I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 372 National Player Challenge

China, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea...

People all over the world are watching this upcoming best-of-three match!

As everyone eagerly awaited the match, time marched on, and the National Players Challenge entered its final countdown. Online discussions about the National Players Challenge also increased.

However, as the time came to 8 a.m., with less than two hours left before the match, the discussions gradually subsided, and countless people flocked to the live stream to wait.

The number of viewers in the official live stream of the National Players Tournament began to climb at an astonishing rate, with the number of viewers in the domestic live streams alone reaching an astonishing ten million, and this does not even include other live streams.

It's important to know that besides the official live stream, there are many other live streams where professional Go players are observing this match. If you count the number of viewers in all the live streams, it would probably be an extremely terrifying number!

Finally, at nine o'clock in the morning, Yu Shao was dressed and quickly left the hotel, went to the Northern Chess Academy, and then headed towards the game room.

Not long after, Yu Shao finally arrived at the door of the game room and gently pushed it open.

Inside the chess room, not only were the referees and notaries all present, but Jiang Changdong was also already seated on one side of the chess table. Upon hearing the door open, everyone looked up towards the entrance.

Under everyone's gaze, Yu Shao walked to the chess table in the center of the game room, quickly came to the opposite side of Jiang Changdong, pulled out a chair, and slowly sat down.

The two sat facing each other, and the room was completely silent.

One of the referees looked at the two sitting opposite each other and, for some reason, felt a bit of pressure, so he took a deep breath.

"One is Mr. Jiang Changdong, who has been famous for a long time, experienced countless battles, and has a great reputation in the world of chess."

He glanced at Jiang Changdong, then turned to look at Yu Shao.

"The other one is a professional Go player who just became a professional last year, but has reached the title challenger tournament at an astonishing speed and is regarded as a genius who is leading a new era of Go!"

"This match is bound to shake the world of chess!"

The referee thought to himself, "What will the final outcome be? Who will emerge victorious?"

Squeak.

Just then, the door to the game room was pushed open again.

The referee and the scorekeeper were both slightly taken aback, and then immediately looked towards the door of the game room again, where they saw Zhuang Weisheng walk into the game room.

"Teacher Zhuang Weisheng? Isn't he at the Central Chess Academy?"

Upon seeing that it was Zhuang Weisheng, the referee looked slightly surprised: "So you came here specifically to watch this game?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he saw another person following closely behind Zhuang Weisheng into the game room.

Upon seeing this person, the referee's eyes widened instantly, an expression of disbelief appearing on his face, and his body almost instinctively tried to stand up.

"An...An Hongshi, the Go Master!"

Not only him, but another judge and notary also couldn't hide the shock on their faces when they saw An Hongshi arrive.

"Why is Go Master An Hongshi here?!"

Even Jiang Changdong couldn't help but frown slightly upon seeing An Hongshi's arrival.

As one of the few chess players in the world who can rival An Hongshi, he and An Hongshi are old rivals. An Hongshi's arrival today was also unexpected for him.

Yu Shao was also somewhat surprised to see An Hongshi. Although this was the first time he had met An Hongshi, he was already quite familiar with him.

Someone on Zhihu once asked who the strongest Go player in history was.

There are various answers to this question, and everyone has a different idea of ​​who the strongest Go player is.

The most upvoted answer was—

"This question is too easy to stir up hatred. Everyone has a different idea of ​​the strongest player. For example, someone who likes to watch the kind of grand, dramatic battles might not like the kind of solid, solid playing style."

"Those who appreciate the flowing, unhurried style of play, and those who admire the strategic depth hidden in the calm, do not like the aggressive, attacking style of play."

Therefore, there is no standard answer to this question.

"But if you add a restriction, then you have a standard answer."

"More than 180 years ago, no matter who you asked, they would answer that the strongest chess player was Shen Yi."

"Ninety years ago, no matter who you asked, they would have answered that the strongest Go player was Inoue Gen'an."

"And the strongest player right now is—"

"An Hongshi".

Yu Shao never expected that he would meet An Hongshi for the first time here.

Although the game had not yet started, Zhuang Weisheng and An Hongshi remained silent, not uttering a single word, and quietly walked to the referee's table to stand and wait for the game to begin.

