LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 378 Slaying the Dragon with a Hundred Hands (6000 words)
Huang Yizhong sighed bitterly, knowing that the points he had accumulated from participating in various competitions had been quietly halved.

Ratings are a dynamic scoring system that reflects a player's real-time skill level. They are used to measure a player's current competitive state and ranking, and complement rank titles.

In his view, playing against such young players is torture. Winning doesn't add many points to his ranking, but if he loses unexpectedly, the lower the opponent's rank, the more points he will lose.

Not to mention that Lin Ruo is only a first dan, while he is a seventh dan who has been in the Go world for many years.

It will definitely take five or six more wins to recover from this setback.

Fortunately, Huang Yizhong, who is already in his twilight years, has long since lost interest in rankings. Anyway, he can just hide his heartache under the covers at night and it will pass.

However, this consolation is clearly not enough. What if Old Fang's rating also drops tomorrow...?

Thinking of this, Huang Yizhong couldn't help but ask Yu Zhiying why that kid didn't come to watch the game and ask for the game's moves that afternoon. The answer he got was that Lin Ruo was just throwing the game.

During her day and a half of leisure time, Lin Ruoke did not have the same relentless patience as Yu Zhiying. After playing some Wild Fox Go in the afternoon after the competition, she promptly immersed herself in the game in the evening.

You can't really believe he bought a laptop just to conveniently complete game check-in tasks during busy times, right? That's definitely not the case. In fact, it's more about being able to play computer games anytime, anywhere.

As for tomorrow, Lin Ruo plans to go out and have some fun.

After all, Lin Ruo could be a quiet shut-in in other places, but he couldn't do that in Beijing, because the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are there.

For history buffs, the Forbidden City is an unmissable attraction, not to mention Tiananmen Square, which holds profound national significance.

After posting a Weibo message, Lin Ruo, wearing sunglasses and embracing two underage girls, subtly posted a picture of herself in front of Tiananmen Square in the morning, accompanied by a title that was so professional it couldn't be more professional.

'A day of playing the strongest class in the world, starting from the very beginning.'

The netizens who regularly report in the comments section unanimously express their disappointment and frustration.

[The second round is tomorrow, and instead of going home and preparing for the match, you're wandering around aimlessly. How dare you!]

[Damn it, the official competition organizers gave a one-day break for rest and preparation, but Lin Gou (Lin Gengxin) spent the whole day running around outside.]

[Running away is one thing, but bringing a girl along is another. It ruined my mood this morning. I'm going to restart.]

【No, I, Lin Shen, just beat a professional 7th dan. What's wrong with relaxing a bit? Let's get back to the music and dancing.】

[So you're going to keep dancing until the next Dream Lily Cup, huh?]

I really admire Lin's mentality. Knowing he couldn't beat a professional 8-dan player, he chose to tank and enjoy life as soon as possible.

Am I the only one who feels confident? After all, you guys probably don't know that Lin is getting stronger and stronger, just like how he never plays in League of Legends.

Indeed, it's common knowledge that Lin Gou (Lin Gengxin) is always the most ferocious when he's out in full swing; this theory has been proven true countless times.

...

A day later, on the morning of April 14th, the second round of the Mengbaihe Cup qualifiers began.

The number of people in the competition hall of the Chinese Chess Academy has been reduced by more than half, making it look somewhat empty.

Most players arrived at the competition venue early, sat down, held their breath, and adjusted their state, waiting for the start of the second round.

Lin Ruo, who had eaten two steamed buns outside, arrived at the competition venue an hour early out of respect for the veteran chess player.

Finding table number two, where the match was about to begin, and seeing the empty space opposite him, Lin Ruo habitually rested his chin on his hand and waited by the table.

Media reporters' cameras snapped past her without restraint, and news reports were published in no time. This morning, before the second round of the preliminary competition, Lin Ruo seemed to be in poor mental condition, which may make it difficult for her to advance.

About ten minutes before the start of the match, Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, slowly arrived at the venue with his thermos cup. He wiped the dust off, sat down, and unconsciously wore a kind smile.

