I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 368 National Players
Yu Shao left the chess academy and quickly returned to the hotel, where he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We've made it into the challenger tournament, and next... it'll be the final title match."

Yu Shao stared at the AI-controlled game he had set up on the hotel table, his expression complex. He murmured softly, "Without realizing it, I'm back in this familiar spot..."

In his past life, he had experienced title matches more than once. It was a best-of-seven game, and he still remembers it vividly. Every move in those seven games is still deeply imprinted in his mind.

He was the same age he is now, seventeen. It was a tough battle. He and his opponent fought to a 3-3 tie, and finally the winner was decided in the deciding game.

"Although we're the same age, some things are completely different..."

Yu Shao stared at the chessboard, his feelings complicated.

In his past life, he was known for his unwavering composure and ability to calmly and steadily annex territory. Through encroachment and transformation, he could surround the land invisibly, ultimately subduing the enemy without a fight.

In this life, however, he has taken a completely different approach and reached this point again.

This is a path that excels in attack and killing, seeking victory and perilous opportunities by focusing on the strength and weakness of pieces, the struggle for survival and the fight for control of isolated pieces, and the struggle between life and death.

Now, he is moving towards the place he once stood in, in a completely opposite manner!

This would have been unimaginable for anyone in their previous life.

Now he has almost completely adapted to this new style of play, and has been transformed into a completely new player.

"I can clearly feel that I am much stronger now than when I first started playing this kind of chess. If it were me in the past, I would definitely lose this game today."

Yu Shao finally turned his gaze away from the chessboard and looked out the window.

"How far can I go with this attitude?"

"Can you make up for your shortcomings, surpass your past self, and finally reach a realm that you never reached in your past life?"

Just then, the sudden ringing of a cell phone interrupted Yu Shao's thoughts.

Yu Shao picked up his phone and glanced at it. He was slightly surprised when he saw the caller's name.

Ma Zhengyu?
What did Ma Zhengyu want when he called?
Yu Shao quickly answered the phone and asked, "Hello? Chairman Ma?"

"Yu Shao?"

Ma Zhengyu's voice immediately came from the other end of the phone, sounding somewhat excited: "I watched that game today, it was absolutely amazing! Congratulations on qualifying for the National Masters Challenge!"

"Thank you."

Yu Shao smiled and thanked him.

"Hahaha, truly heroes emerge from among the young! The younger generation is indeed formidable!"

Ma Zhengyu sounded very excited. After all, each region was competing with each other. Yu Shao was a player from the Southern Region. Now that Yu Shao had entered the title challenge match, he was naturally proud.

"It's already incredible that you've made it to the Challenger Series. If you actually win the title, the world will be turned upside down!"

Ma Zhengyu said cheerfully, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself in the National Masters Challenge. After all, there are three games. I hope to see an even more brilliant performance from you in the National Masters Challenge!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Shao couldn't help but smile and replied, "Okay, I will do my best."

"I believe in you, you can do it."

On the other end of the phone, Ma Zhengyu said with a smile, "By the way, now that you've made it into the challenge, there are a few things I need to tell you."

Yu Shao paused for a moment, then quickly said, "Please speak."

"In the National Masters Challenge, each game will be held in a different location. You will also be accommodated in a five-star luxury hotel. During the competition, the organizers will prepare local delicacies, which Go media generally refer to as the 'victory or defeat meal.'"

Ma Zhengyu joked, "The first game will be held in the capital, so I'll have to trouble you to fly over there."

"No, it's not troublesome at all. I'm willing to take on this trouble."

Yu Shao asked with a smile, "Besides this, are there any others?"

"Furthermore, before the challenge, we will need your cooperation in filming a promotional video."

Ma Zhengyu continued, "After all, the title match is the highest level of competition in China, so a promotional video is definitely going to be filmed, which might be a bit troublesome."

Hearing this, Yu Shao was not surprised.

He had also heard of promotional videos for Go competitions.

This didn't exist in my previous life, but in this world, Go is the biggest board game. Tournaments of the title level attract worldwide attention, and promotional videos are inevitably produced.

