I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 390 The Triple Stars Shine Again
Shortly after, with a creak, the door to the game room was pushed open again, and then a man in his early thirties finally walked into the game room.

"Teacher Fu Shunan."

Upon seeing Fu Shunan, a referee immediately greeted her.

Fu Shunan stood at the door, gave Su Yiming a deep look, then looked away, nodded slightly to the referee who had greeted him, and then walked straight to the opposite side of Su Yiming.

"I remember the last time we faced off was in the Battle of the Torch. Now, in the blink of an eye, you've moved up to the title challenger position. That's truly remarkable."

As Fu Shunan pulled out a chair and sat down, he said, "Last time it was a doubles match, but this time, it's a formal game."

"You said you were determined to win the title of Grand Chess Master, but unfortunately..."

Fu Shunan paused, then looked at Su Yiming opposite him with a dangerous glint in his eyes, and said, "I have no intention of giving up the title of Grand Chess Player to anyone."

Although Fu Shunan's tone was calm, the air in the game room seemed to tense up as soon as he finished speaking, filled with a strong sense of tension.

Su Yiming did not respond, but simply stared at the chessboard in front of him, as if he had not heard Fu Shunan's words.

Seeing this, Fu Shunan's expression darkened slightly, but she didn't continue speaking. She also sat down in her chair, waiting for the competition to begin.

Finally, after a few more minutes, a referee looked at his wristwatch, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "This match is the first game of the Grand Chess Player Challenge, and the format is a best-of-five match!"

"In the five games, whoever wins three games first will win the title of Grand Chess Player. The first game will be decided by a coin toss, and in the subsequent games, the two players will take turns playing black and white!"

"Now, the two players may begin to coin toss for first place!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Shunan reached into the chess box in front of her and grabbed a handful of white pieces, while Su Yiming also grabbed a black piece and placed it on the chessboard.

The results of the guessing game were quickly announced.

In this game, Fu Shunan played white and Su Yiming played black.

The two men bowed to each other, and the game of chess began.

Looking at the empty chessboard in front of him, Su Yiming couldn't help but recall the games Yu Shao had played in the National Chess Tournament.

During this period, he would study the game records of these games almost every day, and he knew every move by heart.

"He's clearly stronger now..."

Su Yiming remained silent for a moment before finally picking up a chess piece and making his first move.

Hey!
Sixteen columns, four rows, stars!
Seeing Su Yiming make a move, Fu Shunan quickly followed suit, placing her own piece with lightning speed.

Hey!
Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!
Although Su Yiming was looking at the chessboard in front of him, his mind was not on the game, but wandered elsewhere.

"If I don't improve myself as soon as possible, I'll only face certain death in the next game against Yu Shao."

"Those games showed me the gap, but it was also because of that that I saw the way forward and saw a farther horizon."

Su Yiming finally turned his attention back to the chessboard in front of him. After a moment, Su Yiming's gaze changed, he picked up a chess piece, and finally placed it down!
"Therefore, I must make up for my shortcomings and play a better move!"

Hey!
Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!
"A twin-star system?"

Fu Shunan's expression was extremely focused, not daring to underestimate his opponent in the slightest.

Although he appeared relaxed to the outside world, he had watched Su Yiming come all the way from the main competition and knew very well in his heart that his opponent was by no means an ordinary person, but a formidable enemy that he had to go all out against!

"It's best not to use the double star pattern anymore. There have been far too many of them. If you want to look for opportunities, it's better not to make the chart too simple."

Thinking of this, Fu Shunan finally picked up a chess piece and quickly placed it down!
Hey!
Four columns and three rows, small eyes!
The moment the white piece was placed on the board, Su Yiming almost immediately picked it up, his gaze firm as a rock!
"Then, come on!"

Hey!
The chess piece is placed on the board!

Upon seeing this move, Fu Shunan was slightly taken aback, and the referee and recorder not far away also widened their eyes slightly involuntarily!

On the chessboard—

Sixteen columns and ten rows, stars!
Black has a triple star formation!

……

……

Inside the broadcast room.

"It's...it's actually a triple star formation?"

Zheng Qin stared at the TV screen in shock. After regaining his senses, he quickly took a white piece from the chess box and placed it on the chessboard, saying, "This is something I never expected!"