"Sorry, young man, I was delayed a bit because I was rushing to catch the subway."

Lin Ruo could understand that they were locals.

Seeing that this 8-dan senior seemed to have a good attitude and wasn't the type to throw a tantrum after losing a match, he was completely relieved.

"Huang Yizhong, a 7-dan player, kept telling me yesterday that you're really strong, kid, and that you beat him to a pulp."

Hearing Fang Tianfeng's polite words, Lin Ruo responded very modestly: "You're joking, it was just luck."

"Whether it was luck or not is not the point. The point is that you must give it your all today. I've been looking forward to playing against you, a young man, since yesterday." Fang Tianfeng, an eighth-dan player, loosened the lid of his thermos and put it aside, then sat up straight.

Lin Ruo nodded in agreement: "Okay, I will try my best to make your wish come true, senior."

The match began shortly afterward, and the two players proceeded with the usual coin toss. Fang Tianfeng, a 7-dan player, held several white stones in his hand, while Lin Ruo placed a single stone on the board to indicate that the number was odd.

With only four pieces remaining, Lin Ruo, who guessed wrong, relinquished the first move by playing white.

While playing black does present a disadvantage in terms of komi, having the initiative still offers value to players of varying skill levels.

Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, prefers to play black first because it represents the initiative in tactics, and the value of being one step ahead is no less than that of komi.

Two small points at the start.

This is one of the most common opening strategies in Go, where placing stones at the small eye position effectively controls the center of the board.

As is commonplace, Lin Ruo opened the game with a star position and a small eye position facing off in the upper left and lower left corners respectively.

The Star-Small-Eye Opening Strategy combines the speed of Star Position with the solidity of Small Eyes in a hybrid tactic.

For example, after Black occupies the star point with the first move, the second move can be to move to the diagonal small eye, which not only preserves the possibility of expanding the three-star point, but also allows for the conversion to contest for territory at any time.

This flexible and adaptable layout requires a high level of strategic vision from the player, and it is also a technique that Lin Ruo tends to favor in his fixed routines.

Because it adjusts and changes in real time, it is not limited to one direction, and in short, it is highly variable.

Fang Tianfeng, 8th Dan, played his third move in the lower right corner to defend the area.

As a core concept in the opening phase of Go, strengthening the corner by adding one or two moves can effectively prevent the opponent from encroaching on or destroying one's own corner territory.

Its core purpose is to establish a base or develop external influence, laying the foundation for subsequent strategic deployments.

Lin Ruo made a swift third move, choosing to approach the upper right corner and placing a stone near the corner occupied by Black to join the attack in the struggle for control of the corner.

Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, responded to White's sudden attack with a sharp, pointed joseki.

On the eighth move, White moves towards the lower right.

Lin Ruo placed her piece close to the intersection of the opponent's pieces, creating pressure or restraint.

Black plays a move from the opposite diagonal, directly blocking White's path of movement.

Lin Ruo and others took a turn.

After finishing his move, Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, observed the next move of the white stones and decisively chose to place his stones on the second line, which is the second vertical edge of the board. This is a specific way of playing stones that can make the stones more stable on the board.

White presses out on the fifth line, and Black turns on the second line.

After 15 moves, Lin Ruo, whose brain was working at lightning speed, estimated the best way to move next, and came up with two general directions.

One option is to jump out from the 13th column and 15th row, using a relatively simple strategy to force Black to move, while White presses down several times before returning to the upper left corner to defend.

In this case, although Black will gain much more territory in the lower area, its development will be constrained by White's stronger position.

It depends on which strategy to choose. Lin Ruo didn't want to play such a drawn-out game, so he decided to take another step, which was to use the principle of favorable capture to make a move.

If Black dares to play the card, then Black can capture Black's pieces after playing the card, thus accelerating the pace of the attack.

Seeing through the situation, Fang Tianfeng, an eighth-dan player, used a left upper-left hand strike to take the lead in changing direction and applying pressure.

White blocks.

