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" they were confused, including nate. but i certainly wasn't. i realized that i could do this. i could dominate the board without the alcohol. "
info - nate x fem reader - 1st person - y/n's and nate's perspectives - euphoria x the queen's gambit au! where there's euphoria characters incorporated in the queen's gambit. y/n is beth and nate is borgov - this oneshot represents the final chess match between borgov vs harmon - y/l/n - your last name - tw: mention of alcohol abuse
if you haven't caught on there's spoilers ahead! i recommend watching the queen's gambit btw if you haven't🤠
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moscow, russia, 1968
y/n's pov
the sunlight sliced in from the car window, illuminating against the fabric of my clothes. every once in a while, the light would disappear from the buildings passing by but then the heat would brush against my fingers once again. i stared out the window, deep in thought, while slightly swaying with every bump the car passes over.
today is the match of my life. the match i've been awaiting--nate jacobs. nate is a ussr grandmaster, a world champion that's one of a kind as he's never lost a game since he was six. there was a lot more pressure on me than i anticipated. of course being a woman didn't phase me as much as it did in the chess community but what really phased me was the daring question that every journalist and chess analyst has been pondering on.. is y/n, the only female child prodigy in the chess game, able to beat nate jacobs? will i be able to have a good enough strategy that will dominate the board like i've been able to? or will it end up the same way it did last time and i'll never be able to beat nate?
since last game's loss, of course my mental state went down the rabbit hole. i felt like i was out of place. when you lose in front of a crowd that was expecting you to win, even if you don't know them by heart, it still feels like you let them down. rumor after rumor of me being drunk and quitting chess aroused in the public eye and every camera pointed towards me also had interrogation aimed at my head in order to cause a storm.
chess is my only way of fitting in and seeing beauty within life. once i put my king down, it feels humiliating. but that humiliation and anger has driven me to where i am today. i am determined to beat nate.
no. i will beat the russians at their own game.
nate's pov
the big day is here. i'm up against her once and for all. y/n.
as i fixed my tie and looked at my suit in the mirror, i couldn't get her off my mind. what will happen today is unpredictable. i know i've been studying her moves all night as she's beat everyone so far. but that doesn't mean she hasn't learned from our last game.
