I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 378 is a bit too much of a stretch.

The first game of the National Masters Tournament ended with Yu Shao losing to Jiang Changdong, immediately causing a huge uproar online and sparking countless discussions.

Some people remarked that Jiang Changdong was indeed strong, worthy of being one of the "Five Greats". Others joked that Zhuang Weisheng lost to Yu Shao, and Yu Shao lost to Jiang Changdong, which shows that Jiang Changdong's strength is above Zhuang Weisheng's.

Many people were also amazed by Yu Shao's astonishingly relentless pursuit after falling into a desperate situation in this game, and became his fans.

This is actually a very rare occurrence. Since ancient times, the victor is king and the loser is villain. After all, no matter how the game went, the final result was that Yu Shao lost by half a point.

Ultimately, Yu Shao's strategy backfired, resulting in a surge in his fan base.

Some even said that compared to Yu Shao's previous victories, they felt that every move Yu Shao made in this game, especially when he was in dire straits, was more touching and made their scalps tingle.

Many professional Go players also reviewed this game online, analyzing every move.

However, because the board was too complex from beginning to end, even after a group of professional players analyzed it for a long time, no professional player was able to provide a complete replay.

Some professional Go players believe that the squeezing move was the root cause of Yu Shao's disadvantage. That move seemed ingenious, but in fact, there was no other move he could make.

However, some professional players felt that the squeeze was a brilliant move, but they couldn't find the right path to it.

Because this game was so incredibly complex and difficult to solve, even four or five days after the first game of the best-of-three series between the national champions ended, the discussions surrounding it showed no signs of abating.

Time flies, and it's been six days since the first game of the National Masters Tournament ended. On this day, the online discussions about the first game of the National Masters Tournament finally subsided considerably.

This is not a discussion that the game of chess has been thoroughly analyzed and a conclusion has been reached, but rather—

The second game of the National Masters Challenge is about to begin!

The National Masters Tournament is a best-of-three tournament, with each game played one week apart, and the location of each game is different.

Six days have passed since the first game, and now the second game is finally about to begin. This game will be played in the game room of the Eastern Chess Academy.

As the most important Go tournament in China, the National Go Championship often features interviews with players after the game, where they share their thoughts on the game and their outlook for the next few games.

However, in the past few days, Yu Shao seems to have disappeared without a trace. No reporter has been able to contact him, and naturally, no interviews have been released.

Therefore, many people online are worried that Yu Shao might have lost the game, which caused him to have a mental problem.

After all, Yu Shao had never lost a game in an official competition before, but he suffered a defeat in his first game in such an important tournament as the title match. For a genius like Yu Shao, this blow may be very big.

Victory and defeat are common occurrences in warfare, but for a victorious general, a single defeat can be a devastating blow that can ruin his entire life, and his mentality may even be worse than that of an ordinary general.

And now, the second game of the National Masters Tournament is finally about to begin!

This night was destined to be sleepless for many, with countless people anxiously awaiting the result of the second game of the National Masters Tournament.

Will Jiang Changdong bring this year's National Masters Tournament to an early end in the second game, or will the suspense remain until the final third game?

Will Yu Shao's mentality be affected by anyone? Will a genius who made a stunning debut and shook the chess world stop at the title match?

This is the question everyone wants to know.

……

……

Sichuan City, Western Chess Academy.

"The second match of this year's National Team Tournament will be played here."

A young man in his early twenties with a Leslie perm looked at the crowd coming and going in the chess academy's hall and couldn't help but gasp: "It's not the first time a title match has been held, but there are just too many reporters this time."

"After all, the national team competition this year is incredibly popular, and Yu Shao lost his first match to Coach Jiang Changdong. Today might be the final match, so reporters naturally won't miss it."

Beside him, the curly-haired youth's friend pulled the tab on his can of Coke and said, "More importantly, it's said that no reporters have been able to contact Yu Shao this week."

"Was he hurt?"

