I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 440 Yu Shao's Exceptional Abilities

After leaving the chess hall, the three walked for a while. Yu Shao looked up at the somewhat gloomy sky and asked, "We haven't had dinner yet. What are you planning to eat?"

Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng were both a little distracted until Yu Shao repeated the question, and they finally came back to their senses.

"Eat...just something casually."

Wu Zhixuan answered somewhat absentmindedly.

Yu Shao was somewhat taken aback upon hearing this, not expecting Wu Zhixuan to answer the question about food so casually. He couldn't help but turn to look at Wu Shuheng, wanting to see Wu Shuheng's opinion.

"I can do it."

Seeing Yu Shao looking over, Wu Shuheng immediately spoke up.

"How about barbecue?"

Yu Shao pondered for a moment, then glanced at a barbecue restaurant not far away and asked, "It's quite close, just a few steps away."

"Row."

Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng had no objections and nodded.

Seeing that the two had agreed, Yu Shao headed towards the barbecue restaurant, and Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng immediately followed.

The ancient city was brightly lit at night, bustling with crowds and incredibly lively. Given Wu Zhixuan's active nature, she should have been looking around curiously, but at this moment she was unusually silent.

After walking a few steps, Wu Shuheng suddenly raised his head and looked at Yu Shao's back in front of him.

"Yu Shao... he's visibly become stronger..."

Looking at Yu Shao's retreating figure, Wu Shuheng's gaze was somewhat complicated.

"Although Yu Shao has always been very strong, I always felt that as long as I kept learning and honing my chess skills, I would eventually be able to compete with Yu Shao."

"But……"

He had known Yu Shao for a long time. Back in Jiangling No. 1 Middle School, he had played a handicap game with Yu Shao and watched Yu Shao get to where he is today. He had also witnessed Yu Shao's many games.

Therefore, after watching today's game, he had a very clear perception of Yu Shao's improved chess skills.

"I used to think that his strength lay in the fact that he had never systematically studied Go, so he had a lot of unorthodox knowledge and insights about Go."

"For example, the 33-point pattern, the sharp peak, and the structure of the three major difficult-to-solve fixed patterns..."

These insights and understandings have revolutionized the chess world. It could even be said that Yu Shao's achievements alone are enough to make him a legendary figure!

Even if Yu Shao doesn't win a single game in the future, it will still be the same.

"But, after all, these things can be learned."

Wu Shuheng lowered his eyes, thinking about the game of chess he played with the girl today, and then about the game between Yu Shao and that Japanese youth. Countless emotions surged in his heart.

"Once you learn these techniques, the gap will naturally narrow. That's what I did, and that's what other players did too..."

Not only him, but in everyone's opinion, if we set aside these new moves and new patterns and look back at the moves Yu Shao made more than a year ago, there wasn't much that was amazing.

Although he is very strong, he doesn't have anything impressive about him, or rather, he doesn't have what a top-level player should have.

For example, some players are known for their solid and heavy moves, and they are good at using their strength to create pressure. If they manage to secure a stable and secure territory, it will be very difficult for them to win.

For example, some chess players are profound, elegant, and skilled at fighting in chaotic battles. They are adept at prolonging the battle and fighting the enemy. When they are at a disadvantage, they often turn the tide with unexpected moves. Even top-notch chess masters who are good at managing their own group can often turn the tide against them.

For example, some players have a unique understanding of territory and influence, and tend to adopt a meticulous playing style of "first gaining and then washing," making them unparalleled in their ability to handle intricate and complex board situations.

However, Yu Shao in the past did not.

No, or rather, what made Yu Shao so memorable was his unbelievable understanding and comprehension of Go, which was truly unpredictable, such as the 3-3 point, the shoulder hit to the corner, and the touch of the small eye...

The focus and praise that people have for Yu Shao's chess games often lies in a particular move, a particular style, or a particular interpretation.

However, these are things that can be learned.

The skills that other chess players possess are completely impossible for them to learn.

Previously, it could only be said that Yu Shao was a fiercely competitive player with profound calculation skills and top-notch attacking ability.

And what else?

No more.

This is a very strange thing. Any top-class chess player must have something outstanding about them. This outstanding quality is something that stands out even among all the top chess players.

