I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 386 It is precisely because he does not contend that nothing can contend with him!
The atmosphere inside the game room was oppressive and heavy.

Jiang Changdong's face had turned deathly pale at some point. After a long while, he picked up a chess piece again and placed it with difficulty.

Hey!
Fourteen columns and sixteen rows, Xiao Fei!
"This method actually harms ourselves, but... there's no other way!"

The referee beside him swallowed hard, realizing the deep helplessness behind Jiang Changdong's move.

"Because the white stones at the bottom are not alive, white dares not make a strong move rashly!"

"Black has indeed not made a move, but Black is definitely not refusing to make a move. Only when Black's preparations are 100% complete will Black make a move. Before that, Black is just continuously building up its strength!"

"If White dares to play aggressively, then Black will inevitably make a move, and White will collapse immediately!"

“I know this, everyone knows this, and Professor Jiang Changdong certainly knows it too!”

At this moment, Yu Shao picked up another chess piece and slowly placed it down.

Hey!
Seventeen columns, ten rows, file!
Upon seeing this move, the referee's pupils constricted, and he opened his mouth slightly, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Black...ignored White's small knight's move!"

……

……

Southern Chess Academy, broadcast room.

"White's small knight's move is a last resort, as the shape of the stones has already been exposed."

Zheng Qin stared at the television screen, his heart trembling: "This is not the strongest move. Black's strongest move is to directly attack White's territory here!"

“Yu Shao must have seen this move, but…”

Xu Zijin stared blankly at the computer screen and said, "He didn't make that move, but instead went straight in his own direction, simply solidifying his position, without using any stronger tactics."

"He was certain..."

Le Haoqiang said somewhat absentmindedly, "If we play like this, we can win. We've already reached the point of ignoring White."

Amidst the crowd, Su Yiming calmly gazed at the television screen, having remained silent for some time, simply watching the chess game unfold.

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the broadcast room, the black and white pieces on the television screen continued to fall.

Faced with this situation, White is certainly not going to sit idly by and wait for death. Every move is the most powerful and dangerous move, with the intention of disrupting the situation and forcing Black to make a move and fight White to the death!

However, as long as White's moves weren't too excessive, Black completely ignored them!

After countless moves, another white piece was placed on the television screen.

Upon seeing this move, Su Yiming's expression changed slightly.

Zheng Qin was taken aback at first, then seemed to suddenly realize something and exclaimed, "We can't do it this way, Professor Jiang Changdong, you've made a mistake!"

Le Haoqiang didn't think there was anything wrong with this move at first, but after hearing Zheng Qin's voice, he re-examined the board with some doubt, and suddenly he was shocked!
"really!"

Le Haoqiang stared intently at the television screen and exclaimed, "Black has a trick here: after making a sharp move, Black can actually cut off White's large group of stones!"

Upon hearing this, the others pondered for a moment, and their expressions also changed.

White's move was indeed problematic. If Black had attacked directly, White's large group of stones would have been cut in half through a tactic of attacking and defending, and White would have collapsed in no time!

The next moment, the black piece was placed again.

However, this move was not the same as the previous one, but rather—

Hey!
Seventeen columns, twelve rows, turn!

A look of shock crept onto everyone's faces, but Su Yiming remained calm, as if he had expected it.

"Yu Shao must have seen everything here, I saw it all, but... even if there are strong opponents here, we still won't use them?"

Zheng Qin swallowed hard: "He thinks he can already see the endgame, and that Black is bound to win?"

Everyone was speechless, staring in awe at the chess game.

It's important to understand that, at this point in the game, although Black clearly has the advantage, the score difference between Black and White isn't that significant.

Black has about 70 points, and White has about 60 points. The next move is White's turn. After the move, White also has close to 70 points. If we add the 7.5 komi for Black, the point count is actually very close.

However, Black did not play this most brilliant move, but instead played the simplest turn!
……

……

Time keeps passing.

clatter! clatter! clatter!
On the chessboard, black and white pieces continue to fall alternately, the sound of each piece being placed seemingly composing a breathtaking symphony!
Under the watchful eyes of the world, the black piece was placed once again.

Hey!
Twelve columns and eighteen rows, wow!

