I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 435 Is he assessing my chess skills?

On the chessboard, the black and white pieces intertwined and spread like a spider web, and soon after more than ten moves, the game was over.

"No wonder Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng are no match for her."

Looking at the chessboard in front of him, Yu Shao had already gained a general understanding of the girl's chess skills.

He had only been watching the game from the sidelines. Although he knew the girl was a skilled player, he couldn't accurately judge her level since they had never played against each other face-to-face.

Although it's the same game of chess, the feelings of an observer and a participant are completely different.

Because observers don't experience much pressure and are more likely to notice things that the players might miss, their ability to watch the game is often much higher than their own. This is the reason behind the saying "watching a game can improve your skill level by three dan."

At this point, he did not resort to ruthless tactics to win, but simply maintained a tug-of-war with White, observing White's movements and assessing White's skill level.

"At present, it seems that her chess skills are about the same as Zheng Qin's, but it's impossible to accurately judge who is better based on this alone..."

Hey!
The sound of a piece being placed rang out again, immediately interrupting Yu Shao's thoughts.

"A tiger?"

Yu Shao looked at the girl's tiger move, pondered for a moment, then picked up a chess piece and slowly placed it down.

……

……

"There's another way."

The girl stared intently at the chessboard in front of her, seemingly trying to find a glimmer of hope hidden among the crisscrossing pieces, her mind constantly calculating various complex variations.

The key to victory lies in whether White can break Black's shape. If White can, then there is still a possibility for both sides to get entangled in the endgame. If White cannot break it, White can resign in the middle game.

This is indeed the simplest approach, and there is nothing wrong with it. White only needs to use all its skills to disrupt Black's shape.

However, this is far too passive. Even if we manage to destroy Black's shape in the end, we may not necessarily win.

Regardless, she was unwilling to accept this method.

"Although Black's position in the center is very impressive, I still have some White stones under my control in the center."

"These white stones are indeed isolated, but if the white stones in the corners can coordinate with the isolated stones in the center, then they can turn defeat into victory!"

With that thought in mind, the girl finally pulled it out again and dropped it quickly!
Hey!
Thirteen columns and twelve rows, break!

"Broken?"

Seeing the girl make this move, everyone around was stunned and momentarily speechless.

"Is there any mistake?"

Someone couldn't help but rub their eyes, exclaiming in shock, "What... what does 'cut' mean? Doesn't she intend to disrupt Black's formation?!"

The shape of the black stones in the center is like a city under attack. Even as bystanders, they can't help but feel a deep sense of oppression. Even out of their instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, they all want to destroy the shape of the black stones.

However, at this critical juncture, White's move to cut not only ignores Black's shape but also forcibly divides Black's group, seemingly indicating an intention to engage in a fierce battle with Black!
Even Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng showed a deep look of astonishment in their eyes at this moment.

"What do you mean?"

No one could understand the girl's intentions. In their eyes, the black pieces were a sleeping lion about to awaken, while the white pieces were a lone wolf.

At this point, all White needs to do is hold their breath, try to avoid disturbing the lion, bypass the lion's territory, and lure the wolf pack away before they have a chance to fight to the death!

However, White did the opposite and attacked Black directly. While it was a good move to gain the upper hand, Black also woke up!

The vengeful fire from Black will be far beyond what White can withstand!
"Has it broken down...?"

Yu Shao lowered his eyes to look at the chessboard. When he saw this move, he did not immediately make a move as he had done before. Instead, he quietly observed the game and fell into deep thought for the first time.

Upon seeing this, the people around them exchanged bewildered glances, their confusion growing.

Is breaking it difficult?

"Does this require long deliberation?"

"Was that move that cut off a good move?"

They didn't think that if this move was truly a bad one, it would cause Yu Shao to feel troubled and ponder for a long time. They immediately calmed down and reconsidered the intention behind this move.

"it turns out……"

A moment later, Wu Shuheng was suddenly startled, as if he finally understood something, and a look of shock appeared in his eyes: "So that's how it is!"

"what happened?"

