I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 393 Let another version of you take action!

In the second match of the Grand Chess Tournament, Su Yiming won by killing the dragon in the middle game.

This also means that the next game will be the decisive one. If Su Yiming wins again, the Grand Chess Player Tournament will come to an end. Only if Fu Shunan wins will both sides have a chance to enter the fourth game.

A moment later, Yu Shao looked away from the television screen and turned to the chessboard in front of him.

In the previous game, Su Yiming built a large territory and overwhelmed Fu Shunan with amazing momentum. This game, however, is a pure contest of calculation and attack power.

In Yu Shao's view, Su Yiming clearly had shortcomings, and he was well aware of the gap between Su Yiming and himself.

However, Su Yiming's keen insight into complex board situations and his formidable pressure in battle surpassed all the chess players Yu Shao had ever seen in his past and present lives.

"In just over a year, he is now a completely different person from the one he was in the high school Go league."

Yu Shao stared silently at the chessboard, his mind replaying each move from the beginning to the end of the game, as if a fleeting shadow appeared before him.

He still remembers the scene when he first met Su Yiming at the high school Go league.

At that time, although he felt that Su Yiming's chess skills were unexpectedly strong, they were only strong, which was surprising but not enough to really attract his attention.

At that time, the gap between them was obvious. More than a year ago, Su Yiming was probably no match for Fu Shunan, let alone him. Even if Su Yiming used all his strength, the gap between the two would be difficult to overcome.

He never imagined that Su Yiming would actually track him down here in just over a year.

Will the final game end the Grand Chess Tournament directly?

Yu Shao thought to himself silently.

Although Su Yiming's skill level should be stronger than Fu Shunan's in these two games, Go is too unpredictable, and Fu Shunan is by no means weak either. He cannot be sure that Su Yiming will continue to win in the next game.

"Just wait..."

Yu Shao gazed intently at the chessboard, slowly picked up a black piece, and gently placed it down.

"I'm waiting for the day he appears across from me!"

Hey!
The chess pieces are placed on the board.

Eight columns and ten rows, sandwiched!

Hearing the sound of the chess pieces hitting the board, Xu Zijing and Zheng Qincai finally snapped out of their reverie from the recently concluded Grand Chess Tournament and looked at the chessboard.

Immediately afterwards, a look of astonishment appeared on their faces.

"Should Black play a trap here?"

Zheng Qin's eyes widened little by little as he said, "A strange location I never even dreamed of!"

"but……"

Zheng Qin looked surprised and couldn't help but stand up slightly, exclaiming, "Upon closer inspection, this move is quite interesting!"

Beside Zheng Qin, Xu Zijing stared blankly at the chessboard, her beautiful eyes trembling slightly.

"Faced with White's aggressive tiger's mouth, Black's response would obviously be to retreat, but Yu Shao... chose to clamp."

"This move, going with the flow, demonstrates a deep understanding of the dynamics of Go and a keen insight into all the changes on the board."

"This move is like looking down from a very high place, quietly observing the overall situation and watching the major changes!"

Yu Shao was unaware of Xu Zijin's thoughts. Seeing Zheng Qin's surprised expression and looking at the chessboard, he was quite satisfied with his move and said with a smile, "It should be alright."

"This is hardly acceptable!!"

The more Zheng Qin thought about this move, the more profound its implications became. His mind raced, calculating the subsequent variations, and he couldn't help but stretch out his hand and say, "If we play like this, White will be in danger!"

Zheng Qin arranged several variations, and the more he arranged them, the more alarmed he became.

Finally, Zheng Qin stopped after showing the subsequent variations of the small knight's move, and frowned slightly, saying, "However, it seems that White also has a way to counter the small knight's move here!"

"If White makes a small knight's move, Black doesn't necessarily have to turn; he can actually touch it."

Yu Shao thought for a moment, picked up a piece, and gently placed it down. Then Zheng Qin followed up with his variation, saying as he placed the piece, "It looks like a pong will put the white pieces in a low position, allowing the white pieces to move to the outside, which is not good."

"However, because this piece limits White's efficiency, White's external influence is not as strong as imagined. If White wants to attack, Black also has ways to do so."

Seeing the variations Yu Shao presented, Zheng Qin's eyes gradually lit up: "I see. Because White's external influence is amazing, I subconsciously rejected this move. In fact, although White's external influence looks amazing, there are cutting points that can be used!"

