LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 432 The First Great Battle Between China and South Korea
"Shin Jinseo, this opponent is quite strong." After the draw ceremony, Li Weiqing, who was accompanying Lin Ruo away from the scene, pondered for a moment as they walked.

He just quietly smoked a cigarette. He's only just turned 18 and rarely smokes, but he smoked today because he was eliminated.

Although he knew it was impossible to make it into the top 16, he was more concerned about Lin Ruo's next opponent, Shin Jinseo, the top 9-dan player of the new generation in South Korea.

As the first professional Go player to achieve professional status through the Korea Baduk Association's elite professional ranking system, and having once set the record for the youngest professional Go player in Korea, Shin Jinseo is like the adult version of a Japanese prodigy.

His professional career only reached the 4th dan level this April, but Shin Jinseo had already shown great potential before that and was currently ranked number one in South Korea.

Yes, although Shin Jinseo has not yet won any world championships.

Shin Jinseo doesn't seem to have the same exceptional talent as Ke Jie, who won the world championship at the age of 17. However, in Li Weiqing's opinion, Shin Jinseo is very strong.

It wasn't just his opinion; it was the opinion of all the professional players who had played against Shin Jinseo.

Because he not only has talent, but he is also constantly improving. Compared to those talented contestants who debuted and immediately rose to fame, Shin Jinseo is more like the epitome of both hard work and talent.

"Yes, you're right, he is indeed very strong, but now..." Lin Ruo nodded calmly as she spoke, her words carrying a hint of lingering regret.

He knew Shin Jinseo far better than anyone else, after all, Shin Jinseo had indeed demonstrated extraordinary dominance in leading the Korean Go world back to its peak.

Especially 20 years later, he won championships so many times that he was the undisputed world number one.

But what time is it now? For Shin Jinseo, who is very strong but still needs an opportunity to fully rise to prominence, Lin Ruo can only say that he still needs to train.

This time, he really needs to practice more, since Shin Jinseo is currently just an empty shell.

To put it simply, Jaguar, who was later punished for being obsessed with shovels, could very well be punished in the same way at this stage.

Therefore, it is quite clear what stage Shin Jinseo's potential is currently at. If we really had to choose one from him, Jaguar, and Park Jung-hwan...

The answer is quite clear: Shin Jinseo is currently the weakest of the three, even though he has the momentum to suppress Park Jung-hwan in South Korea.

However, this momentum is not enough to withstand a rebound at crucial moments. After all, that's how Go is. You may beat him this time, but you may lose to a player ranked even lower than him next time.

Shin Jinseo, who participates in competitions of all sizes, has lost quite a few times in South Korea in recent years. He is the kind of player who is known for his perseverance.

You often see him lose at crucial moments, but you can't underestimate him. Then one day, he starts winning and never loses again.

Today, Lin Ruo only participated in the draw ceremony and watched Li Weiqing's match. It can be said that the entire morning was very leisurely and relaxing.

Unlike Shin Jinseo, who fought a truly grueling battle and only managed to defeat his opponent late in the game.

However, this did not affect the difference between the two. After finishing her meal, Lin Ruo went back to the hotel and took a nap, while Shin Jinseo sat in the hotel's chess room early to review the game.

First, we reviewed the hard-fought game of the day, and then we re-examined the quick-kill game between Lin Ruo and the Japanese prodigy girl.

In the current Go world, where a fast-paced style of play is generally preferred, this was the first time Shin Jinseo had ever seen a game where the game was decided so quickly and decisively.

Especially after learning that he was about to face Lin Ruo, Shin Jinseo felt even more pressured and felt it was even more necessary to analyze the characteristics of the move from the perspective of the game.

However, as he constantly disassembled and moved the chessboard back and forth, he always felt bewildered, because there were some parts he really couldn't understand.

"The 'wrench' only becomes truly effective after about a dozen moves. How did he manage to predict the future so far ahead of time? Was it just luck?"

Shin Jinseo's expression grew increasingly serious: "The game is controlled to this extent, it's too exaggerated. And can even dead stones be used to this degree?"

The more Shin Jinseo dismantled the chessboard, the less calm he became.

Yesterday, when faced with this game, he only spent half an hour looking at a few key points, but after studying it in depth today, he discovered that the special points in the game were surprisingly insightful.

In short, this game was not only incredibly aggressive, but also very unique.

