Chapter 50 - 50: She Had No Idea

He decided to pay more attention to "Knowing A Person." He thought she might bring about unexpected good things.

At the end of the game, the group of chess masters was utterly silent. They couldn't believe their eyes. Mitch had been world champion for several years, and he had seemed almost invincible. How could he lose, like this, to an unknown player?

It was inexplicable.

After a period of silence, the chat group suddenly blew up.

"I can't believe it! Mitch has met his match!"

"Who the hell is this person? Why did she enter the competition? Was she here for Mitch?"

"Is Mitch here? Are you all right?"

The topic of discussion first revolved around the motivation of this player, "Knowing A Person," to participate in the competition. No one thought she came for the money. That motive was completely ignored. No one even mentioned it. Most people thought she had come to challenge the chess world.

Her target must have been Mitch. She must have expected him to come to this game.

They were all certain that soon she would be in the international arena!

Then, the players turned to the analysis of the movement that changed the whole game.

"She must have planned everything before and made a mistake deliberately. After Mitch ate one of her castles, then she attacked seriously!"

"It's going to go down in the history of chess. I have no idea what kind of talent would come up with such a strange move!"

"She seems to have known everything. It's so scary! How many moves could she have planned in advance?"

"I admire her so much. How could she think of such a strange strategy? I thought she made a mistake. Silly me!"

"If it wasn't for that move, they may have been deadlocked at the end of the game. We watched something really special. I feel quite overwhelmed."

Mitch didn't log into the chat group. He just stared at his computer screen and sat silently for nearly an hour. His friend Lanie sat by his side without disturbing him.

"Lanie, book a ticket for me!" Mitch suddenly stood up, "The sooner, the better!"

Kate did not know that Sophia had become a chess superstar. She was still waiting for her daughter to eat. Seeing Sophia coming out of the room, she smiled kindly, "Come to eat now. It's getting cold!"

Sophia washed her hands and sat down at the table. She picked up her knife and fork and said, "Mom, I won a small chess game online, and the prize money is three thousand dollars. I don't think it will be long before they give me the money. May I borrow your card to give them the details for payment?"

Kate was surprised, "What game? Could they be scammers? Three thousand dollars? Do you have to pay for anything before they give you the money?"

Sophia laughed, "No, it's an official event, a small online competition. The participants are amateur chess lovers. I've been playing for more than a week! I was just lucky enough to win."

Kate nodded, "OK, but remember, if they ask you for any money, even one cent, it means they are liars! I do have a card with no money on it. Use that one just in case you're being cheated."

After the meal, Sophia saw she had a message from the official account of the tournament.

"Congratulations! You are the winner! Please send us your name and details. We will pay the prize money to you within two working days. In addition, one of our sponsors is very interested in your chess skills and would like to play with you. You would be paid. You can name your price."

Sophia was surprised. Would someone pay to play chess with her?

She had just made three thousand dollars' prize money, but it wasn't so much. She did want to find a way to make money more regularly. She didn't want to miss this opportunity.

She replied with her details and added, 'I can play chess with your sponsor, but there are conditions. I can only play chess online, and I don't want my life to be disturbed so I can only play on weekends."

She was wary of strangers and didn't want to play chess at a stranger's home. She wouldn't feel safe.

If that person wanted to play chess face in face, she could always reserve a chess room. It was negotiable as long as the price was right

Soon, the official blog replied, "Fine. The gentleman has agreed to play online. And the time also suits him. He just wants to play chess with you. Please name your price, and we will discuss it."

Sophia decided to aim high, and they could always negotiate down. There was nothing to be gained by pricing herself low.

"One hundred dollars a game!"

In reality, she would take $50. But this gave her some room to bargain. One hundred dollars was basically the same as the excellence award. She had to play lots of games to get that. There was no way anyone would pay $100 for a game.

"Deal! The exact time will be sent to you by email. The money will be settled on the day, and it will be sent to your bank account."

Sophia couldn't believe it.

One hundred dollars for a game?

That "gentleman" must be an idiot with more money than sense. He hadn't even tried to bargain with her.

As she was logging out of her blog, she saw that her fans had exceeded 700,000. She had had no idea.

Chess must still be quite popular, she thought. She was just a small-time online chess champion, and yet she was gaining so much interest. Maybe other players were getting the same thing through all the Ms who had won the excellence award were very hard to distinguish from each other.

"Yes, I see. Thank you." Ryan hung up the phone and said to Pearson, sitting on the couch, "Mr.. Pearson, the sponsor has communicated with 'Knowing A Person.' Isn't $100 too much for a game? Aren't you going to bargain?"