Triggerfish Tuesday: Anyone but Sven…

Sven’s reputation has now spread across the Helderberg Chess Club far and wide. The result? Active resistance. People weren’t just “busy.” They were strategically unavailable. Refusing to play him has become a coordinated survival tactic. And honestly, fair enough — playing Sven lately feels like stepping in front of a steamroller and hoping it runs out of fuel.

Reggie arrived bright and early, keen, ready, motivated.

Until Naomi suggested he play Sven.

His face dropped. Arms folded. He calmly relocated himself to the chessboard furthest away from Sven — as if physical distance might reduce the pairing probability. He refused. Firmly.
Naomi went to order a drink. When she returned, Sven and Reggie were sitting at separate tables avoiding eye contact. Not playing each other. Not playing anyone. An impressive display of avoidance logistics.

Then Clive arrived. And suddenly Reggie was thrilled. Old rival detected. Their games usually resemble a seesaw, though history suggests Clive often edges the balance in his favor. Naturally, they locked in immediately.

Frederik Louw made a rare appearance, and Sven’s face lit up like someone had just volunteered tribute.

But no.

Frederik also refused. His reasoning? “I’ve already played too many games against Sven.” A technical excuse, but still an excuse.

So Naomi stepped in and had a couple of lively, hard-fought games against Frederik instead.
Fortunately for Sven, Tian showed up with zero fear and genuine enthusiasm. He’s been working hard on improving and came armed with questions — middlegame plans, positional ideas, where things go wrong and why they collapse. Between moves, there was analysis, discussion, and plenty of “what should I have done here?” It was less a match and more a live coaching seminar.

After two games with Frederik, Naomi tried to pair Tian against him — but Tian was still deep in conversation with Sven, dissecting positions like a man on a mission.

Eventually, he dragged himself away.
Which meant it was Naomi’s turn to face Sven.

Meanwhile, she had ordered edamame beans — quickly discovering that although everything on the Triggerfish menu is excellent, she is not, in fact, a rabbit. Even Sven, who had previously vowed to try every starter on the menu, took one look and made a counter-vow: everything BUT the beans.

So there Naomi sat, crunching away unhappily, loudly protesting her position on the board and generously offering Sven the remainder of her beans as a peace offering.
He declined.
The beans were rejected.
The position was rejected.
Naomi was crushed.
A quiet night.
Selective bravery.
Strategic avoidance.

And somehow, despite the resistance movement, Sven still got his wins to solidify his position at the top of the ClashOTB leaderboard.