This put increasing pressure on Shin Jinseo, but fortunately he still had two days to prepare.

After the round of 32 is over, all players will have a day of rest before the round of 16 begins the following day.

Since the draw resulted in the final matchup, the two players' match should naturally be in the second round. The first day will feature the top four pairs of players, including the clash between Ke Jie and Park Jung-hwan.

Who would be the one to reach the quarterfinals became the most discussed topic before the start of the competition.

After all, this match would be perfectly reasonable even if it were held in the final, but today a single-elimination game will determine the winner, making it incredibly exciting.

Early in the morning before the match started, Lin Ruo and Shin Jinseo came to the venue to watch the game.

Lin Ruo certainly didn't want to watch any competition, but since Li Weiqing and Zhang Ruo both wanted to watch, he naturally came along as well.

Before the match, Lin Ruo was asked by the media who would win. This was no challenge for her; she immediately ruled out one correct answer.

After discarding another incorrect answer, the final answer is simply shrug and "I don't know."

Everyone knew this match would be very close, so "I don't know" is definitely the answer in a logical sense, as evidenced by the head-to-head data.

Prior to this, the last time Ke Jie and Park Jung-hwan faced off was in the 8th Phoenix World Go Championship, where Ke Jie, playing white, defeated South Korean player Park Jung-hwan by 1 and 1/4 points.

However, in history, Ke Jie and Park Jung-hwan have faced each other eight times, and their record is actually evenly matched.

This time when they meet again, regardless of who wins or loses, a close match is absolutely inevitable.

"A very interesting statistic: in the previous eight games between the two sides, Ke Jie won only one game with black, while the other seven games were won by the player who correctly guessed white."

In the Wild Fox live stream, after analyzing the historical matchups between the two sides, the commentator tried to lay another groundwork before the match, namely, the importance of guessing who goes first.

Although Black has the advantage of moving first, in Go competitions, there is usually a komi (komi) system to compensate for this advantage.

When calculating the winner at the end of a game, a certain number of points or stones for Black needs to be deducted; this is called komi. However, the komi rules differ between China, Japan, and South Korea. In Japan and South Korea, the komi is 6 points, while in China it is 7 points, or 3 and 3/4 stones.

Therefore, due to the need to make up more points, under the rules of Chinese Go, players who guess the black stones are likely to experience considerable pressure.

Since there's no strategy that can capitalize on an early advantage, the need to close the gap means there's a high chance of falling behind from the start.

Therefore, many viewers who were trying to popularize the science focused on predicting who would go first during the match. Between two world champions whose strengths were evenly matched, predicting who would go first could very well be the first answer that determined the odds of winning.

When it was revealed that Ke Jie would play black first after the guessing game, all the viewers online couldn't help but gasp.

This is clearly not a good sign.

"Is Ke Jie finished?" Zhang Ruo murmured in the viewing hall.

Even ordinary viewers can see the difference between black and white, so professional players are even more sensitive to it.

You're not some master of strategy, nor are you like Lin Ruo who can start a dragon-slaying attack in 15 moves. So, if you play a steady game with your opponent at the beginning, everyone knows whether playing black is a loss or not.

Moreover, against a seasoned veteran like Park Jung-hwan, playing tricks might not be difficult for him. Therefore, both sides used the current popular strategies at the start, without any novel approaches.

"Maybe, probably, but it's hard to say." Knowing the answer in his heart, Lin Ruo chose to ramble on. He was still a little sleepy even though he had gotten up early to watch the game.

So Lin Ruo wore sunglasses, just so she could easily shield herself during crucial moments while traveling the world.
This battle won't end until the very last moment, it will take at least four hours, how could he possibly endure it?

That's the truth; not all players can be as fast as Lin Ruo, always moving so quickly that it's almost imperceptible.

On the chessboard inside the competition venue.

In the early stages, both sides engaged in fierce fighting on the right side. After demonstrating his offensive capabilities, Ke Jie gained a slight initial advantage.

In the middle game, how to deal with the "white dragon" that Park Jung-hwan had surrounded on the right side became the key to the outcome of the game; a slight mistake could have cost him the entire game.

This has ignited considerable hope among all the viewers who have seen the situation clearly. Could it be that Ke Jie is about to create another feat of defeating Park Jung-hwan with black?
"If Ke Jie can really defeat Park Jung-hwan with the black pieces, then he is truly amazing. He has played an excellent game so far."

