LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 377 Advancing to the Second Round, an Even Stronger Old Deng Arrives
Time passed by minute by minute.

As the game progressed into the middle game early on, the situation became increasingly clear. After the "Flying Immortal" move broke the deadlock and led to a counter-capture, White's forces collapsed and seemed to have no chance to fight back.

After abandoning his key piece, the three white stones that were separated became completely isolated and helpless. Huang Yizhong's attempt to counterattack not only failed to break the deadlock, but also...

While attacking, Lin Ruo also took the opportunity to leave a hidden danger for the white stones in the upper right corner, thus making the burden on the game even heavier.

Huang Yizhong finally realized the most terrifying aspect of his opponent: his extremely fluid and unrestrained offensive tactics.

In his more than 20-year professional career, he has never seen anyone with such terrifying offensive capabilities. Once he seizes the advantage, he will not give his opponent even the slightest chance to breathe.

Such relentless attacks are a fatal blow to a player whose career is nearing its end and who cannot rely too much on his brain.

In other words, White's defensive speed could not keep up with Black's offensive pace at all.

After angrily breaking through and desperately searching for a way to counterattack, White's moves remained fruitless for more than an hour. The more White tried to plug the gaps, the more weaknesses appeared, with openings everywhere.

The blockade line built on the top four lines was too weak and almost broke under the attack of the black pieces.

Although Huang Yizhong struggled to hold on, as the black dragon broke through to the left, the white stones were ultimately unable to stop it, and the formation was shattered.

It's all in chaos, complete chaos.

After more than three hours of fierce fighting since the start of the game, Huang Yizhong, covered in sweat, held his thermos and wanted to drink some tea to relieve his anxiety about the current situation.

But he discovered that he had already drunk all the tea.

Since there's no more drink, does that mean the chess game is over too...?

After barely managing to stabilize the situation with one move, Huang Yizhong stared intently at the fatal blow that Black was about to deliver, making a loud and decisive move.

Under pressure, he was forced to choose the desperate tactic of sacrificing himself to seize control of the field, regardless of the fate of the large empty space above.

However, Black managed to plunder and profit from the game, leaving Black with no choice but to watch helplessly as the gap in territory continued to widen.

Lin Ruo's moves gave him no chance, while his moves kept giving Lin Ruo opportunities.

"White can't hold on any longer."

Off the field, watching the situation on the chessboard, Yu Zhiying slowly broke the silence.

Without her saying anything, anyone with a bit of chess experience could see the current outcome, let alone professional players Wu Yiming and Zhang Ruo.

"So, Lin Ruo is really going to win... but why does he seem like a completely different person after the first thirty moves and the last fifty?"

Wu Yiming was very puzzled, but couldn't find any answer. Could it be that Lin Ruo was nervous at first and then gradually got into the zone?
Impossible, how could Lin Ruo possibly be nervous...

She glanced at Zhang Ruo, who also didn't know why Lin Ruo's initial plan had been so poorly executed. As for the so-called tense situation, she thought it was absolutely impossible for it to happen.

Firstly, he had partnered with Lin Ruo before. As someone who appears calm and confident, he wouldn't even flinch if the sky were to fall, so how could he possibly be nervous?

Secondly, there's Lin Ruo's speed in making moves. A nervous person can't be so methodical, making one move after another without hesitation or fuss. This is a technique that only someone with absolute confidence can play.

So, it really was a mistake?
Inside the overcrowded competition hall, table number eighteen was hastily bringing up the final stages of the competition.

With the outcome already decided, Huang Yizhong, a 7-dan player with a somewhat pale expression, stomped his feet and pounded his chest in frustration. He then placed two stones in the lower right corner of the board and stopped the clock that was still calculating.

"I lost."

The game was in such a terrible state that any further resistance would only result in the merciless slaughter of the dragon, so Huang Yizhong chose to concede defeat gracefully.

Throughout the entire game, White experienced unprecedented ups and downs.

They opened the scoring in the lower right corner, then threatened the upper right corner, and then suppressed the second and third lanes below. However, they lost their great advantage in a move that was not expected to happen.

