LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 436 Is One Step Enough?
Why hold back a big move? Because Lin Ruo was tired of this back-and-forth battle where the outcome couldn't be determined until the very last moment.

Sitting for four or five hours? Sorry, he can't do that.

Therefore, Lin Ruocai sometimes fell into deep thought. He wanted to make at least one meaningful move to ensure that the game would not drag on for too long.

They are both young, so it's not like they're going to outlast an old man, but if they really keep going like this, Lin Ruo won't be able to stand it, because it's such a waste of time.

His life is so precious, how could it take him at least five hours to play a single game of chess?

After thinking it over, Lin Ruo put down the black piece and placed it on the board.

The thirteenth column and the seventeenth row.

"It didn't rush in, nor did it lean against the top, but instead... blocked from below?"

Upon seeing this move, Cao Dayuan in the commentary booth paused slightly, lost in thought.

He felt that this move was not well played and was somewhat inconsistent with Lin Ruo's playing style.

In short, they chickened out.

It's highly likely that Lin Ruo chose to block because he was wary of the significant impact of White's blocking and cutting moves, but it didn't seem to have much effect.

So you spent nearly ten minutes thinking before making such a useless move?

Cao Dayuan, along with the commentator from the Fox platform next to him, couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, as they really couldn't see any real practical effect.

[How come after a lifetime of radicalism, Lin suddenly becomes conservative and takes this step back?]

[Wouldn't backing down and acting cowardly at this point just embolden the other side to take advantage of you?]

[I don't understand this move. Can Lin Ruo take back her move if she makes a mistake?]

[Take back your moves? Look at Lin Ruo's calm expression, does she look like she made a mistake?]

Was it intentional or accidental?

...

"What does Lin Ruo mean by making this move?"

Even the audience and commentators didn't understand it, and Li Weiqing, who had been watching silently from the sidelines, also stopped concentrating and opened his mouth because of this move.

He pondered the meaning behind it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure it out.

Compared to other, better ways of playing the game, this move only makes it more unlikely to work.

Going to the right to make a breakthrough and hold the line serves two purposes: firstly, it can restrict movement, and secondly, it lays the groundwork for a larger breakthrough later on. Isn't that better than going down to be conservative and cowardly and just blocking the way?

Unable to understand, Li Weiqing looked at Zhang Ruo beside him, who also shook his head and then smiled faintly, "I don't know, but I believe he won't make a mistake."

The person sitting on the field is Lin Ruo, not them, so it's normal that they don't understand the game he's playing.

However, since it was Lin Ruo who made the move, Zhang Ruo believed that expressing unconditional trust was perfectly acceptable, so he didn't have too many doubts.

Li Weiqing seemed to understand the meaning as well. Yes, it was Lin Ruo, the one who had been toying with him, a seventh-dan player, from beginning to end.

Could he have imagined something Lin Ruo couldn't have? Perhaps we should be patient and keep watching; maybe this is a huge foreshadowing, a trap set in the ground.

Just then, the white piece fell on the big screen.

Shin Jinseo continued to stick to the top, threatening to cut off nearby stones. If Black dared to come up and reinforce, then his White stones could easily escape.

Whether he attacks later or jumps away, he has the ability to handle the right side of the board first, so this result is completely satisfactory to him.

Without hesitation, Lin Ruo made a move, placing it in the lower right corner and engaging in a friendly exchange with the white pieces above.

This move looks simple, but to Shin Jinseo, Lin Ruo is clearly testing him.

What are they testing?

His corner has a weakness, which Black has anticipated and attacked. Lin Ruo wants to see how he will fill this weakness to prevent any loopholes.

The safest approach that Shin Jinseo immediately thought of was to directly play a tiger's mouth move on the right side of Black's stones, which would make the connections and blocking in White's corner much better.

However, while this method of playing chess was good, Shin Jinseo, who had a strong calculation ability, discovered another point.

What if Black then moves two squares to the left below, and moves to the bottom of another White stone on the same straight line?

Don't forget, there's a black piece that Lin Ruo placed after a long period of thought. If this black piece and another black piece that might be used to break it up become a significant threat, it will definitely be a big one.

Shin Jinseo, deeply moved, seemed to finally understand why the black stone had been placed; after all that long deliberation, it was all for this one move.

He felt that the so-called thinking time was rather unnecessary.

