competition and the Casaran system, their next matches will only get harder - undefeated Riandera, followed by a likely matchup against Paradystopia, Elejamie, or the Kytler Peninsulae.

Round 3: Pay no attention to that open h-file in the corner
Versus Cardenao, who had crushed their first two opponents, the Spiders knew there was something to worry about. Eleanor Rigby continued a bit of a slow start as the only player not to win any of the first three games, but a draw as black is always what she'll play for. Goode, despite getting himself into a winning position, traded a bit too much a bit too quickly, and by the end of it all, in a rook and two versus rook and one endgame, there just weren't enough pawns left on the board for him to have any sort of winning advantage. Ruby Tuesday fought admirably, yadda yadda yadda, but to be honest, we here at 64squares think she's not great at attacking chess, and the play in her match was just a bit passive for our taste. You're playing with the white pieces, you're meant to fight for a win! In the end, it didn't matter. Ziggy Stardust is great at making games volatile, and once his opponent allowed what seemed like a useless knight check on e7, the tactic of the round was uncorked. 37. Qxh7+!! forcibly checkmates, as after 37... Nxh7, 38. Rxh7+!! forces 38... Kxh7, and the other rook comes to deliver the blow with 39. Rh1#. Opposite side castling, folks. That's what it'll do for you.

Round 4: Unfortunately for you, I have developed a tolerance for poisoned pawns
The next match saw the Spiders taking on the only other 3-0-0 team left, Barkhastan. The Barkhastani team was more aggressive than the Spiders on the whole, and the Spiders perfectly exploited that. Eleanor Rigby got her first win of the tournament, taking pawns Rakhmonov thought were poisoned, but in reality, the attack fizzled out, as after a long line of sacrifices and defenses, f2 remained as an escape square. Considering the fact that Rigby is the multiversal chess champion, Rakhmonov found it unlikely that he'd be able to come back down two pawns and a piece, so he resigned. Stardust, on the other hand, found a series of captures hinging on the fact that his knights were prepared to fork the king and queen no matter how his Barkhastani opponent Muradov recaptured, and by the end of it all, he was up a couple of pawns. Despite an endgame scare where a pawn was dropped, Stockphant still had this as a win, and Stardust did pull through. A single draw on either of the bottom two boards would be enough to secure a win, and although Zhaksybekova tried to counterattack, she had gotten into a positional setup aiming for a draw as black, and by the time she realized her compatriots were in losing positions, it was too late. Goode stopped playing for a win and accepted the draw offered a few moves later, sealing the victory. Tuesday's game finished last, and it was also the most consistently equal throughout. Neither side went for any quick attacks, and if you give your opponent ten moves of warning that you're going for their king, they might just defend. Still, a 3-1 win is a 3-1 win.

Up next for the Spiders are undefeated Riandera, then probably Paradystopia (although, in order of likelihood, Elejamie, Nortallius, the Kytler Peninsulae, South Poopistan, Free Republics, and the Jade Order could also be the MIR's opponents after Riandera). It will be a struggle to maintain a perfect 100% record, but given how the Spiders have been playing, it's certainly not an impossibility.

[South Newlandia]

slightly belated cutoff. Good luck!

M5 scores
The Martian Independent Republic 3–1 Riandera
Paradystopia 2½–1½ Barkhastan
Elejamie 3–1 Nortallius
The Kytler Peninsulae 3½–½ South Poopistan
Free Republics 2½–1½ Cardenao
The Jade Order 2–2 Choppyhausen
City of Myrtle Beach 2–2 Indusse
Eshialand 3–1 The Kaisers Syndicates
South Newlandia 1½–2½ Valentine Z
TJUN-ia 1–3 Katzeburg
Yellow Transcaucasia 1½–2½ Kendoria
Croblade 1½–2½ Natkr
The North Polish Union 3–1 Banija
Ranoria 1½–2½ New Rotterdam City
Xanneria 2½–1½ United States of Devonta

