I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 434 Who are these two?
"Are they really determined to make everyone come in an orderly fashion and leave in an orderly fashion?"

When the onlookers saw that the two had decided who would go first and were about to start playing, they couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"There's no way around it, the gap is just too big. Just who is she? Her chess skills..."

"I suspect he's a professional Go player."

"Are you kidding me? Is there even any doubt about this? At this level, I even think most professional Go players wouldn't be a match for her. She's too strong. How can a female Go player be this strong?"

"Japanese female Go players? I know quite a few Japanese male Go players, but I don't really know much about Japanese female Go players..."

Although the girl is wearing a mask and has not revealed her identity, the three previous chess games have already revealed a lot, and everyone has a pretty good idea of ​​who she is.

Some people even accurately guessed that the girl was a player in the Phoenix Cup World Championship, but it was impossible to confirm. After all, professional players participating in the Phoenix Cup would not have so much free time to come to the chess hall to play chess.

However, in any case, the girl could never have been just an ordinary amateur chess player.

Thinking of this, everyone looked at Yu Shao and his group with a sense of pity.

The surrounding people were talking in hushed tones, but Yu Shao didn't hear them. He looked at the chessboard in front of him, pondered for a moment, and finally picked up a chess piece and gently placed his first move.

Hey!
Seventeen columns and seventeen rows, three times three!
Seeing Yu Shao make his move, the surrounding crowd calmed down, stopped whispering, and turned their attention to the game, beginning to watch the match.

"San San?"

The girl was slightly surprised to see Yu Shao place his bet on the third ball.

Although the 3-3 opening is no longer considered a bad move, it is still a relatively rare opening and not many players use it.

"You feel that there are too many star-position and small-eye layouts, making it difficult to profit, so you want to come up with new tricks to achieve unexpected victory?"

The girl felt that her guess was pretty close to the mark, and a faint smile appeared on her face. Finally, she took a chess piece from the chess box and gently placed it down.

"Then, shall we give it a try?"

Hey!
Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!
Yu Shao looked at the chessboard, quickly picked up a piece, and placed it down again.

Sixteen columns, seventeen rows, small eyes!
A three-three hand is already very rare. Generally speaking, after a three-three hand, the second move will be to place a piece in the star position to form a three-three-star layout. The combination of three-three small points is even rarer.

Without much thought, the girl also picked up a chess piece and quickly placed it down.

Four columns and four rows, stars!

After four moves, Black played an extremely rare opening with a three-three-point formation, while the girl responded with the most common and prevalent two-star formation, seemingly adopting a wait-and-see approach to observe Black's moves.

Yu Shao lowered his eyes and stared at the chessboard in front of him. After a few seconds, he picked up a chess piece again and gently placed it down.

Hey!
Seventeen columns and fourteen rows, with Big Fly guarding the corner!
The girl picked up a chess piece and quickly made a response.

Da da da……

The two sides began to take turns placing their pieces, the sounds of pieces being placed echoing throughout the chess hall.

Soon, the two sides had made more than thirty moves, and a black-and-white confrontation gradually emerged on the chessboard.

"So far, Black has played very well."

Among the crowd, someone frowned slightly as he looked at the chessboard and pondered, "At least in terms of the layout, the black pieces don't seem to have suffered any losses and are evenly matched with the white pieces."

"His two friends who were with him were both quite strong in chess, and he was naturally no less skilled, but unfortunately his opponents were even stronger."

Hearing this, the person next to him looked at the chessboard and nodded slightly, not surprised at all, and said softly, "But, we don't know how long he can hold out."

"The opening strategy relies on accumulation. If you study it very deeply, many amateur players are no weaker than professional players in the opening, and sometimes they can even gain an advantage."

The burly man said in a deep voice, "However, the middle game and the endgame rely on skill. What often separates professional players from amateur players is the middle game and the endgame."

Upon hearing this, everyone composed themselves, their expressions becoming even more focused as they stared intently at the chessboard.

The burly man was right. In Go, there are three stages: the opening, the middle game, and the endgame. The difference in the opening stage is usually quite small if both players have studied it.

