I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 490 Solid Hand Has No Weaknesses

Looking at the chessboard, Yu Shao saw that Black had chosen the diagonal star point and the small eye point, and couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

In his previous life, when facing him, most chess players would use the diagonal opening, but in this life, almost no one has ever seen him play it, until today.

The diagonal opening is indeed considered poor due to its inefficiency, and Go AI has not given it a high rating either, but it has not been deemed too bad either.

Overall, human players' assessment of the diagonal opening and AI's assessment of the diagonal opening are quite consistent: it is a slightly unfavorable opening, but the loss is not that great.

If there is a specific strategic objective, the following method can also be adopted.

His former adversaries often employed a diagonal formation against him because of their unique strategic purpose: to seek change and disrupt the situation, while simultaneously dividing the battlefield and engaging in multi-front warfare!

Most of his defeats in his previous life were the result of this very plan.

Yu Shao pursed his lips, composed himself, and finally picked up a chess piece, slowly placing it down.

Hey!
Sixteen columns and sixteen rows, stars!

Diagonal star eyelet, yes, diagonal star eyelet!
Seeing Yu Shao make his move, Araki also picked up another piece and quickly placed it on the board.

Hey!
Four columns and five rows, hanging high!
"Hang it high up?"

Upon seeing this move, Yu Shao pondered for a moment, then quickly picked up a piece and placed it on the board.

Three columns and five rows, please!

Black and white stones continued to be placed on the board, and after a few more moves, the two sides did not immediately clash in the upper left corner. Instead, they formed the basic shape of the push-back joseki, and their probing of each other temporarily came to an end.

Soon, Yu Shao picked up another chess piece and placed it on the chessboard.

Hey!
Fourteen columns and seventeen rows, Little Fly guards the corner!
"Go to the bottom right corner and guard the star position."

Araki lowered his eyelids and remained calm when he saw Yu Shao's move, clearly having expected it.

After all, once the push-back joseki in the upper left corner is played, White has only two options for the next move: either attack Black's lower left and upper right corners, or go to the lower right corner, protect the star point, observe Black's movements, and then make a decision.

One approach is to take the initiative, while the other is to strike later and gain the upper hand. Although these are completely opposite ideas, both are quite good.

"Instead of making a proactive choice, he wanted to observe my response, figure out my playing style, and then make his move. Sure enough..."

"He is actually quite cautious. He never launches an attack without fully understanding the situation and without thorough preparation."

"But when it comes to situations where he needs to take the initiative, he's willing to go all out."

Araki kept recalling all of Yu Shao's past chess records.

In the past two years, he has actually studied Yu Shao's chess scores the most, and these scores have even given him a lot of inspiration.

"Although it is a diagonal layout, if the battle lines are stretched too far, then it will be inevitable that the diagonals will be connected. In that case, the purpose of my diagonal layout will be greatly reduced."

"Therefore, we cannot proceed step by step; we must demand change and dare to break with convention."

"So……"

Araki looked at the chessboard in front of him, finally reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece, and in the next moment, the chess piece was held between his fingers and fell quickly!
Hey!
The chess piece landed on the board with a crisp echo!

Thirteen columns, sixteen rows, shoulder strike!
"Shoulder strike?"

Instantly, everyone's expression changed slightly!
……

……

Phoenix Cup World Championship, TV Tokyo, studio.

"Araki-sensei, are you going to use a shoulder thrust here?"

Hirohiro Ohno, a 9-dan professional football player who was commentating on the match, was stunned and couldn't believe his eyes.

If a diagonal layout can be explained as having a strategic purpose, then directly shoulder-attacking a small flying star guarding a corner is simply unreasonable!

Although Hirohiro Ohno couldn't understand it and was greatly shocked, he still looked thoughtful. After a while, he slowly said, "A very interesting change. As expected of Araki-sensei."

"Hey? Teacher Haohong, did you understand?"

The female commentator, who was paired with him, was quite surprised. She turned to look at Hirohiro Ohno and asked him a question.

"Actually not."

Hirohiro Ohno smiled awkwardly and said, "Shoulder-to-shoulder angles are not uncommon nowadays, but I haven't seen many small flying ones with shoulder-to-shoulder angles guarding the star position. The two seem to be similar, but in reality they are not comparable."

"The reason for the shoulder attack on the corner is that the corner is already very thick. The idea is to make this piece even thicker and weaken the efficiency of the corner. This was first played by Yu Shaoguo, which gave all players a lot of inspiration."

