LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 384 Preparing to Win the Championship (Another chapter before 2 AM)

The game continued, with players moving up and down around the left side. After nearly twenty moves of intense fighting, the two sides reached a stalemate, with one attacking and the other defending.

The term "defending an isolated group" is the most difficult and least predictable way to play a game in Go.

In most Go games, in order to disrupt the opponent's overall situation and thus break the balance between the two sides, turning the situation in their favor, players have to fight in the opponent's territory and are therefore subject to the opponent's attacks.

In this situation, a piece that is attacked by the opponent is called an "isolated piece," which often has a very precarious and difficult survival space.

"Treating an isolated piece" refers to skillfully utilizing the opponent's weaknesses and flaws in their board formation to properly and efficiently deal with one's own isolated pieces.

Obviously, just from the literal meaning, you know it's difficult.

Especially when pieces are in contact with each other, issues of shape and liberties arise, making the defense of isolated groups more complex and unpredictable, and difficult to summarize with fixed rules. Therefore, the defense of isolated groups requires players to have a solid foundation in Go and rich practical experience.

Park Young-hoon believed he had extensive practical experience, but he didn't think he could really carve out a bloody path to survival in this situation.

Despite the predicament on the left side, he still has the confidence to put up a fight because the white stones in the lower left corner and the center area have not completely sealed off the opening.

This is one of them.

Secondly, the point of contention that has been a constant battle between the two sides since the opening stage is the persistent cut in the lower part of the white stones, meaning the breakthrough point has never disappeared.

This means he still has a chance to turn the game around in the middle game, but given the current 70/30 win rate, it's very difficult.

Lin Ruo, the opponent, was not a wooden stake; on the contrary, he was more like a mobile fortress, sturdy and powerful.

103st move.

With a tense mindset, Park Young-hoon made a move in the lower left corner, taking the opportunity to maneuver while also keeping an eye on the large gaps in the upper area where the white stones were not completely sealed off, in order to find an opportunity to create an eye.

Or, as a last resort, choose a strategy of forcefully breaking through the gaps.

This is a move that achieves three goals at once.

"That was a truly excellent move. Park Young-hoon lives up to his reputation as a defensive master; it was very reasonable, without any hasty or reckless moves. And you know where the best part of that move was, right? That was..."

With a thud, the chess piece landed on the ground.

The situation has changed, and Mr. Nie's words in the CCTV live broadcast have come to fruition.

He didn't quite understand.

It's not that I don't understand Lin Ruo's move; attacking from above and destroying Black's eye position is the best possible response.

But...

No, the planning phase is over, how come this kid is still betting so fast?

That doesn't make sense! Master Nie was completely dumbfounded. Even in Gomoku, you can't play so quickly. Did you somehow predict his thought process?

Do you think your brain is AI?

He wanted to refute it, but Lin Ruo's move was indeed flawless, fast and without any problems.

But this is really giving him no room to explain. He hasn't even finished analyzing the opponent yet, and he's already analyzing his own team's next move.

This forced him to rush through the commentary as well.

It's okay, it's okay, we haven't gotten to the later stages yet. Hurry up now, we can't keep going fast forever later.

Old Nie could only console himself with this thought; otherwise, being interrupted every time would have been really unpleasant.

Hmm, although this comforting thought sounds familiar.

Black then extended its territory, White countered with a top-down move to cut off the opponent's stones, and Park Young-hoon quickly escaped through the gap in the enemy's defenses, following the battle strategy.

The white stone's follow-up move is also a key point in the local shape, threatening both sides.

Faced with the aggressive attack from White, Park Young-hoon chose to play a point on the fly-out Black stone and launch a strong counterattack.

Six columns and twelve rows.

Lin Ruo casually placed a piece, destroying all the black stones' eye positions in the vicinity.

This move threw Park Young-hoon into a bit of a panic, because his strategy was about to be disrupted again.

Left with no other option, Black could only passively move two spaces to the left to jump, both to cover the cut and to ensure that Black had the initiative in a disadvantageous situation.

Park Young-hoon thought his response was adequate, but compared to Lin Ruo's attack, it was still too fierce. He later realized that this was just an appetizer.

Yes, this is just an appetizer.

Lin Ruo's next move was even more impressive: a move made on the outer edge of the 12th column and 13th row.

This move wasn't intended to use the terrain to block and swallow up all of Black's large group of stones, but rather to play another important role: shaping the game.

It is designed to be grand and majestic, with mountains and water.