P M5 Standings                       Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 The Martian Independent Republic    5    5   0   0    14.5  5.5 +9    10
 2 Elejamie                            5    4   0   1    13    7   +6     8
   Paradystopia                        5    3   2   0    13    7   +6     8
 4 The Kytler Peninsulae               5    4   0   1    12.5  7.5 +5     8
 5 Riandera                            5    3   1   1    12    8   +4     7
 6 Free Republics                      5    2   3   0    11.5  8.5 +3     7
 7 Barkhastan                          5    3   0   2    11.5  8.5 +3     6
 8 Eshialand                           5    1   4   0    11    9   +2     6
   Nortallius                          5    3   0   2    11    9   +2     6
   The Jade Order                      5    2   2   1    11    9   +2     6
11 Valentine Z                         5    2   2   1     9.5 10.5 -1     6
12 Katzeburg                           5    2   1   2    11.5  8.5 +3     5
13 Choppyhausen                        5    1   3   1    10   10    0     5
   City of Myrtle Beach                5    0   5   0    10   10    0     5
   South Poopistan                     5    2   1   2    10   10    0     5
16 Kendoria                            5    2   1   2     9.5 10.5 -1     5
   Natkr                               5    2   1   2     9.5 10.5 -1     5
   The North Polish Union              5    2   1   2     9.5 10.5 -1     5
19 Indusse                             5    1   3   1     9   11   -2     5
20 Cardenao                            5    2   0   3    11.5  8.5 +3     4
21 South Newlandia                     5    1   2   2     9.5 10.5 -1     4
22 The Kaisers Syndicates              5    2   0   3     8   12   -4     4
23 TJUN-ia                             5    1   1   3     9   11   -2     3
   Yellow Transcaucasia                5    1   1   3     9   11   -2     3
25 Croblade                            5    1   1   3     8.5 11.5 -3     3
26 New Rotterdam City                  5    1   1   3     8   12   -4     3
27 Banija                              5    1   1   3     7   13   -6     3
   Xanneria                            5    1   1   3     7   13   -6     3
29 Ranoria                             5    1   0   4     7.5 12.5 -5     2
30 United States of Devonta            5    0   0   5     5.5 14.5 -9     0

M6 Schedule
The Martian Independent Republic v Elejamie
Paradystopia v The Kytler Peninsulae
Riandera v Barkhastan
Free Republics v Eshialand
Nortallius v The Jade Order
Choppyhausen v Valentine Z
Katzeburg v City of Myrtle Beach
South Poopistan v Kendoria
Natkr v The North Polish Union
Indusse v Cardenao
The Kaisers Syndicates v South Newlandia
TJUN-ia v Yellow Transcaucasia
Croblade v Banija
New Rotterdam City v United States of Devonta
Xanneria v Ranoria

M6 scores
The Martian Independent Republic 3–1 Elejamie
Paradystopia 2–2 The Kytler Peninsulae
Riandera 1½–2½ Barkhastan
Free Republics 2–2 Eshialand
Nortallius 2–2 The Jade Order
Choppyhausen 2–2 Valentine Z
Katzeburg 1½–2½ City of Myrtle Beach
South Poopistan 2–2 Kendoria
Natkr 1–3 The North Polish Union
Indusse 2½–1½ Cardenao
The Kaisers Syndicates ½–3½ South Newlandia
TJUN-ia 4–0 Yellow Transcaucasia
Croblade 1–3 Banija
New Rotterdam City 2–2 United States of Devonta
Xanneria 2½–1½ Ranoria

P M6 Standings                       Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA    PD   Pts 
 1 The Martian Independent Republic    6    6   0   0    17.5  6.5 +11    12
 2 Paradystopia                        6    3   3   0    15    9    +6     9
 3 The Kytler Peninsulae               6    4   1   1    14.5  9.5  +5     9
 4 Barkhastan                          6    4   0   2    14   10    +4     8
   Elejamie                            6    4   0   2    14   10    +4     8
 6 Free Republics                      6    2   4   0    13.5 10.5  +3     8
 7 Riandera                            6    3   1   2    13.5 10.5  +3     7
 8 Eshialand                           6    1   5   0    13   11    +2     7
   Nortallius                          6    3   1   2    13   11    +2     7
   The Jade Order                      6    2   3   1    13   11    +2     7
11 City of Myrtle Beach                6    1   5   0    12.5 11.5  +1     7
   The North Polish Union              6    3   1   2    12.5 11.5  +1     7
13 Indusse                             6    2   3   1    11.5 12.5  -1     7
   Valentine Z                         6    2   3   1    11.5 12.5  -1     7
15 South Newlandia                     6    2   2   2    13   11    +2     6
16 Choppyhausen                        6    1   4   1    12   12     0     6
   South Poopistan                     6    2   2   2    12   12     0     6
18 Kendoria                            6    2   2   2    11.5 12.5  -1     6
19 Katzeburg                           6    2   1   3    13   11    +2     5
   TJUN-ia                             6    2   1   3    13   11    +2     5
21 Natkr                               6    2   1   3    10.5 13.5  -3     5
22 Banija                              6    2   1   3    10   14    -4     5
23 Xanneria                            6    2   1   3     9.5 14.5  -5     5
24 Cardenao                            6    2   0   4    13   11    +2     4
25 New Rotterdam City                  6    1   2   3    10   14    -4     4
26 The Kaisers Syndicates              6    2   0   4     8.5 15.5  -7     4
27 Croblade                            6    1   1   4     9.5 14.5  -5     3
28 Yellow Transcaucasia                6    1   1   4     9   15    -6     3
29 Ranoria                             6    1   0   5     9   15    -6     2
30 United States of Devonta            6    0   1   5     7.5 16.5  -9     1

