I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 452 The Delicate Market Layout

"Thanks for the advice."

Yu Shao bowed to Li Junhao.

Lee Junho stared at the chessboard in front of him, his face pale, seemingly unwilling to give up. In the end, he lowered his head and returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you for your guidance."

Soon, after tidying up the chess pieces, Yu Shao stood up and looked in the direction where Su Yiming was.

Su Yiming's game is still ongoing.

Even so, Yu Shao only glanced in the direction of Su Yiming before quickly shifting his gaze to An Hongshi and Kong Zi's table, and then to the direction of Araki.

Yu Shao hesitated for a moment, recalling Zheng Qin's words from yesterday, but finally took a step and walked towards table ninety where Araki was.

Seeing this, the amateur chess players who had been watching Yu Shao's game were quite surprised.

"Doesn't he go and watch... the game between Master An Hongshi and Master Kong Ziming? Or the game between 10-dan Jiang Han'en and Master Han Si?"

The amateur chess players looked at each other in bewilderment.

In the second round, the two most anticipated games were undoubtedly the match between An Hongshi and Kong Zi, and Jiang Hanen and Han Si.

All four are undoubtedly top-tier players, and any one of them has the potential to win the championship. Now that they have met so early in the single-elimination tournament, it is bound to be a thrilling and epic battle!

While Araki's return to the game is anticipated, his opponent is relatively unknown, making it difficult to call it a closely contested and exciting match. In comparison, the other two games are more worth watching.

Yu Shao had just walked halfway when he saw Araki Nobuyo suddenly stand up from his chair not far ahead and look toward the table where An Hongshi and Kong Zi were sitting.

Araki quickly looked away and turned his head in the direction where Yu Shao had been, but before he could look over, he saw Yu Shao facing him.

The moment their eyes met in mid-air, they both paused slightly, as if by unspoken agreement.

However, Araki quickly withdrew his gaze, glanced at Yu Shao, and then turned around and walked towards An Hongshi and Kong Zi's table without looking back.

"Finished downloading?"

Yu Shao was somewhat surprised to see this.

It's worth noting that his game against Lee Jun-ho only lasted a little over 120 moves, and he made his moves very quickly throughout. Logically speaking, most players should only have entered the middle game at that point.

Yu Shao thought for a moment, then took another step and walked towards table ninety. He quickly arrived at the chessboard, only to find that it was completely empty.

Clearly, Araki's statement wasn't a mid-game inspection; the game was indeed over.

Yu Shao looked up and gazed at the man opposite Araki.

The man was probably thirty-seven or thirty-eight, not young anymore. He was still sitting in the chair, his face covered by his hands, looking at the chessboard in front of him through his fingers, his face full of resentment and regret.

But beneath this resentment and regret, there seems to be a hidden disbelief. Yet, no matter how unbelievable it may seem, the fact remains, leaving one with no choice but to accept it helplessly, yet unable to bear this devastating blow...

A mix of emotions swirled together, incredibly complex, and difficult to describe in words.

Yu Shao withdrew his gaze from the man's face and then looked at the recorder's computer.

On the chess notation, the black and white pieces are intertwined in a complex and intricate way, but apart from the upper left corner and the central area, the rest of the chess notation is quite empty.

"Black, ninety-eighth move, kills the dragon and wins."

Yu Shao was slightly taken aback when he saw the number of moves marked by the recorder in the upper right corner of the chess notation.

In professional Go competitions, it is rare for a game to be decided in less than 100 moves. In world championships, games that are decided in less than 100 moves are even rarer.

And this is one of them.

Unlike the previous game with Zheng Qin, in this game, even without looking at the game record, just the endgame and without marking the order of each move, Yu Shao could roughly guess the order of the moves.

The two sides clashed at point 33 in the upper left corner, forming the most complex and intense pattern of a torrential downpour.

Then, the black and white pieces continued to entangle, and with lightning speed, the black pieces overturned the center. Then, the battle in the center decided the outcome. In the end, the white pieces were completely wiped out!

"Black has played the most complex branch of variation under the 'Rainstorm' opening pattern..."

Yu Shao looked at the chess score, somewhat surprised.

Before this game, Yu Shao had never seen anyone play this variation before; this game was the first time.

