The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

A boy with a buzz cut, wearing a black school uniform, bent down and sat down opposite Ji Yingting.

Although he had already seen her a few times yesterday, she was truly stunning... Han Wei was momentarily stunned.

Hello, my name is Ji Yingting.

Her long, bluish-green hair swayed dramatically as Ji Yingting nodded.

The moment Han Wei sat down opposite her, she could already see his appearance clearly from across the starry chessboard: a rather ordinary-looking boy with a buzz cut.

However, Ji Yingting secretly covered her cherry-like mouth with both hands, managing to hold back her gasp.

So, the tall boy that Wang Xi and the others were talking about yesterday, the one who came to Yuqu Middle School, is this Han Wei?

What's so special about this buzz-cut guy?

That's because he's so tall, his head almost touches the chandelier in the room, which is probably why he can only have a buzz cut.

Although he was somewhat thin, he had a towering height like a giant, probably over 1.95 meters... Was he a bamboo pole?!

Under the starry sky, Ji Yingting covered her mouth and looked up at the giant chess player opposite her. Even in her previous life, she had never seen a chess player taller than 1.95 meters...

I never knew... there were people this tall in the world!! How interesting!

Why doesn't he play basketball?!

I've heard that basketball players are all quite tall... Could it be that he finds the contrast between playing Go rather endearing? Ji Yingting made wild guesses.

Compared to the 1.95-meter giant, Ji Yingting, who was less than 1.6 meters tall, looked like a dwarf. She stared at the giant with a slightly guilty conscience...

"Hmm, I should calm down and focus on the game."

She tried not to look at the giant on the opposite side of the starry chessboard, and soon calmed down.

"Wow, Sakuraba-senpai fighting against Titans! *gulp*"

Xin Yufei secretly peeked, and she swallowed with a sense of relief. Fortunately, the one fighting against this giant was the blind senior, Ji Yingting.

If anyone else were to fight this giant, they would definitely be unable to take it seriously due to the psychological pressure.

After worrying about Ji Yingting for a while, Xin Yufei quickly focused her attention on her opponent in front of her, touched her chest and closed her eyes.

"She's just an amateur...no problem."

During this period, through private tutoring and intensive training, my chess skills are improving at a visible rate! I can't let my senior down...

Although... my training camp record so far is three losses, I have a feeling I can win this one!

Xin Yufei stretched out her hands and tidied her black pear-shaped hair. She imitated Ji Yingting by making her bangs much thicker, while encouraging herself in her heart.

"Shall we start guessing?"

Seeing that Ji Yingting hadn't spoken for a long time, Han Wei tentatively asked.

"OK!!"

Ji Yingting shook her long, bluish-green hair and answered with a slightly stiff expression.

Although she had calmed down, she still couldn't help but tense up whenever she looked up and saw the giant in front of her.

Sure enough, I felt nervous when fighting against such a strange person. In my previous life, when I was young, I would feel nervous every time I fought against unfamiliar adults.

Han Wei guessed wrong first, so Ji Yingting played black, Lin Hao played white, Wang Xi played black, Xin Yufei played white, and Zhao Xiao played black.

"Could this be the 'giant phenomenon' circulating online?!"

Ji Yingting made a malicious guess. She stretched out her jade hand, which was holding the black chess piece, and placed her first hand on the 33 position.

"Do I need to tell you my location?" Han Wei asked.

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Ji Yingting nodded. Although she didn't need her opponent to tell her their position, it still seemed strange to outsiders that a blind person could play chess without telling their position, and she needed to hide this fact.

"D6, high eye"

Lower your eyes!?

Is he trying to show off the power of his height?

By the way, 1.6 meters isn't considered short for a girl, is it?

Ignoring the fact that she was only 1.58 meters tall, Ji Yingting thought anxiously, her fingers constantly rubbing her long, green hair.

Speaking of which, all the girls who have played chess with me seem to be a bit taller than me. Even that purple-haired loli seems to be around 161 centimeters tall.

Of all the girls I know, it seems that only Wang Murou is almost exactly the same height as me.

...Am I really that short?!

Sitting across from her on the chessboard, Han Wei found it somewhat amusing to watch her constantly changing expression.

"High Eyes"

Hmm, if you place a high-value item on your first move, it's a fairly standard strategy to place another high-value item on your second move. Do you want to engage in battle at a high level?

Ji Yingting's wandering thoughts were pulled back by Han Wei's move, and she finally began to think seriously.

Chapter 25: Take off first

“…Let’s click here.” Ji Yingting placed her hands flat on her knees, which were covered by her white lace pleated dress. She gently picked up a black piece with her right hand and carefully placed it on the chessboard.

Sure enough, the tension did have some impact on my performance. His opening strategy wasn't strong, but I didn't manage to create a significant gap in the score with him.

Withdrawing her right hand, Ji Yingting patted her slightly heaving chest [which was actually flat].

"..." Seeing Ji Yingting make her move, Han Wei pondered. She's already trying to escape the changes here, even though it's only just begun...

