I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 356 The third era of Go will surely be led by Yu Shao!
Japan, Tokyo.

"Higashiyama Kaoru, your move was brilliant. Iwagami Kenji's move was so solid, but you still managed to see through it."

A long-haired young man looked at the chessboard, shook his head, and said with self-deprecation, "I couldn't even think of this move. Only you could have figured it out. When will I be as good as you?"

"Go ahead and think about it."

Nearby, another young man in his twenties with dyed blond hair couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, saying, "That's why he's called Dongshan Xun. If everyone were Dongshan Xun, would we still have to worry about the Dragon Tiger Cup in a while?"

"Not only the Dragon Tiger Cup, but starting next month, one overseas chess tournament after another will begin."

Another slightly chubby young man with a buzz cut sighed and said, "Japan's performance in the past two years has been less than satisfactory. Last year, they lost to North and South Korea in the Dragon Tiger Cup, and were defeated by the Chinese team in the Oriental Cup. We have to work hard this year too."

A group of young people in their early twenties gathered together, reviewing the game and chatting. Higashiyama Kaoru was also sitting in the group, just staring at the chessboard without saying a word.

"Yes, we originally thought that with Higashiyama Kaoru on the team, the China-Japan-Korea team competition could turn things around, but unexpectedly, even the China-Japan-Korea team competition—"

Upon hearing the slightly chubby young man's words, the long-haired young man almost instinctively opened his mouth, but only halfway through his sentence did he realize that Higashiyama Kaoru was right there, and his voice suddenly stopped.

The long-haired youth looked somewhat embarrassed. After a moment, he said to Higashiyama Kaoru, "I'm sorry."

Upon hearing this, the others couldn't help but look up at Higashiyama Kaoru.

Higashiyama Kaoru remained calmly gazing at the chessboard before her, seemingly unaffected.

Everyone's feelings were mixed for a moment.

Strictly speaking, Japan's Go scene has achieved remarkable results in recent years, with many rising stars emerging and even defeating North and South Korea to win several international Go championships.

Although they have been defeated by China and South Korea before, overall, their performance has actually improved compared to the past.

In particular, there are exceptional geniuses like Higashiyama Kaoru, who at a young age have already made a name for themselves in the world of Go.

However, no one expected that China would have a Go player like Yu Shao who was in no way inferior to Higashiyama Kaoru. In fact, if judged solely by success or failure, since Yu Shao won that game, he would naturally surpass Higashiyama Kaoru.

More importantly, Yu Shao is not the only rising star in China; there is also Su Yiming, who is a prodigy who can rival Higashiyama Kaoru.

Not only did Higashiyama Kaoru lose to Yu Shao, but he also lost to Su Yiming in a private match after the game...

The originally relaxed atmosphere suddenly turned somewhat somber as everyone fell into an inexplicable silence.

Click.

Just then, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open, and everyone turned to look at the person. The tense atmosphere was instantly broken by the newcomer.

"Hikaru Takahashi, why are you only arriving now?"

The long-haired youth couldn't help but ask.

"After finishing my game at the Go Academy, I reviewed the game between Honinbo Shinho and Kim Si-woo, the Korean national champion."

The young man named Hikaru Takahashi smiled and explained, "So I'm sorry, I'm a little late."

"Oh, so it's that chess game."

The long-haired youth suddenly realized, clearly also knowing about that game of chess, and said with a smile, "That was indeed a beautiful game of chess, it made one's body heat up, it was very exciting."

"Yes, Honinbo Shingo's record against Kim Shi-woo wasn't actually that good, but this game was a good way to redeem himself."

Hikaru Takahashi nodded, then asked, "What are you doing?"

"Let's review the game that Higashiyama Kaoru played against Iwagami Ken 9-dan yesterday."

The slightly chubby young man asked, "Want to do a debriefing together?"

"Alright, you guys do the debriefing."

Hikaru Takahashi shook his head, and as he walked toward the desktop computer in the room, he said with a smile, "I just finished reviewing the game by Honinbo Shingo, and now I really want to play a game. Let's play one online."

"You still love to show off online."

One person couldn't help but joke, "His performance in real life isn't good, so he goes online to bully amateur players to satisfy his sense of accomplishment?"

"What are you saying, kid? Quite a few professional Go players play online, you know? I heard even Master An Hongshi plays online!"

Takahashi Hikaru rolled his eyes, quickly sat down in front of the computer chair, turned on the computer, and then entered his account and password to log in to the 19 Go platform.

Just as Takahashi Hikaru logged into the game and was about to match opponents, he suddenly paused, his hand moving the mouse stopping abruptly.

"Zhuang Weisheng, 10th Dan, no, Zhuang Weisheng, Tianyuan... National Masters Tournament?"