The two referees took another deep breath, composed themselves, glanced at their watches, and seeing that there was still a while before the match started, they continued to wait.

A short while later, with a creak, the door to the game room was gently pushed open again.

"Anyone else coming?"

The referee looked somewhat surprised and turned to look at the door of the game room again.

It's important to know that while watching games in the game room isn't prohibited, staff won't let other players in unless they are involved in the game.

Otherwise, if everyone comes to the game room to watch, how can the game be played?

Now that it's the National Masters Challenge, the only players involved in this game are Yu Shao and Jiang Changdong. Logically speaking, Zhuang Weisheng and An Hongshi shouldn't be able to participate either.

However, since they were Zhuang Weisheng and An Hongshi, it was understandable that the staff let them in.

Why are there still people coming?

Then, the referee saw Su Yiming walk in through the door.

"So it was Su Yiming."

Upon seeing that the visitor was Su Yiming, the referee immediately felt relieved. If he were a staff member, he would probably have let Su Yiming in if he saw that Su Yiming wanted to watch Yu Shao's game.

Su Yiming glanced at Yu Shao, then turned to look at Zhuang Weisheng and An Hongshi. Seeing that the two were sizing him up, he nodded slightly to them.

Soon, Su Yiming strode over to the referee's table and stood next to Zhuang Weisheng.

With the arrival of An Hongshi, Zhuang Weisheng, and Su Yiming, the already somewhat dull and oppressive atmosphere in the game room seemed to become even more oppressive.

"Everyone is watching this game..."

The female music notary had a complex expression, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

“Each title fight is very long, from the qualifiers to the main tournament and then to the final challenger tournament, it takes a whole year to complete.”

"Now, this year is finally coming to an end."

"All the games played in the National Masters Tournament this year will finally come to an end with this final match!"

"This is the final answer!"

Time has begun its countdown!
ten.

Nine.

eight. ……

One.

at last!

The referee, who had been staring at his watch, saw that it was 9:55, and finally slowly stood up, saying in a deep voice, "Time's up!"

As those four words were uttered, the eyes of the other judge and the notarizer became serious.

"This competition is a title challenge match, and the format is a best-of-three game. The player who wins two out of the three games will win the national champion title!"

"In the first game, the players will decide who goes first by coin toss. In the second game, they will switch colors. If there is a third game, they will continue to switch colors!"

"The match time is three hours for each side, with two minutes of overtime, and the black komi is seven and a half points!"

The referee cleared his throat, his expression stern as he looked at Yu Shao and Jiang Changdong. For some reason, he felt a heavy pressure emanating from them: "Now, please let the two players coin toss to determine who goes first!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Changdong reached into the chess box first, grabbed a handful of white pieces, and clenched them tightly in his palm.

On the other side, Yu Shao also reached into the chess box, grabbed two black pieces, and placed them on the chessboard.

Jiang Changdong released his grip, and the white chess piece immediately bounced onto the chessboard with a crisp metallic sound!

"Two, four, six, seven."

Jiang Changdong counted the pieces in pairs with his fingers, then quickly looked up at Yu Shao opposite him and said, "Odd number."

Yu Shao nodded slightly.

This means that in this game, he will play black and Jiang Changdong will play white.

Jiang Changdong put the white pieces back into the chess box, bowed slightly to Yu Shao, and Yu Shao immediately bowed back in return.

"Well then, that concludes the guessing game!"

After the two finished bowing, the referee immediately announced loudly: "Yu Shao, 3-dan, will play black and attack first; Jiang Changdong, national champion, will play white!"

The game has begun!

Yu Shao lowered his eyes and stared at the empty chessboard in front of him. After thinking for two or three seconds, he immediately picked up a chess piece from the chess box, his wrist suspended in the air and his fingers hanging down. The chess piece fell to the ground with a sound.

Hey!
Sixteen columns, four rows, stars!
As soon as he placed the chess piece, Yu Shao quickly pressed the timer.

"The first move was indeed placed on the star."

Seeing Yu Shao make his move, Jiang Changdong quietly gazed at the chessboard, his eyes reflecting the black piece positioned at the star point.

