The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

Although it wasn't expensive, it was a piece of clothing that accompanied her all the way to becoming a professional Go player, and Ji Yingting cherished it quite a bit.

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

"You bunch of lazybones, hurry up and clean up the game room! Look at all these drinks and litter! What will people think of our semi-professional dojo? A pig farm? Don't eat breakfast if you don't clean it up!" the black-haired woman said angrily. She was Lin Qing, an amateur fifth-dan instructor at the semi-professional dojo, and she was in charge of the students in Group A.

"Ah! Just let the staff clean up. By the way... why did you teachers have to contract to host the provincial competition? We have nowhere to play chess now!"

The younger girls asked with a bitter expression, "The losers of Group A in yesterday's final round are responsible for cleaning the dojo; this has already been arranged."

"Stop joking. If you guys really worked that hard, would you have lost yesterday? These next few days... you better take this seriously. The player who's been promoted to amateur 5-dan this time could very well be a major rival in your professional exams."

"Really? But everyone here has won their way up from the provincial competitions. Who here isn't an amateur 5-dan?"

"........."

Hearing this, Lin Qing secretly shook her head. It was precisely because they failed to achieve great success that they stayed in the semi-professional dojo for so long.

Moreover, can even the members of Group A in a semi-professional training school really reach the threshold of becoming a professional Go player?

Although she's only an amateur 5-dan, she can't beat most of the students in Group A, but as a teacher, Lin Qing's eye for talent is still very sharp...

Last year, not a single player from the semi-professional academy went on to become a professional. The higher-ups were furious and wanted to develop the academy. Expanding the number of students was essential, and they wanted to recruit more talented students. To this end, they did not hesitate to use the A-group's playing room as the venue for the provincial competition.

........

At nine o'clock in the morning, an hour before the semi-professional dojo was scheduled to open, nearly a thousand Go players were already waiting outside the gate, with the queue stretching out onto the street. This was the first time that these players had participated in the provincial competition but could not stay in the dojo... It was said that the dojo members had made the rooms too messy and they needed to clean them thoroughly before they could move in the next day.

A petite girl with long, crimson hair struggled to squeeze into the crowd, bouncing around in her little cloth boots.

It took Xiao Hongye half an hour to find all the table numbers of the Minghai Ji Club members, which contained a table of 1000 players, and she finally managed to escape from the crowd.

Unfortunately, Minghai Ji came in second place in this year's junior high school league, narrowly losing to the regional powerhouse Qingyun Middle School in Yongyue City. Although she lost to the same opponent as last year, her ranking improved, which is still a good result for everyone.

At least... the school administration is quite satisfied with Minghaiji.

"President Lin Hao's opponent in the first game is an amateur 2-dan girl, President Lin Zhen's opponent is an amateur 3-kyu, my opponent is an amateur 1-dan, and Xiao An's opponent seems to be an amateur 4-dan! What bad luck!"

"It's okay," the girl with long, pure black hair shook her head. Her pure and petite appearance was completely different from before. She had washed away the white hair.

Wearing a snow-white casual dress, Bai Chang'an placed her small hands in front of her chest, looking somewhat nervous.

I'm about to enter the legendary semi-professional dojo, the place where my sister is. Only by reaching the fifth dan level here can one qualify to take the professional exam.

As the time came, the crowd waiting outside rushed in. Although they were furious at the slow pace of the professional dojo, they were still shocked when they entered. It was completely different from the chess academies and dojos they usually frequented.

"Although it sounds harsh, is this paradise-like environment really designed for amateur chess players?"

"I've heard that ordinary amateur 5th dan doesn't even qualify to enter a semi-professional dojo!"

Bai Chang'an suddenly spoke up and asked, "Little Red Leaf, would you like a drink? I'm a little thirsty."

“Okay, let’s go together. There seems to be a vending machine in the corridor over there. Just don’t get so nervous while playing chess that you pee your pants.” Xiao Hongye and Bai Chang’an bid farewell to the others and walked towards the end of the corridor.