In an instant, the situation was completely under control. Lin Ruo had undoubtedly laid the foundation for turning the advantage into a victory.

Forced to retreat, Park Young-hoon had no choice but to approach the top. It seemed that the only option he could have was to set up his formation here and fight to the death, thus creating chaos and a chance for a breakthrough in the ensuing battle.

Unfortunately, Lin Ruo, who saw through everything, didn't even give him a chance to fight to the death. He didn't want to get entangled with Park Young-hoon; he only wanted to deliver a fatal blow.

This blow was very heavy.

Place the pieces in the five columns and eleven rows.

Lin Ruo's choice was to nimbly switch lines and take advantage of the situation from the left flank.

Not only does it completely strengthen the central area, posing a fixed threat to the black stones in the upper left, but it also gains a lot of territory after controlling the two black stones.

Caught off guard, Park Young-hoon turned around and continued his final desperate attempt to break through the barrier.

Although Black's current position is not good, White's problem of cutting points is becoming increasingly serious, and a reversal is often possible.

What should we do next?

Just as he was still immersed in thinking about the game, the crisp sound of a chess piece hitting the ground rang out, and Park Young-hoon, watching his opponent rapidly place his pieces, could no longer sit still.

Not only did his opponent give him no time to react, but this move was also incredibly ingenious.

Lin Ruo chose to take off her clothes again.

The so-called "discarding the first move" means, as the name suggests, temporarily ignoring the opponent's moves in close combat and instead placing pieces in other more important positions to gain the initiative in the overall game.

The core principle is to "temporarily abandon local entanglements and prioritize seizing key points in the overall situation."

This method of removal will inevitably cause local damage first, so the key is how quickly it is removed.

Judging from Park Young-hoon's reaction, he was absolutely brilliant.

In the CCTV live broadcast room.

Master Nie's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Excellent! This move was brilliant! Black's shape in the upper left corner is about to collapse completely!"

This is the significance of detachment: abandoning individual local points in order to gain greater benefits on a global scale.

Lin Ruo did it.

Mr. Nie was shocked by such a broad perspective, which was completely unlike what the younger generation should have.

At that moment, the AI ​​on both sides suddenly found themselves locked in a desperate 90/10 split. Fearing the audience might miss the brilliance of the move, an extremely excited Nie Weiping even stood up and began pointing out the moves on the hanging chessboard.

"Once White makes this move, Black can't reach this spot on the bottom at all, because White will stick to it. In addition, White's bottom is very thick, so even if Black captures this white stone that is close to its own territory, it won't make a difference."

"You can't do anything to him like this. Black's shape in the upper left corner is undoubtedly fragmented."

to sum up.

Park Young-hoon's only chance of winning right now is to keep an eye on the bottom and see if he can launch a fierce attack on the large white group to gain an advantage.

The viewers in the live stream were completely confused, but that didn't stop them from sending out a series of exclamations like "Oh, I see" in the chat box below.

People don't need to understand the unprofessional entertainment; they only need to know one thing: Lin Ruo not only has an advantage, but a huge advantage.

Is Lin Gengxin really going to win?

[Of course, the opponent only has their crystal left. Even if Lin Gou plays it safe and lets his super minions push, he can still win.]

[No way, the opponent is a professional 9-dan player! This Madeline dog is just too inhuman!]

[Playing like this, I'm going to have to dream about Lin winning the championship tonight...]

Amidst the lively discussion in the live stream room.

Outside the live stream, Weibo's trending topics were popping up one after another, with Lin Ruo's early-game strategy achieving a 60/40 win rate already sparking huge discussions.

Now, more than two hours later, the game has reached the 9-1 opening, generating even more buzz. Most viewers simply don't have the patience to watch a game that lasts four or five hours.

Therefore, their only way to get information about the situation is to check Weibo from time to time and learn about the current development of the situation through the trending topics.

I know now, but I can't be sure if it's true or false.

After all, it's hard to believe that a professional 9th ​​dan could be forced into a corner with only a hundred moves by a 1st dan.

A once-in-a-century Go prodigy? Or a hidden master lurking in the mountains, feigning weakness to outmaneuver others...?

That's ridiculously strong.

While upsets have always occurred in the world of Go, this is an upset unlike any other.

Most casual spectators didn't dare to think too much about it; they only knew that if their own Go players, especially the first dan, could really defeat a Korean professional 9-dan, well, that would be incredibly prestigious.

