The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

Sitting on the warm, soft, light green sofa, Ji Yingting placed a black chess piece in the upper right corner of the chessboard.

Click... Star position.

Pat, pat, pat, pat.

Four consecutive sounds of pieces being placed rang out as Su Chan placed white pieces on the four chessboards.

However, after she finished placing all her pieces, her silver eyes returned once again to Ji Yingting's chessboard.

"Um..." Ji Yingting slightly raised her light green crescent-shaped eyebrows. It seemed like she was really staring at only him, or maybe it was just her imagination.

Hmm? Little Fei hangs on the horn.

The first move of the game didn't even occupy the other three remaining corners. Was she just using a small knight's move to probe the corners? Ji Yingting gently withdrew her slender right hand, which was extended into the black chess box.

There's a Go term that goes something like "gold corner, silver edge, grass belly."

The general meaning of this statement is that it only takes a few moves to firmly enclose a corner with a large number of points, while it takes several more moves to enclose a side with the same number of points as the corner.

The central area of ​​the chessboard near the center point is riddled with holes, making it difficult to securely enclose. Before the emergence of the Cosmic Style, no one would venture to the center.

However... White's first move, which is to not occupy the corner but instead directly approach the corner, is also included in the scope of the corner and is a very common move in professional Go games.

"Su Chan... Recently, our chess academy has been studying her game records to refer to her moves in the 10-dan title match against Teacher Lin Hong in a month. However, in the game records that Senior Sister Niu Xiaochai showed me... I have never seen her make the first move of approaching the corner."

Of course, Ji Yingting could not rule out the possibility that Su Chan's move of placing a piece at the corner was a spur-of-the-moment decision. She blinked her pale purple, squinty eyes and placed the second black piece in her right hand at the star position in her lower left corner.

Hmm? Su Chan's silver eyes widened slightly in surprise. A diagonal seat?

[The "seat" is one of the rules of Go in ancient China. While the exact origin of this system is difficult to pinpoint, it was certainly prevalent during the Eastern Han Dynasty, a fact that can be verified today. This gives it a history of nearly 2000 years.]

One of the rules of Go in ancient China is that before the game begins, two black and two white stones are placed alternately at the four corner star positions.

It may have been popular for a long time because it effectively prevented imitation games. However, it was abolished in modern Go due to its reduction of variations. In Japan, it is said to have been abolished by Honinbo Sansa during the Sengoku period. In China, it was also abolished during the Republic of China period, influenced by Japan.

Although occupying a diagonal piece doesn't necessarily mean it's a starting position, no professional Go player would actually make a diagonal move anymore... Of course, many beginners still play this way.

Pat, pat, pat, pat.

After placing four more white chess pieces, Su Chan turned back to look in Ji Yingting's direction once more.

Although... her apparent strength seems to be that of a powerful professional candidate who may soon enter the professional circle, Sister Qinghe said that she has the chess skills of a high-level professional... Watching Ji Yingting slightly sway her long green hair, Su Chan thought to himself.

Hmm... it's Xiaofei hanging up the corner again.

Ji Yingting slightly raised her light green crescent-shaped eyebrows. When she made her diagonal move, Su Chan still did not choose to occupy the corner, but instead made a small knight's move to the corner once again.

Actually, her purpose in playing the diagonal pieces was to verify whether Su Chan's second move would revert to the strategy of occupying the corners... After all, besides the black pieces on the opposite corner, there are two empty corners on the board, and Ji Yingting can occupy three corners no matter what.

"call"

Seeing that Su Chan's second move was still a small knight's move to approach the corner, Ji Yingting gently raised her slender right hand and brushed away the strands of her light green hair that were falling on her cheek. Her thick, light green bangs fell slightly, covering her two pale purple starry eyes.

Snap... Immediately afterwards, Ji Yingting's third move landed on the small corner of the upper left corner of the board. She would definitely not choose to continue with the corner approach.

Compared to the corner where the star point is located, the corner where the small point is located usually receives a more severe attack. If it's just for amateur players to play around, then it's fine.

However, as a professional Go player, it's one thing to make a move on a star point, but as one of the top players in the professional Go world... Su Chan couldn't possibly blindly give up the last empty corner in the lower right corner of the board just to make a small point.

No... using a double attack on one of my star positions, or a flying swallow attack, is also a good strategy...

With her long, light green hair slightly raised, Su Chan picked up a white chess piece while Ji Yingting was still pondering.