"The principle of 'avoiding thick positions' is no longer the golden rule of Go. In fact, sometimes when players see a thick position, they even think about how to make it even thicker. All of this is thanks to Yu Shao."

Hirohiro Ohno stroked his chin and pondered, "But this place is completely different from the one at the shoulder-facing corner."

"The small knight's move at the star point, while relatively solid, is not as good as the corner without worries. Therefore, Black's shoulder hit really helps White solidify their position, while the side that hits the shoulder only gains external influence, and their direction is still limited..."

"Although I remember that Yu Shao had played a game where he used a small knight's move to defend the corner and then a shoulder attack, the arrangement of the surrounding pieces was different in that game."

The female commentator beside him nodded in agreement and chimed in, "That's true, but why did Araki-sensei do it that way?"

"Then I really don't know."

Hirohiro Ohno smiled calmly and said, "I'm just an ordinary 9th dan. Although I can keep up with their thinking most of the time, there is still a considerable gap between me and these top masters."

Hirohiro Ohno thought for a moment and then spoke again: "However, since this move was made by Araki-sensei after careful consideration of the situation, it must have a deeper meaning. We just need to be patient and watch it!"

……

……

"A shoulder strike will indeed help White build a solid position."

Araki gazed at the chessboard, waiting for Yu Shao to make his move.

"but--"

"After the shoulder strike, White must respond. Although White has built a solid position, Black has also instantly restricted all of White's possibilities to develop from this corner towards the center and the side!"

"At the same time, we can also underestimate the importance of the shoulder strike. If the shoulder strike becomes a burden in the subsequent battle, then we should discard it without hesitation, even if it is a key piece!"

"Or rather, rather than viewing it as a key piece, it's better to see it as a sacrificed piece used to restrict the opponent!"

"Even if I am undoubtedly losing money in this particular area, the overall picture may not be so!"

Araki slowly raised his head and looked at Yu Shao opposite him, his eyes calm and his expression indifferent.

"We no longer adhere to the core principles of 'solidity, natural moves, and no weaknesses,' but instead pursue speed and overall coordination! As long as we have speed and overall coordination, and find that balance point, any other principles can be discarded!"

"I learned this from you."

"We'll return it now!"

Time ticked by.

Yu Shao finally picked up a chess piece and gently placed it on the chessboard! Tap!
Fourteen columns and sixteen rows, how long!

This long-range technique is almost the only effective response against a shoulder strike at this moment!
Seeing this, Araki immediately took a chess piece from the chess box and placed it without hesitation!

Hey!
Seventeen columns and twelve rows, dismantle!

"After the shoulder strike, instead of continuing the move, he played here to extend the side... no, it's like a corner attack?"

The hearts of everyone around couldn't help but stir.

After the shoulder strike, Black should theoretically continue to fight White in the local area, but Black did not. Instead, Black chose to ignore the move, and the position of this move seemed a bit strange at first glance.

It looks like peeling off an edge, but it also looks like hanging a corner.

Going down like this often doesn't serve the purpose of both dismantling and hanging corners; in fact, it often results in neither dismantling the edges nor hanging corners at all!

"I see!"

Amidst the crowd, Kimura Go took a closer look and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"At this point, if White defends the corner and Black extends back, then the previous exchange of Black's shoulder hit and White's extension will make White's corner slightly redundant!"

"If White pushes forward, Black can defend the corner on the top while fighting against the White stone that has been forced forward!"

"This is Araki-sensei's idea, and it's also the killer move he's revealed!"

Araki's expression was solemn as he waited for Yu Shao to make his move.

"bring it on!"

Finally, after a moment, Yu Shao also picked up a chess piece and placed it down again!

Hey!
White's pieces, in the seventeenth column and sixth row, are approaching the corner!
"Hanging it directly at the corner?!"

Araki suddenly raised his eyes, his expression somewhat moved: "He didn't defend the corner, nor did he force the enemy back; instead, he directly led the battle to the upper right corner, refusing to compromise in the slightest?!"

Araki's eyes trembled as he looked at the chessboard and at this move. For a moment, he had a strange sense of déjà vu.

Opposite him sat a figure that seemed all too familiar.

"Leave no room for compromise, pursue a decisive battle in the middle of the body."

"It's just like……"

"Su Yiming".