This is why their top-tier players are top-tier players, not first-tier players.

Based on Yu Shao's past record, he should undoubtedly be considered a top-tier player. However, Yu Shao's previous excellence was built on every move, every joseki, and every understanding!

Moreover, this is so outstanding that no one can match it.

Yu Shao's exceptional talent can be surpassed through honing his chess skills and continuous learning, but the exceptional talent of others is much harder to catch up with.

Of course, among Yu Shao's many game records, there is one game that is a little different.

That was the last game between Yu Shao and Jiang Changdong in the National Masters Tournament.

In that game of chess, the concise and to the point, the way of going with the flow and subduing the enemy without fighting, was so subtle and ingenious. By overwhelming the opponent with the overall situation, the strategy was revealed in a peaceful manner. It can be said that no one has ever done it before or since.

However, that was probably just a sudden burst of inspiration, a game of skillful chance. This is not uncommon among professional chess players, and we cannot use just this one game as a standard to measure a chess player.

This is why, in the online debate over the "Yu-Su rivalry," even though Su Yiming is currently at a clear disadvantage against Yu Shao, so many people still favor Su Yiming.

Su Yiming's outstanding qualities are numerous. First, he is not confined to the corners but focuses on developing the central area on a vast chessboard, demonstrating amazing vision and grand imagination.

His keen sense of the big picture, skillful control of attacks, and ability to attack and capture stones by relying on strong positions meant that even a master of managing isolated groups like Fu Shunan could be "surrounded and annihilated" by him.

They excel at unleashing the extraordinary potential of a thick-skinned opponent, achieving remarkable feats in the difficult latter stages of the game. Even when at a disadvantage, their tenacity in close combat is unmatched, demonstrating exceptional resilience and remarkable tenacity in the latter stages of the game.
These are the areas where Su Yiming far surpasses other top chess players.

But things seem different now.

Wu Shuheng could clearly sense that in the game just now, the white pieces had been radiating a unique brilliance from beginning to end.

In the midst of a complex and intense game, there are often groundbreaking ideas, so they often take unconventional approaches and unorthodox methods. Moreover, the game is permeated with a fierce sense of pressure from beginning to end, pursuing the ultimate efficiency to the point of being somewhat cold!
He is adept at sacrificing pieces, utilizing dead pieces, taking advantage of thin formations, and pressing his opponent with a strategy of compromise. His judgment on large areas and critical points is incredibly accurate!

As a professional Go player who came from a Go academy, he has studied Go game records since he was a child and has studied countless Go game records to date, but he has never had the same feeling as any other Go player's Go game records.

This feeling even gave him the impression that when facing Yu Shao, as long as the situation became complicated and intense, it would completely spiral out of control, and Yu Shao would take control of the situation!

“In that game just now, Yu Shao didn’t reveal any Go understanding he had never shown before… In other words, in that game, his opponent was on the same starting line as Yu Shao, but was still defeated by Yu Shao and forced to resign!” Wu Shuheng stared blankly at Yu Shao’s back, quietly clenching his fist.

"Compared to a year ago, I am much stronger... but the gap between me and Yu Shao seems to have widened even further."

"How much further can he go?"

……

……

Since Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng were not participants in the Phoenix Cup, they had to find their own accommodation. So after having barbecue for dinner, Yu Shao parted ways with the two of them and returned to his accommodation alone.

By the time he returned to his lodgings, it was completely dark.

"The renovation is quite nice."

Yu Shao looked around at the small building that the chess academy had arranged for him, his eyes filled with surprise.

This is a small building with a classical and elegant decor. A faint fragrance permeates the air. Near the window, there is a solid wood four-legged chess table with two cushions on either side.

Yu Shao thought for a moment, then walked to the chessboard, sat down on one side, opened the chess box, took out the chess pieces, and began to review the game one by one.

Not long after, Yu Shao laid out the complete game of chess from today, without missing a single move, and stared at the chessboard, lost in thought.

Although he won this game by a large margin, it was a very difficult one. The skill displayed by the young man opposite him put him under pressure at times.

Although he didn't know who the young man he played chess with today was, the young man was probably not among the strongest Japanese chess players, since Yu Shao had some knowledge of Japanese chess players.