With a soft thud, under Ji Yingting's squinting, pale purple eyes, Su Chan's move was indeed... swiftly placed on the star point in the lower right corner of the chessboard. Without hesitation, she occupied the last empty corner.

Well... whether from the perspective of the situation, the effect, or the shape of the pieces, this move was the best possible one.

After Su Chan withdrew his right hand from the chessboard, Ji Yingting's light green crescent-shaped eyebrows relaxed slightly, and she blinked her purple pupils as she intently gazed at the starry chessboard.

"If you're really that strong... then let me enjoy myself." Muttering to herself, Ji Yingting stuck out her small tongue from her cherry-like mouth and licked her slightly dry lips.

.......................................

Chapter 190: Sumo Family

"Uh..." Beads of cold sweat slid down Hua Shenxi's forehead. She helplessly shook her long pink pear-shaped hair and blinked her pink butterfly eyes a few times.

No... I can't hold on any longer.

The middle game is almost over... I might lose by about ten points by the endgame, no way... that would be too embarrassing.

Oh no... I shouldn't have tried to enclose territory against a professional player. Her ability to assess the situation and her sensitivity to point count are far superior to mine!

Or should we stall for a while until they concede first? Wait, why have all three of them only just finished their opening moves?! Hua Shenxi shook her head and looked at the chessboards next to her for a while; there weren't many pieces on their boards yet.

If this happens... won't I become the first one to lose?!

"Ah, Xiaoxi, you're about to lose?" Luo Zhuyu suddenly swayed her light green hair and glanced at Hua Shenxi's chessboard, asking with a slightly puzzled tone.

It seems like it's been less than ten minutes since the game started... Even if Su Chan plays against four people at once, does Xiao Xi really think she can gain an advantage by playing fast chess? Her mother is a top professional Go player.

"Haha, you lost so quickly," An Ruotong glanced at Hua Shenxi's chessboard with her red eyes and then mocked in a low voice. Really, how could she not cherish the rare opportunity to play against a professional chess player... What an idiot.

“Uh…” Hua Shenxi sadly lowered her long pink pear-shaped hair, and a few tears gradually welled up in her lovely eyes.

Oh no... They found out I lost so badly, how embarrassing!!

"No! I'll stake the honor of the Hua family!! I absolutely cannot lose!!" Hua Shenxi suddenly clenched her fist and shouted, drawing the attention of An Ruotong and Luo Zhuyu.

"The Hua family?"

"Wait, little Xi, you weren't born into a Go family, were you? And what is the Hua family?" The woman with long silver hair was slightly taken aback. Su Chan had never heard of the Hua family in the Go world, and based on her understanding of Hua Shenxi, she had never known that she was born into a Go family.

Hua Shenxi suddenly tossed her long, pink, pear-shaped hair and declared righteously, "No!! Our Hua family is not a Go family, but a sumo wrestling family!!!!!!!!!!"

"Full Liberation of the Chess Strategy - Nine-Tailed Autumn Water Butterfly!"

boom!!!

In an instant, a colossal, azure-blue creature emerged from the chessboard. Its entire body was wreathed in azure-blue flames, and the azure-blue beams of light emanating from its butterfly-headed, fox-tailed form pierced the starry sky from the ground.

Like a peacock spreading its tail, the creature's countless beautiful tails, resembling cherry blossom petals, formed nine towering pillars that blotted out the sky. It silently gazed at the silver-haired woman before it.

Su Chan tossed her long silver hair and looked ahead, a hint of curiosity in her silver eyes. It was a butterfly with nine tails!

Soon, nine enormous cherry blossom-colored tails spun wildly, and a nine-tailed creature as sharp as a drill emerged from the smoke. Two ice-blue crystal butterfly wings grew from the creature's back, the tips of which were slowly covered by a light blue glow, making them slightly dazzling.

Nine incredibly beautiful tails, like cherry blossom-colored beams of light scattered behind it, instantly enveloped the entire chessboard with nine enormous cherry blossom-colored tails and two aquamarine butterfly wings.

With a whoosh, a wisp of icy blue mist escaped from Fox Butterfly's mouth, and her net-like pupils now only showed the silver-haired woman standing on the other side.

Above the Flower Goddess Xi, an enormous nine-tailed butterfly revealed its face, resembling both a butterfly and a fox.

"No matter what... we have to give it our all in the final stages; we can't afford to lose so humiliatingly."