Araki clenched his fists, feeling somewhat incredulous. He actually saw Su Yiming's shadow in Yu Shao!
He originally thought that facing An Hongshi would be the most difficult battle in this World Championship, but so far, he actually thinks that the most difficult battle was not An Hongshi, but the game against Su Yiming!
Although the game against An Hongshi was thrilling, with the odds constantly shifting, he always had a clear understanding of the situation, no matter how he played, even when he was at a disadvantage!
However, unlike the game of chess that Su Yiming played, in which he almost lost and was completely forced into a desperate situation, he didn't know whether he could win until the very last moment!
Araki's eyes were solemn and deep, his mind frantically calculating the subsequent changes. In the competition venue where only the sound of pieces being placed echoed, there was a solemn atmosphere.

The next moment, Araki took out a chess piece.

The chess piece falls.

Thirteen columns and fifteen rows, how long!

Black ignored White's invitation to fight fiercely in the upper right corner and instead moved to the lower part of the board, seemingly intending to attack one flank with White and win by speed!

……

"Arakino-sensei has grown up!"

"That's too much of a rip-off, is it really that long here?"

"He didn't pay attention to the corner piece? That's too dangerous!"

"They're really going all out! But Yu Shao's move earlier was definitely too forceful!"

Viewers around the world are watching this game intently, and every second, countless comments flood the Phoenix Cup official live stream!
"Brilliant! The previous shoulder strike, in retrospect, perfectly complements that splitting and cornering move!"

In Jiangling, at Zhuang Weisheng's home, Zhuang Fei stared in shock at the television screen, watching the black and white pieces alternately fall on the chessboard, without even blinking.

Fang Haoxin, standing to the side, also looked shocked. Every move made by both sides made his heart skip a beat!
"Go get the chessboard, quick!"

Suddenly, Zhuang Fei seemed to have thought of something and quickly said to a boy wearing a baseball cap next to him, "Set up the game! We can't just sit here and watch!"

"I want to see what I would do if it were me!"

Zhuang Fei took a deep breath and said, "I want to see how far I am from them!"

"it is good!"

The boy wearing the baseball cap nodded immediately, then dashed out of the living room and ran towards the chess room.

……

The Korean Go Association, in the game review room.

"Yu Shao didn't continue the attack here, but instead made a move to solidify his position. But if he had used a sharp move, wouldn't it have been much easier to build a strong position?"

A group of professional Go players gathered around a computer screen. They were all around thirty years old and were all well-known high-ranking players.

It can be said that, apart from the professional Go players who participate in the World Championships, North and South Korea are the strongest in Go.

"Yes, if it were me, I would definitely not hesitate to go for it."

"Why isn't it pointed? Is there a problem?"

"And here, why did Araki-sensei discard the shoulder strike stone? It's a key stone, extremely important, there's no need to discard it!"

They were discussing amongst themselves, with a chessboard in front of them and the chess pieces arranged exactly like the chessboard on the computer screen, clearly indicating that they were simultaneously analyzing the moves.

Their chess skills were already quite advanced, but when faced with this game, there were many parts they couldn't understand at all, as if they were reading a book written in heaven.

"Yes. Why discard the shoulder strike stone?"

"However, what's even more outrageous is that Yu Shao didn't eat the seed; instead, he used the thorn to force Professor Araki to make a statement."

Their brows furrowed deeper and deeper. It was one thing for Araki to abandon the chess pieces, but the key was that Yu Shao ignored them. This was truly terrifying to think about, yet they couldn't figure it out for the time being!
"What should Yu Shao do now? Xiao Fei?"

"I feel like Xiaofei is bound to make this move, right?"

Suddenly, someone's expression changed, and they exclaimed, "Yu Shao is off! He's made his statement, it's not Xiao Fei! Twelve columns, twelve rows, top!"

On the chessboard, someone immediately took a chess piece from the chess box and placed it in the twelfth column and twelfth row.

Immediately, everyone exchanged glances, and they could all see the shock in each other's eyes!
"Holy crap, awesome! Not only did Yu Shao not capture Araki-sensei's sacrificed piece, he sacrificed his own!"

"He's forcing Arakino-sensei to make a statement!"

"If Araki-sensei ignores the move or leaves it alone, Black will inevitably be scattered by White. Moreover, capturing the key stones now would be a huge and clean move!"

"So Yu Shao was waiting here! His attack has begun!"

(End of this chapter)