I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 382 The Farewell Battle
"Squeak."

With a creak, the door to the game room was gently pushed open.

Upon hearing this, the two judges and the notarizer in the game room were startled and immediately looked up towards the door of the game room.

Yu Shao stood at the door of the chess room and glanced around. He saw that the chess table in the center of the room was empty on both sides, which meant that Jiang Changdong had not yet arrived.

Yu Shao quickly withdrew his gaze, entered the game room, walked straight to the chess table in the center of the room, stopped on the left side of the chess table, pulled out a chair and sat down, waiting quietly.

About five minutes later, the door to the game room was finally pushed open again.

Jiang Changdong, dressed in a sharp black suit, glanced at Yu Shao at the door, his expression slightly somber.

A few seconds later, Jiang Changdong finally took a step and walked to the opposite side of Yu Shao. He pulled out a chair with a bit of force and sat down opposite Yu Shao!

"There are only ten minutes left in the game!"

One of the referees glanced at his wristwatch, then at Yu Shao and Jiang Changdong sitting opposite each other, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"This is the final game of the national team tournament..."

"This game will determine the final winner of one of the seven national titles that symbolize the highest honor in Chinese Go."

"I will witness this game with my own eyes."

Tick, tick, tick.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Everyone is waiting for this final game to begin.

At first, the various chess halls, chess academy broadcast rooms, and chess and card rooms were quite noisy because there were so many people.

But as the match time drew near, the sound grew fainter and fainter, and an inexplicable sense of oppression filled the air, like the calm before a storm.

Quiet.

Extremely quiet.

Looking back at this national team tournament, from the qualifiers to the main tournament, and then from the main tournament to the challenger tournament, it lasted for a whole year, which was very long and gave everyone too many surprises and shocks.

A complex and extremely complicated emotion welled up in everyone's heart.

Over the past year, countless chess players have fought in title matches, constantly climbing higher and trying to understand the unsolvable mysteries on the chessboard.

There were disappointments, bitterness, sadness, and joy...

Everything that has happened this year will eventually come to an end with this upcoming game of chess.

This is the final step!
at last!

"Time is up!"

A referee stared at his wristwatch, and stood up the moment he saw the hour hand point to ten.

The moment he stood up, he felt as if an invisible pressure was surging towards him!
The referee composed himself and said in a deep voice, "The two sides have a record of one win and one loss so far. This game is the last one, and the winner will be awarded this year's national champion title!"

"In the second game, Yu Shao, 3-dan, will play white, and Jiang Changdong, a national champion, will play black. The roles will be reversed, with Yu Shao, 3-dan, playing black and Jiang Changdong, a national champion, playing white!"

"The game time is three hours for each player, with one and a half minutes of overtime, and Black has a seven and a half komi!"

"Now, the game begins!"

The moment the referee's voice fell, in the discussion room where the calligraphy scroll with the words "Sitting and Discussing the Way" was hanging high, Jiang Changdong bowed slightly to Yu Shao, and Yu Shao returned the bow.

The ceremony is over.

The final battle has begun!
Yu Shao looked at the chessboard, quickly picked up a piece, and gently placed his first move under the watchful eyes of the world.

Hey!
Seventeen columns, four rows, small eyes!

"Click!"

Seeing Yu Shao place his piece, Jiang Changdong reached his right hand into the chess box, and the pieces inside immediately collided with a sound.

Jiang Changdong stared intently at the chessboard, his mind replaying the second game of the National Masters Tournament a week ago almost uncontrollably, his teeth clenching slightly.

“I started learning Go at the age of five, and I have been playing Go for more than 30 years, while he has only been a professional Go player for a year!”

"I won't lose."

Jiang Changdong's eyes were more determined than ever before, and there was a hint of ferocity in them. Finally, he took a chess piece from the chess box and slammed it down!

"No matter what, I will not allow myself to lose!"

Snapped!
Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!
Yu Shao silently gazed at the chessboard in front of him, then quickly reached out, picked up another black piece, and gently placed it down.

Hey.

Sixteen columns, seventeen rows, small eyes!
Seeing Yu Shao make his move, Jiang Changdong almost instantly picked up his own piece and placed it down with lightning speed and a sense of pressure!
Hey!
Four columns and four rows, stars!

At this point in the game, Black has made a small mistake. Yes, White has formed a double star!

"The next move could be a 3-3 point, or a flying hook. Of course, defending the corner is also an option to consider."

