Chains From Above

I strapped myself into the black metal seat suspended over the abyssal void, feeling the swing chains creak and settle under my weight.

My life now hung, quite literally, by the mere 64 metal links comprising both seat and playing field for the notorious mortal gambit known as Hyperchain Chess. One false step of logic or misjudged probability wager could mean plummeting to my demise hundreds of feet below.

This was a chessboard where each positional square corresponded directly to the 64 chains attached to my seat that hung me above the abyss.

Everything depended on strategic mastery here, and opponents often paid the ultimate price for failed tactics.

Across from me, an identically metal black chair held my challenger, a slight grin fixed on his pale face as our positions locked into perfect mirrored alignment.

Though appearing wholly human on the surface, this was no mortal contestant, but rather a high-omniscient entity who to appear physical morphed himself into a slim, pale, tall young man with neck-length messy dark red hair and dark red eyes. His name uttered only in reluctant whispers was Cyon also known as Cyon the Mind Reader.

He was an entity who created the concept of evaluation. He had abilities to instantly calculate near infinite game analysis trees paired with his mind reading abilities, hence the name "Cyon the Mind Reader,"

Many had tested their mettle vainly against Cyon before having their seat chains catastrophically stripped by shrewd machinations, plummeting them wailing into the pitiless void stretching endlessly below our dangling feet.

I steeled my mind and nerve against the daunting odds ahead. A glowing 3D holographic chessboard rendered itself in the air between our poised positions. Even though I was a challenger and a mortal who was only 15 years old, Cyon was granted the initiating first move.

We each received a starting purse of 64 wager chips with which compulsory bets must place predicting chess move valuations ahead of time.

Positional gains and losses were then calculated by the self-evaluating referee AI, redistributing chips between players accordingly, exponentially rewarding strong opening knowledge or severely punishing ignorance. For example - moving my knight to the F3 chess coordinate evaluates at a +0.3 positional advantage score.

Before committing any move, I must first place a wager using my available cache of betting chips.

If I bet 10 full chips predicting my knight would gain a +0.3 evaluation, after analysis only 3 chips would return back to my purse - with my opponent claiming the remaining difference of 7 chips from that 10 chip bet.

You see, the integrated AI system deliberately rounds fractional chip amounts always in favor of the house take. So in practice, only positive evaluations scoring above +1 can reliably yield chip payments greater than originally wagered. This forces players to gamble heavily on moves they calculate to gain significant advantage.

Optionally, a player can even risk their entire 64 chip purse on a single all-or-nothing gambit move, hoping to double their assets or lose everything in one swoop.

The greater the daring, the more chains potentially won, or criminally lost due to underestimating position dynamics. Which brings us to the chain retraction mechanism itself - the true heart of Hyperchain Chess' diabolical genius.

Each time my chip supply dwindles through inaccurate betting predictions, hidden counterweights instantly removes the physical chains securing my seating position outwards over the abyss.

Many players have helplessly plunged to their deaths by losing chains too quickly from reckless over wagering.

To achieve decisive victory requires either judiciously claiming every one of the opponent's 64 chain-chips to trigger their immediate plunging demise.

Alternatively, delivering an unexpected checkmate forces seizure of all their remaining chains and chips in one triumphant moment. Surviving long enough in a dominant position to reduce rivals down to nothing is the pinnacle of masterful play.

As the game commenced, Cyon fixed me with a knowing grin. "You do realize I can read your mind? There's no scenario where you can beat me."

I gave no visible reaction, waiting for his opening as white. He bet the minimum 1 chip and moved his knight to f3 - the objectively strongest first move, resulting in a +0.3 valuation.

His single chip gave zero payout, so he lost the 0.7 deficit rounding up to my 1 chain advantage - Cyon now at 63, myself 65.

"Nice little head start," Cyon laughed over the divide. "Too bad I already saw your next pathetic move in advance!"

I wagered 1 chip on my black knight to f6 in mirrored response. My move scored 0.4 valuation, superior to his first turn. But fractional payouts still rounded against me, granting Cyon another of my precious links to equalize our positions to 64-all.