In Japan, the strongest players are mostly in their thirties or forties. There's even a saying in the Japanese Go world that a player's skill level peaks around the age of forty.

"No wonder the Japanese Go world ranks among the top two in the world. This level is probably much stronger than that of my teacher Zhuang Weisheng when we played against each other."

Yu Shao gazed at the chessboard, lost in thought.

Of course, it's somewhat unfair to compare the chess skills of today's young players with those of Zhuang Weisheng when they played against him.

Although the time between my match with Zhuang Weisheng in the National Masters Tournament is not too long, the level of Go in the world is changing rapidly.

For example, back then, players hadn't realized the importance of thickness inverting the balance of power, but now they have. This alone is enough to raise the level of all players significantly.

Yu Shao could clearly perceive that the average level of the entire chess world was constantly improving at an astonishing rate.

At first, he found it somewhat unbelievable, but then he thought about it and realized that Go, as the number one board game in this world, had more than ten times more players than in his previous life, and the number of amateur players was even more than ten thousand times. So he understood.

Because Yu Shao hadn't played a single game of chess with Zhuang Weisheng recently, he knew absolutely nothing about Zhuang Weisheng's current chess skills, except that the young Zhuang Weisheng was definitely stronger than he was back then.

"Not only Japan, but also North and South Korea, and it is said that players from European countries and North America should not be underestimated. Even domestic players who have played against me before cannot be viewed with the same perspective."

Yu Shao slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes flashing.

"It seems that this World Championship will be much more interesting than I expected."

dong dong!

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Who's coming at this hour?

Yu Shao was somewhat surprised, but he quickly composed himself, stood up, walked to the door, and opened it. He saw Zheng Qin standing at the door with a mournful face.

"Why are you here?"

Yu Shao blinked, somewhat puzzled.

Although the chess academy arranged similar accommodations for the players, these accommodations were not together, and some were even quite far apart. Zheng Qin's accommodation was not that far from him, but it was still about a kilometer away.

"I'm nervous."

Zheng Qin gave a wry smile, walked into the room, and said, "My heart keeps pounding just thinking about participating in the World Championship."

"You're a veteran who's participated in so many competitions, why are you still so nervous?" Yu Shao said with a smile as he closed the door.

"Can the World Championship be the same?"

Zheng Qin rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky, and said, "The results of the World Championship are the true proof of the level of all professional chess players, and the stage that all chess players dream of."

"No matter how well we perform domestically, being strong in the world championships is what truly matters. Even if our domestic results are poor, as long as we perform well in the world championships, our domestic results can be disregarded."

At this point, Zheng Qin paused, then added, "Guess who I saw on the way?"

"Who?"

Yu Shao asked, somewhat curious.

"Teacher An Hongshi! Although I knew that Teacher An Hongshi was participating, I still felt a sense of pressure when I actually saw him."

Zheng Qin grinned and said, "I never thought that one day I would actually have the opportunity to compete against Coach An Hongshi on the field. If we really meet, I don't know whether I should be happy or sad."

"Of course you're happy?"

Yu Shao smiled upon hearing this and said, "You can't have this kind of mentality. There's a limit to how much you can admire someone, otherwise you'll never be able to beat him."

"Tsk, I know that too."

Zheng Qin sighed, somewhat helplessly, "But that's Teacher An Hongshi, you could say he's the lifelong goal of every Go player."

Yu Shao smiled and asked, "So you came here because you want to...?"

"Let's play chess, super fast chess."

Zheng Qin took a deep breath, turned to look at Yu Shao, and said solemnly, "The competition starts the day after tomorrow. During this time, I want to improve myself as much as possible, even if it's just a little bit. Blitz chess can hone your sense of winning and losing."

"I... no matter what, I want to last as long as possible in the World Championship."

Yu Shao looked at Zheng Qin and saw the fighting spirit mixed with nervousness in Zheng Qin's eyes. Finally, he nodded and agreed: "Okay."

Soon, the two sat down opposite each other on the chessboard, guessed who would go first, and began to play.

"World Championship!"

Thinking of those three words, Zheng Qin's eyes sharpened, and he quickly placed a chess piece in the game!

Hey!
The crisp sound of the pieces being placed echoed throughout the room!

(End of this chapter)