I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 423 Am I a substitute?
"It's him?"

Yu Shao stared at the incredibly familiar ID on the computer screen, slightly taken aback.

He once played a game with Shiau, but the game was only halfway through when Shiau timed out for some reason, and he lost.

The second encounter was between shiau and a player with the ID gangxuebuhuixia. In that game, both players displayed chess skills that amazed him. In the end, the match ended with shiau winning by a narrow margin.

This is the third time he has seen this ID.

Yu Shao thought for a moment, then quickly clicked on the spectator interface and entered the spectator view.

In this game, Shiau is playing black, and his opponent Chen is playing white.

Yu Shao focused intently on the chessboard and quickly discerned the situation.

As expected, Shiau gained the upper hand, with the black stones encircling the white stones and seemingly eyeing the large white group in the center.

"This Chen... is not weak either."

After looking at a few more moves, Yu Shao's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

Shiau is very strong, which he had expected. However, this Chen is no ordinary player either. If he were in the professional Go world, he would probably be at least a professional 9-dan.

Even so, Chen still seemed outmatched by Shiau.

Yu Shao could see that although he was at a disadvantage, Chen remained calm and, based on the situation, finally launched a counterattack against Shiau from the lower left corner.

However, Shiau played an even more ruthless move. Instead of reinforcing his position, he took an unconventional approach, using ingenious sacrifices and board control to forcefully capture White's external influence!
Although there is still a long battle ahead, judging from the current situation, Shiau should be able to win.

At this moment, countless netizens' comments were also densely packed, with netizens from various countries discussing this game of chess in English, and countless comments flying across the top of the screen.

"Shiau is really too strong. Could it be that even Chen will be defeated by Shiau?"

"Who exactly is Shiau? He must be a professional Go player, and probably not just any ordinary one."

"Definitely. Not only Shiau, but many people also suspect that Chen is a professional Go player. It's just that we're not sure who he is. Judging from his ID, he is very likely an Asian Go player."

"I'm afraid another Invincible Brother is about to fall at Shiau's hands. Tsk tsk, Shiau is too strong. One Invincible Brother after another falls in front of him. Who will be next? Hahaha? Who exactly is he?"

"The invincible killer? Actually, I think he is very likely Yu Shao. Many of his tactics are very similar to Yu Shao's."

"Yes, I also think it's Yu Shao. Wasn't today the Battle of the Torch? Not long after the Battle of the Torch ended, Shiau went online. The timing is very consistent."

"Indeed, more importantly, Yu Shao's style of play is very difficult to imitate. Yu Shao's strength lies in his sudden, chilling understanding and his aggressive, oppressive, and threatening style. Shiau is just like that."

"Could it really be Yu Shao?"

"Otherwise what? His understanding of thickness and thinness, as well as his shoulder strike to the corner and the small eye two-space jump to guard the corner, should be Yu Shao's style."

"If Shiau really is Yu Shao, then who did he lose the only game to? That's incredible, he even beat Shiau?"

"I don't know. The game records only keep the most recent 100 games. The game that Shiau lost must have been over 100 games ago."

"Isn't that even more unbelievable? Even if you win every game in the first hundred rounds, it's hard to encounter strong opponents. With Shiau's skill level, how could he have lost at that point?"

"I don't know, maybe Shiau ran into Professor Anhong Crystal? (laughs)"

"..."

Seeing these comments and bullet screen messages from netizens, Yu Shao was somewhat bewildered.

Could Shiau be me?

How come I don’t know about this?
"I've become a stand-in?"

Yu Shao frowned slightly, feeling somewhat puzzled. He had played half a game with Shiau and watched Shiau play against Gangxuebuhuixia, but he had never felt that Shiau and he had anything in common.

After pondering for a moment, Yu Shao moved the mouse, repeatedly clicking the previous move until the game returned to its starting point, before clicking the next move and beginning to observe.

"The star is small against the two stars, then Black plays the 3-3 point, playing the variation of the captain, moving to the small eye, and then the two spaces are high approached..."

