LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 371 Let's practice against a professional 7th dan team leader.

That evening, the Chinese Chess Academy's Weibo account announced the latest list of participants for the Rookie King Tournament, which included many promising newcomers who had recently made a splash in the professional leagues A and B.

The Rookie of the Year competition, held every two years, always attracts the attention of most people, and even a team as strong as Jaguar during that period could not win the crown.

Furthermore, as the champion of the Rookie King competition, he will later face off against the strongest rookie from South Korea to compete for the title of the ultimate Rookie King across borders, so it is only natural that he will receive a high level of attention.

However, as one of the most dazzling newcomers who emerged last year, Lin Ruo's absence from the list inevitably sparked considerable discussion.

Given that the LPL league is currently underway, Lin Ruo's absence is not difficult to understand.

However, many media reporters have captured images of Lin Ruo reporting to the chess academy yesterday, and it is not hard to guess that it is definitely related to the Rookie King Tournament.

This led to the conclusion that Lin Ruo declined the invitation from the Shanghai Weiqi Association to participate in the Rookie King Tournament.

If that's the conclusion, then it's rather puzzling.

Many viewers who are familiar with both Go and the League of Legends know that Lin Ruo mentioned in a regular season interview with Snake that he would not play in any games except the playoffs.

If you have the time, why are you unwilling to participate in a five-day rookie competition? Are you planning to do something else?
Forget it, they probably just want to stream quietly.

Indeed, Go is something Lin Ruo can do without, so it's normal that she doesn't want to go.

Although Lin won't be playing in the upcoming games, he probably has other things to do, such as helping the team make adjustments behind the scenes. He can't just sit on the bench and do nothing, so I think Lin is probably still too busy.

I heard the prize money for the Rookie of the Year competition is only 20 yuan, so I guess I understand why Lin didn't go.

[20 views is less than what I, Lin Shen, could get from two days of live streaming at home, right?]

[This...it wasn't given properly, so it's perfectly normal for Lin Youshen not to go.]

Alright, I hereby announce that without my Lin Shen's participation, any victory in the Rookie King Tournament is meaningless.

[Why are there so many haters here? Are they just trying to bring trouble to Lin Shen? It's outrageous! Get them all out of here!]

While viewers on Weibo were discussing the event, another trending topic related to Lin Ruo emerged: Lin Ruo was scheduled to start her broadcast at 19 PM sharp.

Lin Ruo streams every day, so this kind of trending topic seems to have no reason to go viral. However, the real difference is that Lin Ruo, who just started streaming, is playing chess on WildFox.

Many viewers checked the information through various channels and, after confirming it, became puzzled.

He's not even going to the Rookie King competition anymore, so why is he practicing Go on live stream again?

Netizens, who are usually not prone to internal conflicts, promptly started sending messages in the live stream. Lin Ruo originally didn't plan to say much, but there was no way around it; someone actually dared to send him a powerful message to force him to speak.

Well, there's nothing I can do, I'll just have to say it!

"The Rookie King Competition? I'm not going to participate in that. I don't qualify. So I signed up for another competition that I do qualify for. I'll go out and broaden my horizons in a few days."

After explaining, Lin Ruo still needs to talk to her fans about the live stream. Obviously, going to the competition instead of streaming will cause some viewers who like to watch live streams to complain.

"I didn't say I wouldn't stream. I will stream. I'll be streaming from the base for at least half of these 20 days, and I'll only go to the competition for the other half."

To make a long story short, Lin Ruo, having finished his business, continued to discuss the profound principles of chess and its damage potential on Wildfox.

While playing Go on QQ mini-games was convenient in the past, it was impossible to play a high-quality game. After all, people who played Go on QQ were either just looking for fun.

However, playing chess with Wild Fox doesn't necessarily guarantee a high-quality performance, since he's only just started and is still a novice; how could he possibly encounter any strong opponents?

Even if you do encounter it, it might not be anything special.

So he decided to find a master to duel with, and that's right, it was Team Leader Tian Bin, who is currently a professional 7th Dan.

Tian Bin had a condition for agreeing to let Lin Ruo participate in the Mengbaihe Cup: he had to play a few games of chess with Lin Ruo in the next few days.

He didn't have high expectations. The two of them had never officially played against each other in the National Games before. This time, if Lin Ruo could beat him three out of five games, he would consider it official recognition.

Otherwise, if he can't even beat an older 7-dan player, then competing with younger 7-dan players for the incredibly difficult main tournament spots would be even less likely.