For some major world championships, like the FIFA World Cup, they even invite famous singers to sing the theme song.

There was a Go World Championship theme song that went viral one year and it still frequently appears on karaoke charts.

What are the main themes of the promotional video?

Yu Shao thought for a moment and asked, "I'm worried that I'm not very good at this."

"Haha, you don't need to worry about that."

Ma Zhengyu clearly knew what Yu Shao was worried about, and explained with a smile: "Who asks chess players to act? I know you're not good at it. Don't worry, you won't even have any lines. You'll just sit in front of the chessboard and play chess."

"The purpose of shooting a promotional video is mainly to highlight the atmosphere of a showdown. By using background music and lighting, we can create the feeling of a peak showdown. The finished video is only about a minute long. You can find past title battle promotional videos online to watch. It's actually quite simple."

"Also, the director who will be shooting the promotional video for you is a big name."

Ma Zhengyu paused here, leaving the conversation in suspense, and didn't finish his sentence.

"What big director?"

Yu Shao couldn't help but smile, but still cooperated by asking Ma Zhengyu.

"Have you seen 'Red Floating'? The director of 'Red Floating' is in charge of filming the promotional video for this year's National Players Tournament." Ma Zhengyu's tone was tinged with barely suppressed pride.

Hearing this, Yu Shao was genuinely surprised.

"Red Drifters" is a world-renowned film, and he naturally watched it. The director also won many domestic and international awards for this film and is one of the most sought-after directors in China.

"They hired this big-name director just to shoot a promotional video?"

Yu Shao couldn't help but wonder.

"Please? Yu Shao, third dan, watch your words!"

Ma Zhengyu couldn't help but chuckle and boasted, "Every year when we shoot promotional videos for the title battles, a bunch of big-name directors volunteer to shoot them. They don't even need money. Being able to shoot a promotional video for a title battle is equivalent to recognition of a director's skill."

"Approval? Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Shao couldn't help but click his tongue, feeling that this was a bit of an exaggeration.

"You need to understand, this is a title match in China. A title match between China, Japan, and South Korea symbolizes the highest level of Go in the world!"

Ma Zhengyu said with some pride, "Although almost every country has its own title match, only the title match between China, Japan, and South Korea attracts the world's attention!" "Chairman Ma, you're putting a lot of pressure on me by saying that."

Yu Shao said with a smile.

"Pressure? What pressure? You've only been a professional Go player for a year! You've come this far, even if you lose in the end, it's still a great achievement, not to mention your Go skills are so strong."

Ma Zhengyu's tone suddenly became serious. After a pause, he said, "Ding Huan once told me that a new era of Go is coming, and you will be the leader of this new era of Go."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shao was taken aback.

Ma Zhengyu took a deep breath and continued, "To be honest, I thought this statement was too exaggerated before, and I still felt to some extent that you weren't up to the task."

"It's not that I don't think highly of you, it's just that this statement is really too big."

Upon hearing Ma Zhengyu's words, Yu Shao was momentarily speechless.

Ma Zhengyu continued speaking to himself:
"There are only two eras in Go. One is Shen Yi, who was the master of ancient Go. Since Shen Yi brought ancient Go to its peak, the komi system has gradually taken shape."

"The second era was the Japanese and Korean era, when the komi system became the rule, more and more opening strategies began to flourish, and the research on Go became more and more in-depth."

"The Third Era..."

"Even though I have high hopes for you and am amazed by every game you play, I still feel in my heart, what makes you so special? The thought of someone close to me suddenly being associated with this kind of topic gives me a strong sense of unreality."

"Maybe everyone has this problem: they want to see the people around them doing well, but they don't want them to do too well. So I'm a little resistant to this kind of statement from the bottom of my heart. I feel it's a bit too much praise."

Ma Zhengyu couldn't help but smile as he spoke: "However, after watching today's game, my opinion has changed."

"You made it really well."

"Although I'm old enough to be your father, I've inexplicably developed a longing for you."

"I've seen far too many games, so many games that others find exciting no longer hold my attention."

"But your chess is different."

