Hikaru no Go: I taught you Go, and you made the Kisei cry?

Ogata Seiji squinted, racking his brains for a long time before slapping his thigh and saying:

"Hmm, I remember now, the name is AlphaGo, yes, that's the tongue-twisting name!"

At this point, Ogata Seiji seemed to suddenly become interested in talking and excitedly said:

"Xiao Liang, do you know what? When I was invited to visit that Go software, I was really amazed."

"It turns out that they wanted computers to learn how to play Go by imitating human thinking."

"How should I put it..."

After thinking for a long time, Ogata Seiji hesitated before saying:

"It's like forcibly stuffing the most profound knowledge into the mind of a child who knows nothing."

"It seems absurd, doesn't it?"

At this point, the excitement in Ogata Seiji's eyes grew even stronger:

"But, after those scientists programmed the video of me playing chess into the computer..."

"It actually... mimicked my playing style!"

"Although its imitation on the first day was still very clumsy, by the time I visited it on the second day, it was already able to play against me for fifty moves without losing."

"I'm certain that AlphaGo... it possesses near-frightening computing power and control capabilities."

"By the time I returned to Yingzhou, AlphaGo had already been able to play more than a hundred rounds against me."

"I can feel that it is making progress at a speed that is hard for ordinary people to imagine, through continuous learning."

"Its layout system is constantly being improved."

"Even those scientists told me that one day, it might be able to create a new formula on its own."

Ogata Seiji pointed to the computer: "Don't you find it strange? THESAI played a total of eight games tonight... In each game, he used a different style to play against other players."

"Some of his moves seem to me rather inexplicable, as if... someone who doesn't know much about Go is trying to develop a new set of openings that no one has ever used before."

"Thinking about it this way, isn't it very similar to AlphaGo? Also..."

Ogata Seiji exhaled a smoke ring and casually flicked off his cigarette ash: "THESAI, he appeared about a week ago. Isn't he interesting?"

Akira Touya listened intently, muttering softly, "A week ago?"

"Hmm... He hadn't been online for the past few days, until just now, when he came back online."

Ogata Seiji waved his hand and handed the dozen or so game replay diagrams he had just drawn to Touya Akira: "If you don't mind, take a look."

Akira Toya hesitated for a moment, then nodded and accepted the thick stack of chess scores.

In the game record, the first move by the black stone is to the center point (Tengen).

"First move, Tianyuan?"

Ogata Seiji nodded: "This was the first move he made when he first appeared last week, the Tengen opening."

"He seems to really like the Tengen opening, including in the eight games so far today. In sixteen games, he has used the Tengen opening five times."

Akira Touya's heart skipped a beat, and he widened his eyes, staring intently at the chess scores.

"Yes, this THESAI, he has indeed been trying to figure out the feasibility of the center point, and incredibly, he has never lost once."

"Even during the game, he had many ideas. He didn't seem to know much about Go, but the final result surprised everyone..."

right?

Ogata Seiji picked up the conversation, smiling smugly:

"This even makes me start to doubt that the first-hand Tianyuan might actually be feasible."

Akira Touya didn't speak, but one name popped into his mind.

"The first Tianyuan, appeared a week ago, THESAI..."

"Su Ran-jun, could it be you?"

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Why would someone choose such an opening that goes against the principles of chess?"

"Tianyuan..."

Ogata Seiji suddenly spoke up: "Ryo, I've thought about it again, and maybe the first-hand Tengen isn't just nonsense after all."

He looked at the computer screen through his glasses, the lenses reflecting a faint blue light.

"Tianyuan is a very good position. If there is a connection at Tianyuan in the struggle for the corners, the basic energy will not be a problem."

"In theory, Go has an optimal solution."

“If the board is only five times five, then a move to the center point will definitely win. The same applies to seven times seven… But when the board is higher, it seems that Go has undergone a sudden change. A move to the center point cannot protect the territory, so it is not good.”

"However, humanity does not yet know where the optimal solution is."

Akira Toya pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Indeed, if there is a stone at the center, the four corner stones will become very advantageous, but... this comes at the cost of a move."

Ogata Seiji did not deny Touya Akira's words, nodded slightly, and exhaled a smoke ring.

"That's exactly what puzzled me. Any move in the opening phase can be worth more than 25 points."

"As long as the white pieces are willing to suffer a slight loss and avoid some local changes related to the 'zheng' (a specific move in the game), the center point (the point of attack) will have a hard time playing its role."

Akira Touya remained silent for a long time after hearing Seiji Ogata's words.

"No, Mr. Xu Fang."

"The main reason why the Tengen is so rare is that the value of a first-hand Tengen is too difficult to estimate. The changes in the middle stages starting from the Tengen are unpredictable..."

"It can be said that the value of each move is not visible until many moves later."

"If there were a person who truly possessed the ability to calculate all the changes in the entire situation with just the first step."

"If there were someone who could grasp the strategic thinking behind a move like the one at the center of the board..."

"So, starting with the center point (Tengen) is a very good move because it's not easy to counter."

……

Xiaoguang, do you also want to know where Mom hides her secret stash of money?

Ogata Seiji and Touya Akira discussed the feasibility of starting with the center point for a long time.

Until the last cigarette in his hand burned out.

Ogata Seiji was then startled to realize this.

It was almost one o'clock in the morning.

"Xiao Liang, please apologize to the teacher for me. We chatted too late tonight and disturbed your rest. I'm very sorry!"

Ogata Seiji peeked into Touya Yukihiro's bedroom and, seeing that the other man was already asleep, quickly got up to say goodbye.

"Take care, Mr. Ogata."

Akira Touya quickly stood up and bowed respectfully to Seiji Ogata.

"Then, let's talk again next time."

Ogata Seiji shook his coat and waved to Touya Akira:

"During this summer vacation, you must not slack off in your chess studies. Your teacher has high expectations for you and hopes you will work hard."

Done.

Ogata Seiji then stepped into the car, skillfully started the engine, and quickly drove away from the villa.

Watching Ogata Seiji's luxury van drive away into the distance, Touya Akira remained silent for a long time before turning back to the living room.

On his way to his bedroom, Akira Touya's eyes burned with fire.

“Su Ran, whether you are THESAI or not, or whatever you want to do.”

"I...I will definitely beat you!"

"This is me, Akira Touya, and my way of Go!"

"I will become an insei (a student in the Go community) as quickly as possible, graduate from insei, and become a professional Go player..."

"Wait for me..."

"Su Ran!"

……

Just as Akira Touya clenched his fist and made a silent vow.

the other side.

Exhausted, Su Ran finally returned to the hospital.

Playing chess against ten top players in a row today has severely depleted his mental energy.

He didn't even have time to wash up before collapsing onto the bed, and soon after, soft snoring could be heard coming from his nose.

For him, this short week felt like a dream.

The steady and reliable Fujiwara no Sai, the awe-inspiring Touya Kouhiro, the rivals and friends Shindo Hikaru and Touya Akira...

This is the captivating world of Hikaru no Go!

Hugging his pillow, Su Ran couldn't help but smile, as if in his dream he had defeated another master.

……

The next day.

The summer sun shines warmly on the ground, and the office workers in Yingzhou begin another busy day.

"Boss, a copy of the Yomiuri Morning Post, please."

A young man, chewing on his toast, went to the newsstand and asked for a newspaper.

"Sir, you seem to really enjoy Go, don't you? There was some explosive news on the World Go Network yesterday. If you have time, please take a look."

Breaking news?