Compared to the bustling lobby, the quiet corridor had a different kind of cleanliness. The ice-blue bricks and tiles laid out a floor that resembled ice stone, and the decorations, which were many times more magnificent than those of Minghai Ji Middle School, were truly breathtaking.

but……

Three unfamiliar figures stood in front of the beverage vending machine. Their clothes were different from those of the other players and were very special. The dojo members wore royal blue robes with white knee-high socks underneath the swallow-wing-like skirts.

Xiao Hongye and Bai Chang'an were slightly taken aback, and their pace slowed down considerably.

"The players participating in the provincial competition have arrived. Let's get ready too. There are 1000 people this time, and I heard there aren't enough referees..."

"Wait a minute... Did you guys know? Xiao Yongye secretly cried under the covers again yesterday."

"Huh!? How many times has this happened? She's really pathetic, so competitive... This seems to be the eighth time she's lost to Qiu'er this month, right?"

"We have no right to say she's pitiful. Xiaoye has a pretty good chance of becoming a professional Go player."

“Yes, I’m already nineteen. This year… this might be the last time I take the professional exam,” the silver-haired girl said with a bitter smile, her words silencing the other two.

"Sister Xiaoshi, you won 22 games last year, so your chances are pretty good this year, right? Won't the Shi family give you some special training?"

"If you want your family's help, you have to become a professional Go player first. I'll try again this year..." Shi Shi threw away the can in her hand, but her silver eyes suddenly looked at Bai Chang'an not far away. Hmm?

At the same time, the other two girls also looked at the girl with long black hair, both revealing strange expressions.

"Xiao Ye, when did you dye your hair...?" Shi Shishi asked in a trembling voice.

"Huh? This is the first time I've realized that Yayoi with black hair is actually so cute."

"Xiaoye, who's that cute little girl next to you? You're not secretly flirting with an amateur Go player, are you?"

…………

"Sorry, you may have mistaken me for someone else." Bai Chang'an lowered her head with a blush, pulled Xiao Hongye and turned to walk back, leaving the three bewildered girls looking at each other. Not long after Xiao An left, a girl with long white hair walked out from around the corner behind them.

"Sister Shi, what are you all standing there for?" Bai Yongye asked, placing a coin on the ground and shaking out a bottle of cola with a clattering sound.

After staring at Bai Yongye's face, which was exactly the same as the girl from before, for a while, the three of them were even more confused...

That silver-haired woman won 22 games in her professional exam last year! Can't someone with that level become a professional Go player? And, so it turns out that my sister would sometimes hide under the covers and cry in the semi-professional Go academy.

I knew none of these things before, and I had never seen my sister make any effort.

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

At 10:00 AM sharp, the first round of the provincial competition officially began. Stepping into the fairyland-like chess hall, nearly a thousand candidates all showed expressions of shock.

In the past, provincial competitions were held in grand hotels; when had they ever seen anything like this? Of course… that super-cooled air conditioning system, so familiar to all chess players, unchanging regardless of summer or winter, was still freezing today!!

Perhaps it's a matter of habit, but in modern Go matches, the air conditioning temperature is always set to the lowest setting.

Because adults can't stand the temperature, they rarely accompany their children into the competition venue.

Shang Jiujiu sat in the referee's seat, lost in thought. Generally speaking, the referee would only get up and patrol twenty minutes after the game started, waiting for a game to end.

This was her first time in such a prestigious setting. Although many referees were secretly watching her, Shang Jiujiu quietly played with a strand of orange hair she had rolled up with her small hand. Her indifferent expression seemed to indicate that she didn't care about the competition at all, which made the referees quite complain.

Even though they are professional chess players, isn't it a bit too much to let such a young child serve as a referee for a provincial tournament? What exactly is the Crescent Moon Chess Academy thinking...?

The constant clattering of pieces hitting the board was unusually noisy to the judges' table, but no player was disturbed. Most of the noise was blocked by the screen, and the chessboard was made of a special material that gave the pieces a cool, penetrating sensation when held in the hand.

There are a total of 500 tables. The winners of each round will be seated further and further forward. In the end, there are nine players who can become amateur 5-dan players. Players with the same number of wins will be determined by their tiebreaker score.

"referee!"

Suddenly, a slender little hand reached out and called out softly.

A female referee walked into the cubicle. "What's the matter?"

"This game is over..."

The girl with long, light golden hair pointed at the chessboard and whispered, "Only five minutes have passed since the game started, and Black has already completely wiped out White's corner pieces."