Lin Ruo agreed with the idea; he admired the confidence that Team Leader Tian Bin exuded from within.

...

Meanwhile, late at night in the chess academy, Tian Bin, sitting at his computer in the game room, was surrounded by seven or eight aspiring professional players.

These are all students he has been training recently. Considering Lin Ruofei's strength, Tian Bin felt that these matches would be very valuable for learning and observation, so he called them over late at night.

Actually, it wasn't really shouting, because they were still training each other in the game room at that time.

“Watch carefully and learn well. After watching this game, you must review it. Everyone must give me some insights.”

Upon hearing this, the students around him nodded in unison, and then one of them couldn't help but ask, "Coach, can you beat Lin Ruo?"

Tian Bin's face twitched, and before he could speak, another student interrupted, "What are you saying? Our coach is a professional seventh dan. I admit that Lin Ruo's strength and talent are better than the coach's, but he is still young and cannot surpass the coach without enough experience."

Although the golden age for Go is said to be between seventeen and eighteen, it is called the golden age because other players in this age group have already accumulated more than ten years of experience.

As for Lin Ruo, it seems like she hasn't even had a year of experience, so it's perfectly reasonable to say she has no experience.

Tian Bin understood what the students meant: if Lin Ruo had started playing Go from a young age, they could probably spin him around like a top.

He wanted to argue, but he lacked the ability.

Indeed, if Lin Ruo had learned Go from a young age, Tian Bin felt that his situation would have been exactly as described.

However, there are always "what ifs." He didn't think Lin Ruo could defeat him openly and legitimately right now; perhaps he could after another year of training.

So Tian Bin confidently expressed his anger: "You guys have really been spoiled. After this game, all of you go down and write a review of the game, which will be at least a thousand words long. You're not allowed to sleep until you've finished writing it."

"Is the team leader ready? Do you want white or black?" Lin Ruo, who was preparing to start, was already sending a WeChat message to ask.

If Tian Bin lets him choose, Lin Ruo will definitely choose the white piece; he doesn't like being the black piece.

However, Tian Bin seemed to have realized that Lin Ruo was very good at using white pieces, so he immediately changed his mind and took away the right to use white pieces, forcing him to become the little black piece.

Lin Ruoxin accepted it; it was okay to experience being a little hater for a while.

As soon as the game started, he saw through the leader's old tricks by observing the first three moves.

White's first three moves all involve occupying three star points on the same side, forming a horizontal three-star layout, which is conducive to rapid expansion. This sacrifices territory in the corner in exchange for potential influence on the outside. This is a standard cosmic flow opening method based on the three-star layout, an aggressive tactical system that particularly emphasizes large-scale operations in the center.

It was popularized by Japanese Go player Masaki Takemiya 9-dan, and its core idea is to gain control of the external influence by giving up local territory.

It may later develop into a quadruple constellation or expand in conjunction with other constellations to form a three-dimensional central shape.

The Cosmic Style emphasizes not only offensive power but also a sense of balance in the game. Players need to maintain keen insight during the game to ensure that their opening is both aggressive and balanced.

The requirements are very high, so after the widespread adoption of AlphaGo, this triple star layout inevitably became the preferred method to be phased out.

It's obvious that team leader Tian Bin really wants to go head-to-head with him and try a strong confrontation.

Lin Ruo smiled but didn't say anything. He thought it was impractical to use a fixed fighting style to deal with him and then try to change the tactics.

This layout, though beautiful, is too extreme, and in Lin Ruo's chess games, there is never any so-called "human hearts" to be won over.

Faced with a strong offensive momentum, they continued to play a steady and methodical approach, building a defensive structure on the right flank and maintaining a safe and secure position.

Lin Ruo's response was swift and decisive. He did not counterattack, but instead used the method of using softness to overcome hardness, making it impossible for Tian Bin, the team leader, to find a way to break the deadlock after dozens of rounds of attacks.

As things continued, the ambitious seventh-dan coach gradually lowered his head and fell silent in front of the computer. He never imagined that his situation with Lin Ruo was similar to that of those children.

Unfortunately, he genuinely couldn't find a way to break the deadlock.

Time ticked by, and Tian Bin became lost in deep thought.

Not only did he fail to break the deadlock, he also made an unexpected and malicious move. With Lin Ruo's shoulder strike that established the situation, the situation reversed, and the white side not only could not find a way to break the deadlock.