Cyon bet big next, slamming 5 chips down on his white pawn advancing to d4. The aggressive foray calculated high at +0.7 valuation. His 5 chip bid yielded 4 back, reducing his loss to my 1 chain uptick. I could have matched his bet to win more chains, but avoiding risk for now was strategically wiser.

"See, I told you I'd counter everything!" Cyon bellowed. "You should quit now before you lose it all. No point trying to hide your sad strategies from me!"

Little did he guess my true trap still slowly closing, for not all strategies require linear thinking at all. I wagered 2 chips on advancing my black pawn to e6, resulting in a mundane +0.3 valuation yet again. My 2 chip bid returned 1, ceding the fractional deficit for Cyon to take another single link - returning us both squarely to 64 chains each.

"You'll never build momentum without aggressively seizing the attack!" Cyon shouted. To demonstrate his point, he slammed forward a brash 20 chip wager, pushing another white pawn to c4, lining up his pawn structure. His boldness scored +0.4, granting Cyon 8 chips back on the overextended bet - forfeiting the remaining 12 links to my benefit!

In a blink I rocketed upwards to a dominant 76 chain count, leaving Cyon now vulnerable at just 52 links. He chuckled dismissively though I noted a tinge of doubt behind it. "A minor misstep. Play cautiously all you like - in the end I will foresee your defeat!"

I had to test his position. I bet 5 on my black pawn to D5 straight into his formation.

My own daring foray backfired though - resulting in a disappointing -0.3 as Cyon's home chain supply surged by 7 while I bled another 5 down to 69 possession. Cyon was rallying back from his earlier reckless gambling at 59 links currently.

For all his boastful confidence, I wondered if Cyon had already squandered his true advantage. Though shielded by his smug expression, was his sinister plan already in motion?

If so, then the time to conceive my own strategy grew short. Yet I dared not ponder my next steps, lest Cyon pluck the ideas from my mind and craft a countermove.

For now, I must focus solely on the game at hand. Though only chess, I had bested even the cleverest bots. And against a flesh-and-blood opponent, the advantage would be mine. My opening gambit was set fifteen moves deep - as long as Cyon did not unexpectedly deviate from the established lines of play.

Cyon grinned, his unspoken thoughts plain. "I see how carefully you avoid concocting any schemes, wise I suppose, yet futile. For I can predict your every move before you even consider it. You believe your skill enough to beat me regardless - a woeful misjudgment. For I am a supreme omniscient being and you, a mere mortal. Victory in chess could never be grasped by one so limited."

To emphasize his point, Cyon casually wagered another chip. His white knight shifted to square C3, joining a second knight and two pawns already mobilized for attack.

The board evaluator showed his position at +0.7 - a full point advantage when rounded. Accordingly, my entangling chains withdrew while Cyon's retracted none.

The tide had already turned against me.

Yet I remain undaunted. However exalted his status, I stand as the consummate chess master. Though commanding the disadvantage as black, I shall not be defeated.

I wagered four precious chips and shifted my black-squared bishop to B4, applying pressure to Cyon's position. Yet the evaluator showed the maneuver had overextended, scoring my move at -0.6.

When converted, this meant a loss of 2.4 chips, plus the 4 I had bet, totaling 6 chains withdrawn as Cyon gained 6 in turn. In mere minutes, my opponent had swung the game from his crushing early deficit to now lead me 65 chains to 63. Already the contest had grown difficult, but I steeled myself for greater struggles ahead.

Just then, an ominous declaration echoed through the endless void: "The true challenge of Hyperchain Chess begins now!"

My gut twisted at this ill news. Some new variable was about to be introduced, further stacking the odds against me.

The disembodied voice continued: "A new rule shall be implemented, effective immediately. Henceforth, any chains a player loses will simply vanish rather than transfer to his opponent. For instance, under the current standings of Cyon at 65 chains and myself at 63, if Cyon were to wager 10 chips next move and score +0.5, he would regain 5 chips while shedding the other 5 chains permanently. I would gain nothing from his loss. Thus, the resulting tally would be Cyon 60 chains and myself unchanged at 63."

I mulled over the implications of this twist.

Truly an uncommon and unwelcome turn this game had taken. Yet because I had anticipated the rules shifting against me, it meant the time had come to unveil my own stratagem, quietly put in motion from the very first move.