M7 Schedule
The Martian Independent Republic v Paradystopia
The Kytler Peninsulae v Barkhastan
Elejamie v Free Republics
Riandera v Eshialand
City of Myrtle Beach v Nortallius
The North Polish Union v The Jade Order
Indusse v Valentine Z
South Newlandia v Choppyhausen
South Poopistan v Katzeburg
Kendoria v TJUN-ia
Natkr v Xanneria
Banija v Cardenao
New Rotterdam City v The Kaisers Syndicates
United States of Devonta v Croblade
Yellow Transcaucasia v Ranoria

[Nortallius]

Press Conference with NCF President Horace Haywood

Reporter: What do you have to say about the first couple matches the Nortallusian team had?

Haywood: I think the team did really well, especially considering that this is the first Nortallius ever competes in an international sporting event.

Reporter: What has been going on in the last few matches? Nortallius has dropped from T3 to T8 in the standings.

Haywood: Well, we've had a few rough matches, but I'm confident that the team will be able to turn things around and advance to the group stage.

Reporter: Any comments on Ivan Oladevsky's performance so far?

Haywood: Yeah, Oladevsky has been great. He's really been helping out on the boards. We also have to remember, the rest of the team is doing pretty well too.

Reporter: Will Nortallius be competing in any other tournaments this season?

Haywood: That remains to be seen.

Reporter: Finally, any comments on James Chrysler Jr.'s performance a couple of days ago for the Concordia Captains?

Haywood: Good work, James, but I'm not here to talk about football.

[Nortallius]

Welcome to The Total Sports Network! General Haywood may not want to talk about football, but we sure do! James Chrysler Jr., former quarterback for the Alacona Vikings, Cliffside Mustangs, and Concordia Captains, and current professional Chess player, returned to the NFA this week following an unretirement to end his six-year hiatus. Chrysler, now the oldest player in NFA history at 48 years old, decided to return to the Captains as the starting signal-caller after Concordia faced a streak of QB injuries. Chrysler was impressive in his return to the field, throwing for 297 yards on 75% completion rate with three passing touchdowns and no interceptions or fumbles as well as 22 yards on with his legs, leading the Captains to a 33-20 home win over the Barraday Senators. He was sacked twice for a loss of 18 yards total. 137 of his yards were to WR Justyn Mahoney, who he played with before retiring, and 101 were to fellow wideout Cooper Karlson. Below is the drive summary for the game.

Captains - Touchdown (21 yard pass James Chrysler Jr to Cooper Karlson) 7-0

Senators - Punt 7-0

Captains - Punt 7-0

Senators - Field Goal (37 yard kick, Rock Koonce) 7-3

Captains - Field Goal (47 yard kick, Rapahel Tolbert) 10-3

Captains - Punt

Senators - Punt

Captains - Field Goal (22 yard kick, Raphael Tolbert) 13-3

Senators - Touchdown (Michael Cartier, 7 yards rushing) 13-10

Captains - Punt

Senators - Touchdown (B.Q. Rankins to Harold Harmon for 10 yards) 13-17

Captains - Field Goal (46 yard kick, Raphael Tolbert) 16-17

Senators - Punt

Captains - Touchdown (James Chrysler Jr. to Justyn Mahoney for 18 yards) 23-17

Senators - Missed Field Goal (52 yards, Rock Koonce)

Captains - Touchdown (James Chrysler Jr. to Justyn Mahoney for 37 yards) 30-17

Senators - Punt

Captains - Field Goal (36 yards, Raphael Tolbert) 33-17

Senators - Field Goal (50 yards, Rock Koonce) 33-20

Captains - Clock ran out for 33-20 win

[Free Republics]

2 more matches down and the Barjavel kids had moved into 6th place in the table. But Chelsea Murphy's performance had been noticeably poor. Against Cardenao, she'd missed a checkmate opportunity and ended up with a draw due to threefold repetition (OOC: I was originally going to use the 50 moves rule but discovered this one via Google Search while trying to look up how many moves that rule is. Hopefully their AI thing didn't make it up.). Afterwards, Amabella Bondy came up to Chelsea.

