I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 450 What kind of chess game can be described as overwhelmingly powerful?

"The first round of the World Championship has concluded. We are now announcing the list of players for the next round..."

Finally, the commotion in the competition venue gradually subsided only after Zhao Zhengyang's voice rang out again.

"Jiang Han'en, Yu Shao, Han Si, Su Yiming, Zhu Huai'an, Dongshan Xun, Araki No..."

Whenever Zhao Zhengyang mentions a chess player's name, everyone subconsciously turns their gaze toward that player.

In particular, when Zhao Zhengyang mentioned the names "Dongshan Xun" and "Araki No," it caused quite a stir.

Although Araki was a formidable figure ten years ago, he hasn't participated in any competitions in ten years. Many people feel that Araki can't keep up with the times and his record might not be very good, or even very bad.

However, Araki's opponent in the first round was Zheng Qin, who is not very famous in the world. Most people only know Zheng Qin as a rising star who has just made it to the world championships.

Therefore, many people were only slightly surprised by Araki's defeat of Zheng Qin, and did not take it too seriously.

After all, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even though Araki has been out of the Go world for ten years, he was once a player who single-handedly propelled the development of Go.

He transformed Go from a game of overall coordination into an era of competition based on strength and calculation. This achievement alone is enough to describe Arakino's greatness, even though he was no match for Yasuhiro back then.

Therefore, although most people are surprised that Arakino could defeat a rookie player after a ten-year hiatus from the Go world, they can still understand it.

Compared to Araki, Higashiyama Kaoru was the real dark horse who surprised everyone. After learning that Higashiyama Kaoru's opponent in the first round was his teacher, Kimura Go, a 10th dan, few people even thought that Higashiyama Kaoru had a chance to win.

However, to everyone's great surprise, Higashiyama Kaoru ultimately won.

Among the crowd below the stage, many people began to whisper among themselves.

"How did Higashiyama Kaoru win? Did Kimura Go, a 10th dan player, throw the game against his own student?"

"That's unlikely. This is a world championship. And because Higashiyama Kaoru is his student, Kimura Go-sensei would be even less likely to hold back to avoid gossip."

"How did Higashiyama Kaoru win?"

"Higashiyama Kaoru is very strong. He should have won that game." Someone who had seen the game between Higashiyama Kaoru and Kimura Go couldn't help but say.

"How could that be? Although Higashiyama Kaoru is not weak, he should still be far behind a top-tier expert like Kimura Go, right?" someone immediately retorted.

Soon after announcing the list of all the players who qualified for the second round, Zhao Zhengyang said in a deep voice: "These are the players who have qualified for the second round."

"Now, let's begin the draw for the next round of matches!"

Upon hearing this, all sounds in the room ceased abruptly, and the expressions of the players who had qualified became more serious.

Even though half of the players were cruelly eliminated in the first round, this was only the first step.

The upcoming matches will be even more difficult and intense, as the opponents are all players who survived the first round!
After the staff brought the lot-drawing box and placed it on the table, each of the qualified players silently stepped forward, drew a lot from the box, and the air was filled with an extremely heavy atmosphere.

Soon, it was Yu Shao's turn to draw lots.

Yu Shao stepped forward, reached into the fortune-telling box, grabbed a fortune slip, and glanced at it.

On the slip of paper, it was clearly written—

23 number.

"Yu Shao, number 23."

Yu Shao looked away from the signed paper, raised his head, and spoke to the staff.

The staff member nodded, quickly noted down Yu Shao's number, and then said, "Next."

Immediately after, Su Yiming, who was standing behind Yu Shao, walked to the fortune-telling box and took out his own fortune slip.

89 number.

And so, all the players who had qualified were drawn one by one. Since half of the players had already been eliminated, this round of drawing was naturally much faster than before.

Before long, all the players had drawn their lots.

After the staff entered the lottery numbers into the computer, Zhao Zhengyang soon took a brand-new printed sheet of paper and began to read out the lottery results.

"Number one, Qin Lang, yes, a history buff; Number two, Matsushita Masao, yes, Pi Ai; Number three..."

Soon, Zhao Zhengyang called out Yu Shao's name: "Number 23, Yu Shao, yes, Li Junhao."

Upon hearing his opponent's name, Yu Shao was slightly taken aback.

He vaguely remembered Dong He, his first-round opponent, because they had met in the second Sino-US Go match, but he had never heard of Li Junhao, his opponent in this round.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a young man in his early twenties, who had been full of fighting spirit, instantly deflated and his expression fell after hearing the draw results for table twenty-three.