Li Weiqing, who was paying close attention to the competition and studying diligently throughout, was practically ready to sit at the same table as Shin Jinseo.

Both of them were completely absorbed, following each move of the game closely, like diligent students who took copious notes.

Unlike Lin Ruo and Zhang Ruo, one of them had her head tilted and her hand on the table, her eyes barely open, while the other was fiddling with a camera, focusing on her photography side business.

"Lin Ruo, do you think Ke Jie has a good chance of winning right now?" Seeing that no one responded, Li Weiqing asked directly by name.

"It's tough," Lin Ruo replied simply, tilting her body slightly.

Given Ke Jie's current form, he is absolutely capable of doing it. However, Park Jung-hwan's form also seems to be quite good, although as a veteran, he is a bit slow to get into the rhythm.

Therefore, the final showdown will only take place when Park Jung-hwan is truly in the zone.

Amidst the attention of the entire audience, after a long period of deliberation, Park Jung-hwan played a brilliant series of moves, White 100 "top" and 104 "dig," successfully turning the tide of the game.

After breaking the small advantage established by Ke Jie, White launched a counterattack at move 106, beautifully capturing 3 black stones and establishing a winning position.

The situation changed so suddenly that in the blink of an eye, Park Jung-hwan had established a certain advantage by taking action in 20.

This advantage, while not as pronounced as when Lin Ruo faced Zhong Qian Sumire, is still enough to secure victory in a match where the difference in strength is only minor.

The game remained very close in the middle stages, but Ke Jie was unable to find an effective breakthrough until the latter part of the game. Only then did Ke Jie, who was behind, make a brilliant move and launch a counterattack, bringing the situation to a close.

However, Park Jung-hwan 9-dan, currently the top player in South Korea, managed to stabilize his position in the final stages and maintain his advantage until the end of the game.

After a fierce battle of 320 moves, Park Jung-hwan, playing white, finally won by one and a quarter points, narrowly preventing Ke Jie, currently China's top Go player, from advancing to the quarterfinals.

After losing the game, Ke Jie's hair was almost pulled out, and he could only helplessly wipe his glasses, looking melancholy, trying to hide his disappointment.

Such a scene prompted the veteran commentators in the Wild Fox live broadcast room to sigh repeatedly: "It's a pity that it was still a very close and subtle match, but Ke Jie 9-dan was ultimately unable to turn the tide in the second half. We also congratulate the stronger Park Jung-hwan 9-dan team on successfully advancing to the quarterfinals."

[Lost? Hmph, as expected of the White Alliance. Why is it that Black gets more komi in our rules compared to Japan and Korea?]

[It really was a case of whoever played it safe won. Ke Jie didn't make any major mistakes today, but Park Jung-hwan made a brilliant, decisive move, and then completely shut him down.]

It wouldn't be surprising if either of them won; it's just that Ke Jie was a bit unlucky. He won the coin toss and got Black, but it's too difficult for him to replicate his previous victory over White.

[What can we do now? Ke Jie is gone, who can stop Park Jung-hwan? Will the Koreans really win the Dream Lily Cup?]

[We can only rely on Lin Ruo now. We'll start with Shin Jinseo tomorrow. What if we can't beat him? Then we'll just have to quit!]

Although there are other Chinese players on the field, the audience can only place their hopes on Lin Ruo, because Lin Ruo's performance is indeed the most promising one.

At this moment, Lin Ruo had already gotten up to use the restroom and was preparing to go out for dinner. In the latter half of the match, he straightened up and began to analyze the game.

no way.

It's impossible for Li Weiqing to give you a peaceful early night's sleep. Zhang Ruo used to be the most talkative one, but now, probably because Li Weiqing talks so much, he's seen his subconscious self reflected in him, so he's become quieter lately.

"Lin Ruo, we can only rely on you from now on," Li Weiqing said earnestly, as if he were placing the hopes of Chinese Go on his shoulders.

In response, Lin Ruo could only say, "It's not like I'm the only Chinese player. Two of the four tables advanced today, and besides, I haven't even played my match yet."

Due to the difference in numbers, Chinese players undoubtedly still make up the majority of those advancing to the quarterfinals. However, with the leader being eliminated, they have actually fallen behind.

This is normal, as Go is ultimately an individual game, and the strongest player can be a match for a group of very strong players.

(End of this chapter)