In conclusion, after a series of blocking, capturing, and attacking moves in this situation, while other aspects cannot be guaranteed, it is a foregone conclusion that Black will regain control of the board and take the initiative in placing pieces.

This result undoubtedly diminishes the impact of his previous attack, and Black can also make a preemptive move in the center to restrict him.

After some hesitation, Shin Jinseo decided to give up the opportunity that might lead to a loss of control of the situation. He wanted to find another way to achieve a truly perfect rhythm.

After all, he had been suppressed in the early stages due to the lack of initiative, and now that he had just regained it, he was about to give it away, which was obviously unacceptable to him.

Therefore, in reality, Shin Jinseo, who abandoned the tiger on the right, chose to hold the line on the left.

After this move, White's position didn't improve much.

Lin Ruo sighed, thinking it all seemed normal. Young people still suffer from the "wanting everything" syndrome.

In fact, because of his preparations in the previous two moves, Shin Jinseo could not possibly take back the so-called initiative from him no matter what steps he took.

This was clearly a forced move, an attempt to continue threatening the black stones' cut in that area so that the opponent would have no choice but to reinforce their position, creating a stalemate that could eventually be overcome. However, this was not the case.

Shin Jinseo will also realize later that the left-side tiger is actually the best method, without exception, at least in terms of protecting the corner and preventing Lin Ruo from gaining more profit.

However, he did not take that path, and he had to bear the consequences accordingly.

Lin Ruo calmly made his third move after a long period of deliberation.

Do you really want me to fix it? Sure, that's fine.

Lin Ruo had no objection to this and showed it to him according to her Korean friend's suggestion.

After this move, Shin Jinseo achieved his strategic objective. However, seeing the situation where he suddenly had a few more pieces, he suddenly felt a bit lost.

Because of Lin Ruo's move, it seems he also needs to make a corresponding move.

So here's the problem: he has to fill in the gaps and also consider the corner on the right. Does that mean he can make two moves in a row next?

No, that would be the end for him...

Shin Jinseo could certainly choose to play defensively, but that wouldn't solve the two existing problems. Lin Ruo could easily put Black in a hopeless situation with any move she makes.

So, can his departure from the corner position find a strategic point to offset the corner problem on the other hand?
Judging from Shin Jinseo's gloomy expression, he clearly hasn't found a comparable position, so he has to think about the defensive issues to solve the problem.

"If Black plays a stone in the corner, and then plays a move to cut off the point, I will have no chance of a kill."

"So, if Black plays a stone to block my tiger's mouth position, allowing him to establish a foothold, while I reduce my liberties and eye space in the corner..."

Although the black cut is no longer valid, there is a chance to play a clever move at the bottom, like a mouse stealing oil.

After pondering for a long time, Shin Jinseo couldn't figure out what was wrong, which made him increasingly regret not taking the initiative to rush down and block the position earlier.

If we let the other side take advantage of us now, it won't just be a threat, it will be a matter of life and death.

"Is Shin Jinseo, 9-dan, also starting to think things through? It seems that Lin Ruo, 1-dan, has been quite perplexed by his moves."

In the live broadcast room, Cao Dayuan's confusion completely dissipated after this long period of contemplation.

He finally seemed to understand.

It turns out that Lin Ruo's long, deliberate steps were meant to connect with the two subsequent moves, which were the true ultimate truth.

That is, by encircling and blocking from afar in three steps, the problem in the corner of White's stones is magnified infinitely, to the point that if Black enters, it may cause catastrophic destruction.

Shin Jinseo's failure to prevent it beforehand has only added insult to injury, handing himself a knife to a potentially disastrous situation.

"This is somewhat similar to the big game between the Japanese prodigy and the white stones. Lin Ruo, a first-dan player, wanted to set up the battlefield in the lower right area, so he abandoned his original plan to get entangled with the white stones in the middle."

"He was very confident, believing that pushing the battlefield closer to the lower right would give him a greater chance of winning, and now it seems that he really was."

Shin Jinseo's behavior of wanting more than what he had made his chances of winning more than doubled.

The commentator was also very excited at this moment; it seemed that Lin Ruo, a first-dan player, was about to gain the advantage again.

This move, played in the lower right corner, was so precise and powerful; it was like striking the very backbone of the white pieces.

Lin Ruo, focused on the game, felt fine, because all he needed to do was make his move. Even if Shin Jinseo blocked him in advance, he still had a way to make a move on the battlefield.