For the past month, he has been studying and analyzing Yu Shao's game records almost every day. In so many games, although Yu Shao, when playing black, sometimes made a first move at the small eye point or even the 3-3 point, he mostly played at the star point.

Therefore, Jiang Changdong was not surprised to see Yu Shao playing black and placing his stone at the star point. In his mind, all of Yu Shao's moves at the star point flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

"Although he is still young, he is not an ordinary opponent, not an opponent that can be underestimated just because he is young."

"The more you analyze and study his games, the more you are amazed. His thinking is meticulous and his calculations are profound. Even on the most complex and ambiguous board, he can make the most brilliant move."

"He seems to possess that kind of battle-hardened experience, that kind of feeling for life-or-death moments..."

"Even I find it hard to believe that he actually only became a professional Go player last year."

"Although I have always looked down on young Go players, thinking they are too inexperienced, even Zhang Dongchen is the same. They have only been playing Go for a few years, how could they possibly compete with me who has been playing for more than 30 years?"

Jiang Changdong kept recalling every move Yu Shao made from his chess scores.

"However, I have to admit that he is indeed a formidable opponent who can compete with me to the very end and fight to the very last half point!"

"However... I have already seen through his weakness."

"I want to steer the situation into the most intense and complex phase, then wait for him to enter the game and for him to reveal his own weaknesses!"

"Yes, his weaknesses don't need to be found by yourself; in fact, you won't find them even if you actively look for them!"

"His moves are too aggressive, often putting himself in dangerous situations!"

"Therefore, we must wait, wait for the moment he reveals himself!"

"That moment will be the moment when White's true intentions are revealed!"

Jiang Changdong finally reached into the chess box and slowly picked out a white piece.

"To fight a decisive battle, to achieve victory in one fell swoop, to decide life and death in one decisive battle, leaving no room for compromise!"

"The continuous research and review over the past month has indeed been useful. If it were a month ago, I would have to admit that I might not have been his match."

"But I am not the same person I was a month ago!"

Jiang Changdong's eyes sharpened, his wrist hovered in the air, and the white pieces between his fingers fell onto the chessboard like shooting stars!

Hey!
Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!
Seeing Jiang Changdong place a piece in the lower left corner star position, Yu Shao immediately grabbed another piece and quickly placed it on the board!

Hey!
Sixteen columns, seventeen rows, small eyes!
Jiang Changdong followed closely behind, placing his pieces with lightning speed!
Four columns and three rows, small eyes!
……

……

New York, USA.

"Star Small Eyes vs. Star Small Eyes?"

Even though the two sides had only played four moves so far, the blond man had already become somewhat excited, as if he had already foreseen an earth-shattering battle that was about to take place!

"The characteristic of the star point is its balance. It has both the external influence and speed of the star point and the solidity and stability of the small point. It is easy to build a formation, and it also has the potential to break up the board and form a close game!"

The blond man muttered to himself, "Both sides have chosen Xing Xiaomu, clearly wanting to wait and see. Now it's just a matter of who makes the first move!"

"One is Yu Shao, a genius who almost overturned the traditional understanding of Go!"

"And the other is Jiang Changdong, who has fought in the world chess arena for more than 20 years, experienced countless battles, and created the legend of the 'Dragon Slayer'!"

What will happen next?

The blond man, as if possessed, kept muttering to himself, "Who will win?"

Who will be the national team player this year?

"This is something to look forward to!"

Soon, the two sides made several more moves on the board. After the two sides formed a star-shaped small eye versus a star-shaped small eye, Yu Shao made the next move to defend the corner with a high approach at the small eye in the lower right corner.

Most players, if they were to defend the corner with a small eye, would undoubtedly choose to secure the corner without hesitation. However, the blond man was not surprised at all by Yu Shao's seemingly strange choice to defend the corner with a high hanging position.

Yu Shao had used the small-eye high-angle defense too many times before, so everyone was used to it and had become completely accustomed to it.

Just then, on the computer screen, Jiang Changdong, holding a white piece, slowly placed it down.

Hey!
Fourteen columns in three rows, a small flying hanger!
"National Master Jiang Changdong has made the first move!"

……

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(End of this chapter)