Amabella Bondy - Hey Chelsea, can we have a girls-only chat in private?

Chelsea Murphy - OK. Let's go to your room.

Amabella Bondy - Works for me.

They headed to Amabella's room. Upon entry, Chelsea noticed that she had a calculus textbook out on the desk and had clearly been practicing complicated integrals.

Chelsea Murphy - I didn't realize you were that serious about math.

Amabella Bondy - I want to be an architect or a civil engineer someday so I need to be perfect at math.

Chelsea Murphy - Why would you want to do that when your family is rich?

Amabella Bondy - I don't care about the money. I just want to build things.

Chelsea Murphy - Interesting. You're a rich girl who's smoking hot and could easily just be some guy's trophy wife. But you want to prove yourself.

Amabella Bondy - And you seem like a natural politician.

Chelsea Murphy - You have me there. I'll do whatever it takes to get what I want. The money, the power, the glory. I want it all.

Amabella Bondy - I actually called you in here because I'm worried about your performance. It sure seems like your head isn't in chess at the moment and it's hurting our team.

Chelsea Murphy - What do you mean?

Amabella Bondy - You passed up a checkmate against Cardenao and ended up with a draw. Also, I noticed you weren't in your room or Lukas's room last night when I was trying to organize a practice session.

Chelsea Murphy - What?

Chelsea was legitimately taken aback. She figured her excursion to a local campus had gone completely unnoticed.

Amabella Bondy - It's obviously none of my business but I know you snuck out somewhere with Lukas last night. I could tell Mr. Fletcher and get both of you punished.

Chelsea Murphy - Please don't do that!

Amabella Bondy - Never thought I'd see Chelsea Murphy trying to beg her way out of a punishment! But I'm not going to do that because the last thing I need is for the 2 of you to be kicked off the team. I doubt they could even get 2 more club members here in time for our next matches.

Chelsea Murphy - I assume there's some kind of catch.

Amabella Bondy - I just want to know one thing: Are you trying to baby trap Lukas in a matriarchal marriage?

Chelsea Murphy - Of course not. I love him. I know he wants it but it needs to wait until he chooses it of his own free will.

Amabella Bondy - Interesting. I have noticed that it seems like you're the dominant one in your relationship. We all have.

Chelsea Murphy - The only way I'd consider going the baby trap route would be if his parents refuse to bless the marriage. But one way or another, I'm going to marry Lukas Jung. And I prefer to do it the right way by making him wait.

Amabella Bondy - So you weren't sneaking out to do inappropriate things with him?

Chelsea Murphy - Heavens no. I'm not that type of girl.

Amabella Bondy - Then what were you two doing?

Chelsea Murphy - Do you promise not to tell Taishi or Mr. Fletcher?

Amabella Bondy - I swear on the immortal Ilysee gods that I will never tell either of them. If I do, may they send me to a hell in the afterlife.

Chelsea Murphy - In that case, I'll tell you. We were out on the town visiting a local college.

Amabella Bondy - And why would you want to do that?

Chelsea Murphy - I wanted to get on the internet and find out what's going on back home.

Amabella Bondy - Is anything interesting happening?

Chelsea Murphy - Not really. We found something about some woman who's apparently a legendary baseball player being named the manager of the National Baseball Team which will apparently be entering the World Baseball Classic.

Amabella Bondy - Honami Kamei? I thought she'd defected to Falatulu.

Chelsea Murphy - Apparently not.

Amabella Bondy - That's a big deal. I didn't think the Grand Immortal Imperator would allow a woman to manage or play on a national sports team.

Chelsea Murphy - Are we not a national sports team?

Amabella Bondy - Come on Chelsea. Nobody considers chess a sport and Sporting World isn't interested in covering us.

Chelsea Murphy - That's a shame because we're going to actually make it past the first round. Something the National Soccer Team can't do.

Amabella Bondy - Did you enjoy your time in Zwangzug?

Chelsea Murphy - Fuck no.

Amabella Bondy - Don't ever use that kind of language around the boys or any of the teachers. But I understand the sentiment.

Chelsea Murphy - I know. I'm not stupid.