Wu Zhixuan still couldn't figure it out. Upon hearing this, she immediately looked at Wu Shuheng, and several people who were close to Wu Shuheng also looked at him.

Wu Shuheng stared incredulously at the girl opposite Yu Shao, his mind reeling with shock, so much so that he didn't even notice the stares coming from those around him!
"In this board position, White's move to invade Black's territory and disrupt its influence is undoubtedly the right one. However, White intends to use the isolated stones in the center to create an opportunity!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhixuan froze, looked up in astonishment, and asked, "Use... the lone chess piece?"

"Yes, use a lone piece."

Wu Shuheng remained silent for a moment, staring intently at the chessboard, before speaking again: "A so-called isolated piece is a piece that has not yet settled and taken root within the opponent's territory, lacking a base and vulnerable to attack..."

"Therefore, when dealing with isolated stones, it is often necessary to use the method of 'protecting isolated stones' to make them live. Protecting isolated stones is also the most complex aspect of Go, and the ability to protect isolated stones is considered an important indicator of a player's skill level."

"but……"

Wu Shuheng raised his head, looked at the girl opposite Yu Shao, and slowly said, "That's why no one would consider a lone piece a strong one, or even use it for attack, or even think that way."

"But she did it."

"If you consider that lone piece as a strong piece instead of a weak one, you can understand... this move of cutting off."

Hearing Wu Shuheng's words, everyone was somewhat lost in thought, turning back to look at the chessboard densely covered with chess pieces.

This lone piece should not be seen as a weak piece, but as a strong piece...

"How can this be……"

With this thought in mind, everyone looked at the chessboard, and for a moment, everyone seemed to feel a sense of disorientation and an unprecedented palpitation.

Although they previously thought the girl was strong, that was all they felt. They had no concept of the actual gap between the girl and themselves.

And this moment.

After witnessing this disastrous move, they finally saw the difference in skill.

That was a gap that could drive anyone to despair. For the vast majority of them, no matter how much they honed their chess skills or how hard they tried, they would never have a chance to win and would never be able to overcome it in their lifetime!

This stark reality is enough to inspire awe!
Time passed by minute by minute.

Finally, after a while, Yu Shao finished his long deliberation. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he reached into the chess box, took out a chess piece, and gently placed it down.

Hey!
Eight columns and fourteen rows, so long!
“It’s longer.” Seeing Yu Shao make his move, the girl’s expression was not surprised. Her eyes were sharp, and she quickly reached into the chess box as well.

“If he moves long and tries to escape outwards, then I will meet him. If he moves upwards, I will block him, and he will inevitably block him as well. Then I will dig again to engage in a ko fight against Black!”

"If he tries to escape downwards, I will sacrifice a piece, use the dead piece to expand my territory in the corners, then break through Black's territory and fight him to the death in the middle game!"

The next moment, the girl picked up a chess piece and finally placed it!
Hey!
Eight columns and thirteen rows, bang!
Yu Shao quickly picked up another chess piece and placed it on the chessboard.

And this move was exactly as the girl had predicted—

Nine columns and twelve rows, so long!
Black has escaped!
"Click!"

Without hesitation, the girl reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece, and quickly placed it down!
Hey!
Ten columns and twelve rows, turn!
"Click!"

The moment the white piece was placed on the board, Yu Shao reached into the chess box, slowly picked out the piece, and then gently placed it down.

clatter……

After a slight tremor, the black piece finally landed steadily on the board.

Seeing Yu Shao place his piece, the girl was about to reach into the chess box, but when she saw clearly where Yu Shao had placed his piece, her hand froze.

The girl stared at the chessboard, her beautiful eyes widening little by little.

On the chessboard, the position of Black's move was not the expected "block," but rather completely beyond her imagination—

Ten columns, seven rows, fly!

"This……"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down the girl's face as she stared at the chessboard in disbelief, swallowing hard.

"This……"

This wasn't a particularly clever move. In fact, it could be said that the move she originally planned to use was far stronger and more severe. Under these circumstances, the strongest move was indeed the "turn" move!
However, this is not a bad move. This move echoes the whole board, and the choice of point is just right. If it were slightly worse, Black would have suffered a loss.