There are even cases where amateur players have studied a particular opening so thoroughly that they can catch professional players off guard from the very beginning, putting them at a disadvantage in the opening phase.

For example, if someone has never played Go before, but has memorized a rare and complex opening pattern, and their opponent is a professional Go player who doesn't understand this pattern and plays it, the professional player will still be at a disadvantage.

However, in most cases, even if a professional player is hit by a dagger while facing an amateur player, as long as it doesn't cause serious injury or go too deep, the professional player will usually still win in the end.

Because the difference between professional and amateur players lies in the middle game and the endgame.

The middle game is too complex, with few patterns to follow, and it's impossible to memorize it like the opening. It depends on the player's understanding of the game, and every move needs to be adapted to the situation.

The difference in strength in the middle game is enough for a professional player to turn the tide and save the day even when they are bleeding from a knife wound!
That's why everyone is curious. Black's skill level is obviously not bad at this point. So, how will that girl widen the gap?

The process of widening the gap is undoubtedly the essence of this game, and they can learn something from it.

Without their own realizing it, after watching the first three games of chess, they had quietly become completely convinced of the girl's worth.

Hey!
Just then, the girl picked up a chess piece and gently placed it down.

"flutter?"

Upon seeing this move, everyone was first taken aback, and then suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

"She went straight into enemy territory, that's incredibly daring!"

The burly man stared intently at the chessboard without even blinking.

"Does this mean it starts right now?"

This move was unexpected by everyone. White penetrated deep into Black's territory, giving Black no chance to breathe and not allowing Black to respond. Black's next move will change the course of the entire game!
Yu Shao looked at the move and pondered for a moment before quickly picking up a piece and gently placing it down.

Da da da……

Soon, after another ten or so moves, the expressions on everyone's faces changed slightly.

"Just now, White's move was a surprise attack on Black's small stones, which Black ignored, but... White ultimately failed to achieve anything..." someone said hesitantly.

"No, rather than saying it was a fruitless trip, it's more accurate to say..."

The person next to him stared at the chessboard in shock and said, "Black seems to be playing by its own, but these few moves have silently neutralized White's attack!"

"At this point, White still has no advantage!"

Behind the girl, the young man who was with her hadn't said a word from beginning to end. When he saw this, he finally couldn't help but raise his head and take another look at Yu Shao, but he quickly looked away and continued to watch the game.

At this moment, the girl looked at the chessboard in front of her, and was also slightly surprised.

"I thought he would make up for the lost pieces, but he actually moved to the left side and seized a large area."

“It seems like Black has revealed an opening, but if I were to actually invade, my pieces would probably become heavier. So I have no choice but to retreat and consolidate my position.” “That’s interesting.”

The girl seemed to be deep in thought. After a moment's consideration, she picked up another chess piece and gently placed it down.

"Well, what about this?"

Hey!
Seven columns and twelve rows, sandwich!
Seeing the girl make this move, Yu Shao pondered for a moment, then picked up another chess piece and gently placed it down.

Da da da……

The two sides took turns placing their pieces, and the sound of pieces being placed began to ring out again.

Soon, after another twenty or so moves, a look of astonishment appeared on the faces of the surrounding crowd.

At this moment, the girl, holding a white piece, placed it on the plate again.

The moment the white piece was placed, Yu Shao glanced at the chessboard, then immediately picked up a piece and placed it with lightning speed!

Hey!
Ten columns, twelve rows, jump!
"This……"

Upon seeing this move, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then their eyes widened in astonishment.

The entire room fell silent for two or three seconds.

Two or three seconds later, someone finally stared wide-eyed at the chessboard in shock and couldn't help but exclaim, "White's retreat was an extremely beautiful move, full of subtlety!"

"After White retreats, with the cooperation of the surrounding pieces, its external influence has become extremely formidable, forming a towering mountain range that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it hard to shake!"

He looked up at Yu Shao in disbelief: "But... after he jumped, the black pieces around him actually formed a strange response to this seemingly unfounded jump!"