Locally speaking, Black did not have a perfect opportunity to play the "flying" move that Lin Ruo should have made. After slightly diverting attention and forcing Lin Ruo to follow up with the "pan" move, Fang Tianfeng returned to his original position and followed suit.

Unhurried, Lin Ruo also made a detour by opening a flying knight formation in the upper left corner. The difference of just two moves had prevented him from directly cutting off the lower side to launch a counterattack.
Because once Black connects, if Black tries to capture again, the opponent can return to the upper left corner to continue the capture and shape the board, creating an advantage for the first move.

Lin Ruo simply defended one position and waited for Black to extend its territory before immediately launching a large attack to defend the corner.

Seeing that Fang Tianfeng had first broken up a continuous area on the right, and then made a move to occupy the upper field.

"How could you underestimate such a fat corner in the lower right corner?" Fang Tianfeng, an eighth-dan player, was somewhat surprised by Lin Ruo's sudden change of direction. The opponent's move was very strange and not within his expectations.

With Black invading the top, both sides are moving at a very fast pace in their opening moves.

Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, had a deep intention: to use an invasion as bait to move out the black stones in the corner. Once white made a sharp move against him locally, the corner area would immediately expand.

In this way, whether White retreats or crawls, he can remain invincible, thus strengthening his formation on the left side.

"That was a truly beautiful move. Old Fang is still as good as ever." Huang Yizhong, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, realizing that Old Fang probably wouldn't be leaving with him today.

But as soon as the white pieces attacked, Huang Yizhong immediately changed his mind.

Because Lin Ruo played the top-tier move predicted by AL, and with keen insight, quickly captured the most threatening black stone in the corner, he successfully turned the danger into safety.

Lin Ruo is a professional at dealing with black-hearted guys.

"Although Elder Fang is formidable, Lin Ruo is no less so; his strategic vision is terrifying." Huang Yizhong exclaimed in amazement.

Given Lin Ruo's speed, he probably already saw the solution to the problem, which is why he was able to avoid it effectively in the first instance.

Black's killing move was already seen as a sure thing by him.

The two sides then fought back and forth in the upper right corner for control of the area. Without hesitation, Lin Ruo changed his move after four moves and jumped to take the initiative.

This is definitely not the optimal solution in AL analysis, but it is the optimal solution for Lin Ruo.

Although Black will lose some territory on the ground after flying over, Lin Ruo still achieved his goal of gaining the initiative.

That's enough.

The thirty-sixth move involves pressing on the side, threatening to attack the four adjacent black stones. Black moves outwards, and White retreats alone.

After Black finishes its attack, it cuts again, and a battle between the two sides in the upper right corner is about to erupt.

It eats and grows.

Lin Ruo's attacks became increasingly sharp. He had no intention of using the momentum to reinforce his stones in the corner and stabilize the local area. Instead, he wanted to escalate the attack and grow two black stones in the upper area to maintain his offensive posture.

Unexpectedly, his opponent launched a fierce attack before the opening was even complete. Fang Tianfeng was caught off guard and chose to make a turn in the center of the two black stones to extend his own liberties.

When it was White's turn, Lin Ruo did not immediately escalate the attack, but instead slowly took a sip of water.

His attack has achieved its effect; at least Black's moves were not good, or to put it another way, they were quite bad.

If it were Lin Ruo, he would capture to support the black stones above, and then return to extend and add to the territory, maintaining the chaotic situation and preventing white from forming an effective and clear strategy in a short period of time.

However, it wasn't his turn to make this move for Black. What Lin Ruo wanted to do was make Black regret it later.

The forty-fourth move, a sudden upward thrust, instantly clarified the previously confusing situation.

Seeing Black's AL winning percentage plummet to below 20%, Huang Yizhong, watching from the sidelines, was shocked and quickly put on his glasses to carefully examine this earth-shattering move.

By seizing every opportunity to fill the tiny gaps, White managed to gain a tremendous advantage in the upper area.

Yes, at the start, White and Black were evenly matched in a grueling struggle, but after this move, everything changed dramatically.

Not only has the white stones in the upper area gained strength and influence, but more importantly, the five black stones around them are all trapped inside, putting them in a dilemma.