After all, with these three steps leading up to this, the initiative has been completely regained no matter what.

Moreover, he had anticipated that Shin Jinseo might not act rashly when he placed his piece to create an opening in the lower right corner, but would only consider this issue after learning a lesson.

Shin Jinseo is still too young; those who advocate for war can't tolerate too much hardship.

Therefore, it's highly unlikely that Shin Jinseo would simply relinquish the initiative he just gained. It's perfectly reasonable for him to rack his brains to come up with alternative methods besides being forced to hold back.

What's unreasonable is that Shin Jinseo only realized after learning his lesson that he had no other path to take besides the tiger.

So when Shin Jinseo needs to fully defend the lower right area, Lin Ruo has more options in the center where his side has a stronger external presence.

This time, it can't be solved simply by dividing and conquering or by attacking Wei to rescue Zhao.

Lin Ruo knew what Shin Jinseo would do next, because the only way was to come and confront him.

Regardless of other factors, if his black pieces manage to seize the initiative and establish a decisive advantage, then the situation in the lower right corner of the white pieces will not only collapse, but will also suffer significant losses.

As for the commentators' assertion that he was very confident and that going to the bottom right would give him a greater chance of winning, that wasn't actually what Lin Ruo was thinking about at first. The reason he shifted his focus to breaking through to the bottom right was simply because he wanted to end the game quickly.

Go to the bottom right. Anyway, this game can't drag on for more than five hours, because when it comes to cutting things off quickly, sorry, he's a professional.

However, to Lin Ruo's slight surprise, it was precisely this question of whether or not it was tigerish that inevitably plunged Shin Jinseo into an unprecedented period of deep contemplation.

The young man was too hot-blooded and clearly couldn't stand being led by the nose the whole time.

So Shin Jinseo used all his strength to try and find a way out of the impossible.

He thought about it for a very long time, and the Wild Fox live stream became quite lively as a result.

It is well known that if a Go player spends more than 10 minutes thinking, then he is 100% stuck on what to do next.

This means that the thinking side has entered a huge dilemma mode.

Viewers may not be able to tell who is better or worse, but can't they at least tell who takes longer to think?
Why isn't Shin Jinseo moving? It's been 12 minutes!

Is it really that difficult? If Lin Ruo keeps thinking about it, it feels like she'll drag things out until he dies.

[I've finished watching it, and I honestly don't know what to do next. It seems Shin Jinseo's skill level is about the same as mine.]

[No, so Lin Ruo has the advantage again? Surely she can't just send her back this time.]

[Impressive! Lin Ruozhen managed to gain the upper hand twice against Shin Jinseo. She's really skilled; this kind of ability could easily defeat any 9-dan player.]

Anyone who didn't know better would think the game was paused. Shin Jinseo was deep in thought, but the situation remained completely stagnant.

until…

Twenty minutes passed, and with the time for this stage nearing its end, Shin Jinseo reluctantly made his most unwilling move.

After thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with any solution other than exhausting his brain.

So it can only be a tiger, and it has to be kept in check. This time, I really thought about it but didn't really think about it.

With one tiger holding the line, the situation in the lower right corner was barely protected, but with full initiative, Lin Ruo's operations became much more flexible.

Who could have known that after White's efforts to combine the left and right sides, the newly formed large group of stones would be met with a severe blow?

Since Lin Ruo had the first move, she simply shifted her focus and ignored the area in the lower right corner.

Arriving at the center, they launched a surprise attack on the seemingly disjointed large group of white stones.

Shin Jinseo quickly chose to go up and bend out, first strengthening the connections in this area, in order to prevent the newly formed dragon from having too many loopholes and thus dying in an inexplicable premature death.

At this point, the simplest approach for Black is to cut off and capture from the center and rear, preventing White from making connections and making it difficult for White to continue extending its large group and expand outwards to reduce the impact of the earlier attack.

However, although this move was good, Lin Ruo felt it was not ruthless or fast enough. He was not satisfied with capturing two white pieces as the second move.

He chose to continue pressing, still putting pressure on White.

How is this pressure applied? It's about relentlessly attacking those who deserve it and not letting them go, while keeping an eye on the rear to prevent them from expanding.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to just smash the dragon's head with a club.

You can extend it, but it can only have tails at both ends, because there is no head.

Hmm, at this rate, it shouldn't take more than 50 steps to slay the dragon.

(End of this chapter)