So this move...

“If I play on the bottom, then Black will jump up to invade the corner. He's leaving me a way to live, allowing me to disrupt his shape, but he's going to kill my side territory…”

“If I move on top, then he can fly high below, maneuver and eliminate the white stones’ borrowed positions, forming a large territory.”

"He was observing my movements, testing how I would react; he was—"

The girl stared blankly at the chessboard in front of her, feeling an unprecedented sense of absurdity: "Judging my chess strength..."

Now, recalling Yu Shao's long deliberation just now, it seems somewhat different.

She initially thought that Yu Shao had seen through her intention in making the decision, found it difficult, and thus fell into deep thought, but perhaps...

Even the young man behind the girl was completely stunned when he saw Yu Shao's move. After a moment, his expression changed slightly, and he finally came to his senses, suddenly raising his head to look at Yu Shao opposite him!
The others around them were not quite sure what was going on, and they were puzzled when they saw that the girl hadn't started playing chess yet.

After a long while, the girl finally came to her senses, gritted her teeth, picked up the chess piece again, and quickly placed it down!

Seeing the girl's move, Yu Shao seemed to understand something, and quickly picked up a piece to respond.

Da da da……

As the chess pieces were continuously placed, the expressions of the people around them gradually began to change. Before they knew it, the entire place fell silent once again.

Finally, after more than forty moves.

Inside the chess hall, everyone stared blankly at the chessboard, as if they had lost the ability to think.

"It's over..."

This game of chess has finally come to an end.

However, the ultimate winner was not the white player who made that chilling, even terrifying, cut, but rather...

"I lost."

In complete silence, the girl lowered her head and conceded defeat.

Her gaze was somewhat vacant as she stared at the chessboard in front of her, where the black and white pieces seemed to be interwoven into a giant net.

The people around looked at the chessboard, their feelings extremely complicated, but for a moment, they were speechless.

Inside the chess hall, there was only an astonishing silence.

The only two people who were not surprised by the final outcome of the game were the siblings Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng. However, they still kept their eyes glued to the board and their expressions were not relaxed.

Although the girl lost, the skill she displayed in this game put them under great pressure.

"She is much weaker than Zheng Qin in strength, her calculation is not as profound, and her moves are not as meticulous. However, she is stronger than Zheng Qin in judging the situation and understanding the game."

Meanwhile, Yu Shao looked at the chessboard and, after finishing the game, finally clearly judged the girl's chess skills.

"If Zheng Qin plays against her, the odds will most likely be about 50/50."

"Of course, we don't know her endgame skill level until the endgame begins. If she is better than Zheng Qin in the endgame, then she should have a higher chance of winning, and vice versa."

Yu Shao was slightly surprised. Although his opponents were mostly at the title level, Zheng Qin had barely reached the level of a title match main tournament, which seemed a bit lacking.

However, being able to reach the main tournament of a title match is equivalent to having the level to participate in a world championship, which is actually very impressive for a professional Go player.

For a female chess player of this age to possess such chess skills is truly astounding.

Behind the girl, the young man accompanying her silently gazed at the chessboard.

After a moment, he composed himself, looked up at Yu Shao, and finally spoke his first words in English since arriving at the chess hall: "Shall I play a game with you?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was startled and turned their gaze away from the chessboard to look at the young man behind the girl.

Hearing the young man's voice behind her, the girl finally came to her senses. Somewhat surprised, she quickly turned around and said something to the young man, but because she spoke in Japanese, no one in the room could understand her.

A moment later, after the two finished speaking, the girl turned around, glanced at Yu Shao, stood up, and made way for the young man.

"I'll play a game with you."

The young man stared intently at Yu Shao, then repeated himself in English, asking, "You should have time, right?"

Yu Shao thought about it and decided that playing a game of chess wouldn't hurt. However, if his opponent was too weak, he probably wouldn't really want to play, as it would be quite boring.

However, since that girl was so strong, this young man is probably no less capable, so it should be quite interesting to play.

"Row."

Yu Shao nodded and replied, "I have time."

(End of this chapter)