Amabella Bondy - Chelsea, we're both trying to achieve our dreams in a country that has gone backwards on women's rights in our lifetimes.

Chelsea Murphy - Sometimes, I wish I'd been born 20 or even 50 years earlier so I could experience the Free Republics before the chaos.

Amabella Bondy - The both of us do.

Chelsea Murphy - But we play the game because that's how you fulfill your dreams.

Amabella Bondy - Indeed. Besides, even in socialistic democracies, they do the same thing. So many people have to pretend to be ashamed of our "privileges" and to care about the people who've failed at life. It's all as fake as the game we play even if many of them can't be honest with themselves like we can.

Chelsea Murphy - It's like you're saying exactly what I'm thinking! The talented and the ambitious always have to pretend. Always have to be fake. To do what their society expects of them. Why can't we have a society where we just recognize that we're the best and the brightest and that we've earned everything we've have? And that those who are failures are typically failures because they lacked talent or effort?

Amabella Bondy - In a way, the Grand Immortal Imperator's system is more honest than democracy. Under a democracy, the people don't actually rule. They are manipulated by the media, the universities and other special interests into voting the "right" way. And if they vote the "wrong" way, the system has ways to thwart the will of the people.

Chelsea Murphy - Yeah, the one thing the Grand Immortal Imperator really has going for him is the way he really cares what the public thinks. He wants to maintain their support for the regime and keep society thriving. That's why those agitators who want to strip him of his power and return to the system that led us into the chaos are fools.

Amabella laughed.

Amabella Bondy - Ultimately, we're both loyal to our government even if we both wish our sex had more opportunities. I think it was a good idea to call this girl's only meeting and allow the two of us to bond a bit. Do you want me to tutor you in math?

Chelsea Murphy - I might have to take you up on that offer. I'm a bit nervous about the math part of the RSAT. But not tonight. Tonight would be a good night to practice chess.

Amabella Bondy - Right? Maybe we can do the math tutoring when we're back home.

Chelsea Murphy - It does feel strange to let my underclassman tutor me but you're already far better than me at math.

Amabella Bondy - That's true. Let's spend more time together and get to know each other better. But we also have to be ready for Elejamie. If we can keep winning, or at least not losing, we'll be in the last 8 for sure.

Chelsea Murphy - That's the plan.

Afterwards, they found the boys and organized a team practice session. Chelsea looked far more focused on chess during this session than she had against Cardenao and Eshialand...

[TJUN-ia]

Hello and Welcome to the 12th running of the Elephant Chess Club, coming to you from its usual haunt in the form of The Ivory Crown Hotel in Newport, South Newlandia! Last time out, the fightback of the Jaguar Knights was well underway and while there was still a long way to go, the hope was still in the air. These Knights still had a shot at something in this ECC so with all of that in mind, could they sieze the opportunity and move foreward towards that Top 8.

GIC Tshering Gyeltshen beat by Emilia Ziegler
GIC Anne Christian-Warren beat by Mark Jensen
GIC Margarita Altamiranda beat Nora Keller
CM Gideon Irosaea beat by Billy Sampson

Katzeburg Just as we once did, they have lorded over the past two ECCs with an iron fist...and they come here looking to go beyond our high mark, to earn that third star on the bounce. The passing of the torch from Knights to Yellow and Black had already been achieved long ago, but this contest was just another example of where we stand on this stage. Emilia Ziegler and Mark Jensen are just too damn good, pure and simple, and while ACW was in the WCC Final not too long ago, she was no match for Jensen this time around. Billy Sampson's agressive way of play led him to seal the deal against Irosaea, but at least Altamiranda took out Nora Keller to restore some pride to the team.

GIC Tshering Gyeltshen beat Player #1
GIC Anne Christian-Warren beat Player #2
GIC Margarita Altamiranda beat Player #3
CM Gideon Irosaea beat Player #4

In order to help set things right, we were drawn against Yellow Transcaucasia (what a name) for Round 6 and so, with everything in danger at this point, the Jaguar Knights looked bounceback...and oh boy, did they do just that. These four cooked their opposition that they actually managed to pull of something TJUN-ia had rarely done in our history in the ECC - a 4-0 sweep. This rarely happens. But we did it. And we showed no mercy.

23rd, but still 2 points off Top 8. Simply put, things are far from over...and we will hope to prove that against Kendoria and whomever is next.
GO JAG KNIGHTS!

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Records: TG: 1-3-2 / ACW: 2-3-1 / MA: 2-3-1 / GI: 2-3-1