The attempt to salvage the situation by capturing the pieces was too late, and White easily resolved the situation with another capture.

Faced with this rather unfavorable situation, Fang Tianfeng, an eighth-dan player, unconsciously frowned.

He made a mistake.

This allowed White to exploit gaps in the upper area, creating an advantage that left White unable to defend both ends.

He now has only two paths to take: one is to fight desperately to save the five black pieces above him, and the other is that his current predicament does not mean that he has no hope of being reborn.

The five black pieces are not yet dead.

This is one of them.

Secondly, by abandoning the local area above, one should strive to expand the surrounding board position below, thereby indirectly alleviating the local situation.

That being said, how can we expand our current position in the lower area?
Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, tried to open up new fronts by attacking and capturing stones, but after White pushed out, he still couldn't find a way to achieve results.

The current board position is really unpleasant to look at, since no one wants to have five or six pieces surrounded and facing the risk of extinction at any time.

Seeing that White was trying to reduce its liberties on the second line, Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, gritted his teeth and finally chose to launch a strong attack, determined to fight his way out on the top.

Black blocks, temporarily shutting down White's channels for gaining liberties, but even so, it's still difficult to see a significant chance of escape.

Lin Ruo, sitting calmly on the sidelines, made a light touch in the corner, making the white stones in the upper part even more organized, while also causing losses to the black stones in the corner.

The situation deteriorated further, and Fang Tianfeng, desperate to survive, continued to fight back on the previous route.

Lin Ruo then returned to the center of the bottom and used a move to lure the black stones, which had nowhere else to go, down to make them live.

After more than ten moves, the black stones, still unable to find a way out in the upper right corner, launched a new entanglement in the central area of ​​the board, but still could not change their disadvantageous situation.

Fang Tianfeng was still pondering his next move when Lin Ruo made another brilliant move, leaving him speechless.

When Black retreated, Lin Ruo, who had previously ignored the move, directly connected the stones in the open area on the left. Even though Black later jumped down to seize the covered area, it could not stop the momentum of White's fully established position.

As the Go stones in the central area were placed in a coordinated manner, Lin Ruo not only took care of the white stones on the right side of the center, but also spared no effort to expand the position on the left side, and the situation became more and more favorable.

Fang Tianfeng, an eighth-dan martial artist, let out a heavy sigh as beads of sweat involuntarily appeared on his forehead. He then gripped his still relatively thick, black hair and fell into deep thought.

If White moves in next, White can press down first before moving in, thus revealing the immense potential of the left side.

In other words, this approach won't work, and in the lower area, he also has to worry that White's various incursions and detours will disrupt the only stable area he currently has.

Fang Tianfeng, having made up his mind, simply ignored everything and placed a piece on the bottom as a precaution, preparing to make other choices later depending on the situation.

Lin Ruo's approach was to play a safe move, continuing to consolidate the enormous potential shown on the left side, thereby putting immense pressure on the black side.

This made every move Fang Tianfeng made a gamble. After stabilizing the layout below, he had no choice but to pay attention to the momentum on the left.

If we ignore it, it could really cost him his life.

Seeing the left side expand further, Black made a desperate move by sliding in the sixth column and eleventh row to limit and reduce the territory that White could currently expand.

Lin Ruo's response was simple: first, he would use the left-hand corner to protect the empty area, and then observe the potential moves of the black stones.

Black moves upwards, White moves downwards.

While strengthening the connection in the central area, Fang Tianfeng also retained the means to fly into the lower area of ​​the black pieces, which put him in a dilemma once again.

Should we focus on the lower area, or continue the offensive on the left?

Not wanting to suffer any further losses, Fang Tianfeng ultimately chose to go back and continue blocking the gaps, in order to seal all the openings and prevent the door from being opened to welcome guests.

However, with this move, Lin Ruo, who once again had the initiative, placed her stone in the center and jumped to the middle. The white stones in the center were so neat and orderly that they had no more worries about being attacked from behind.