After that, White had no chance to fight back. It was truly a case of losing the whole game with just one careless move.

Throughout the three-hour game, Huang Yizhong's opinion of Lin Ruo changed repeatedly. At first, he thought Lin Ruo was a naive young first dan player who made numerous mistakes in the early stages of the game and could not put any pressure on him at all.

However, as the game progressed, he was overtaken and fell into a disadvantageous position, and was then subjected to complete suppression from beginning to end.

Huang Yizhong has absolutely no idea who his opponent is...

Under Chinese Go rules, Black has a larger komi (ko) than White, so White often has a clear advantage in the game.

He was using the white pieces, but he failed to achieve the so-called advantageous initiative.

Was his opponent strong? Or very strong? In any case, they were definitely stronger than him, an older player, so strong that he didn't even need to review the game.

"I acknowledge it, senior."

Seeing Huang Yizhong, a 7-dan player, choose to concede defeat, Lin Ruo immediately nodded and bowed in response, following protocol.

As the first two players to finish their match, they naturally attracted a lot of attention in the room.

Did Huang Yizhong, a 7-dan player, lose?
The players were all puzzled, but they didn't have time to think about it and continued to focus on the game. There shouldn't be the slightest objection to an eighteen-year-old player defeating a thirty-seven-year-old player.

Because eighteen is the peak of life, while thirty-seven is already a clear stage of old age and leisure.

However, this 18-year-old chess player seems to have only started learning chess at the age of 17, and Go is not even his main profession yet.

It's impossible for chess players who know even a little bit about this not to be deeply shocked.

"Your potential is limitless. I look forward to having the opportunity to play against you again in the future." Huang Yizhong stood up, looked directly at Lin Ruo, and said sincerely.

He lost today, and he accepted it wholeheartedly.

"I hope so," Lin Ruo replied, her tone lacking much anticipation.

It's very simple. If he wins this year's Dream Lily Cup and is promoted directly to 9-dan, he's not sure if he'll participate in other world championships in the future.

Well, thinking about it now is a bit too far off.

Since they were in the competition venue, the two did not have a chance to review the game. After tidying up the chess table, they registered the list of those who advanced at the referee's instruction, and then Lin Ruo got up and left the hall.

As the winner of the most high-profile and potentially surprising competition, Lin Ruo didn't need the organizers to make any preparations; she was immediately surrounded by media from all sides as soon as she left the venue.

After all, no reporter would let go of such a bombshell story, unless they wanted to quit.

Faced with a swarm of cameras, Lin Ruo, accustomed to such situations, maintained a calm smile and skillfully handled every tricky and sarcastic question.

We strive to uphold the philosophy of providing our media reporters with a reliable and accessible experience, benefiting all sectors of society.

Unlike other chess players, who, when asked even the slightest controversial question, either dodge the question or give nonsensical answers.

As a professional, Lin Ruo will only do her best to ensure that the media friends leave with a full harvest.

Of course, the biggest priority is to make yourself feel good. After all, if you win a game but don't try to get some screen time, it's like you've only won half the battle.

Enjoy the game on the field, and enjoy the result even more off the field.

"Lin Ruo, as a first-dan player, you defeated Huang Yizhong, a highly experienced professional seventh-dan player, in your first world championship. This is a huge upset in the eyes of most of us outsiders. What are your thoughts on your debut?"

"Just my usual performance." Lin Ruo answered the reporter's question, which came out very quickly and in perfect Mandarin, with just four words.

These four characters are simple, but their meaning is anything but simple.

The ecstatic reporters were already preparing to write thousands of news articles using those four words, because there were simply too many points to interpret as "normal performance." Just the fact that they, as outsiders, considered it an upset, while Lin Ruo thought it was perfectly normal, was enough to create a sensational news story.

"Lin Ruo, your initial setup didn't seem to be very good. So how did you adjust and turn the game around?"

"Did I play badly? It was alright, I just played my own way." Lin Ruo shrugged, indicating that he didn't think there was a problem. If the reporters and audience thought there was a problem, then that wasn't his responsibility to answer.