The short-haired boy playing white was still somewhat incredulous, his right hand trembling as he placed it on the timer button.

How is this possible... My opponent looks like just an elementary school girl, how could the difference in our chess skills be so great!

The rules of the provincial competition are very harsh; opponents in the first round are matched completely randomly.

Even the weakest player may encounter the strongest opponent. Generally speaking, the strength of players only becomes slightly more balanced from the third round onwards in provincial competitions.

The female referee swallowed hard, and under the watchful eyes of the two, produced the game sheet: "Table 79, winner, sign here."

"Um"

The blonde girl nodded, quickly made a checkmark on the black pieces at table 79, and stood up to leave.

Was she the first winner of the first round? The referees all took their game sheets and looked at her name. Table 79, playing black, won by resignation...

[Qin Hanyue, amateur 4-dan, from Shancheng Chess Academy in Huangyue City]

Chapter 503: In Love

The grand provincial competition lasted for three days before coming to a close, and nine new 5-dan players were born on the exciting and magnificent stage.

Bai Chang'an took a deep breath. With a record of 7 wins and 2 losses, she defeated her strong opponent, who was also an amateur 4-dan, by 3.5 points in the final game, thus advancing to 5-dan by the tiebreaker.

Standing at the end, Bai Chang'an looked at the blonde girl standing in second place with surprise. She was Qin Hanyue from Beaver Middle School, who had participated in the training camp with him. They were both amateur fourth dan players. He did not expect that Qin's chess skills were so strong, winning all nine games.

besides……

There was also a white-haired girl with a nine-game winning streak, whose score was even higher than Qin Hanyue's. Her cold, icy eyes radiated an astonishing aura, and two strands of her snow-white hair fell to the ground.

Lu Binghu, a member of Group A of the semi-professional dojo.

[Tier score: The total number of wins by a player against their nine opponents; the stronger the opponent, the higher the tier score.]

The referee placed the microphone between the two players and asked, "Congratulations to Lü Binghu and Qin Hanyue on your promotion to 5-dan with a perfect record. Will you be participating in this year's professional league? Do you think you have a chance?"

Qin Hanyue said softly, "There's still hope. I just hope I'm not assigned to a really scary group."

Lü Binghu continued, "If the group assignments go smoothly, I'm confident I can become a professional Go player."

"........."

These two guys were quite modest, which made the new 5-dan players standing in the back row frown. They hadn't paid much attention to the professional exams, but... they had originally thought that winning all the provincial tournaments was enough to qualify them as professional players.

The results of the semi-professional dojo's Group A have never been made public, and no one can say for sure how many players are stronger than Lü Binghu.

Lin Qing stood on the podium and accepted the microphone. "Our semi-professional academy sincerely invites amateur 4-dan and 5-dan players to join us. Whether you aspire to become a professional player or want to gain extra points in your middle school or college entrance exams, our semi-professional academy has the ability to pave the way for your future."

After the closing ceremony, Xiao Hongye walked out of the venue with a happy expression. "Xiao An, congratulations on becoming a fifth dan! Have you considered joining a semi-professional dojo?"

"Red Leaf, do you perhaps want to join us?"

"Yes, I've become a fourth dan, which meets the minimum requirements to enter the dojo!" Xiao Hongye nodded. She had always been curious about the professional Go world, and after seeing the magnificent stage of the semi-professional dojo, her longing for it became even stronger.

Regardless of how it ends, she wants to join a semi-professional dojo and give it a try. She's still young and has plenty of time.

the most important is……

If I could become a student here, I wouldn't have to study every day!!

"I...maybe I'll try taking the professional exam first."

"That's great! I wish I could become a fifth-dan soon. There are no more competitions this year, so Xiao An, why don't you test the waters for me first?" Xiao Hongye and Bai Chang'an chatted and laughed as they left the semi-professional dojo.

Despite Xiao Hongye's seemingly carefree attitude, she had already planned her escape route.

I'm so cute, like a mascot. Even if my chess skills hit a bottleneck, I can switch careers to become a chess notation recorder or a professional commentator. As long as I truly love Go, I won't feel bored along the way.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Lin Hao clenched his hands, his expression somber.