The Flower Goddess Xi shook her long pink hair and pointed at Su Chan, saying something. The Nine-Tailed Autumn Water Butterfly seemed to hear her words and nodded.

Boom!! In an instant, nine enormous tails made of cherry blossom petals stabbed towards Su Chan, while aquamarine flames swirled across the chessboard.

The creature's aquamarine wings blotted out the sky, its two enormous pink butterfly wings gradually turned aquamarine, and its nine huge, soft, cherry blossom-colored ice tails were filled with a violent, icy blue light, instantly swirling towards Su Chan.

stab...

Hey?

Hua Shenxi's long pink hair suddenly flew up, her cherry blossom-colored pupils widened instantly, and a strand of cherry blossom-colored hair drifted down from beside her cheek.

A sound like something piercing through an object echoed across the chessboard, the extremely hoarse sound making the whole world much quieter.

Su Chan's long silver hair suddenly fluttered up, as if blown by a storm. A silver spear pierced through the entire body of the giant chess piece, and in an instant, the spear stretched to the end of the starry sky.

"…………"

That strand of cherry blossom-colored hair slowly drifted down, pausing in the air for a full five seconds before finally falling to the ground—the speed at which cherry blossoms fall.

Cherry blossoms were shattered, and the nine tails of the Nine-Tailed Autumn Water Butterfly's enormous body turned to dust in an instant. A silver beam of light, like a shockwave, slowly swept over, and Su Chan gently pointed his silver spear at the Nine-Tailed Autumn Water Butterfly's brow.

With a whoosh, like a dream bubble, the huge, light blue creature that had lost its nine cherry blossom tails collapsed weakly onto Hua Shenxi, who no longer had the strength to fight.

"..." A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Hua Shenxi's mouth. She swallowed hard to hold back the blood, and gently stroked the icy blue creature that bowed before her with her slender hands.

“Xiao Xi…” An Ruotong’s red pupils contracted sharply a few times. The intense chess momentum that had just erupted from Su Chan made her hands tremble slightly.

"Xiao Xi, I'm here to help you... Full Release of Chess Strategy - Hungry Ghost Path"

As soon as she finished speaking, An Ruotong's blood-red pupils magnified countless times in Su Chan's silver pupils. Right behind the dying Nine-Tailed Autumn Water Butterfly, a huge black, fleshy arm suddenly fell from the sky.

A tremendous roar came from above Su Chan.

Boom! Countless black arms followed, instantly shattering the mountains and rivers.

As the world crumbled and collapsed, the black, fleshy arms gradually reversed, and together they formed a creature the size of a nine-tailed autumn water butterfly. Several enormous black mountains of flesh rose from the soil.

Like demons, the owners of the countless black, fleshy arms were ten hideous, devilish mountain ranges, all connected at the waist, with a purple wing gradually unfolding from behind them.

Chapter 191: Chess Strategy - Thousand Spear Sacrifice

A tremendous roar came from above Su Chan.

Boom! Countless black arms followed, instantly shattering the mountains and rivers.

As the world crumbled and collapsed, the black, fleshy arms gradually reversed, and several enormous black mountains of flesh rose from the soil.

Like demons, the owners of the countless black, fleshy arms were ten hideous, devilish mountain ranges, all connected at the waist, with a purple wing gradually unfolding from behind them.

"........."

Hua Shenxi's pinkish-blue pupils contracted a few times in an instant. The nine enormous cherry blossom-colored flower tails of the Nine-Tailed Autumn Water Butterfly slowly grew out again. The two creatures, comparable in size to planets, stood on the starry chessboard, glaring angrily at the silver-haired woman in front of them.

A faint red light flashed in An Ruotong's blood-red eyes. At the same time, Hua Shenxi and An Ruotong picked up a black chess piece with their right hands and placed all ten fingers into the chessboard.

The Nine-Tailed Autumn Water Butterfly let out a chirping sound, and her nine cherry blossom tails spread out like a peacock's tail feathers, while the black flesh mountain composed of ten demons flapped its purple fleshy wings and let out a shocking roar from its blood-red maw.

Flying silk can bring about life and death, delicate shadows can stir up mountains and rivers, ten fingers can pull down stars and moon, a single thread can connect heaven and earth.

Boom!!! Nine cherry blossom tails covered in aquamarine light intertwined with ten enormous black arms that blotted out the sky, and simultaneously swirled towards Su Chan.

In her silver eyes, something that was a mixture of black and pink, indistinguishable as a tail or a hand, fell towards her head.

………………