"Your group, Group 11, is a true group of death. Even Park Young-hoon, a 9-dan player, is in the group. Are you confident that you will be the only one to break through? Even if you don't break through, you probably won't be too disappointed."

Reporters kept asking questions, and Lin Ruo answered patiently from beginning to end: "As a chess player, confidence is fundamental. No matter what opponent you face, you must fight with the mindset of winning. If you have the wishful thinking that you won't lose if you lose because of the difference in rank, and you will make a huge profit if you win, you will never win."

A very insightful answer followed, causing the assembled journalists to exchange glances, their eyes filled with admiration.

Lin Ruo's words were indeed excellent, making their questions seem rather unprofessional.

Who doesn't want to win? So why ask someone a pointless question like whether they have confidence?

As the reporters echoed their agreement, new questions arose: "What level does Lin Ruo consider herself to be at now? Has she already surpassed the professional 7th dan level?"

Lin Ruo nodded slightly in front of the microphone, then said with amusement, "I don't know what level I am, but I should be at the strongest first dan right now, right?"

As a newly promoted professional first dan, Lin Ruo successfully defeated a seventh dan player who had been a professional for many years. He felt that he could at least be considered the strongest first dan player.

Right? Then it makes no sense for them not to post a Weibo message after the match to claim they're the strongest first-dan player.

Amidst the reporters' laughter, Lin Ruo quickly left the competition venue after finishing the interview, joining Yu Zhiying, who had been in the venue the whole time.

Lin Ruo didn't expect them to come to watch the game, but thinking about it, there really wasn't much else to do if they didn't watch the game.

The four of them went to a Beijing lamb restaurant and ate while chatting about the competition.

Because of his victory over a professional 7th dan, the arrogant Wu Yiming looked at Lin Ruo differently. It wasn't the same kind of admiration he showed Zhang Ruo, but rather a sense of admiration.

"Okay, Lin Ruo, I admit that it was the right decision for you to skip the Rookie King competition and instead participate in the Mengbaihe Cup." Wu Yiming, fiddling with his phone, didn't want to admit it, but he had to.

What fact?
That title, the so-called Rookie King Tournament championship, is indeed far less noteworthy than defeating a professional 7-dan in the Mengbaihe Cup qualifiers.

At least that's how the internet environment is now. In just over an hour, she had already seen a lot of trending posts about Lin Ruo defeating a professional 7th dan player.

Baidu, Toutiao, and Sina Weibo—almost every news channel is vying to push this kind of news to her.

This is partly due to Lin Ruo's large online following, but more importantly, it is because defeating a 7-dan player right after entering the world championships is truly an impossible feat.

Once you achieve that, a massive wave of buzz and trending topics will naturally follow.

The last time Wu Yiming saw Go generate this much buzz on Weibo was around this time last year when Jaguar's match against AL broke through to a wider audience and sparked huge discussions.

If Lin Ruo can go even further, it would be entirely reasonable for her to surpass the popularity of the human-machine battle.

As for Zhou Hongyu, a 16-year-old fourth-dan player who just won the Rookie King Tournament yesterday, apart from being interviewed by CCTV and having a small trophy, he did not cause much of a stir in the Go world, let alone cross over into the field.

"But don't get cocky. Your next opponent is Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, who is much stronger than Huang Yizhong, a 7-dan player."

Listening to Wu Yiming's usual stubbornness, Lin Ruo calmly replied, "Is that so?"

He didn't actually care about the opponent's rank; he only cared about their age. Upon hearing that the opponent was a veteran player from over 60 years ago, Lin Ruo exclaimed how terrifying it was.

Huang Yizhong, a 7-dan player, would probably only be considered a junior compared to others.

Facing such a veteran, Lin Ruo couldn't help but show a hint of pressure on his face.

"You're not scared, are you?" Yu Zhiying joked from time to time. Her opponent in the second round of the preliminaries was a young professional fourth-dan player.

Although she is said to be young, she is actually in her early twenties and older than her.

