I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 416 New battlefield
The interview lasted for almost an hour before it finally ended.

When Yu Shao left the press room, it was already dusk. This game of chess, which started at ten in the morning and lasted until the end, followed by the post-game interview, meant that more than half of the day had passed.

"A desperate gamble..."

After parting ways with Su Yiming, Yu Shao walked away from the Southern Chess Academy, and couldn't help but think of Su Yiming's words again, his thoughts becoming somewhat chaotic once more.

He knew that Su Yiming's words were true.

Take today's game as an example. If he were playing black, he would be confident of surpassing Su Yiming in the early and middle stages of the game. However, if he were to play the later stages, he probably wouldn't be able to compete with Su Yiming.

In the final stretch, Su Yiming fought like a lone wolf against millions of others, ultimately breaking through the encirclement and single-handedly achieving a stalemate with the vast army!

The ancients are not seen before, and the comers are not seen later.

This requires much more than just chess skills.

Courage, determination, and fighting spirit!
All three are indispensable!

However, even knowing that Su Yiming was right, he couldn't change his mindset for a while. Even though he kept telling himself to fight for it, it was just self-deception.

A lack of fighting spirit is simply a lack of fighting spirit; it's not that I should have fighting spirit and then suddenly I will.

He could feel this power in Su Yiming.

It would have been better if Su Yiming hadn't mentioned it, because once he did, Yu Shao immediately thought of many things.

In his previous life, all the top five players in the chess world, except for him, were new generation players who rose to prominence in the post-AI era.

Players who have experienced both the pre-AI and post-AI eras will more or less lack fighting spirit; only those who rose to prominence in the post-AI era can forge ahead relentlessly.

Because they have never experienced the collapse of their views on Go, nor have they felt the despair of having everything they once believed in denied, or the sorrow of having everything they once gave go down the drain.

He once thought that his chess skills had declined because he was no longer young and could not compete with the younger generation, but now it seems that this may not be the case.

"Perhaps... when I regain that fighting spirit, my chess skills may not change much, but my chess strength will improve by leaps and bounds."

Yu Shao looked up at the setting sun on the horizon and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"In this life, my sense of life and death, and my ability to attack and kill in complex situations, have been honed. Although I haven't reached my peak yet, it's only a matter of time."

"If I can completely integrate offense and control, and at the same time rekindle the fighting spirit I once had..."

"My chess skills may reach a whole new level!"

Just then, a shout rang out from behind, interrupting Yu Shao's thoughts.

"Yu Shao!"

Hearing someone call his name from behind, Yu Shao stopped and turned around to look behind him.

Not far away, in the twilight, Zheng Qin was waving and walking quickly toward him, followed by Xu Zijin, Wu Zhixuan, Le Haoqiang and others.

Soon, Zheng Qin arrived in front of Yu Shao, then reached out and patted Yu Shao's shoulder heavily, laughing, "Well played, Yu Shao! We watched the whole game in the broadcast room today."

"We didn't win this game again today, what's so great about it?"

Yu Shao smiled, removed Zheng Qin's wrist from his shoulder, and said, "With such a huge advantage, you should win no matter what, right?"

"Who says that? Doesn't it look even prettier this way?"

Zheng Qin shook his head and laughed, "The four ko cycles at the end of the game were enough to make you a god, but even so, in the end you only managed a draw. Isn't that beautiful?"

Even now, recalling today's game, Zheng Qin is still deeply impressed and exclaimed, "However, I really didn't expect it."

"Despite such a huge disadvantage, Su Yiming actually created a miracle and turned the tide. It was so exciting to watch! Yu Shao, it seems you still have a lot of practice to do!"

Zheng Qin and Yu Shao used to play against each other frequently at the Shanhai Chess Hall, and now their relationship has become very good, to the point where they can joke around freely.

"Who said that! Who said that! Although Su Yiming's performance at the end of the day was indeed amazing, Yu Shao was clearly better, okay!"

Upon hearing Zheng Qin's words, Wu Zhixuan immediately became displeased. She clenched her fists, wrinkled her little nose, and spoke up for Yu Shao: "Yu Shao is the best!"

"Indeed, Yu Shao is the most capable!"