In the broadcast room, everyone else also showed some degree of surprise.

Immediately afterwards, everyone instinctively glanced at Yu Shao, who was sitting opposite Zheng Qin.

Clearly, although there are many famous games played with the Three Stars opening, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind when they see the Three Stars opening is still the game between Yu Shao and Su Yiming in the Yingjiao Cup!

Three stars is not a rare betting pattern; in fact, it was quite popular more than a decade ago.

In the past, focusing on practical benefits and the third line was the mainstream of Go, but the appearance of the three-star formation once caused a great sensation.

The Three-Star formation prioritizes external influence over actual gains and the fourth rank over the third. It advocates developing pieces towards the center rather than the edges. Most games using the Three-Star formation are based on occupying the fourth rank and utilizing external influence, while other games also tend to emphasize placing pieces on the fourth rank.

Because this style of play does not focus on the ground but rather on the entire central sky, it overturns the traditional concept of Go and is therefore called the "Cosmic Style"!

After the Three Stars reached its peak, with the development of the times, more and more professional chess players still felt that the Three Stars was difficult to master, and that placing the stones in a high position facing the center was contrary to the principles of chess.

Therefore, the Three Stars opening began to decline in the professional Go world, and most players began to focus on practical gains and the third line again.

However, the Three Stars formation, with its imposing presence, emphasis on external influence and attack, and ease of constructing a shape, can lead to intense, complex, and dazzling battles, and is still highly sought after by many amateur players today!
However, after the Yingjiao Cup, the Three Stars style of play seemed to have completely declined. The game between Yu Shao and Su Yiming was hailed as the "last swan song of the Three Stars"!
The reason is simple: in that game of chess, Su Yiming used the Three Stars opening and played it so well, but he still lost in the end. How can it not be called the swan song of the Three Stars?

No one expected that Su Yiming would once again play the Three Stars move, a move that has not been seen in the professional Go world for a long time, in the Grand Go Player Challenge!

Yu Shao, sitting opposite Zheng Qin, was also somewhat surprised.

He stared at the chessboard, lost in thought.

"Triple Star..."

Indeed, a triple star formation is not a good sign.

Compared to others, Yu Shao was more aware of this.
Because a three-star formation needs to ensure the efficiency of the star pieces on the sidelines, it can only move along one path to the black side, facing the center to build a large territory, which is not good.

While a triple star formation is unfavorable, it would be wrong to say that a triple star formation should never be played.

It's important to know that even though almost all Go AIs consider the three-star formation somewhat disadvantageous, there are still instances in games between two Go AIs where one side plays the three-star formation and still wins in the end!

However, while a three-star formation can be played, it's ultimately constrained by placing pieces in high positions. He understood this, and Su Yiming should have understood it too after the Yingjiao Cup. Yu Shao frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

Just then, seeing a white piece fall on the TV screen, Yu Shao snapped out of his thoughts, picked up a chess piece, and placed it on the chessboard simultaneously with the white piece.

Hey!
Fourteen columns and seventeen rows, Xiao Fei.

"Teacher Fu Shunan didn't choose the 'three-three' method, but instead used the more common 'small flying' method?"

Beside Yu Shao, Wu Zhixuan gazed thoughtfully at the chessboard. After a moment's thought, she asked Yu Shao, "Yu Shao, do you think it's better to play the 3-3 point to respond to the three-star formation, or the small knight's move?"

"Each one has his own merits."

Yu Shao pondered for a moment and said, "If it's a 3-3 formation, there will be fewer variations. Both sides will focus on attacking and defending around the center. If it's a small flying formation, the variations will be more complex, and the offense and defense will be based on the whole game."

"Teacher Fu Shunan doesn't want the chart to be too simple, thinking that he might not find any opportunities. Therefore, he wants to create a complex chart to compete with Su Yiming!"

Zheng Qin took a deep breath and said, "It seems that Teacher Fu Shunan is also going all out!"

In the broadcast room, everyone discussed the development of the game while following the moves made by both sides on the television screen. For a moment, the sounds of discussion and moves mingled together in the broadcast room.