How will the people of the neighboring Republic of South Korea ever be able to hold their heads high again?

So, just keep blowing it up.

It's like something you didn't expect, but the final result exceeded your expectations, and the excitement it brings is definitely much greater than usual.

Weibo naturally saw its most popular day ever. There was no way around it; the match's popularity had already skyrocketed due to an article published by the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo at the start of the final round.

This was simply a natural outburst.

Inside the chess academy's game room.

Sitting to one side, Park Young-hoon twirled the chess piece, which was originally light but now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Feeling immense pressure, his face was extremely grave.

With a blank stare at the situation on the chessboard, Park Young-hoon, lost in deep thought, felt that every move was difficult.

With three brilliant moves, he effortlessly reduced his win rate by more than 20%.

The current situation is unfavorable, very unfavorable.

Time passed slowly, and after a long while, Park Young-hoon, having regained his senses, quickly placed his chess piece in the position he deemed appropriate on the board.

Can't wait any longer.

He could only venture deep into the territory alone and forcefully cut off the point that existed throughout the entire game in order to strike the large white group. Although the strike was reckless, it was still better than having no threat at all.

Twelve columns and fifteen rows.

With a confident mind, Lin Ruo leisurely made a move, and the large black group in the center looked lifeless. That move alone could not pose much of a threat to him.

However, the next step is very threatening.

Black's move, a sharp point in the center, utilizes the strength of the upper area and the initiative of pressing down on the right, aiming to completely seal off White's large group of stones, thus waiting for an opportunity to devour them.

Lin Ruo calmly pressed down first, ensuring she had a way to cut off Black's momentum. When Black retreated to defend, she cleverly flew out in the right side of the center.

After Park Young-hoon placed his move in the 16th column and 13th row, Lin Ruo immediately made a move there.

It was another move that AI considered absolutely brilliant, but it was also a move that completely surprised Park Young-hoon.

His idea of ​​forcing White to retreat to the right side was completely shattered, and he was forced to rush down to defend, thus giving Lin Ruo the initiative to fly twice in the center.

While playing smoothly, it threatens Black's elusive large dragon formation.

Park Young-hoon had no choice but to grit his teeth and put up a desperate fight in the middle lane, attempting to salvage the crumbling dragon.

Then he turned around and went to work on the upper right.

Having already clearly understood the situation, Lin Ruo chose a strategy of "you live, I live" by moving to the right side to stabilize the situation and threaten the point where Black's pieces might break.

This break point isn't severe, but for Park Young-hoon, whose midfield and upper right sections haven't been secured, its importance is self-evident.

On one hand, you need to break the eye; on the other hand, you need to add more eyes.

It all comes down to who is more efficient. Both sides have clashed to varying degrees, with some going to the upper right, lower right, and even upper left.

Black still couldn't gain an advantage, and Park Young-hoon eventually turned his attention to the lower left area.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ruo made the first move, setting up a blockade, which prevented Black from escaping. Otherwise, Black, stuck in the lower left area, would easily be captured.

Park Young-hoon chose to play all the way, and after a few moves, the corner area formed a corner-curved four-sided situation, in other words, the corner area was short of life and had become dead.

Black places a stone, White places a stone.

If Black tries to squeeze again, White can easily break the eye. Park Young-hoon has no chance to salvage the situation. He was caught off guard and made the first move by Lin Ruo.

At this point, the winning percentage has dropped to nine to one, not ninety to ten, but ninety-nine to one, and Black's winning percentage has plummeted to rock bottom.

Park Young-hoon tried to make a move in various directions, especially in the central area, but the situation was constantly being eroded.

It's obvious that all of this is in vain; White has been trying to solidify its position and break up the game.

In his view, being pulled into a disadvantageous position from the hundredth move onwards meant that the speed at which he fell into the game was inevitably too fast.

Normally, the first hundred moves in a professional Go game are just the beginning, but here, signs of the game's end are already emerging.

It was too fast, completely unexpected.

Was there a problem with the early offensive? Yes, there was, but the main issue was that the opponent's strategy was too good.

Before he could even make his next move, Park Young-hoon's face had already turned deathly pale. His pride as a professional 9-dan player prevented him from admitting defeat in front of a professional 1-dan player.

Unless it reaches a point where it can no longer continue.

After taking a deep look at the black and white Go board, Park Young-hoon prepared to make one last attempt.

Lin Ruo gently shook her head. "Do you still want to try? You won't be able to go beyond the last ten steps."

(End of this chapter)