Le Haoqiang nodded in deep agreement, agreeing with Wu Zhixuan's words, and then whispered, "Anyway, Su Yiming isn't here."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"How about we go eat together?"

Just then, Xu Zijin brushed a stray hair behind her ear, looked at Yu Shao, and suddenly said, "It's my treat."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

Before Yu Shao could speak, Le Haoqiang raised his hand and said, "Let's go!"

"I generally don't let girls pay for meals unless she's really, really rich!"

“How about hot pot?”

"Korean food is good too!"

Hearing what everyone was saying, Yu Shao couldn't help but smile. He chatted with Zheng Qin and his group as they walked out of the Southern Chess Academy.

As they walked, Zheng Qin suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Yu Shao, you'll be signing up for the Phoenix Cup, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Yu Shao glanced at Zheng Qin and asked.

Zheng Qin smiled and said, "I've signed up too."

"You've registered?"

Hearing this, Yu Shao was slightly surprised, but then he thought that Zheng Qin had already made it into the title match main tournament, so he was indeed qualified to register for the World Championship.

"Correct."

Zheng Qin nodded, his expression filled with barely suppressed anticipation, and said, "After all, it's a world championship, and it's being held in China. Top players from all over the world will come here to compete. Just thinking about it is exciting!"

"Honinbo Shingo, Kisei Yasuhiko, Go Kimura 9-dan... These are names I could only see in books when I was learning Go. Behind each name is a magnificent legend of Go!"

"Now, I also have the opportunity to compete with them!"

Zheng Qin raised an eyebrow at Yu Shao and said, "Perhaps we will meet again as rivals."

Upon hearing this, Le Haoqiang said, "If we really run into you, it won't be good news for Yu Shao."

Hearing this, everyone was taken aback, and Zheng Qin asked, somewhat puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Yu Shao played against you even before he became a professional Go player, right?"

Le Haoqiang complained, "He's already got the national team title, so why do we still have to compete against you in a split-first match?" "What do you mean?!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin didn't react at first, but after he did, he immediately flew into a rage, rolled up his sleeves, and was ready to fight Le Haoqiang to the death.

"I think it's alright, the probability of encountering it is not high."

Just then, Xu Zijin spoke up calmly: "Unless we face each other from the very beginning, if we meet again later in the series, I'll have to question the level of the World Championship."

Everyone was stunned when they heard Xu Zijin's words.

Even Yu Shao looked at Xu Zijing in disbelief, never expecting such vicious words to come out of her mouth.

“I…I…”

In a fit of anger, Zheng Qin snapped, "Don't you even know what 'thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river' means?!"

Everyone burst into laughter again, and the air was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

However, even Zheng Qin himself is well aware that his participation in the World Championship is really just to experience the atmosphere of the World Championship, and it is basically impossible for him to achieve any results.

Although reaching the title match main tournament means they are indeed top-tier players, their level is simply not good enough for the world stage.

Having the skill to reach the main tournament of a title match is only the minimum requirement for participating in a world championship. However, to achieve certain results, let alone win the championship, one must at least possess the level of a title holder.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you can only achieve results if you have a title. In world championships, there are many examples of 9-dan players who have defeated a host of title holders and ultimately won the championship, such as Japanese player Kimura Go.

However, although these players do not have titles, their skill level is already at the title level, which is incomparable to that of ordinary 9-dan players. They just may not have performed well in title matches.

After all, there are only seven national titles, but the number of players in a country with the skill level of a title holder may far exceed that number.

If there are too many monsters in the country, even if their level is far superior to other 9-dan players, they may not be able to obtain the title if they perform poorly in the title match.

Therefore, although their participation in the World Championships may seem like Zheng Qin's only meeting the minimum requirement of "entering the title match main event," they are actually not on the same level as Zheng Qin at all, and many title holders have to avoid their sharp edge.

Moreover, among the participating players, there must be players like Jiang Changdong and Fu Shunan who have just lost their titles in the past year or two. Even if they have lost their titles, they are still strong contenders for the world championship.

Players like Zheng Qin, who go through tremendous effort to reach the main tournament of the title match, generally don't make much of a splash in world championships and can only serve as a spectacle.

"The World Championship..."

Yu Shao was also somewhat dazed for a moment.

In his previous life, he had played very few domestic competitions. His only battlefield was the World Championship, since he usually qualified directly as a seeded player.

