I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 362 The Final Opponent
Not only in the United States, but also in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and even all over the world, Go players are discussing this national tournament and reviewing every move made by both sides in this game.

If the 3-3 point move was a move that advanced the progress of Go, then with the emergence of this sharp point move, all the moves Yu Shao had made before were like a long-accumulated flood that completely broke through the dam and swept across the entire Go world!
"The emergence of Yu Shao has brought about a major upheaval in the Go world, one that has never been seen in a thousand years!"

"All previous moves have been challenged, and the value judgment of Go has been overturned like never before!"

"Was the betting method we previously thought was correct really correct? Was the betting method we previously thought was wrong really wrong?"

Countless questions plagued everyone, making this a sleepless night.

Therefore, the attention on the main tournament of the National Masters Tournament is getting higher and higher. The National Masters Tournament has entered its final stage, and the next game will determine who can enter the final title challenge!
On the other hand, due to Yu Shao's influence, Su Yiming's Grand Chess Tournament has also attracted much attention, and everyone still vividly remembers the battle between Su Yiming and Yu Shao in the Yingjiao Cup.

Therefore, almost everyone is curious about how far Su Yiming can go in the grand chess tournament.

Time flew by, and three days later, the Grand Chess Tournament finally resumed!

……

……

Hands talking indoors.

Beneath the calligraphy scroll that reads "Sitting and Discussing the Dao" hanging high above, Zhang Dongchen and Su Yiming sat facing each other.

"The person who wins this game will advance to the winners' bracket final."

Zhang Dongchen looked at the chessboard, feeling slightly nervous and uneasy, with beads of sweat already seeping from his forehead.

As sweat slowly slid down his cheeks, Zhang Dongchen used the towel he carried with him to wipe the beads of sweat from his face.

"The loser will fall into the loser's bracket..."

He had participated in far too many title matches and knew very well that once he entered the loser's bracket, it was much harder to climb out of the pile of corpses than to go on a winning streak in the winner's bracket.

Because the players in the losers' bracket only have one last chance, and for this chance, they will really use every trick in the book and fight tooth and nail.

"If I can win the Grand Chess Tournament, I will have two titles. For me, this is a new breakthrough, but for him, it is also the first time he has come so close to a title."

At this moment, Su Yiming, who was sitting opposite Zhang Dongchen, did not look relaxed either, but his eyes remained calm throughout as he stared at the chessboard in front of him.

After a moment, Su Yiming finally reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece, and slowly placed it down.

Hey!
The crisp sound of a piece being placed immediately echoed in the game room.

Seeing Su Yiming's move after a long period of thought, Zhang Dongchen's gaze darkened slightly.

"We both really want to win this game, no matter what."

"In order to win this game, I even studied many of Shen Yi's game records carefully, but when I actually played against him, he gave me a completely different feeling from Shen Yi."

"It has Shen Yi's spirit, but it is not Shen Yi..."

"No, or rather, the current him is even different from the one in the previous chess records. Although they are similar, he has changed!"

Nearby, the notators and referees held their breath, craning their necks and nervously watching the chessboard not far away.

Just then, the door to the game room was gently pushed open. Although the movement was very light, the door still made a slight "creaking" sound.

The notarizer and the two judges were interrupted from their thoughts and subconsciously turned their heads to look at the door of the game room.

A man in his early thirties, wearing a black suit, with thick eyebrows, a wide nose, and black-rimmed glasses, slowly walked into the game room.

"Master Chess Player Fu Shunan..."

The music notator and the two judges were startled and immediately recognized the newcomer.

Fu Shunan glanced at the two players who were playing chess, then silently walked to the referee's seat and looked up at the chessboard.

“I have fought Zhang Dongchen more than once, and I know his strength better than anyone. But Su Yiming… apart from the Battle of the Torch, I have never played a single game with him.”

"Su Yiming, like Yu Shao, became a professional last year. Yu Shao just defeated Zhuang Weisheng in the main tournament of the National Championships, but now he seems unable to put much pressure on Zhang Dongchen."

"As expected, there is still a gap in chess skills between Su Yiming and Yu Shao."

Just then, with a creak, the door to the game room was gently pushed open again, and a man in his thirties wearing square-framed glasses walked into the game room.

He glanced at the two players in the game, then looked at Fu Shunan, and silently walked to Fu Shunan's side, also beginning to observe the game.