After all, in this world, chess is prevalent and there are many chess players. With so many players collectively studying and researching the various variations of the Great Rainstorm opening, and constantly revising and rebuilding, they will eventually find this variation one day.

However, although Yu Shao was mentally prepared for this, he was still somewhat surprised to see that someone actually placed the bet.

Because of these changes, it was necessary to make drastic changes and discard more than twenty giant horns in order to build a powerful external force. Not everyone has the courage to discard more than twenty giant horns in exchange for an uncertain future.

More importantly, most players today actually prefer to take territory, which makes this variation harder to discover and play.

The person who started all of this was Yu Shao himself.

Yu Shao was well aware of this.

Since the 3-3 point is now generally recognized as a two-way variation, the view on territory and influence has changed. Most players feel that external influence is no longer valuable, and it is better to secure territory first.

This idea is not wrong, but it is also wrong.

External influence is by no means worthless; it's just that valuable external influence has very stringent requirements. For example, it may be a strong influence without any breaks in its foundation, or an external influence that can be used in various complex ways...

In short, when you need to build a strong position, you must build it solidly; when you need to be light and agile, you should never play too heavy. If you only build a half-solid position and exchange territory with your opponent, you will easily end up isolated!
Although most people's views on terrain have changed, their understanding is far from deep enough, so they think that external terrain is worthless and prefer the actual terrain.

While the view that external influences are worthless is wrong, the approach of favoring solid ground is not wrong either. Therefore, this issue is difficult to explain, as it is both right and wrong.

In this game, facing Black's massive sacrifice of over twenty points in a corner and the huge external influence it had built, White clearly lost its composure and was ultimately overwhelmed by Black's external influence, leaving White with no choice but to resign.

"Every move after this change was quite good. The judgment of the situation was very accurate. When it was time to act, he didn't hesitate. When it was time to reinforce, he didn't force it. He was measured in his advances and retreats." Yu Shao looked at the chess score thoughtfully.

"After Black seized the opportunity, White could hardly put up any resistance and was easily defeated by Black."

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away, and it even reached Yu Shao's side.

Yu Shao's thoughts were immediately interrupted by the commotion. He finally turned his gaze away from the chess score and looked toward the source of the disturbance.

Not far away, the crowd surrounding An Hongshi and Kong Zi had various expressions and were whispering among themselves, but even so, their eyes never left the chessboard for a second.

Yu Shao thought for a moment, then turned around and walked towards the table where An Hongshi and Kong Zi were sitting.

Soon, Yu Shao squeezed into the crowd and turned his gaze toward the chessboard.

"Ok?"

Upon seeing the situation on the chessboard, Yu Shao was stunned.

In this game, An Hongshi is playing black and Kong Zi is playing white. The two sides are engaged in a fierce battle in the middle game. Although the situation is very complicated, it is not difficult to distinguish who has the advantage.

Black has a large area of ​​territory in the upper right corner, but it is not solid and could be invaded or captured by White. White also has a shape to support it in the center. Although Black has a counterattack on the left, it does not have enough initiative.

The safest move for White right now is to invade and reduce the upper right corner, and then fight Black for control of the central area, which will put Black in a tough battle.

Of course, White also has a relatively aggressive move, which is to directly invade the upper right corner and fight fiercely with Black, directly breaking Black's position. After invading, White will also be in danger, but Black will be in even more precarious situations!
But this is not the most severe move White has ever made!
If the ultimate efficiency is desired, White's strongest attacking strategy is to allow Black to strengthen the upper right corner, while White manages the central territory, and then squeeze Black's living space on all four sides, constantly plundering it!
Even the large black group might be in danger!
and so……

"White, do you have a winning position?"

Yu Shao was somewhat taken aback, completely unexpected that the game would turn out this way, no wonder there was such a commotion in the crowd just now.

It's important to know that the amateur chess players who are invited by the official tournament organizers to watch the games are all quite well-known amateur players. They naturally understand the principle of "not speaking while watching chess," especially since this is a competition.

Therefore, the players watching the game are usually extremely restrained.

Just like Yu Shao himself in his previous life, as a senior, he had also watched the ranking matches live. Even if those young people aiming for the ranking made some outrageous moves, he restrained himself and remained silent throughout the entire match.

However, the impact of Kong Zi hanging An Hongshi while hammering him was too great.