Hikaru Takahashi frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then swiped his mouse and clicked into the live stream.

"Have we gotten this far down?"

Takahashi Hikaru glanced at the board and, noticing that both sides had already made quite a few moves, finally began to examine the board carefully.

Then, when he saw the board freeze on White's last move, a sharp point, Takahashi Hikaru suddenly froze, staring at the board with his jaw dropped, his mind completely blank.

"So, Hikaru Takahashi, have you found an opponent yet?"

At this moment, the long-haired youth turned his head and joked with a smile, "I wonder which unlucky guy got matched with our Takahashi Hikaru 8-dan."

After the long-haired young man finished speaking, Takahashi Hikaru remained silent, staring blankly at the computer screen.

"Hikaru Takahashi?"

The long-haired youth looked at Takahashi Hikaru with some confusion, and immediately noticed the incredulous expression on Takahashi Hikaru's face, which made him feel a little surprised.

"what happened?"

The long-haired youth stood up, somewhat puzzled, and walked towards Takahashi Hikaru. He quickly came up behind Takahashi Hikaru and followed his gaze to the computer screen.

However, as the long-haired youth's gaze shifted to the computer screen, he was instantly and completely stunned!

"That move, the tip?"

At this moment, the others also noticed the two's unusual behavior. They looked at each other in surprise, then stood up and quickly came to stand behind Takahashi Hikaru, looking at the computer screen.

Soon, a deep look of disbelief quickly spread across everyone's faces. Even Higashiyama Kaoru, staring at the computer screen, was momentarily stunned.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

After a moment, someone finally reacted and exclaimed in disbelief, "That move, a sharp top?"

"This is the main tournament for national team players! How could anyone possibly pull such a stunt?"

"Where is the opponent?"

"Who is the opponent?!"

Only then did everyone look at the title of the live stream, and when they saw Zhuang Weisheng's opponent, everyone was instantly shocked!
"Zhuang Weisheng Tianyuan, yes—"

Higashiyama Kaoru's pupils contracted slightly as he stared intently at the computer screen, at the large characters in the live stream title.

"Yu Shao, third dan?!"

Everyone's expression subtly changed: "Zhuang Weisheng Tianyuan is playing chess with Yu Shao!?"

Even abroad, in the Go world, no one is unaware of Zhuang Weisheng's name. After all, the name Zhuang Weisheng is almost synonymous with Go!
And now, Zhuang Weisheng is playing chess with Yu Shao?

Moreover, Yu Shao also made this sharp move?
"The pointed roof style, although it has been around for a long time, but..."

After a long while, Takahashi Hikaru stared at the computer screen in disbelief and murmured, "This opening is universally acknowledged as a disadvantageous move for White, a major blunder, and it has been completely eliminated."

"Traditionally, it is believed that a pointed top is bad, firstly because after a pointed top, the opponent will develop a hard head in the middle, gaining thickness but losing variation."

"Secondly, it allows the opponent to form an ideal two-out-three formation, thus gaining an advantageous position on the side lanes."

"Thirdly, after the spike, there's still a 3-3 point in the corner that can't be defended, which is equivalent to a wasted effort, and the opponent might attack it later..."

There was silence all around.

Takahashi Hikaru didn't need to say it; as professional Go players, they knew it perfectly well!
Unless under specific circumstances, the spire should not be lowered!
However, Yu Shao still made the decision!
"why?"

The long-haired youth asked, "What's the point of this pointed roof? It doesn't make any sense!"

The surroundings remained silent, and no one answered.

Because the problem of long-haired youth is the problem of all of them!
why? !

This sharp point completely overturned their understanding!
After a long while, under the watchful eyes of the group, the black piece finally fell again on the computer screen.

Hey!
Six columns and four rows, so long!

"Teacher Zhuang Weisheng, you've made your move!"

Upon seeing this move, the slightly chubby young man couldn't help but exclaim.

The group of people were all intently focused on the chessboard, not even blinking.

Soon, the white pieces were placed again.

The clash between the black and white pieces on the board has intensified, with both sides refusing to give an inch and making every move a deadly strike, each move extremely severe!

Inside the chess room, Zhuang Weisheng stared at the chessboard, his gaze heavy with seriousness.

Although, judging from the situation, Black should have been in the lead the moment White played the pointed top, but...

Why do I feel such a strong sense of unease?

Zhuang Weisheng took a deep breath, glanced at Yu Shao, then picked up another chess piece and quickly placed it down.

The instant Zhuang Weisheng placed his piece, Yu Shao immediately grabbed a piece and placed it right after the black piece!

On the chessboard, black and white vie for supremacy!
"Teacher Zhuang Weisheng's moves were flawless, every move precise, firmly grasping the weakness of the point!" Watching the pieces fall continuously on the board, Takahashi Hikaru said without turning his head, "I feel White is in danger!"