"Nan Lixuan, 9th Dan, is here too..."

Fu Shunan glanced at the newcomer, then quickly looked away, returning his gaze to the chessboard. He thought to himself, "In all these years, this is the first time he's reached the final round of the title match, and the closest he's ever come to the title..."

Nan Lixuan crossed his arms, staring at the chessboard, his expression becoming somewhat solemn.

"The two sides are still evenly matched."

"Since Su Yiming might be my opponent in the next round, I must find out his background."

"It's been more than ten years since he became a professional at the age of fourteen. He has gone through many hardships and finally made it to the last round of the title match. But he only became a professional last year... He is truly a promising young talent."

Time passed second by second, and four or five minutes went by. Zhang Dongchen still hadn't made a move. He stared intently at the chessboard, his expression becoming more and more focused, as he had already calculated the subsequent changes.

"If we jump away directly, it will be very difficult. It's definitely better to cut off the attack!"

"If you want to build a wall, then I'll build one for you!"

Zhang Dongchen's eyes turned colder, and he finally picked up a chess piece and quickly placed it down.

"bring it on!"

Hey!
Place the chess piece on the board!
Fourteen columns and ten rows, a pincer attack!

Upon seeing this move, both Fu Shunan and Nan Lixuan's expressions changed simultaneously.

The recorder standing nearby was also startled and immediately moved the mouse to record the move.

"What a powerful move!"

Fu Shunan stared at the chessboard, already sensing the tense atmosphere surrounding it.

"If White simply holds back against this pincer attack, it may relieve the immediate crisis, but it will be difficult to escape later. Even if White moves outwards, it will likely be attacked by Black!"

Fu Shunan couldn't help but glance at Su Yiming, his gaze becoming heavier: "That game at the Yingjiao Cup was indeed amazing, the game that produced such a storm was truly astonishing."

"But in that game he played against Chang Yan a while ago, his performance was just average. Although he won in the end... if that's his level, then he's nothing to be afraid of!"

The atmosphere inside the game room became tense and oppressive.

Everyone was waiting for Su Yiming to respond to Zhang Dongchen's extremely fierce pincer attack!
"..."

After a moment, Su Yiming finally reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece amidst the clattering of the pieces, and quickly placed it down!

Hey!
Eight columns and twelve rows, turn!
Upon seeing this move, Fu Shunan and Nan Lixuan were slightly taken aback at first, and then, in the next second, their expressions began to change drastically!

"Take a turn?!"

Nan Lixuan was incredulous, his heart skipped a beat: "To play like that, it's unbelievable... If Black ignores the move, White will probably cut it off directly!" Fu Shunan was also a little thirsty, staring intently at the chessboard: "I can't figure out how Black should respond at all!"

Not only them, but Zhang Dongchen also looked at the chessboard and saw this move. His eyelids twitched involuntarily, and his expression immediately turned ugly!

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Inside the game room, both sides moved their pieces with lightning speed!
……

……

"ended."

Yu Shao stared at the chessboard on the computer screen and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Zhang Dongchen misjudged the situation and ultimately lost the game. That one 'bend' was the key to victory."

As Yu Shao recalled the game, he seemed to recall every move made by both sides: "If Zhang Dongchen had seen that turn, he wouldn't have played the pincer attack."

"Without that pincer attack, there would have been no need for the 'bending' move, and Zhang Dongchen wouldn't have fallen into a disadvantage so easily."

Yu Shao's expression gradually became serious.

"But the problem is that... not only Zhang Dongchen, but I also didn't see that move at all."

Seeing this game of chess, Yu Shao felt a sense of threat and pressure from the bottom of his heart.

"Sure enough, he has become stronger."

A moment later, Yu Shao shook his head, composed himself, and turned off the live stream.

Su Yiming's performance in this major game will surely cause a great sensation, after all, another current title holder has been defeated by a professional player who just became a professional last year.

But all of this is irrelevant to him now. The final round of the National Players Tournament is about to begin in a few days!

Currently, besides him, only a few players remain in the main tournament of the National Players Tournament. The winner of the loser's bracket will face him for a chance to qualify for the title challenge.

The difference is that, as the winner of the winners' bracket, he has two chances. Even if he loses the first game, the losers' bracket champion will still need to play another game to qualify for the challenger tournament.