"Every move you make is awe-inspiring, and I am deeply captivated by the mystery of each move. I want to keep watching, and keep watching forever."

"Therefore, I am finally certain that Ding Huan was right, and I have seen a new era of Go!"

……

……

On the other side, in Donghai City.

Jiang Changdong stared at the chessboard in front of him for a long time before finally speaking, "Li Congyou has lost. Next..."

Jiang Changdong paused for a moment before continuing, "Only I'm left."

Sitting opposite Jiang Changdong, Chu Jingfeng did not respond, continuing to stare at the chessboard in front of him.

"He went too far here."

Jiang Changdong stretched out his hand, pointed to a black piece on the chessboard, and said, "Here, instead of reinforcing the piece, he directly ignores it, confident that White has no options in the center."

"Or rather, he believed that even if White had a way, he could find a way to use a dead piece."

"He had played this way many times in his previous games, and this move, which was always considered excessive, ultimately proved to be astonishingly correct."

Jiang Changdong slowly began to speak: "However, today's game is different."

He was wrong.

Jiang Changdong then pointed to another white stone and slowly said, "White's digging here is undoubtedly a stroke of genius that has shocked the world, causing a dramatic reversal of the board. Black cannot really find a way to capture a dead stone."

"If Black hadn't gone so far as to ignore the first move earlier, White wouldn't have had a chance. His moves were too aggressive, too intense, and lacked finesse."

Jiang Changdong seemed to be talking to himself, yet also to Chu Jingfeng: "Yu Shao's chess completely breaks with convention, often exceeding everyone's expectations, such as the 3-3 point, the 'Demon Blade' move, and the 'point' move..."

"Because these things were eventually proven one by one, almost all chess players, including myself, are now in a state of self-doubt."

"Was what we once thought was right really right?"

"After seeing Yu Shao's moves, we realized that these things are no longer certain!"

"Is what we believe to be right actually right or wrong?"

"What we thought was right before may not be right, and the heavens may be wrong. For a Go player, this is almost a collapse of his view of Go. Does that mean that all the Go games we played before were wrong?"

"If a player has studied Go for twenty years, the appearance of Yu Shao will almost overturn all the things he has learned in those twenty years. For example, he will come to two completely opposite conclusions when judging the situation on a board."

"For example, on the same board, some people might think that Black is the one who should attack, but in Yu Shao's view, White might be the one who should attack."

"Because Yu Shao has never lost a single game of chess until now, we can only conclude that Yu Shao is right."

"Because of this strong self-doubt and the lack of a standard answer, many chess players are hesitant and unable to exert their full strength when facing Yu Shao."

"However, today's game has finally proven one thing."

"He is right in some ways, but he is wrong in others!"

"Today's game has finally proven that such an excessive approach is not correct. This overly unreasonable approach provoked an overly complex battle, and ultimately—"

"They will receive the punishment they deserve!"

Upon hearing Jiang Changdong's words, Chu Jingfeng remained silent for a moment before suddenly speaking and asking, "That's indeed the case in this game, but you didn't see Li Congyou's digging move at that time, Teacher Jiang Changdong."

"If we hadn't made that move, perhaps Yu Shao was right. He overlooked that move, or rather, everyone overlooked that move except for Li Congyou."

"Otherwise, this move wouldn't be being discussed so much online."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Changdong did not deny it, but nodded and said, "That is indeed a move worth remembering, but in my opinion, the extraordinary nature of this move is not just the move itself."

"But the key is that this move finally uncovered Yu Shao's mistake!"

Jiang Changdong slowly reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece, and then quickly placed it down.

"I really didn't see that digging; only those directly involved can see the intricacies of the market."

"So let's settle this in the title match!"

"I'm waiting for that day!"

P.S.: I'm really frustrated because everyone has mentioned that I can't distinguish between black and white in everyday writing... You might not know this, but when I'm writing, I have to switch perspectives repeatedly, so I end up not being able to distinguish between black and white, and I can't even check it myself.

I've watched Go matches and commentaries, and other people often have this problem too (laughing and crying). Is there any good way to solve it?
　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)