The curly-haired youth looked astonished and asked, "Although it's a title match, he's only lost this one game in public tournaments so far, and it was against Teacher Jiang Changdong. Moreover, that game ended up like that! Even if he lost, it's not a shameful game, is it?"

"You could even say that even if you lose a game, most chess players can still be proud!"

My friend shrugged, giving me an "I don't know either" look, and said, "Who knows?"

He took a sip of his cola before continuing with a slightly complicated tone, "For us, winning and losing is normal, but for a genius like this, perhaps losing a single game is unacceptable?"

"I don't understand the world of geniuses..."

The curly-haired youth shook his head, saying with envy, "I really want to experience what it's like to lose a title challenge match!"

Upon hearing this, his friend rolled his eyes and retorted, "You want to challenge? You should first see if you can even make it into the title match before you turn thirty."

"A person should always have dreams, right? I never said I wanted to win. I just wanted to experience what it's like to lose a title challenge match. Is that not allowed?"

The curly-haired youth said with some dissatisfaction, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "It's getting late, and Yu Shao hasn't arrived yet. Do you think Yu Shao might... forfeit?"

Upon hearing this, the friend was taken aback and said uncertainly, "This... I don't think so..."

He had never considered the possibility of anyone forfeiting in the title fight, as there had never been a precedent for it before.

However, upon hearing the curly-haired youth say this, he thought for a moment and his brows furrowed.

"The more talented someone is, the worse their mentality is. Yu Shao is such a genius, it's almost unbelievable. So the blow will only be greater. If he really has a bad mentality and becomes depressed, he might actually give up."

A friend remarked, "After all, even geniuses are somewhat willful."

Just as the curly-haired young man was about to speak, he suddenly heard a commotion in the crowd in the hall, so he immediately stopped talking and looked towards the source of the commotion.

Not far from the main hall of the chess academy, a boy with short black hair, wearing a clean white short-sleeved shirt, walked calmly towards the main hall of the chess academy.

Yu Shao, we've arrived!
The moment Yu Shao walked into the hall, the once noisy hall of the chess academy suddenly became completely quiet, and everyone turned their gaze to Yu Shao, each with their own unique expression.

Since the end of the first title match, Yu Shao has been the focus of all the players' attention, but for the past week, he has been nowhere to be found and there has been no news of him.

Now, Yu Shao, who had disappeared for a week, has finally reappeared under everyone's watchful eyes!

Yu Shao glanced around the chess academy's main hall, then quickly looked away, took another step, and walked through the hall towards the game room under everyone's watchful eyes.

The crowd remained silent until Yu Shao's figure disappeared from sight, at which point the chess hall finally stirred up again, with discussions rising and falling!

"Yu Shao is here!"

"He seems to be in surprisingly good spirits; he doesn't look down at all." "He's too calm, which is rather unusual. He's probably just putting on a brave face."

"..."

The curly-haired youth's friend listened to the discussions in the hall, silently drinking his cola, wondering what kind of state of mind Yu Shao was in.

Just then, the curly-haired youth's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"Old He, has Yu Shao... changed a bit? He seems different from before."

Hearing the curly-haired youth's words, his friend was taken aback, turned to look at him, and asked, "Changed? What's changed? Have you met Yu Shao before?"

"That's not true."

The curly-haired youth immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum: "He came from the Southern Chess Academy, I've never seen him before."

The friend was speechless upon hearing this, and said, "You've never even seen him before, and you're saying he's changed?"

"I haven't met him in person, but I have seen videos and photos of him."

The curly-haired young man asked somewhat uncertainly, "You should have seen the opening ceremony of the China-Japan-Korea team competition, right?"

"I've seen it, what's wrong?"

His friend was puzzled and asked.

"Hmm... how should I put it?"

The curly-haired youth stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "He said back then that before him, there wasn't a single game of chess in the world that could be called a good game. That seemed pretty arrogant, didn't it?"

"Or what?"

His friend was speechless: "Is there anything more outrageous than this?"

"Actually, even though Yu Shao said this to the media all over the world, he still seemed very calm and composed to me."