Based on past experience with the title match, the winner of the upper bracket has a greater chance of qualifying for the challenger tournament because they have more room for error and a better mentality.

However, there are also examples of loser bracket champions who unleash their power in dire circumstances, ultimately securing a spot in the challenger tournament, or even becoming unstoppable in winning the title.

Currently, only four players remain in the losers' bracket of the National Tournament: Li Congyou 8-dan, Zhuang Weisheng Tianyuan, Deng Junchen 9-dan, and Chen Shan 9-dan.

In the previous round of the losers' bracket, Zhu Xinyuan faced Zhuang Weisheng, but unfortunately, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

"All three of them are familiar faces. I wonder who our final opponent will be."

Yu Shao thought for a moment, then shook his head, finding it difficult to judge.

The players who have made it this far may have slightly different skill levels, but the difference is not too great, or even very small. It is difficult to predict the outcome of a game, as the uncertainty of Go is simply too great.

The next day, the semifinals of the losers' bracket of the National Players Tournament finally came to a close.

Zhuang Weisheng Tianyuan, yes, Chen Shan 9-dan!

Li Congyou is an 8th dan, yes, Deng Junchen is a 9th dan!
In the first game, Zhuang Weisheng and Chen Shan played the "Rainstorm" opening move, and the two sides went through an extremely fierce battle. The game was finally decided in the middle game, with Zhuang Weisheng winning by killing the dragon.

In the second game, Li Congyou gained a certain advantage through exchanges and invasions, then steadily controlled the board and eventually brought the game to a close, resulting in Deng Junchen's narrow defeat by two points.

The loser's bracket final will be Zhuang Weisheng versus Li Congyou!
the next day.

Yu Shao got up early in the morning, had breakfast, and then watched the entire game between Zhuang Weisheng and Li Congyou in the hotel.

"It's over."

Yu Shao stared at the computer screen, his eyes filled with a somewhat inscrutable expression.

"My opponent for the next round has been decided!"

……

……

the other side.

After leaving the chess room, Li Congyou quickly walked out of the Eastern Chess Academy and found his car in the parking space outside the academy, where he got into the driver's seat.

Li Congyou fastened his seatbelt and was about to drive off, but his heart was still pounding, and the chess game he had just finished kept replaying in his mind.

In this state, it's impossible to drive.

Finally, Li Congyou let out a long sigh of relief, remained silent for a moment, then took out his phone from his pocket, opened his contacts, found a familiar name, and dialed the number.

After a busy signal, the call was finally connected.

"Hello? Li Congyou?"

On the other end of the phone, Zhu Huai'an's voice came through: "What's wrong?"

"The title match losers' bracket main event has ended."

Li Congyou remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"I know, I participated in the Hokkaido Cup in Japan. The competition just ended, and I'm about to check the results."

Zhu Huai'an said with a smile: "In last year's Tianyuan Tournament, you lost to Teacher Zhuang Weisheng in the winners' bracket final and fell into the losers' bracket. Then you lost to Teacher Feng He and finally stopped in the losers' bracket semi-finals."

"In the Grand Chess Tournament two years ago, you lost to Teacher Fu Shunan in the first round. After finally making it to the loser's bracket final, you lost to Teacher Kong Zi."

Zhu Huai'an continued, his tone slightly teasing, "And the year before last, you fought your way to the tenth dan challenge, only to lose to Teacher Jiang Changdong in the end."

"How's it going this year? Another half-step title, is it?"

Upon hearing Zhu Huai'an's words, Li Congyou remained silent for a long time before a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. He then spoke, "Today, my opponent is Teacher Zhuang Weisheng. This game of chess—"

"I won!"

Upon hearing Li Congyou's somewhat cold tone, Zhu Huai'an immediately fell silent.

After a long silence, Zhu Huai'an finally said, "So, Yu Shao's opponent is you again?"

"I will definitely get the title, Zhu Huai'an."

Li Congyou seemed to have made up his mind, and said in a firm tone, "No matter who my opponent is, I will definitely defeat him, and no one can stop me!"

"You already have the titles of 10-dan and Kisei, so I'm determined to win the national champion title this year!"

Li Congyou's eyes were sharp as he stared ahead, his mind replaying the game of chess he had just played, recalling every move he had made with all his might and unleashed his full power!

"No one, no one!"

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)