The instant the white piece was placed, Yu Shao almost instantly thought of several possible responses.

Point 33 is a relatively solid move that penetrates the corners.

Flying hooks are the most aggressive and offensive tactic.

Guarding the corner, on the other hand, is the option to wait and see.

Yu Shao quickly reached into the chess box, instinctively wanting to choose that flying move.

However, the moment his fingertips touched the chess piece, Yu Shao's right hand suddenly stopped.

Yu Shao looked at the chessboard where only four moves had been made, and a strange complexity appeared in his eyes.

At that moment, he seemed to see his past self, and all the past events came flooding back to him.

At the age of twelve, I achieved professional status, participated in my first professional tournament, lost my first game, and won my first championship...

He still vividly remembers every move he made in his past life, even though they are no longer in the same world, and he may never forget it.

In his past life, he did not engage in fierce battles with his opponents. Instead, he would use his power to overwhelm them, subduing them without a fight, controlling the game until the endgame, sweeping through the chess world, and subduing countless rivals.

From the second game of the national championship match onwards, he was already different from his previous life.

"Perhaps it's time to say goodbye properly..."

Yu Shao gazed quietly at the chessboard.

All the chess games he had played in his past life that were hailed as "masterpieces" seemed to appear before his eyes one by one. He still remembered what he was thinking when he made each move.

When he traveled through time, he was in Jiangling; now, the final battle of the National Championships is also in Jiangling.

There is no better place to say goodbye than here.

"The ghost that exists in my heart, if it just silently dissipates, it... must be very unwilling."

"In any case, he did reach the end of Go, but he could no longer continue. He had to embark on a new path, otherwise he would never be able to reach a higher level..."

"Only I know of your existence, but since Go is so popular in this world, you must also want to leave proof of your existence in this world." "After all, I know you better than anyone else. You love Go so much and have spent your whole life pursuing a better move. If you really leave like this, you must be very unwilling."

"Because I am you."

"Well then, this is the last time."

"This game of chess is entirely in your hands."

"This is the last game of the National Masters Tournament. As a game that symbolizes the seven highest honors in Go, you shouldn't be dissatisfied, right?"

"This is the last time, and also the first time."

"So……"

Yu Shao's right hand finally slowly picked up the chess piece.

This piece is extremely heavy, carrying the weight of a chess player who stood at the pinnacle of his career, and his entire life story. It was so heavy that Yu Shao could hardly pick it up smoothly!
However, when the chess piece finally leaped out of the chess box, Yu Shao could feel that although he was reluctant to part with the piece in his fingers, he was also filled with a kind of crazy joy as it was about to land on the chessboard!

Behind Yu Shao, a blurry figure seemed to appear at this moment.

The blurry figure looked almost exactly like Yu Shao, only slightly older, with clear eyes that seemed to see through space and into the whole game of chess!

The figure gradually overlapped with Yu Shao's, and he placed the chess piece almost simultaneously with Yu Shao's right hand!
"bring it on!"

The next moment, the chess piece fell and collided on the chessboard!

Hey!
The sound of the piece being placed seemed to echo throughout the world, even piercing through space and reverberating back to past lives, causing mountains and rivers to tremble!

Fourteen columns, three rows, with Big Fly guarding the corner!

……

……

"Big Fly guarding the horn?"

Upon seeing this move, Jiang Changdong was slightly taken aback, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

He had anticipated that Yu Shao would play a 3-3 or corner move, but he hadn't expected Yu Shao to defend the corner. In Yu Shao's many game records, defending the corner is not uncommon, but it is relatively rare.

This method of striking after the opponent has made a move involves observing silently and without any aggressive intent.

However, this move of guarding the corner with a large knight's move is a common tactic. Jiang Changdong didn't think much about it. After a moment's thought, he picked up a piece and made a response.

Hey!
Seventeen columns and fifteen rows, a small flying hanger!

"He launched a direct attack, and national player Jiang Changdong's response to the corner defense was unexpectedly strong!"

Seeing this, the referee's expression became more serious.

"Black's large knight's move to defend the corner is a move without any sharpness; it's merely to consolidate its own position!"

"You should know that White has no komi, while Black has a large komi of seven and a half points, so the pressure on White will be very high. Therefore, the simplest move for White is to defend the corner and observe Black's moves!"

"In this case, if neither side is in a hurry to attack the other's formation, it is very likely that a situation of mutual encirclement will be formed."