Now, he is finally about to return to the battlefield he once knew best.

In this world, he has played against countless domestic chess players, but he has only heard of the top foreign chess players, never seen them in person, and has never played against them face-to-face.

"Since our overall chess strength ranks third in the world, are there any strong players ranked below us besides those from Japan and South Korea?" Yu Shao thought for a moment and asked with some curiosity.

"Of course."

Zheng Qin chuckled and said, "The world championships and the overall level of Go in different countries are not the same thing. Some small countries, even if their overall Go strength is far inferior to ours, may still have players with exceptional Go skills."

"That's why the World Championship is so anticipated. It's an individual showcase for players from all countries, selecting only the strongest among them. As long as you are strong, it doesn't matter what others are."

"If we underestimate an opponent just because they come from an unknown small country, we may pay a bloody price."

Zheng Qin smiled and said, "Professor Zhuang Weisheng is more qualified to speak on this point."

"Oh?"

Yu Shao was taken aback and asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

"Germany's Go level has always been low internationally, and it is still the same now. Back then, Mr. Zhuang Weisheng lost to Mr. Honinbo Shingo and fell into the loser's bracket, and then he met Mr. Hans."

Zheng Qin thought for a moment and continued, "You may not be familiar with the name Hans. His chess name is Hans, and he is currently the holder of five major titles: German Master, Chess King, Tengen, Chess Saint, and Meijin."

"Holding five titles simultaneously?"

Yu Shao couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.

"Correct."

Zheng Qin nodded and said, "However, this is now. Back then, Teacher Han Si didn't even have a title and was unknown. Teacher Zhuang Weisheng underestimated his opponent and was ultimately defeated by Teacher Han Si."

"After that, Hans was resurrected from the loser's bracket and fought all the way to the final. In the best-of-three final, he surprisingly defeated An Hongshi, leaving everyone speechless. In the end, he won the first world championship in German Go history."

Hearing this, Le Haoqiang nodded and quickly said, "I also remember the final game. It was thrilling and very exciting. Both sides were very evenly matched, and the game was decided by half a point in the endgame!"

"You have no idea how sensational this was back then! It was Professor An Hongshi!"

Le Haoqiang couldn't help but marvel, saying, "That year, the whole internet was in an uproar. Nobody could believe that Professor An Hongshi had lost to a German player."

"Yes, I remember after the match, because Hans won Germany's first world Go championship, the whole of Germany had a three-day holiday. It was a national celebration."

Zheng Qin nodded and exclaimed, "Such examples happen almost every year. Every year, one or two players from weak Go countries whose names I've never heard of will achieve good results in world championships."

"From being unknown to becoming world-renowned, it may only take one game in a world championship."

"Even if a country is weak in Go and its overall level is low, the emergence of a genius can make everyone in the country stand tall and proud!"

"The existence of these players also serves as an inspiration to other players in their respective countries. For example, in Germany, although the overall level of Go is still not very high, thanks to Hans and the strong support from the government, it is now on a completely different level compared to before!"

"Therefore, all chess players who go to the world championships carry the expectations of the whole country and will do their best to fight with all their might."

Le Haoqiang nodded, looking expectant, and said, "In short, the World Championship is a true feast for Go players. I need to work harder and try to get into the title match main tournament as soon as possible so I can participate in the World Championship!"

At this point, Le Haoqiang's expression turned somewhat somber: "It's said that Qin Lang has also signed up for the Phoenix Cup."

"Oh?"

Yu Shao was genuinely surprised and asked, "Qin Lang has also made it into the main tournament of the title match?"

"Yes, it's also a celebrity match."

Le Haoqiang took a deep breath and said, "However, I feel like I'll be there soon too. My name will definitely be on the roster for the next World Championship!"

"Is this so..."

After listening to Le Haoqiang and Zheng Qin's words, Yu Shao seemed to be deep in thought, and couldn't help but feel a little looking forward to the World Go Championship.

This world is different from the previous one. Chess players are all over the world, the style of chess is prevalent, and the competition is extremely fierce. The minimum requirement to participate in the world championship is to reach the main tournament of the title match, which shows how prestigious it is!

Dragons and snakes rise together, heroes vie for supremacy.

This will be the new battlefield!

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)