Ji Yingting continued to make moves on the "2nd road" (a specific move in the game).

"She plays chess so fast. Is this another test, or is she trying to make her pieces live?" He frowned and looked up at Ji Yingting.

She really couldn't see, and was still squinting as she rubbed her bluish-green hair.

Let's avoid this for now. If she wants to live, let her have it. This will make our white group thicker and give us an advantage in other battles.

It's very difficult to "calculate blindly" in the middle game; I want to try to provoke battles in more complex situations.

Han Wei thought to himself.

Because of Fei Qiluo's arrival, everyone's game of chess became more serious... A solemn atmosphere spread throughout the room.

However, compared to the very serious Han Wei, Ji Yingting, although somewhat nervous about her opponent's height, was quite casual about the game, almost to the point of placing a piece as soon as she raised her hand.

Playing with her long, light green hair, Ji Yingting blinked gently. The very next second after Han Wei placed his piece, she slapped the piece she had already prepared into the chessboard.

"Hmph, very good! Playing fast chess helps to boost morale and relieve tension!" Ji Yingting thought to herself with secret delight.

"Wait, I haven't even announced my position yet, why did you make your move..." Han Wei asked speechlessly. Even if she was arrogantly playing blitz chess with him, she shouldn't be in such a hurry.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I just felt that you would definitely go this way next!" Ji Yingting immediately lowered her head like a wilted blade of grass.

[Ugh! The momentum from just now was abruptly broken!!]

"Hmm, after being blocked, crawling is indeed a fairly conventional way to go," Han Wei nodded to himself, without any further doubt.

****************

Fei Qiluo and Chen Xiao watched Wang Jun and Qi Yue's chess game together.

These two are playing chess way too slowly… Fei Qiluo thought to himself, scratching his pink curly hair with a hint of helplessness.

Many skilled amateur Go players like to take long periods of thought during the opening phase, while professional players tend to play very quickly in the opening.

Because thinking during the opening phase is not very meaningful, and there are no absolutely correct moves in the opening of Go, the opening moves are mostly based on intuition.

Thinking this, Fei Qiluo walked over to the side where Ji Yingting and Han Wei were fighting. She must be Ji Hongying's younger or older sister.

"Pfft!! Why did Black make that tiger move? What a terrible move! He should have just connected here!" Seeing Ji Yingting's quick move, Fei Qiluo almost spat out her saliva.

After Black plays the tiger's mouth move, White will make a move that would be considered a bad move by most people.

Oops, I accidentally stepped onto that step just now!

Ji Yingting stuck out her tongue somewhat awkwardly. In Go, moves that can lead to the same result are sometimes divided into good moves and bad moves.

Why is there such a difference when the results are the same?

That's because bad moves result in ugly shapes, while good moves have more elegant shapes. Even if Ji Yingting's bad move doesn't affect the situation immediately, it will make the shape cumbersome and difficult to handle.

"But judging from the looks of it, Black's position is too strong. It won't be easy for White to make a living group in the lower part. No, wait, she's blind. If she has to calculate the kill blindly, it will be quite difficult, right?"

As expected, White broke free from Black's encirclement...

Fei Qiluo stared intently at Ji Yingting, who was squinting. In his opinion, the white pieces might have deliberately created this situation.

There are also many recreational players who can play blindfold chess, but without exception, calculation becomes a huge problem once the game enters the middle game...

Huh?! ??? Just after Ji Yingting made her move, Fei Qiluo and Han Wei, who were deep in thought, were both stunned. She actually disregarded the white pieces under these circumstances? Did she not intend to capture the white pieces?!

Popular Science: ----------

"Ignoring the opponent's moves" (a Go term referring to temporarily disregarding the opponent's moves in order to gain the initiative and then relinquish the initiative elsewhere) is called "ignoring the opponent's moves" in a game of Go.

Generally, this strategy aims to gain the initiative. However, "breaking away" may inevitably result in losses in certain areas. A comprehensive view of the overall situation is necessary to determine its merits and demerits.

In the middle game of Go, players generally choose to play defensively in the following situations.

1. This side has already made a local comeback, so there is no need to add another move.

2. The opponent has already made progress in certain areas, so we must not fall behind.

3. Although this player has not been able to fully secure their position locally, they believe that the opponent will also be unable to capture their pieces, and thus they take the initiative and move aside.

4. Although the opponent has not fully made a living group in the local area, the player does not have a strong means to capture the opponent's pieces. The player chooses to play passively and waits for new changes to occur on the board before making a decision.

5. If you do not have an ideal response to the opponent's previous move, or if you believe there is a more crucial move to make, then you should play defensively.

Fei Qiluo stared intently at the chessboard.

Although that's the meaning behind her move, her intention in doing so was to block the white stones' head in the upper left corner.

However... the purpose of this move is also very clear, which is to kill the white pieces at the bottom. So why didn't she choose to attack directly?

With a thud, when Han Wei placed his piece this time, Ji Yingting did not immediately follow suit.