The curly-haired youth thought for a moment and said, "That's right. I don't sense any arrogance. It's as if he thinks that way and believes that before him, there was no game of chess that could be called a good game, which is only natural."

"what?"

My friend looked completely bewildered and asked, "Isn't that arrogant?"

"Oh, it's different! Just like how everyone else thinks one plus one equals three, but you think one plus one equals two, if you say that in front of everyone, do you think you're being arrogant?"

The curly-haired youth explained, "Although I've never met him, I inexplicably feel that he's mature beyond his years. He's clearly a genius to an exaggerated degree, but I can't sense that sharpness in him, you understand?"

"The feeling he gave me was that he saw through everything, had perfect insight, was meticulous in his thinking, considered the big picture, and naturally possessed an unparalleled suppressive force that made him seem unshakeable."

"However, they lacked the sharpness that youth should possess, concealing their talents and keeping their brilliance hidden."

The curly-haired youth paused, then said somewhat uncertainly, "But he's different now. He has a sharp edge, a... a sense of being fully exposed."

My friend twitched his lips, rolled his eyes speechlessly, and complained, "Are you crazy? Are you filming a movie here? You're overflowing with domineering aura, are you looking for trouble? I don't see it at all."

"I feel like I'm pretty accurate, you should know that! I play chess purely by feeling. Even if I don't know why I play a certain way, I just feel like it's the right move. It comes out in a flash, and in the end, I find it's a brilliant move."

The curly-haired young man immediately defended himself, saying, "You lack that feeling! Go involves intuition and inspiration!"

"That's why you're bad at chess. How can you play chess based on feeling? It's all about logical reasoning."

My friend chuckled and said, "Those times you felt right were just pure luck. And those times you felt wrong? If all your feelings were right, you'd be fighting for the title today."

"Depend on!"

The curly-haired youth couldn't help but grumble, but after his friend's comment, he began to doubt himself, muttering to himself, "So I was wrong again?"

……

……

Yu Shao walked towards the game room, and soon arrived at the door. He then reached out and gently pushed open the door.

Upon hearing the door to the game room being pushed open, the referee and notary inside immediately looked towards the door. Seeing that it was Yu Shao, they all subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that Yu Shao hadn't arrived, they were actually worried that he might not be coming.

Inside the game room, Jiang Changdong had also arrived and was now looking up at Yu Shao.

"Good morning, Yu Shao, third dan."

A referee greeted Yu Shao and asked, "You're a little late."

"Sorry, I wanted to sleep a little longer, so I stayed in bed. But isn't it fine as long as I get there before ten o'clock?" Yu Shao smiled and said.

Upon hearing Yu Shao's answer, the two judges and the music notator couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on their faces, exchanging bewildered glances.

Want to sleep a little longer and stay in bed?
Today's a title battle challenge!

Moreover, you already lost the last game, so this game is a life-or-death situation for you!
Shouldn't I get up as soon as I wake up and go to the game room early to prepare?
Isn't this a bit too loose?

"Could it be... because today is a do-or-die title match, and I was too nervous to sleep yesterday, which is why I can't get up today?"

The three of them exchanged glances and were surprised to see the same thoughts reflected in each other's eyes.

Yu Shao was unaware of the speculations in the minds of the three men. He quickly entered the game room, sat down opposite Jiang Changdong, and pulled out a chair.

His expression was calm, seemingly unaffected by the defeat a week earlier.

"This is a bit too much of a stretch..."

Upon realizing this, one of the referees couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "After losing a game, when you play a second game with your opponent, you can have all sorts of expressions, but never this one."

"Moreover, losing in such a major event as a title challenge match makes his composure seem a bit excessive and fake."

"It seems that the last game really hit him hard..."

The referee thought to himself, "Hopefully, when the game starts, he can adjust his mindset and not be affected by the loss in the previous game."

"I really don't want to see such a genius become discouraged and give up just because he lost one game..."

(End of this chapter)