On the television screen, the black and white sides placed their pieces one after another. After probing each other in the lower right corner of the board, they moved to the upper left corner and began to entangle.

"In the upper right corner, Teacher Fu Shunan chose to retreat, and it was inevitable that Su Yiming would make a cut here. However, what will Teacher Fu Shunan do next?"

Zheng Qin stared at the chessboard in front of him, lost in thought.

"Perhaps it will be taken to the upper right corner to continue shaping."

At that moment, a clear, cold voice rang out from the crowd.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked up at Xu Zijin, including Yu Shao.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Xu Zijin remained calm and continued, "After all, Black has a three-star formation. Once White has roughly determined the changes in the corner, all that is needed next is to focus on breaking through the enemy's territory."

After speaking, Xu Zijin looked away from the chessboard and turned to look at Yu Shao.

Yu Shao paused for a moment, then nodded: "It is indeed a very good move. If it were me, I would probably make the same choice."

The people around looked at the chessboard, thought about it for a moment, and nodded in surprise.

"Should I take my clothes off first?"

"Indeed, that's a very good idea."

"Instead of continuing to entangle with Black in the corner, it's better to simply establish the corner's structure, aiming for no mistakes rather than making any significant contributions. Then, when White invades Black's territory, it's essentially testing Black's response!"

As they discussed the game, they stretched out their hands and laid out several variations on the chessboard.

At this moment, Zheng Qin glanced at the TV screen and was immediately startled when he saw the chessboard on the screen. His eyes widened in shock!
"and many more!"

"Su Yiming... Su Yiming didn't make up for the break, but instead flew to the center!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. The heated discussion abruptly stopped, and everyone turned their heads to look at the television screen.

Yu Shao also turned to look at the TV screen, and was stunned when he saw the extra black piece on the chessboard.

On the television screen—

Seven columns and six rows, flying high!
The change in the upper left corner of the board is a standard push-back joseki. As the name suggests, a joseki is a fixed sequence formed by both sides in the struggle for the corner!
In other words, under a set pattern, even amateur and professional players will play exactly the same moves because both sides will follow the set pattern!

In the "pull and retreat" pattern, Black approaches high, White pushes, Black blocks, White retreats, Black reinforces the cut, White jumps or flies, and Black extends along the side. These moves are almost inevitable!

Previously, they had been discussing White's attacking methods and responses after Black extended the side!

However, in this game, facing White's retreat, Su Yiming did not play the standard cut as usual, but instead—

It flew straight into the middle of the abdomen!

"This……"

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

Everyone stared in shock at the television screen.

This move is neither bad nor difficult to understand.

Even just seeing this move for the first time, everyone can understand its intention and feel its subtlety.

This move is very unpredictable. At the very beginning of the opening, a stone is placed in the completely empty center, which makes it visually striking!

If you only look at this one local area, it is naturally a bad move. However, because Black has played a three-star formation in this game, this move, placed in the center, seems like a fragile move, but at this moment it actually looks... ethereal!
Someone stared in awe at the computer screen, exclaiming without blinking, "That's incredible imagination! Less than twenty moves, and it's already heading straight for the central government..."

Not just him, everyone was shocked.

You should know that this pattern is an extremely common one!

Yu Shao stared at the television screen, his expression turning serious.

The difficulty lies not in finding this move.

If the goal is simply to find this move, it's not actually that difficult. If you have this mindset, then anyone with the skill level of a professional player can find it.

Admittedly, this move, landing so early in the middle of the body in a completely empty space, has a very strong visual impact and can be described as magnificent.

But is this move really better than the standard cut-and-cut move?
That’s not necessarily the case.

This move is not bad; the thinking is clear, the goal is unified, and the shape of the stones is also very comfortable. But to say that it is worse than the cut is not necessarily true, and it may even be worse than the cut.

The difficulty lies in having this boundless imagination.

The difficulty lies in having the courage to break free from constraints and seek new changes within established patterns!

"Su Yiming must also know that I'm watching this whole game."

Yu Shao's eyes flickered as he stared intently at the television screen, as if he could see Su Yiming sitting in front of the chessboard through the screen.

"In the Grand Chess Tournament, what kind of chess moves does he... want me to see?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)