Yu Shao kept clicking the next move, watching each move made by both sides, and gradually, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

In many ways, his thinking was not different from Shiau's, but on some key decisions, Shiau made almost the same judgments as him.

Judging thickness, choosing terrain, and the order of priority...
Soon, Yu Shao finished reading the first half of the game, and followed the latest odds for both sides.

Seeing this, Yu Shao finally understood why netizens speculated that this Shiau was likely himself, even though he and Shiau had no connection other than having played half a game together.

"Rather than saying he's like me, it's more accurate to say..."

"He is not like me, but just very much like a chess player who also experienced the AI ​​era."

Yu Shao thought for a moment, then stopped paying attention to the game, which was already decided. He moved the mouse, clicked the right mouse button, opened Shiau's historical game record, and began to look at Shiau's historical game records.

One article.

Two articles.

Three articles.

Yu Shao read very quickly. After reviewing Shiau's ten most recent games, he jumped to the records of Shiau's thirty most recent games and began to peruse them.

After watching a few games from the first thirty, Yu Shao jumped to the first sixty games of Shiau, read a few game records, and finally slid directly to the game record that was furthest away from Shiau.

Before long, Yu Shao had watched the entire game of chess from beginning to end.

"In this game, his approach to Go in the AI ​​era was still very immature. Although he played like this, he couldn't make good use of it."

"However, he has been growing at an astonishing speed in one game of chess after another."

Yu Shao frowned more and more, then moved the mouse to the second-to-last game in Shiau's match history. After watching it, he immediately clicked on the third-to-last game.

"In these few games, he often made some strange moves, which is clearly not the level he played when he played against gangxuebuhuixia. These moves are as if he doesn't know how to play chess at all."

Yu Shao stared at the game record on the computer screen, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper: "However, relying on his calculation skills and attacking power, he still won these games even though his opponents were not weak."

"It's like... completely forgetting the old way of playing Go and starting to learn Go all over again."

"If you look at it from this perspective, those strange moves become completely understandable."

"Up to this latest game, it is already very, very similar to the game played by players who have experienced the AI ​​era."

Although the world of chess has changed so much in the past year or so, for example, some moves from the AI ​​era have now become very common.

However, even with so many AI-era moves sweeping the chess world, there is still no player that Yu Shao can truly feel as if he has experienced the AI ​​era.

Including Su Yiming!
Although Su Yiming has a deep understanding of Go in the post-AI era, Yu Shao believes that there is still a gap between Su Yiming and players who have truly experienced the AI ​​era.

However, Su Yiming's astonishing combat prowess on complex board situations, his brilliant and imaginative moves, and his grand vision in fighting in the center and sky even surpassed all the chess players Yu Shao had seen in his previous life!
Therefore, even though there is still a gap between Su Yiming and the players who have truly experienced the AI ​​era, most of the players who have truly experienced the AI ​​era are probably no match for Su Yiming!
However, in Yu Shao's view, Su Yiming has only half-stepped into the door of post-AI Go, and is still just a Go player from the pre-AI era.

After all, there are no Go AIs in this world. No one can learn from Go AIs; they can only repeatedly think and ponder through game records. And this Shiau has truly become very much like a Go player who experienced the AI ​​era. In his understanding of Go in the AI ​​era, he has even surpassed Su Yiming!

It's worth noting that Su Yiming had played more than one game of chess with him face-to-face.

This Shiau was someone he had only played half a game of chess with online, meaning Shiau relied solely on himself.

Although a close look at Shiau's game records reveals differences between him and players who experienced the AI ​​era, with subtle differences still present, the gap is no longer significant.

"Shiau, who...is he?"

Yu Shao stared at the chess score on the computer screen, saying nothing.

After a long while, a pop-up window appeared on the computer screen.

[Chen resigned in the middle game.]

This game of chess is over.

Although Chen is no ordinary player, he was ultimately defeated in the middle game by Shiau with almost no chance of fighting back and had to resign.

