As General Sanchez marched his army down the rolling hills, he noticed a group of opposing forces near his position. A messenger had warned him that a battle was imminent if he stayed here.

But that was what he came for.

Squinting through his binoculars, he saw a familiar face.

"General Zhang! Hmph." he spat.

After the two armies met in a grassy field, the two generals sat down in a tent, protected from the bright lights of the afternoon.

"Greetings, General Sanchez." Formal greetings were the norm, along with a firm handshake.
"Fancy seeing you here," replied Sanchez.

General Zhang's brows darkened. "Do you think you even have a chance?"
Sanchez snarled in response. "Of course! I'll wipe the floor with you."
Upon hearing this, Zhang snickered and told his officers, "Remove the cannons from play. Retreat them back to base."

Sanchez could not believe his ears. Why would he purposefully weaken his army? Was this a sign of disrespect?

Zhang smiled at his foe's visible confusion. "Ah, this will be a fun battle. I'll see you through this one." With that, he left the tent.

Soon after General Sanchez returned to his army, the forces commenced the battle. The beginning was quiet, with barely any attacks and counters. It was as if the two forces were sizing each other up again, expecting their opponent to make the same advances as in previous games.

All seemed quiet until, suddenly, the Sanchez's infantry mounted a strong attack, trapping one of Zhang's mages. In return, Zhang swiftly threw his weight at Sanchez's entrenched position. The attack was repelled, but at the cost of some major forces along with his defensive position.

Chaos had broken loose. Platoons were falling left and right, working artillery destroyed by opposing forces in a moment's notice. By this moment, Sanchez slowly realized that Zhang had gained the upper hand, despite his lack of crucial cannons.

Amid this chaos, Zhang ordered his most powerful piece of artillery out into the open, in what appeared to be an incorrect instruction. Sanchez seized the opportunity to order what remained of his cavalry to destroy it.

His forces cherished the momentum and fought with renewed vigor, but when Sanchez took another look at his opponents' movements, he realized he had made a crucial mistake.

In a flash of unusual coordination, Zhang's cavalry and remaining mage ransacked Sanchez's position. Scrambling to escape, the general left much of his infantry behind and ushered his more crucial units to follow him.

However, this would do him no good. In a matter of minutes, Sanchez was surrounded and captured by enemy forces. He disgracefully surrendered and met with the opposing Zhang to discuss the terms of surrender.

---

"Good game," said Eric Zhang.

"Yeah, good game," replied Alfonso Sanchez.

"You didn't see the mate in 4 after the brilliant queen sacrifice?"

"No, I didn't. Tunnel vision."

"Ah, I hate it when that happens."

"Good game, you two," I say. Being the referee for this match was quite the experience. "Hope you guys do well in the rest of the tournament!"

They both thanked me, and I noticed that Eric had noted that crucial moment as "15. Qc4!! Nxc4??", and I hardly blamed him. It was quite the move, probably the most brilliant in the entire tournament, coming from one of the best players in the area.