tsuntrader | Appointments Post

[He sees the opportunity, and it's tempting to just take it, but... No, that seems too easy. Too convenient. Yeah, see? If he moves a piece there, he'll lose that, and this will open up...]

[Uh-huh. Well you have his attention over the rain, bro.]

[What rain? Silver's too invested in what he's doing, especially considering the cold hard rules of the game.]

[Just as planned, mwahaha. But in all seriousness, the more Silver looks at the board, he'll see there are other openings to capture one of Shikamaru's pieces. The token from before is the big bait, but there's some smaller but still useful pieces that have well-hidden weaknesses.

...and strategies for each, but still!]

[That suits his style better. He'll try to make his way to picking off smaller targets that he's sure he can take down with a favorable outcome.

Of course, what he considers a favorable outcome... Definitely isn't what he'll need to win this game. It's hard to put everything into a long term perspective.]

[Which is of course where Shikamaru's web begins to tighten, with a fast encroaching offense meant to steer certain pieces around.] Careful.

[It steers some pieces around, but not others. If anything, it might make the big pattern of his playing really obvious. He's keeping careful track of six pieces exactly, not including his King. He's a bit more careless about the rest of them.]

[Shikamaru's next two moves act as if to protect some of his more important pieces. Conveniently, they block the King's path in many directions, now that it's becoming defenseless.]

[Silver considers this for a moment. He gets that Shikamaru's staring to corner him and ruining his chances to escape. Whatever he does, he has to move his King.

And then he does what just might be a stupid move and starts moving offensively with his King. If it does absolutely nothing else, at least it might throw Shikamaru off long enough for him to come up with a better plan.]

[Except that's what he was waiting for. Once the King is out, Shikamaru drops a piece onto the board to cover the rear, so the King can no longer go back the way it came.]

[...Yep, he's just gonna keep calm and follow through with what he's doing for a while before considering changing strategies.]

[CONSIDER FASTER, LOOKS LIKE YOU SET OFF A TRAP BRO. THIS WOULD BE LIKE THE ROLLING BOULDER FROM INDIANA JONES, IF SHOGI TOKENS WERE BIGGER. AND NOT FLAT.]

[But- what- how did you- where did you- what do I- where do I-

...There's no need to keep going. It's not some competition with Gold. It's just a game. Better to stop now than to continue to fight a losing battle.]

[WHAT. DON'T TELL HIM YOU'RE QUITTING NOW. HE GOT ALL INVESTED AND AND AND--]

[He releases a breath, trying to curb that rare enthusiastic energy as his fingers twitch away from the board.]

It's customary to announce forfeit before the game is called.

[...But-]

Isn't it just a game? [Are you okay there, Shikamaru?]

Yeah, but a popular one, especially among old guys. They like the chance to bow out graciously versus sticking it through.

[...Are you subtly telling him he's acting like an old man over a game, Shikamaru?]

[What no, he's just spelling out tradition.]

...so?

[So Silver is making another move. He's no cowardly old man.]

[Score.]

[Inner victory aside, Shikamaru just hums in approval and makes his move.

It's not the expected one, an attack it looked like he was setting up for a few turns. Rather it's that Knight he got into position so long ago, nearly forgotten. He moves it out now, and the game is over.]

[It's not something completely unexpected; he realized it about a turn before he was ready to give up, which was already far too late. Shikamaru out thought and out predicted him, and now all he can do is figure out the best way to last for another few turns and make a final impact.

...Of course, judging by his track record, Shikamaru has this all figured out already, doesn't he?]

[This was one of the outcomes he predicted earlier on, it's true. Half of the fun for him though is to see which ones are chosen, and how long it takes to reach them. The surprises on the way always makes thing more interesting.

But yeah, his defenses are rock solid at this point. Shouldn't be much longer.]

[Nope, not much longer. Within a few more turns, Silver's completely out of moves.]

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