Yu Shao took a deep breath, swiped the mouse, and sent a challenge to Shiau.

Shiau did not go offline, but he has not yet agreed.

……

……

North and South Korea, inside the Go Academy in Pyongyang.

"The day before yesterday, Park Chan-kyun, a 9-dan professional Go player, told me that he was brutally defeated while playing online Go."

A young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes stood behind An Hongshi with a smile on his face, waving a folding fan in his hand. He looked at the computer screen and said with a smile, "I laughed at him back then, and he told me that the opponent would definitely be Yu Shao."

“At the time, I thought it was just an excuse, and then yesterday I challenged Shiau.”

The young man snapped his folding fan shut and said, "Because I wasn't paying attention, I was utterly annihilated by Shiau!"

"I only had one thought at the time: Damn, there's no escaping it. This guy really is Yu Shao. Who else could it be but him? Anyone who says he's not Yu Shao, I'll fight them!"

The young man, with a funny expression, continued, "I never expected that as soon as the competition ended, Mr. An Hongshi would call me and start reviewing the game with me."

"I was wondering at the time, since I didn't register my online chess account with my real name? Turns out, shiau is you, Professor An Hongshi!"

The young man tapped the back of his head with his folding fan, shaking his head and saying, "That's not surprising, that's not surprising!"

Looking at the dense barrage of match invitations popping up on the computer screen, An Hongshi smiled and said, "I realized my opponent would definitely be you halfway through that game."

"Then you really show no mercy."

The young man sighed, looking resentful, and said, "I lost so badly."

Upon hearing this, An Hongshi couldn't help but smile and said, "If it were about showing mercy, I'm afraid you wouldn't."

"But why did you suddenly decide to play chess online?"

The young man asked with some curiosity, "I remember you were quite opposed to playing chess online before?"

"I was so bored while I was in the hospital, so I thought I'd play chess online. I found that I could play chess with players from all over the world from home, which was really fun."

An Hongshi said with a smile, "Unfortunately, the nurse found out later and confiscated my laptop, so I couldn't download it for a long time."

"Oh?"

The young man paused for a moment, then asked, "So you've been playing online chess ever since you were discharged from the hospital?"

"No, not really. After being discharged from the hospital, I only play occasionally. Compared to online chess, I still prefer the feeling of holding chess pieces in my hand."

After pondering for a moment, An Hongshi shook his head and said.

"What makes you play online chess so often these days?" the young man asked curiously.

"Because I encountered an opponent online before, and I played a very good game."

An Hongshi replied with a smile.

"A good situation?"

Upon hearing this, the young man was stunned.

The words "good game" carried significant weight when uttered by An Hongshi. A game that An Hongshi considered a rare and excellent game was likely a masterpiece worthy of being passed down through generations.

"Yes, I've met a very strong opponent."

An Hongshi smiled faintly and said, "It was because of that game of chess that my thinking changed."

“He is not any of the chess players I have ever played against, absolutely not. If he were, I would definitely recognize him when he plays against me, just like I recognized you yesterday.”

"It doesn't matter who my opponent is, whether they are on the other side of the table or not, or even if they are online. I just want to play against strong opponents like that."

"It has been a very, very long time since I have encountered such an opponent."

"The fact that such a game could be played online is why I've been waiting to play against him again."

Upon hearing this, the young man was completely stunned. After a long while, he asked incredulously, "Teacher An Hongshi, did you... lose that game?"

"No, I won."

An Hongshi shook his head and said.

Upon hearing this, the young man breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Then we've won, haven't we? You—"

"But we almost lost."

An Hongshi interrupted the young man, saying, "The outcome is decided by only half a point. Until the game is completely over, I won't know whether I've won or lost."

Half an eye?

The winner can only be determined after the game is completely over?
The young man's eyes widened in disbelief. "So strong?!"

An Hongshi nodded and said, "So, all this time, I have been constantly honing my chess skills, hoping that one day I can play against him again."

"Although I don't know his name or where he's from, he must be working on improving his skills, waiting for our next match, right?"

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)