Yu Zhiying is not worried about losing the match. She has been watching match videos for the past two days and actively preparing for her game against Park Young-hoon 9-dan, hoping to deliver a strong performance.

Just as Lin Ruo said, there may be differences between them, but a chess player who doesn't want to win is not a good chess player.

afraid?
Before Lin Ruo could explain, Zhang Ruo jumped out first: "I am indeed afraid, probably because I am afraid that the other party is too old to use force."

Lin Ruo glanced at it with admiration. As expected of the girl he often had awkward chats with on WeChat, she could now guess his so-called concerns.

After finishing her meal and returning to the hotel, Lin Ruo declined the invitation to travel and continued her healthy lifestyle, which involved taking a peaceful afternoon nap to recharge.

In the afternoon, I used my laptop to complete the game tasks I needed to do, and then continued playing Go against players of various skill levels on FoxGo.

At this moment, the chess academy is holding the first round of preliminary matches for the women's and amateur groups, while the second round of the men's group will not continue as scheduled until the day after tomorrow. With an extra day to prepare, Lin Ruo has a lot to do.

Yu Zhiying still insisted on coming to the venue to watch the game. Compared to watching the female players' matches, she actually wanted to learn more from the many high-level players who were also present.

For example, Lin Ruo's next opponent is Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player who currently teaches at Peking University.

"Xiao Huang, you're no good. How come you had a huge advantage in the early game yesterday, but you were completely outmatched by a junior and lost in just over a hundred moves?"

"Old Fang, what are you saying? I'm old, what's wrong with giving some benefits to young people?" Huang Yizhong, who was reviewing the game, joked with a bitter laugh.

After the match ended in the morning, according to the rules, as the loser, he had the right to have Lin Ruo review the game for him off the field to find out where the problems were.

However, Huang Yizhong did not bring it up, firstly because he had lost badly, and secondly because he found it hard to accept the result, so he didn't have much desire to review the game at the time.

It's impossible for him not to feel regret after losing the match; he has never been eliminated in the first round of the qualifiers in the Mengbaihe Cup.

This morning, the record was broken, and despite having a favorable schedule, the player was eliminated by a newly qualified professional first dan.

In a sense, he has reached the peak of his life. Now, in the Go world and among the general public, there should be very few people who don't know him as a 7-dan player.

Approaching 60, the smartly dressed, eighth-dan Fang Tianfeng chuckled and replied, "Little Huang, if you put it that way, what am I, this old codger, then? A newbie gift pack..."

Realizing there was something wrong with his previous statement, Huang Yizhong smiled sheepishly and quickly shifted the topic to Yu Zhiying, whom he was consulting.

"You should focus on discussing chess with others instead of bothering me, a loser, with my post-game analysis. Don't let me leave tomorrow and you start following me the day after."

Fang Tianfeng, who loved to joke, persisted: "That won't do. I have to leave tomorrow too, since I still have classes at school."

There were still many people around discussing and reviewing the game, and many sixth or seventh dan players were trying to find Huang Yizhong's mistakes in the game.

In the end, it turned out that there was only one thing that mattered: the divine assist from the celestial being. It's not that the other directions were wrong, but we were helplessly led by the nose.

"Is Lin Ruo really that good?" a young Go player with a 7-dan ranking wondered.

"We'll find out how strong he is when we meet him. Just don't give him any chance. His strategic vision is like an infiltration ability; he can find every loophole. If he gets an opening, he'll be in big trouble."

Huang Yizhong said with deep emotion that his being beaten to the point of delirium was the best proof of this.

Although a single game doesn't prove anything, a win is a win, and at least in his eyes, Lin Ruo is undeniably strong.

The surrounding players were skeptical, but Fang Tianfeng, an eighth-dan player, became very enthusiastic. He had originally thought that dealing with a player who was only a novice in Go wouldn't be very interesting.

But now it seems that it was much more interesting to play against many old guys and seasoned chess players.

He couldn't wait for the day after tomorrow to arrive so he could witness the youthful vigor of a professional first-dan Go player.

(End of this chapter)