Even if Lin Ruo waits until the right direction to place his piece, he can still achieve a horizontal cut to the center of the black stones.

Black moves forward, White blocks, Black cuts, White retreats and forms a tiger's mouth at the apex of the lower area, achieving both connection and prevention of further cutting.

If Black dares to push again, Black should stop; if Black dares to push back, Black should retreat slightly. After several moves, Black hits the soft tofu, and Fang Tianfeng completely lost his temper.

The situation has clearly reached the final stage. Lin Ruo only needs to do one thing next: continuously strengthen the central position. Naturally, the environment in which Black can survive will become even more difficult.

At this point, White's lead was more than 15 points, and the game could end at any moment.

"Is Lin Ruo going to win? Old Fang is a professional 8-dan Go player..."

Outside the hall, some chess players were dumbfounded; this was simply impossible.

How could a professional first dan possibly beat an eighth dan professional right out of the gate? Even upsets aren't this bad...

"The point isn't winning, but that so far both sides have only played less than 105 moves." Another player discovered the blind spot, which was even more unbelievable.

too fast.

How could someone be so fast as to defeat someone in just over a hundred moves?

What kind of professional match can result in a crushing defeat by a hundred players? That's not professional at all.

The skill gap alone could be described as an upset, but is this 100-hand speedrun really not just stomping noobs? A rookie at the beginner professional rank is beating up a veteran at the 8th rank...

It's bizarre, not just any kind of bizarre.

Before the match was even over, some people couldn't help but analyze: "His offensive ability was too strong. He blocked all five black pieces in one go. But Fang Lao was a bit stubborn and couldn't stand it, so he insisted on touching them. He didn't expect that he would never have another chance. It was really suffocating."

"Anyone would be stubborn like this. Even the King of Heaven wouldn't want to lose face if an eighth-dan player had to lose five stones to a first-dan player so early in the game, let alone Fang Lao, who is a professional eighth-dan player."

"That's true." The crowd outside the arena were discussing and witnessing this earth-shattering and awe-inspiring match. For a moment, they couldn't tell which side was the first dan and which side was the real eighth dan.

At this moment, Huang Yizhong, who was also paying attention to the game, breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Fang was beaten too badly. In contrast, he not only had an advantage in the early stages of the game, but he also managed to hold on for nearly 200 moves before resigning.

It seems like losing wasn't such a bad deal after all; indeed, there's no harm without comparison.

"This person is terrifying," Huang Yi said, shaking her head repeatedly with lingering fear.

Inside the competition venue, Fang Tianfeng, an eighth-dan player who was usually all smiles but had now fallen silent, was also shaking his head—a shake of his head masked with pain.

Surrender is impossible.

But it's so tough for him. This young man is too arrogant, and every move he makes is suffocating.

Now that the central region is completely powerless to fight, all that can be done is to shatter the jade palace and make a desperate last stand.

Fang Tianfeng, stubbornly resisting, chose to forcefully move his horse's eye in the center, using connected pieces to surround more than one point in a desperate struggle.

Having anticipated this, Lin Ruo subtly suggested placing a large number of pieces in the lower area, continuing to place pieces close together on the same line as the existing pieces on the board, in order to strengthen her own connections.

If they break through the eye again, the tightly sealed formation will give Black absolutely no direction.

Black moves longer, then White moves closer.

Fang Tianfeng felt a sense of exhilaration, because now he was completely finished, with the white pieces blocking his path to survival from left to right and top to bottom.

The momentum for slaying the dragon is already overwhelming; whether or not we make a move, the outcome will not deviate in the slightest.

With the two black stones unable to be placed on the table, this exhilarating game finally came to an end. Staring blankly at the board, Fang Tianfeng, an 8-dan player, unable to calm down, chose to resign.

He lost; he lost to a professional first-dan player.

While it's common for the older generation to be swept away by the younger generation, this is just too brutal.

His death was truly tragic.

Such a scene made even those watching from the sidelines swallow hard.

"Bai Zi has won..."

"Still undisputed... the Hundred-Handed Dragon Slayer..."

(End of this chapter)