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The hall grew quiet. Spectators drifted toward Board 4, expecting the usual marathon of the Mar del Plata variation. They expected a theoretical knife fight that had been mapped out to move thirty by supercomputers.

Arvidsson opened with . Victor didn’t blink. 1… Nf6. 2. c4 g6. 3. Nc3 Bg7. 4. e4 d6.

On move five, instead of the standard castle, Victor played .

The fluorescent lights of the Reykjavik Open buzzed like a hornet’s nest, but inside Victor’s mind, there was only the rhythmic ticking of the DGT clock. Across from him sat Grandmaster Arvidsson—a man whose preparation was as rigid and cold as a Swedish winter.