Although Kong Zi is a celebrity and a top fighter, it must be said that when Kong Zi faced An Hongshi, most people thought Kong Zi had a slim chance of winning, even Yu Shao thought so.

But the current situation is completely opposite to what everyone expected!
Kong Zi doesn't just want to win; he wants a resounding victory!
Now it was Kong Zi's turn to make a move, because this move would determine the direction of the entire game, and might even be the deciding factor in the outcome. Kong Zi stared intently at the board, deep in thought.

Yu Shao also frowned slightly, looking at the chessboard, lost in thought.

For some reason, looking at the chart in front of him, he had a vague feeling that it wasn't as clear as he had imagined, and he had a sense of danger.

However, he couldn't figure out why he had this dangerous premonition.

"Ok?"

After a moment, Yu Shao looked at the intricate pieces on the chessboard and suddenly seemed to realize something, and was stunned.

Yu Shao blinked and looked at the chessboard again.

"and many more!"

After a while, Yu Shao's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the chessboard in surprise. He kept calculating the various changes that would follow, and he was almost fooled by the chessboard in front of him!

"The situation on the board appears to be that White has a significant advantage, but it is actually quite subtle!"

"Whether White invades, annexes, or even develops its territory, the subsequent variations... are all quite interesting!"

Yu Shao stared intently at the chessboard, his eyes unblinking, as if a chessboard was constantly being set up in his mind!

"If White wants to invade and reduce, then it must use 'cut'. Black's key stones cannot be lost, and reinforcement is inevitable. White's subsequent move is certainly quite solid, but Black's maneuvering method is not necessarily 'jump', it can also be 'pounce'!"

“If White wants to invade, after Black makes a ‘turn’, there is a weak point on the right side that can be used as a tesuji. Even if White ‘push’, if Black digs and turns around to launch a surprise attack, it seems like a suicide mission, but White can’t do anything about it!”

"If White focuses on developing its territory and allows Black to reinforce its stones, Black will reinforce its stones normally, which seems like aggrieved. When White starts to plunder, Black uses the 'big knight' move, which seems like an escape to save its own group, but in the end, Black's stones in the center will actually bloom into a flower!"

Yu Shao finally saw through the general direction of the three choices for White!
"His sense of life and death is incredibly keen, and his understanding and judgment of the board shape is beyond ordinary people. He doesn't care at all whether the board shape is complete or not. If he calculates that Black has no life or death, he will play along and wait for White to enter the game!"

"Even if White does manage to form a shape in the center, it doesn't matter. What he wants is to secure the four corners, then use the strength created by the central expansion to entangle White, and finally launch a dragon-slaying attack from the four corners!"

Just then, Kong Zi took a deep breath, finally picked up the chess piece, and gently placed it down!
Hey!
Eight columns and twelve rows, stick!
After a long deliberation, Kong Zi finally made his choice. It was neither the safest option of invasion nor the most aggressive one. Instead, he followed his usual style, ignoring the weaknesses of the white stones, building up his territory in the center, and choosing the most severe approach!
Is it sticky?

"Although I had expected it, I was still surprised to see Teacher Kong Zi do it like that..."

"Teacher Kong Zi is as fierce as ever, and she is not afraid at all, even when facing Teacher An Hongshi."

"Will Professor An Hongshi be eliminated in the second round?"

The surrounding crowd whispered amongst themselves, their faces showing a hint of surprise.

Yu Shao simply stared at the chessboard without saying a word, waiting for An Hongshi to make his move.

At that moment, Yu Shao's peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of Araki, who was also watching the game. He saw Araki staring at the chessboard with his brows furrowed.

Yu Shao didn't think too much about it; he was still calculating the subsequent changes in his mind. However, this time, he was no longer standing from An Hongshi's perspective, but from Kong Zi's perspective.

An Hongshi was certainly not in a losing position, but Kong Zi's move to manage affairs in the central government was not necessarily a defeat either.

Even if An Hongshi really does emerge as he expected and becomes a star in the central government, Kong Zi, though at a disadvantage, still has a chance to fight back, and the two sides will have a fierce battle ahead!
Finally, An Hongshi picked up a chess piece and slowly placed it down!
Five columns and seven rows, pointed!

…………

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(End of this chapter)