"Ah Xi! Why me?"

The young man was on the verge of tears: "This is only the second round! I wanted to go through a few more rounds!"

On the stage, Zhao Zhengyang continued to announce the draw results for each table, and each announcement sparked discussion among the amateur chess players in the audience.

When Zhao Zhengyang announced the draw results for table 104, the crowd erupted into an uncontrollable uproar.

Table 104, An Hongshi, yes, Kong Zi!
"Professor An Hongshi is facing off against Kong Ziming!" someone couldn't help but whisper.

"They faced off in the second round. This is going to be exciting. I'm afraid not only Kong Ziming doesn't want to see this result, but Professor An Hongshi probably doesn't want to see it either. Both sides are under pressure."

"Teacher An Hongshi may be under some pressure, but Kong Ziming is definitely under more pressure... It's a single-elimination tournament, there's no second chance. Kong Ziming is really unlucky."

"The others breathed a sigh of relief. With Teacher An Hongshi and Teacher Kong Zi facing off, two formidable enemies disappeared at once, and the pressure dropped dramatically!"

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves, all instinctively glancing at Kong Zi. Although Kong Zi's expression was slightly somber, he remained relatively calm overall.

Finally, after a while, Zhao Zhengyang finished announcing all the draw results and then said, "These are the results for tomorrow's matches. The match schedule will be uploaded to the Phoenix Cup official website later, and the players can check it themselves."

"All contestants, please get some rest today. The second round of the competition will officially begin tomorrow morning at nine o'clock!"

After saying that, Zhao Zhengyang finally turned around and walked off the stage.

As soon as the draw for the second round of the competition ended, a wave of discussion erupted from the audience in response to the results of the draw!

"This is getting interesting. In the second round, not only will Teacher An Hongshi face off against Teacher Kong Zi, but Teacher Jiang Changdong will also be playing against Zhang Dongchen, the Go Master, in an all-Chinese match!"

"Also, Jiang Han'en, 10-dan, is going to play against Han Si, which is also worth watching! I wouldn't be surprised if this game happened in the world championship finals!"

"I remember the previous Go Saint Tournament, it was also Teacher Jiang Changdong challenging Teacher Zhang Dongchen. However, Teacher Zhang Dongchen successfully defended his Go Saint title with a score of 3 to 2. But this time it's not a best-of-three match, but a single-elimination tournament!"

"Jiang Changdong just lost his national team title, so he'll definitely be determined to redeem himself at this World Championship. He'll probably have to fight tooth and nail."

"Unfortunately, Yu Shao's opponent is Lee Jun-ho, a 7-dan player from North and South Korea. I don't think there will be much suspense. I was hoping to see it."

"Su Yiming's luck with the draw is pretty good; he hasn't encountered any strong opponents in the last two rounds..."

"Go back and get a good night's sleep, so you can be refreshed for tomorrow's game! I don't even know which game to watch, I want to watch them all." Perhaps because the first round eliminated half of the players, the final draw for the second round made many people excited.

They walked out of the competition venue while discussing animatedly, filled with anticipation for tomorrow's competition.

Unlike the onlookers who enjoyed the spectacle, the participants themselves wore expressions that were more serious, and... hinted at a fierce battle!

Fewer and fewer people are able to continue down the path of the World Championship, which means that the battles ahead will become increasingly difficult, and no one has the confidence to continue.

There is only one battle!
……

……

Soon, the next day arrived.

Around 8 a.m., many chess players arrived at the competition venue one after another, and just like yesterday, they found their seats.

Unlike yesterday, the atmosphere in the arena today was noticeably more competitive. After winning yesterday's match, most players were more confident and determined, and less confused and nervous.

Therefore, they are even more eager to win today than they were yesterday!
Another difference is that half of the chess tables have been removed from the competition venue today. Yesterday, the venue was extremely crowded, but now that the tables have been removed, the venue is much more spacious.

After today's competition ends, half of the chess tables will be removed, and the same will happen over the next few days, until all the chess tables are removed, leaving only the last table in the center of the huge competition venue.

Such a large competition venue, such a large stage, all set up just for this one table. The Phoenix Cup World Championship finals will then unfold at this last table!

Although half of the players were eliminated after yesterday's competition, most of them have returned to the competition venue today.

They were determined to keep watching until the final Phoenix Cup World Championship decided the ultimate champion, to see who would ultimately climb to the top, stepping over countless bones, including theirs.

Not long after, Yu Shao also arrived at the competition venue and quickly headed to table number twenty-three.