"However, Teacher Jiang Changdong was clearly unwilling to do so. Even though he knew that Black had a 7.5 komi, he still chose the most aggressive corner approach, wanting to engage Black in close combat!"

Thinking of this, the referee couldn't help but glance at Jiang Changdong subconsciously, silently thinking, "It seems that Teacher Jiang Changdong... is full of murderous intent!"

Yu Shao gazed at the chessboard in front of him.

The blurry figure behind him, like Yu Shao, was also silently gazing at the chessboard, his eyes clear and distant, as if he were quietly pondering.

A moment later, the figure behind Yu Shao finally reached out and took a chess piece from the chess box.

Yu Shao also reached into the chess box and took out a chess piece.

The figure caught the chess piece, and its right hand crossed space, landing far away on the chessboard!
The moment the chess piece was placed, Yu Shao followed closely behind that figure, landing in the same spot!
Hey!
Fifteen columns, sixteen rows, small point!
"tip?!"

Upon seeing this move, the two referees and the recorder in the game room were startled, and then their eyes widened in disbelief!

Jiang Changdong, who was sitting opposite Yu Shao, was also stunned for a moment. The next moment, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Yu Shao.

But he only saw a seventeen-year-old boy, and did not see the figure standing behind the boy!
……

……

Southern Chess Academy, broadcast room.

Zheng Qin stared at the TV screen in astonishment, exclaiming, "A sharp point here?!"

Beside him, Su Yiming had already reached into the chess box, preparing to pick out a chess piece and place it in the same position as Yu Shao, but when he saw Yu Shao's move, his hand suddenly stopped.

"Sharp, this is a very old way of dropping the needle."

Xu Zijin stared at the television screen in shock, and said with confusion, "More than a hundred years ago, in Shen Yi's time, when Go was only played at the small point level, there was no concept of komi."

"At that time, Xiaojian here was considered the best, and no other hand could surpass him."

“There were even players who said that no matter how far Go develops in the future, as long as the board is 19x19, the value of this move, the small point, will last forever.”

"However, it turns out that the ancient chess player was wrong."

"As Go has evolved to this point, with the introduction of large komi (komi), this sharp move, while solid, is considered too slow and has been replaced by a pincer attack!"

Not far away, Wu Zhixuan's beautiful eyes widened, and she said in disbelief, "Yu Shao shouldn't be unaware... but he still did it."

Su Yiming remained silent throughout, his eyes glued to the television screen, watching Yu Shao's final move.

He was extremely familiar with this move; he had played it at least a thousand times, if not ten thousand!
As Xu Zijin said, in his time, this small eye move was almost the standard answer in Go!
However, after 180 years, this small tip technique has been phased out.

One hundred and eighty years later, he began to revive modern Go, but he found that even so, it was far from enough.

Yu Shao's moves often shattered his understanding of Go. Starting with the 3-3 point, countless modern joseki were overturned one by one. Of the three most difficult joseki in Go, only the large diagonal joseki is still barely surviving!
In the context of large komi, modern Go emphasizes speed and adaptability, but... now, Yu Shao has gone backwards, playing a move that even he finds somewhat archaic... a small komi?
This method of playing is completely outdated by the times!
……

……

Hands talking indoors.

Without exception, everyone stared at Yu Shao in astonishment.

Yu Shao simply stared at the chessboard, his expression utterly calm, as if he were oblivious to the gazes of others.

This technique was indeed very popular before the rules of the "sticking to the target" were introduced, but it was gradually phased out with the emergence of the "sticking to the target" and the development of the times.

Even though almost all chess players felt that this move was not good enough, he still preferred this solid and meticulous approach in his previous life and played it repeatedly in major competitions.

Then, everything changed after the emergence of Go AI!

Go AI has proven the value of this move. Even with a large komi of seven and a half points, this move still shines brightly!

Because this small point move was first played by ancient chess players, it has become famous for generations, moving and inspiring countless chess players!

This single move proves that humans can indeed play near-perfect chess, and that humans can transcend limits and break through their own limitations, whether it is people from the past or people today!

It was precisely because this small, pointed move was almost his signature move from his previous life that he had never played it before, trying his best to avoid repeating his old mistakes, even though this small, pointed move had been proven to be a good move.

Now that I've decided to say goodbye to my past self, I should naturally let this hand shine!
(End of this chapter)