The world of film and television begins with Hikaru no Go

Sang Yuan did not participate in Xu Hou and Fang Xu's discussion because he also couldn't understand why Zhang Rui would bring up San San at this time.

The battle on the left side is not over yet, and White's dragon is not yet secure. At this point, going to attack the corner would be suicidal according to traditional Go principles.

On the chessboard, Yu Xiaoyang was clearly caught off guard by this move.

After nearly ten minutes of deliberation, the final choice was to respond—Black placed a piece in the upper right corner to block the enemy.

White makes a living group in the corner, then turns around and continues to deal with the large group on the left.

It seems that White gained nothing—the corner is alive, but Black's influence on the outside is stronger; the large group on the left is not dead yet, but its situation is more difficult.

Yu Xiaoyang began to pick up the pace of his moves, feeling that his opportunity had arrived.

Black launched a fierce attack on the left side, pressing forward relentlessly, as if trying to devour White's large group of stones alive.

The atmosphere in the spectator room became tense.

"Is Teacher Yu going to win?" Xu Hou asked uncertainly.

Fang Xu shook his head: "Not necessarily."

"Why? The large white group is about to be captured."

"Look at Zhang Rui's expression."

Xu Hou looked at the screen—Zhang Rui sat there, expressionless, his fingers holding a chess piece, as if nothing had happened.

"A person who is about to lose a game wouldn't have this kind of expression."

Xu Hou paused for a moment, then shut his mouth.

On the chessboard, the large white group was forced into a corner.

Yu Xiaoyang played a "cut" move – if this move succeeds, the large white group will be completely dead.

In the spectator room, someone let out a soft "Ah".

But Zhang Rui's next move silenced everyone.

White neither escaped, nor reinforced its position, nor even glanced at the large, dying dragon.

Instead, it landed in the bottom right corner, where the second and fifth digits were divided.

Take off first.

It's another case of taking off one's clothes.

Yu Xiaoyang's fingers froze as he stared at the chessboard and began to calculate.

If we go and kill that dragon now, can we kill it?

can.

But what happens after the killing?

White has already secured two territory groups in the lower right and upper right corners, and there are a few scattered stones in the center. All these scattered stones add up to a considerable number of points.

Although his own black stones have a solid outer influence, it will take several moves to build up territory.

Yu Xiaoyang calculated it over and over again, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

In the spectator room, Kuwabara suddenly smiled.

"I see."

Fang Xu turned his head: "You understood?"

Sang Yuan shook his head: "I didn't understand, but I understood Yu Xiaoyang's expression—he's starting to panic."

Fang Xu looked at the screen again and saw that teacher Yu Xiaoyang's expression had indeed changed. She was no longer as calm and composed as she had been at the beginning, but instead had an inexplicable anxiety.

It wasn't because he was behind in the game, but because he realized he couldn't calculate it anymore.

It's not that we can't figure out a particular path, but rather that we can't figure out what Zhang Rui is really planning.

Everyone who has played chess with Zhang Rui has experienced this feeling.

That feeling of being dominated, controlled, and powerless no matter how hard you struggle, you can't escape it.

Yu Xiaoyang took a deep breath and chose to checkmate.

Black played a move on the left side, completely capturing White's large group of stones.

Five-point game.

He captured the five pieces.

However, Zhang Rui's white stones gained another piece in the lower right corner, two more points in the upper right corner, and three or four more points in the center.

All things considered, White's score actually increased instead of decreased.

On the 147th move, Yu Xiaoyang stopped placing a piece, staring at the chessboard without making a move for a long time.

No need to download anymore.

He had already figured it out—he had lost this game.

It wasn't a single move that caused the loss, but rather the loss due to the overall rhythm of the game.

His black pieces were chasing after the white pieces with every move.

But the white pieces never "run"; they simply move slowly and steadily toward the finish line.

As for myself, I've been going around in circles from the very beginning.

Yu Xiaoyang slowly placed the chess piece back into the chess basket: "I lost."

Zhang Rui stood up, bowed slightly, and then turned and walked out of the game room.

The reporters had been waiting in the corridor for a long time.

"Zhang Rui 9-dan! Zhang Rui 9-dan! He won the first game. What do you think of Coach Yu Xiaoyang's performance today?"

Zhang Rui stopped and glanced at the reporter who had asked the question.

"very good."

"And how do you feel about your own performance?"

"good."

After waiting for a while and finding that he hadn't said anything more, the reporter had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue, "Do you think Mr. Yu still has a chance in the later rounds of the competition?"

Anything can happen on a chessboard.

Zhang Rui remained silent for two seconds, then left after saying those words.

The reporters looked at each other in bewilderment—

"Is he just being polite?"

"I don't know. But he's right, anything can happen on a chessboard."

"The problem is, he never allowed 'anything could happen' to happen."

"……Too."

At the post-match press conference, Yu Xiaoyang sat on the stage with a calm expression, revealing neither joy nor anger.

A reporter asked him, "Mr. Yu, where did you go wrong today?"

Yu Xiaoyang thought for a moment and said, "We lost because of the rhythm."

"Rhythm?"

"Zhang Rui, a 9-dan professional, didn't give me any rhythm to control. When I wanted to play fast, he wasn't fast; when I wanted to play slow, he wasn't slow. He played at his own pace from beginning to end, and I was just passively following him."

The reporter then asked, "Do you think there will be other opportunities later?"

Yu Xiaoyang was silent for a moment, then said something that surprised everyone.

"I don't know, but I'll keep going."

Since the competition was being held in Fangyuan City, Yu Xiaoyang went straight home after finishing the interviews.

After returning to his room, he did not rest immediately, but sat down at the table and re-set up the game of chess from that day.

When he reached the hundredth move, he stopped, stared at the chessboard, and remained motionless for a long time.

It seems he does have a chance in this game.

If he hadn't chosen to kill the pieces on the left side, but instead followed Zhang Rui's rhythm, would the situation have been different?

Yu Xiaoyang thought for a long time, then shook her head.

will not.

Because no matter which way he goes, Zhang Rui will always find another way.

That person never makes mistakes, never hesitates, never gets nervous; every move he makes is terrifyingly precise.

Yu Xiaoyang leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

He recalled the same feeling he had when he first entered the finals of a world championship twenty years ago.

There's a stronger opponent sitting across from me, and I can't beat them no matter what I do.

At that time, he was unconvinced.

Now, he's not convinced either.

But he understood one thing better than before—sometimes, being defiant doesn't mean you can win.

Chess Academy.

After the match ended, Kuwabara did not leave, but sat alone in the observation room, staring at the chessboard.

Fang Xu returned to look for the things he had left behind and was somewhat surprised to see him still sitting there.

"Old Sang, you haven't left yet?"

"Hmm." Kuwabara didn't look up. "I'm thinking about this game of chess."