At table twenty-three, a young man in his early twenties saw Yu Shao walk up to him and took a deep breath, ready to face him.

Shortly after, around 8:50, all the contestants had arrived and were sitting upright, and the competition venue suddenly became completely silent.

The eliminated players, as well as the amateur players invited to watch the world championship, kept glancing back and forth between Jiang Changdong, Zhang Dongchen, Jiang Han'en, An Hongshi, and others, their expressions somewhat hesitant.

A moment later, some people took the lead and headed towards the table where Jiang Changdong and Zhang Dongchen were, followed by others. Some eventually went to the table where An Hongshi and Kong Zi were, while others went to the table where Jiang Han'en and Han Si were.

There were also some people who exchanged glances but hesitated to move.

"Let's pick a match that interests us and check it out first."

Seeing this, someone suddenly said, "It's not like we're stuck there once we get there. We can just take a look around, change to another table, and then change back again."

Upon hearing this, the others were stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening and were speechless.

In the end, some people went towards Arakino, while others went to Higashiyama Kaoru's side.

Of course, besides these more popular matches, a few people went to other tables to watch, including Yu Shao, Su Yiming, and Zhuang Weisheng...

Time passes little by little.

Even though there was still some time before the match started, the eliminated players and the amateur players who were invited to watch all subconsciously held their breath and waited quietly for the match to begin.

Finally, when the clock on the wall of the competition venue struck nine, Zhao Zhengyang glanced down at his watch and then said in a deep voice—

"The match time has arrived. Players, please begin guessing who goes first."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shao quickly grabbed a handful of chess pieces from the chess box and held them in his palm, while Li Junhao on the opposite side immediately took out two chess pieces and placed them on the chessboard.

"Six."

After counting the white pieces in his hand, Yu Shao looked at the opposite side and spoke.

Li Junhao nodded and said, "I guessed right, I'll play black."

Yu Shao nodded, quickly put the chess pieces back into the chess box, and then bowed his head and said, "Please give me your guidance."

"Please give me more advice."

Lee Junho also bowed in greeting, then took a deep breath, picked up a chess piece, and placed it on the chessboard.

First move, seventeen columns, four rows, small eye!

Yu Shao quickly picked up a chess piece and placed it down.

Four columns and sixteen stars.

Both sides took turns placing their pieces, quickly forming a classic opening with a small eye opening against a two-star point. White placed a piece on the star point, aiming to quickly gain influence and pursue combat and offense.

"Is the double star system correct or incorrect...?"

Beside him, Han Xiu gazed at the chessboard, lost in thought: "Li Junhao's forte is the star point opening, but he still chose to miss the small eye opening. In his game records, the small eye opening is quite rare."

"But Lee Jun-ho still went down like that, instead of going down the two stars..."

Han Xiu glanced at Li Junhao and saw his extremely solemn expression, and roughly understood Li Junhao's intention.

"Knowing that Yu Shao is good at seizing opportunities to attack, even though I am also good at attacking, I feel that I have no chance of winning if I fight Yu Shao head-on. So I want to break up the situation and try to prolong the battle as much as possible..."

"I have to say, that was not a wise move."

Even if Han Xiu were an amateur Go player, he would dare say that this is definitely not a good method.

Even if the opponent is skilled in attack, you must never abandon your own strengths and choose to avoid battle. On the contrary, the stronger the opponent, the more you should engage in a chaotic battle with them. Only in this way can you have a chance to win in the chaos.

"Although this move is not very wise, it may be the only option left for Lee Junho."

"The pressure Yu Shao put on him was immense..."

Han Xiu asked himself honestly, if he were to play chess with Yu Shao, he would probably... also tend to play defensively, even though he knew that taking a gamble would give him a better chance, he wouldn't really dare to take the plunge.

What's more, this is the World Championship!

Take a gamble; you might seize an opportunity, or you might be reduced to ashes!
Soon, Yu Shao and Li Junhao made seven or eight more moves, while Han Xiu watched quietly from the side.

Thinking about what his friend had said about Yu Shao yesterday, he couldn't help but have some questions.

His friend was more optimistic about An Hongshi winning the championship before the competition. Why did he suddenly change his mind after watching a game yesterday?
"Li Junhao is probably no match for Yu Shao. Yu Shao should be able to win. However, there are no weak players who can reach the world stage. Moreover, in this game, Li Junhao has already adopted a defensive and counter-attacking stance."

"So, what kind of game of chess can be described as utterly devastating?"

That's why he ignored the game between An Hongshi and Kong Zi and watched the game between Yu Shao and Li Junhao!
……

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(End of this chapter)