"Correct."

Yu Shao smiled upon hearing this. Zheng Qin hadn't seen this move because his old understanding of Go was still holding him back. Although many viewpoints in the Go world have been overturned, not everyone can adapt immediately.

For example, Zheng Qin, although he already knew that it wasn't so terrible for the other party to form a huge external force, he was still subconsciously worried about the other party forming an external force, so he didn't find a way to make a move.

This problem cannot be changed overnight.

Some chess players change quickly, some change slowly, and some never change at all in their lifetime. These chess players from the past also eventually faded away in the AI ​​era.

These chess players, whose skills are immutable, may have left behind countless famous games and made many amazing moves in the chess world. However, with the advent of the AI ​​era, their legend came to an end.

"If White touches, White can only push, then Black can play a tiger's mouth to reinforce, and White will cut off here..."

Zheng Qin excitedly stretched out his hand, talking as he continuously laid out the subsequent variations on the chessboard. The more he laid out the variations, the more amazed he became at the development of the game after Yu Shao's clamp move.

"Here, White should jump."

As Zheng Qin spoke, he reached into the chess box again, preparing to pick out a chess piece and place it down. Suddenly, a slender, fair hand reached onto the chessboard and pressed down on the chess piece.

Zheng Qin was slightly taken aback, and his right hand suddenly stopped in the chess box.

Yu Shao was also taken aback by the sight. He looked up in confusion at Xu Zijing, who was standing next to Zheng Qin. He saw that Xu Zijing's beautiful amber eyes were staring intently at him.

"Xu Zijin, what's wrong?"

Yu Shao felt a little flustered under Xu Zijin's gaze and couldn't help but ask.

"Yu Shao, let's play a game of chess."

Xu Zijin kept her eyes fixed on Yu Shao, as if afraid he would refuse, and said, "It's been a long time since we played chess, hasn't it?"

"Playing chess?"

Hearing that Xu Zijin was going to say this, Yu Shao was a little confused, but quickly nodded and said, "Okay."

"What I mean is—"

Xu Zijing stared at Yu Shao for a moment before finally speaking: "Let the one who played the third game of the National Masters Tournament make the move, let... the one who made this trap move make the move!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Shao froze, staring blankly at Xu Zijing across from him.

Zheng Qin was also stunned, and then couldn't help but raise his head to look at Xu Zijin.

“In that game, your playing style was completely different from before. Many people thought it was a game where you had a flash of inspiration, because it is not uncommon for a chess player to suddenly change his playing style in a few games.”

Xu Zijin stared intently at Yu Shao, as if trying to see right through him: "But, you shouldn't be, right?"

"I've known you for far too long, and because of that, I understand you very well. Ironically, your very first game was the most similar to the third game of the National Masters Tournament, but it became less and less similar afterward!"

"The move you made in this game, the clamp, wasn't something you could come up with so easily; it required experience to back it up!"

"So, the style of play you're most comfortable with is the one you used in the third game of the National Masters Tournament, right?" Upon hearing this, Yu Shao stared blankly at Xu Zijing, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Xu Zijin is right.

Although he has been playing this style of chess for almost two years now, he played the same style of chess in the third game of the National Masters Tournament for a whole lifetime in his previous life, playing countless games with it!
"I can't be sure if my guess is true, but if it is—"

Xu Zijing paused for a moment before finally speaking again: "I want to play chess with him!"

Xu Zijing's eyes never left Yu Shao for a moment, a hint of determination in them, as if she had made up her mind. Her right hand was placed in front of her chest, and her tone was urgent: "Let me play a game with him!"

Quiet.

The private room in the chess club was completely silent.

Yu Shao had never seen Xu Zijin like this before. Xu Zijin had always been rather cold, and she gave the impression that she wouldn't have much of an emotional fluctuation no matter what happened.

Xu Zijin's tone now carried an urgent urgency, even a hint of pleading!
"Xu Zijin..."

Standing to the side, Zheng Qin stared blankly at Xu Zijing, his heart filled with unprecedented emotion.

Although Xu Zijing was a girl and her chess skills were not as good as his, at this moment, Zheng Qin felt that he was inferior to Xu Zijing.