This is not the strongest move.

There's a better, more ingenious move that you can see at a glance.

The white stones below are not yet alive. The strongest move here would definitely be to capture them, leaving the remaining white stones unable to live.

After Black played this move, White could easily make their group live.

However, when Black played this push move instead of the strongest capture move, no one was surprised or unmoved. After all, Black had previously had a chance to win by more than ten points, or even end the game directly.

Everyone just stared blankly at the chessboard.

At this point, the battle for the endgame has begun!

The gap between the two sides has never been significant, and it remains so even now!
As everyone watched the final moves being completed one by one, a sense of bewilderment and awe filled everyone's hearts.

The gap between the two sides is still not large.

Until the very last moment, they didn't even know who would win the game.

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
The crisp sound of the pieces being placed seemed to echo throughout the world, passing through the game room.

After an unknown amount of time, in the silent stillness where only the sound of pieces being placed echoed, the path leading to the end game finally appeared before the world's eyes.

"Half eyes..."

Some people stared blankly at the chessboard, already able to foresee the outcome of the game even though both sides were still making moves.

"Yu Shao has won by half a point."

Silence.

An astonishing silence.

The game of chess has come to an end, but there are no cheers, no screams, no shouts; there is only a deep silence, just like the game of chess itself.

dull.

Yes, it was uneventful.

Yu Shao didn't play any particularly good moves, nor did he play any particularly bad moves.

There was no fierce battle at all; the board was extremely clear, with no unclear or blurry areas. Everything was... utterly uneventful.

Although in the end, Black only won by half a point.

However, this half-point difference is even more awe-inspiring than the mid-game dragon-slaying.

No matter how great a chess player is, he may have played many games in his life, but only a few games are ever remembered by the world.

And this might be just one of the few games played by the chess player named Yu Shao.

silence.

At this moment, silence is more effective than any words.

……

……

Inside the reporter's office at the Southern Chess Academy.

Ding Huan stared blankly at the computer screen. Although the endgame between the two sides was not completely over, the outcome was already predetermined, even for him.

To write his chess commentary, Ding Huan had already opened a Word document on another computer to his left, but he seemed to have forgotten that he needed to write the article.

He simply stared blankly at the computer screen, absorbed in the game of chess, which contained not a trace of killing intent. Time passed, second by second.

After a long while, Ding Huan finally took a deep breath, his fingers trembling, and began to frantically type on the keyboard.

"I have written countless chess reviews for Yu Shao, from the Yingjiao Cup to the National Masters Tournament. I have witnessed every move and every game record of Yu Shao's journey!"

"From the 3-3 point to the Great Avalanche, the Demon Blade, the Great Diagonal, and then to the Torrential Rain and the Spike... Yu Shao's chess always brings me shock and emotion!"

"However, neither the bloody battle in the Yingjiao Cup between the two unparalleled geniuses Yu Shao and Su Yiming, where two dragons perished, nor Yu Shao's astonishing pincer move in the National Masters Tournament, can compare to the profound shock brought by this game!"

"I can hardly believe that this was a move by Yu Shao."

"From the opening moves, facing White's aggressive play, Yu Shao inexplicably didn't fight back, but instead went with the flow and moved to the outside!"

"In the mid-game, it was expected that Yu Shao would launch a fierce attack and advance triumphantly, but Yu Shao only kept preparing for his attack!"

"Ultimately, all the questions were answered through subsequent market movements!"

"A battle isn't necessarily about a single move or technique. Sometimes, a battle is about a larger strategy, a contest on a grand scale, which can also be called a strategic maneuver!"

"I thought that with our advantage growing, Yu Shao would finally launch an attack."

"But no, there isn't one!"

"A skillful touch? No need. A strong touch? No need."

"They simply surrounded the enemy without killing them, employing the most straightforward tactic."

"No matter how White plays, Yu Shao's moves are as clear and simple as they can be!"

"Now that Black has seen the path to certain victory, all Black needs to do is move forward resolutely. Black will ignore all of White's moves!"

"In fact, it could be said that even if White gains a significant advantage, it doesn't matter; Black only needs to win, whether it's killing the dragon or just one or two points!"

"In the end, Black wins by half a point!"