"He won't just sit here and wait to die. Since he's made that move, he must have a backup plan! I don't believe Yu Shao is completely unprepared!"

Just then, from the crowd, Higashiyama Kaoru spoke up, his words ringing out.

"But Professor Zhuang Weisheng's prediction was too precise. How could anyone be prepared for that? Do you think he's going to overturn the established formula?"

Some people found it absurd and couldn't help but retort: ​​"This board position doesn't extend to the whole game, there aren't many variations, and although White played well, it doesn't seem like there are any follow-up moves!"

This question left Higashiyama Kaoru speechless for a moment. In the end, he just stared intently at the computer screen and said, "I can't tell, but I think he will definitely take some action!"

The black and white chess pieces remain tightly intertwined!
The flames of war continued to spread across this small chessboard, causing everyone to hold their breath.

"and many more!"

As he watched, Takahashi Hikaru suddenly seemed to notice something, and his body began to tremble slightly!
Not only him, but also several young men behind Gao Qiangguang were dumbfounded, staring in shock at the computer screen.

“Professor Zhuang Weisheng, every move you make is perfect, but…”

The young man who had just refuted Higashiyama Kaoru stared at the computer screen, his vision even becoming somewhat blurry. Sweat had seeped from his temples without him noticing, and the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't know how to start them!
As the game progresses, more and more previously overlooked details are gradually discovered by them!
"Looking back now, the previously shining black move of extending its head has become less efficient because of the stones on the side and the expansion on the second line!"

The young man with the buzz cut twitched his eyelids and said in shock, "And the black guy who was blocking the way didn't play any role at all; instead, he got closer to the thicker side!"

The slightly chubby boy swallowed hard and added, "White has only lost a move, but don't forget that White also gained a big advantage just now!"

"In other words, the three losses I mentioned earlier have actually turned into gains—"

Hikaru Takahashi patted his face, almost unable to believe his eyes: "All things considered, White has made a pure profit!"

"Why?!"

The long-haired youth looked shocked and puzzled: "If White had made some brilliant moves, that would be one thing, but looking at the whole game, White didn't make a single brilliant move, and Black made no mistakes either. Why? Why?!"

Everyone fell silent, their hearts filled with a profound shock. They didn't know how to answer, nor did they know the answer at all!

At this moment, from the crowd, Higashiyama Kaoru finally spoke slowly: "Order."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned and turned to look at Higashiyama Kaoru.

Higashiyama Kaoru stared at the computer screen in shock, having actually seen through the secret: "You have to be careful that the necessary order is for White to play the 'up' move the moment Black plays the 3-3 point. If White plays the 'up' move first and makes an exchange, Black might not play the 3-3 point and could attack in another way, such as by directly attacking the point!"

"Now let's reflect on the changes from the point to the 3-3 point. What was originally considered a disadvantageous move has now become a good move. After ignoring the opponent's initial move, we were able to defend successfully, and the opponent's opening moves became repetitive."

Sweat trickled down Higashiyama Kaoru's face. He swallowed hard and continued, "The most terrifying thing is that the spire always has to respond, and the following changes are basically—"

"There is absolutely no choice!"

....
....
San Francisco, California, USA.

"The cherubim have unleashed God's wrath!"

The blond man was almost in disbelief. He gripped his hair tightly, stared at the computer screen in utter shock, and shouted excitedly, "How is this possible?"

His view of Go seemed to collapse at this moment, and he was completely unable to remain calm!

"The pointed top must eventually be reached, right? Once it's pointed topped, there's no way to escape it, right? And the following changes are basically unavoidable, inevitable moves! They are all irresistible!"

"Could it be that the spire has become an irresistible force?"

"Could the terrifying trend of the future be that even if the opponent moves to a star position, they won't dare to use a corner position?!"

……

……

Jiangling, Nanbu Go Academy, reporter's office.

Ding Huan stared at the computer screen, took a deep breath, and excitedly began to write furiously.

"It's absolutely terrifying!"

"White's sharp point move is a move that has shocked the world. Almost everyone who sees this move will think, 'How common!'"

"Almost all Go teachers will tell their students that if you make a sharp move, it will allow your opponent's shape to expand, expose your own weaknesses in the corner, and even make it less efficient to solidify your local shape, which will result in severe criticism from your teacher!"

"When I saw this move, all I could think was—this is beyond my comprehension!"

"I'm afraid many people, like me, would think there was a mistake in the game record the moment this move appeared on the screen."

"But Yu Shao never cares about other people's opinions!"

"Because it was Yu Shao who made this move, a question couldn't help but arise in my mind: Is it possible to play like this here?! Is the pointed top the correct move?"