"White is now being firmly pinned down by Black!"

Not only him, but everyone was incredibly shocked, staring at the chessboard in disbelief.

They originally thought that the gap between the two sides would widen rapidly after entering the middle game.

but--

The reality was completely different from what they expected!

At this point, White still has no advantage. On the contrary, Black has shown its strength and directly attacked White, showing a posture of wanting to compete with White for supremacy!
"Jump……"

The girl was stunned when she saw Yu Shao's jump.

"His judgment was very accurate, and his calculations were very profound. It was as if he knew what I was thinking, and every move he made precisely hit the weak points of my white pieces."

"After the jump, my outer influence was damaged, and there is still a possibility that Black can forcefully invade the center!"

The girl's expression finally changed. Looking at the chessboard in front of her, her eyebrows furrowed tightly, and her expression suddenly became extremely serious.

"He...is very strong."

The girl raised her head, gave Yu Shao a deep look, and then composed herself. A sharp glint appeared in her eyes as she picked up another chess piece and quickly placed it down!
Da da da……

Both sides made their moves with lightning speed.

At some point, in addition to a sharper look, the girl's eyes also held a murderous intent. It was the murderous intent that came from feeling a strong threat and having no choice but to kill!
Black and white pieces began to spread across the board.

It was quite noticeable that the atmosphere inside the chess hall had changed drastically from what it had been before.

The people watching the game were quite relaxed before, and after watching the first three games, they felt that this game was not much of a surprise.

Therefore, they would occasionally whisper among themselves, discussing each move of the game and the girl, but at this moment, almost no one spoke.

The air was thick with tension and a sense of unease.
Even the young man walking behind the girl gradually became extremely serious as he looked at the chessboard.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

The sound of pieces being placed echoed continuously throughout the chess hall.

Everyone around remained silent, their eyes glued to the chessboard, completely absorbed in the game. As they watched the pieces fall one by one, it was as if they could see endless flashes of swords and shadows.

Quiet.

It's getting quieter and quieter.

Even breathing became inaudible; only the sound of pieces being placed echoed throughout the world!
After an unknown amount of time, as the girl stared intently at the chessboard, lost in deep thought, someone finally spoke again.

"So strong..."

He stared at the chessboard, still shaken, and exclaimed in awe, "It's too advanced! I couldn't understand many of the moves at all until much later in the game."

A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead as he said, "After White's turn, Black's move was the proper one, and White should have extended instead. However, White jumped out and made a foolish move without any regard for the consequences!"

"Faced with White's foolish shape, Black didn't even attack, but instead advanced directly towards the center with a large knight's move. It was another brilliant move that I never dreamed of!"

"But in the central battle, White's seemingly foolish shape unexpectedly unleashed unimaginable power!"

"It wasn't until this point that I understood why White wasn't afraid of creating a foolish shape: because after this piece died, there was a dead piece that could be considered a tesuji (tactical move) to use!"

"And Black had already seen through this!"

He said in disbelief, "They've all calculated way too far ahead... They're actually fighting on this kind of board, how can they even bet on it!"

"Unbelievable, they actually went down to this level. Who are those two?" someone couldn't help but ask in shock.

"I don't know, there are amazing moves everywhere. I even have the illusion that I'm watching a title match. Without the commentary, I can't understand it at all. Who is better and who is worse now?"

"I can't tell. Sometimes I feel that White has the advantage, and sometimes I feel that Black has the advantage."

"..."

Among the crowd, a young man in his early twenties frowned deeply. After a moment, he finally made a rough judgment of the situation, but he was still somewhat uncertain.

He took a deep breath and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Black should have the better position."

"Although White has a large territory in the corners and it is difficult to invade or attack, Black also has a shape in the center. Although the shape is not yet fully formed, its potential is terrifying!"

"Therefore, the best outcome for White is to break Black's shape and enter the endgame to decide the winner. If White cannot break Black's shape, White will only face certain death!"

"The key to victory or defeat in this game lies precisely here!"

(End of this chapter)