What Xu Zijin said, how could he not know it?
After all, he was the first one to fight Yu Shao!
The two games at the Shanhai Chess Hall, although different from the third game of the National Masters Tournament, clearly had more similarities to the previous games. On the contrary, the similarities became less and less in the subsequent games!

After watching the third game of the National Masters Tournament, the first thing that came to his mind was the two games he played with Yu Shao at the Shanhai Chess Hall!
He also wondered if Yu Shao was actually most comfortable with this method of play.
However, he later dismissed the idea and stopped thinking about it.

After all, if that game of chess wasn't just a fluke by Yu Shao, but simply a display of his ordinary skill, it would be too astonishing.

He didn't know how to defeat him if someone could consistently play that kind of game; that kind of overwhelming style of play was simply demoralizing.

After all, Jiang Changdong, known as the Dragon Slayer, didn't even have a chance to fight, and quietly suffered the most devastating defeat of his life!

The outcome is decided by half a point.

Before this game, Zheng Qin never even imagined that losing by half a point would one day be associated with the word "tragic"!
That's why, although he had the same thought as Xu Zijin more than once, he never asked her, because even if it were true, he didn't want to play chess with someone like Yu Shao.

Because, when he asked himself honestly, he realized he... had absolutely no chance of winning.

Professional Go players are all proud, even those who are first dan. To become a professional Go player is already a genius, and definitely a genius, not to mention the best among them.

What kind of courage does a professional Go player need to face the fact that he has absolutely no chance of winning?!

But at this moment, Xu Zijing said—

She wished she could play chess with someone like Yu Shao!
Tick, tick, tick.

Inside the private room of the chess club, only the ticking of the clock hanging on the wall could be heard.

"..."

Yu Shao looked at Xu Zijing without saying a word.

In the national team match, he has already decided to say goodbye to the past.

However, this was not Xu Zijin's request; it was... a chess player's request.

A chess player's request to play against a strong opponent.

Even Yu Shao himself knew that although he had made some progress in this life and was still very strong, he was still no match for his past self, after all, he had been playing chess for nearly thirty years in his past life.

Perhaps, in any case, he should respond to this expectation from a chess player.

Yu Shao remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "I understand."

Yu Shao did not respond to whether Xu Zijin's guess was right or wrong, but simply said, "Let's play chess."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zijing took a deep breath and walked to Zheng Qin's side. Zheng Qin silently stood up and made way for Xu Zijing.

Xu Zijin pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Yu Shao.

"Guess first?"

As Yu Shao tidied up the chess pieces on the board, he asked a question.

"I play black."

Xu Zijin spoke calmly.

Yu Shao didn't speak. He remembered that when he was at Jiangling No. 1 Middle School, he played chess with Xu Zijin. No matter how he lost, Xu Zijin would always take the initiative to ask to play first.

However... this time, Xu Zijin no longer asked to guess first, but instead wanted to play black first.

Although Black has a large komi of seven and a half points, Xu Zijin is better at playing first, because even with the komi, Black still has the initiative when playing first.

"it is good."

Yu Shao nodded, quickly finished tidying up the chess pieces, pushed the box containing the black pieces to Xu Zijing, and kept the white pieces for himself.

Xu Zijing took the chess box, then bowed her head to Yu Shao and said, "Please give me your guidance."

"Please give me more advice."

Yu Shao returned the greeting.

The game of chess has begun.

Xu Zijing looked at the chessboard, then quickly stretched out her slender, fair right hand, picked up a chess piece from the chess box, and made her first move.

Hey!
Seventeen columns, three rows, three by three.

Yu Shao also silently picked up a black piece and gently placed it down.

Four columns and sixteen rows, stars.

Da da da……

Both sides began to place their pieces. Zheng Qin stood by the chessboard, silently watching the game and listening to the crisp sound of each piece being placed echoing in the air.

Amidst the frequent sounds of pieces being placed, time ticked by.

at last.

An hour later.

Xu Zijing stared at the intricate chessboard before her, clenching her left fist. Although she had been mentally prepared, but...

In the end, Xu Zijing lowered her head and said, "I lost..."

Zheng Qin remained completely silent.

He watched the entire game from beginning to end, and Xu Zijin's performance greatly impressed him.

Ultimately, Black failed to make any significant impact before the game came to an end.

This game of chess had only a mundane beginning and ended silently.

(End of this chapter)