"White has given the answer!"

"In this game of chess, Yu Shao once again performed a magnificent show, like a magician!"

"When the game reached this point, all the positions that were traditionally considered to be bad for White were completely reversed!"

"From initial incomprehension to current shock and enjoyment, I simply don't know how to express the complex emotions I feel right now!"

"On the road to improving our Go skills, we all need to go through a learning process, learning joseki, opening strategies, board shapes, directions, and so on!"

"Once we have mastered this knowledge, we also need to learn how to apply it flexibly, but that's not enough to reach the level of a master!"

"Because in the process of learning, what we learn can also stifle our creativity!"

"Therefore, the real challenge is to break free from all previous knowledge, integrate one's own thoughts into the game, and get rid of the so-called 'right' and 'wrong' concepts in order to find the essence of Go, which is—"

"The connections and functions between the children!"

"Perhaps only in this way can we reach the state of 'no moves are better than moves' that we talk about!"

"Yu Shao's chess moves are never bound by preconceived notions; everything is decided by the outcome, which makes it easier for him to play creative moves!"

"In the history of Go, I personally believe that there are two periods that are of decisive significance!"

"The first section is about the ancient era of Go. At that time, Go was still in a primitive stage. There were not many fixed patterns. From the initial move to the even move, there was no komi. It was an era where only small points could be played!"

"And Shen Yi is a master of ancient chess!"

"His extraordinary achievement is not only that he has never been defeated since the age of twenty-three, but more importantly, that he has taken this path to its end, completely integrating all his past knowledge of Go, pushing the ancient game to its limits, and reaching a level that no one can surpass!"

"It was only after Shen Yi's death that Go adopted the komi rule, which continues to this day. Shen Yi is essentially the founder of modern Go!"

"Because of Shen Yi, few people are putting effort into the mid-game battles. More and more players are starting to study the opening and innovate, and the opening of Go is beginning to flourish!"

"The layouts we are familiar with, such as the double star and the star with small eyes, became popular after that!"

"However, many standard opening patterns and local formations in Go still remain in a completely theoretical world."

"The second section, the Japan-Korea era."

"This era doesn't necessarily refer to a single person. It started with Japanese and Korean Go players who boldly changed modern opening sequences, moves that were initially labeled as 'clumsy' or 'bad'!"

"However, facts speak louder than words. With in-depth research into board positions, a large number of old joseki have been eliminated. We have found that many old joseki are valid only because masters have played them before. Often, many variations have fatal weaknesses!"

"In a sense, this also freed us from constraints, allowing us to create many new patterns and layouts, such as the Unborn Flow and the Three Stars!"

"Ultimately, we are more willing to try new things. This should be a leap forward in our understanding of the local aspects of Go!"

"It is precisely because of this that after Shen Yi, Japanese and Korean players began to rise in large numbers, and now they occupy the top two positions in the world Go rankings!"

"However, with the rapid development and progress of the internet, the gap between Go players is getting smaller and smaller, and it is becoming more and more difficult to try and innovate. We still have a lot of basic theoretical knowledge that is hard to overcome. But Go is too vast and complex, more than the total number of atoms in the universe!"

Were all our previous theories correct?

"I didn't know this before, and I didn't know it at all. If most people think it's right, then it's right; if they think it's wrong, then it's wrong."

"After Yu Shao, a question began to emerge in my mind: Is what we've always thought was right really right?"

"While reviewing Yu Shao's game records, I realized that things were no longer certain!"

What we thought was right turned out to be wrong, and what we thought was wrong turned out to be right!

"Yu Shao has taken this step, starting from the 33 point, to overturning the Demon Blade, Avalanche, severing the Great Slant, and now this Sharp Point!"

"When I saw this move, I even wondered, is it no longer possible to play the star point approach move?!"

"I don't think so. It's definitely possible to get rid of it, otherwise Yu Shao wouldn't have used the 'star position hanging in the corner' method. But if the 'star position hanging in the corner' method can be used to get rid of it, how should one deal with the 'sharp top' method in the interview?"

"I don't know. Let's leave this question to the professional players!"

"Although Yu Shao has only been a professional Go player for less than a year, his extraordinary talent has already attracted worldwide attention and surpassed all the Go players I know!"

"Although Yu Shao is still young, regardless of his skill level, what he has accomplished is something that many great chess players could not achieve in their entire lives!"

"Perhaps Yu Shao can help us create the third leap in the history of Go!"

"Be bold in trying moves outside of our traditional Go theories, and play moves that are completely free for yourself!"

"Seeing this world-shaking move, I can only pay tribute to Yu Shao! I am willing to kneel down in respect to the player who made this move!"

"If Go has a third era, I think—"

"It must be Yu Shao who's in charge!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)