"A chess player known for his aggressive style played a masterpiece of a flowing, non-competitive game!"

"Go is an art of competition, but it is also an art of non-competition!"

"Because he does not contend, nothing can contend with him!"

"The flowing water doesn't compete to be first, but to flow endlessly!"

"This is the most chilling game by Yu Shao that I've ever played. Its chilling aspect doesn't lie in any particular move, but rather quite the opposite! Thank you, Yu Shao, for presenting us chess fans with such a masterpiece!"

"The results for this year's national team players have finally been announced!"

"he--"

"It will be Yu Shao!"

As he wrote this, Ding Huan couldn't help but look up and glance at the computer screen on his right again.

On the television screen, black and white pieces continued to be placed on the board.

Finally, as another black stone was placed on the board, white stopped placing stones...

Little official, we've already collected them all.

Just as everyone had predicted—

Black wins by half a point!

……

……

Inside the lounge of the Southern Chess Academy.

"ended."

Seeing that both sides had finished the endgame, Zhuang Weisheng finally slowly looked away from the computer screen and murmured, "Black wins by half a point."

An Hongshi sat opposite Zhuang Weisheng without saying a word. After a long while, he looked away and gazed at the chessboard on the chess table between the two of them. The chess game on it was exactly the same as the one on the television screen.

This was a game of chess that he and Zhuang Weisheng recreated together, moving one move at a time, following the game on television.

Silence.

Both seemed to be still immersed in the calm and uneventful game of chess, unable to come back to their senses.

"Teacher An Hongshi".

After an unknown amount of time, Zhuang Weisheng suddenly spoke up and called out An Hongshi's name.

An Hongshi was slightly taken aback, and finally looked away from the chessboard, jumping up to look at Zhuang Weisheng opposite him.

Zhuang Weisheng looked at the chessboard and asked, "You said, if a person gives up on taking the path he knows best and chooses to take a path he doesn't know well..."

Zhuang Weisheng paused, then continued, "So, has he become more defeatable, or... more invincible?"

Time seemed to stand still.

Bright sunlight streamed into the lounge through the window, making even the finest dust particles in the air incredibly clear. The two men sat facing each other across a chess table.

An Hongshi did not answer, but remained sitting quietly, gazing at the chessboard in front of him.

If a person abandons the path he is most familiar with and chooses to take a path he is not familiar with, does he become more vulnerable to defeat, or does he become more invincible?

After a long while, An Hongshi slowly stood up.

Instead of answering the question, he said, "Everyone else has gone back to North and South Korea. Now that the national tournament is over, I have to go back too."

"I send you."

Zhuang Weisheng stood up and spoke.

"Do not bother."

An Hongshi shook his head, rejected Zhuang Weisheng's suggestion, and walked straight to the door, but then suddenly stopped.

"Oh, and remember to tell Yu Shao for me."

With his back to Zhuang Weisheng, An Hongshi said, "Just say... An Hongshi congratulates him on winning the national champion title and joining the ranks of top-tier players. I look forward to playing against him in the world championship."

"Yes, I will."

Zhuang Weisheng smiled faintly and said, "Take care."

……

……

Hands talking indoors.

After carefully counting the points three times, the referee finally suppressed his overwhelming emotions and solemnly announced the outcome of the game: "In this game, Black wins by half a point!"

Jiang Changdong's face was as pale as paper, and he stared blankly at the chessboard in front of him, as if he had not heard the referee's words.

After a long while, Jiang Changdong finally lowered his head and said in a weak voice, "Thank you... for your guidance."

Yu Shao turned his gaze away from the chessboard and bowed to Jiang Changdong in return, saying, "Thank you for your guidance."

Faintly, Yu Shao seemed to hear a familiar voice in his ear—

"Thank you for your guidance..."

The voice was ethereal and faint, then grew weaker and weaker until, after uttering its last word, it finally vanished completely along with the blurry figure behind Yu Shao…

……

……

The game is over.

The national team tournament has finally come to an end.

But that profound silence still enveloped the entire world; it remained a breathtaking stillness!

The sound of the piece being placed seems to still echo throughout the world, lingering for a long time, resonating for thousands of years!

(End of this chapter)