Now it's a place we haven't even attacked yet.

After finally admitting defeat, Tian Bin couldn't help but cough lightly, forcing a smile as he called for a rematch.

"This kid's strength is definitely more than just the first stage. It seems I have to go all out against him."

"What? Coach, you didn't go all out in the last game?" The students who were watching intently were very surprised to hear this. They thought that the coach's strength was actually like this.

"That's right. In the last game, Coach Ben was just focusing on testing his current level."

Once he came to his senses, Tian Bin stared intently at the computer screen, his eyes reflecting the black and white chess pieces.

In less than half an hour, the reflection in her eyes was filled with bitter tears.

From the trainees' bizarre perspective, Tian Bin, who had given it his all, was unsurprisingly swept out of the competition.

Is this the result of the coach's all-out effort?

The students, looking at each other, had different thoughts, and another idea popped into their minds: Lin Ruo was really terrifying.

Even a 7th-dan coach... no, a coach who's practically an old man with a 7th-dan level should be considered less skilled, but it's still terrifying.

"Want to play again, team leader?" Lin Ruo asked via WeChat after finishing the game, seeing that there was no intention to start another one.

"I'm not coming." Tian Bin's answer was simple and straightforward.

Lin Ruo persisted in typing: "But didn't we agree that we had to win at least three out of five games? Team leader."

This gave Tian Bin a deep sense of powerlessness. Sometimes he really wanted to hang Lin Ruo up and give him a good beating.

Okay, okay, go ahead and pretend. You know what you're doing, so why don't you give me some face, huh?

"My wife is calling me home for dinner." Tian Bin, too proud to admit defeat directly, ultimately chose a more subtle compromise; surely this excuse would get him off the hook.

Lin Ruo readily agreed, which suggests that the team leader has recognized his skill level and his ability to compete at a high level in the world championships.

"Coach, do we still need to write another thousand words?" the students asked.

Tian Bin's face darkened: "What are you going to write? Write about how I got humiliated? Go play chess. Your hands are for holding chess pieces, not for holding a pen."

He truly never expected that he, a retired 7th-dan professional player, would be so thoroughly defeated by Lin Ruo.

If he had known this would be the outcome, Tian Bin would never have invited the trainees to observe.

Well, let Lin Ruo go if she wants to participate in the world championship. After all, even if she meets those top professionals, it's hard to say who will beat whom.

...

[Lin Gou is bullying some girl again. He finished the fight in less than a hundred moves. Are you even human? Come and bully me if you dare.]

[This guy is definitely not as good as me. Even if I were him, I wouldn't have gotten beaten up like this by Lin Gou. It felt like he was playing against a bot.]

[The opponent is probably an amateur player, but Lin Gou was able to play two games with her. She must be a rich woman. If word gets out, Lin Gou will be sucking up to her.]

[Shouldn't it be that he found a shortcut to achieving his dreams? Lin Gengxin accomplished what we've all dreamed of, so you should just be jealous.]

...

cough cough.

Lin Ruo initially maintained a tiny bit of naiveté towards netizens, until he read the comments after two rounds and realized that when they started bragging, they really didn't even bother with the slightest bit of preparation.

If Lin Ruo told them that the opponent was a professional 7th dan player, it would be a huge slap in the face to the people making fun of the live stream. After thinking about it, Lin Ruo decided against it. Showing off was one thing, but she still had to give the team leader face.

We can't let the story of the team leader getting humiliated die on the internet.

They continued playing chess, a game that wasn't particularly difficult, and Lin Ruo casually bought a plane ticket to Beijing for a week later.

As it is hosted by the Chinese Weiqi Association, the Mengbaihe Cup and the Newcomer Tournament are both held at the BJ Chess Academy.

The only difference is that the rookie competition came first, followed by the segmented Mengbaihe Cup.

However, the rookie competition won't start until the day after tomorrow and will last for five days. Maybe I'll run into Zhang Ruo and the others when I go.

Without giving it much thought, Lin Ruo won more than ten games in a row on Yefox in one night. He had registered an account on Yefox and started playing chess as early as noon, but only started the live broadcast at 19 pm.

The ranks on WildFox are no different from the actual ranks; beginners also need to start their journey from the most basic rank.
However, Lin Ruo, who is already a professional beginner, can ignore these things by verifying his identity. After obtaining professional player certification, he will have the opportunity to compete against other high-level players on Wildfox.

(End of this chapter)