The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

As Lin Hong once again placed a piece like a cannonball, Ji Yingting's face immediately tightened.

He raised his gun... This means the robbery has begun. Does he think he has enough money to rob? No, he doesn't have enough. This is a shift in perspective.

Ji Yingting saw through Lin Hong's intention. She held the chess piece between her fingers and gently placed it on the break point in the white piece's territory.

"Boom!" Another loud sound of a piece being placed echoed. From Lin Hong's finger as the origin, a slight vibration emanated from the area around the chessboard, and a cloud of mist spread outwards.

With a clatter, Lin Hong placed a white piece and then casually took out a black piece that Ji Yingting had placed on the board.

"As expected, I guessed right."

pat!

Ji Yingting squinted as she completely severed the large white group in the middle, causing most of the white pieces that had been in black's territory to fall into the tiger's mouth.

Similarly, most of Black's pieces in White's territory were cut off due to White's two consecutive captures.

In this case... both black and white's two large groups have died at the ends, but black still has an advantage of about 10 points on the board, while white's influence on the outside is slightly thicker than black's.

Ji Yingting gently rubbed her light green hair. Next, both the black and white dragons would flee towards the center of the board, that is, towards the center point.

That would lead to a fierce battle in mid-air, and if one side lost, the 10-point lead would be negligible... That must be his intention.

"Sakuraba is really strong... Even though she was given a handicap, she managed to maintain a stable advantage into the middle game."

Fei Qiluo muttered to herself. She had pink curly hair. She called Xin Yufei and the other professional chess players to come over to Niu Xiaochai and the bullet-headed youth. They discussed and moved the chess pieces around.

Amidst the discussions, the aerial battle between the two giant dragons began.

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

PS: Here's an explanation of the significance of giving someone the first move.

First of all, there must be many readers who have read Hikaru no Go, right?

Some readers may not remember one of the plot points, so I'll just briefly mention it.

When Hikaru had just been promoted to 1-dan, he let Sai play against Meijin, but in order not to reveal Sai's presence, they decided to give Meijin a 15-point komi.

If two players of similar skill levels play a handicap game, it's actually very difficult to win...

For example, a 9-dan player and an 8-dan player give each other a handicap.

That 9-dan player is probably 3-4 points stronger than the 8-dan player.

However, if Black is given the first move and there is no komi, then if both players play at a normal level, the 9-dan player would likely lose by about 3 points...

So, is it possible for a 9-dan player to play at his normal level? No, he will definitely be more aggressive and fierce, and he will definitely expose more weaknesses.

So what was the result?

A 9-dan might win, or they might lose more than they would at a normal level.

So that's why Sai's game looked so bad... because in a handicap game, it's never just about having a simple point advantage on the surface.

Chapter 56: Triple Trial Cycle, Twin Chess Formation, Ice Emperor Family

"........."

"..."

"As expected, the two dragons from the black and white sides clashed at Tianyuan."

Niu Xiaochai walked behind Ji Yingting, glanced at the chessboard, and then walked back to place the new piece that Ji Yingting had just placed.

"Both sides have been cut off, and it's impossible for them to make contact; it's likely a result of mutual tension."

"Yes, if White dies, the teacher loses; conversely, if Black dies, she has to resign. This should be the result the teacher wants."

With a "thud," Lin Hong placed a chess piece. Ji Yingting's light green eyebrows furrowed tightly. No, the black pieces looked to have fewer liberties than the white pieces.

Moreover, the two sides have almost no common energy, and there are only two single Zeds at the center point where the two dragons are in contact, making it impossible for a double-live situation to occur.

Having come to this point, she no longer wanted to calculate; after all, it was a situation where whoever died would lose.

pat...

Ji Yingting didn't stop, but instead turned around and jumped into the white pieces' encirclement.

"pat"

White also changed direction and rushed into Black's territory.

"Both sides are holding their breath, and they're suddenly moving incredibly fast, almost like they're playing a 10-second rapid chess game. Let's go check it out; the situation here is beyond our control."

Hearing the continuous pattering sounds coming from Ji Yingting's side, Niu Xiaochai made a suggestion.

“Yes, professional Go players always handle this situation very decisively…” Fei Qiluo nodded.

Pat, pat, pat, pat.

After the long liberty phase ended, both sides began to tighten their liberties. At this point, no one was calculating anymore, and the black and white stones gradually filled the board.

"Oh?"

As the liberties of the large white and black groups dwindled, both sides were on edge.

“The liberties of both sides are about the same, but the two single ko in the middle are both in White's territory, so this should be a rocking ko, and Black is doomed, right?” Niu Xiaochai muttered to herself.

A chain of calamities is formed by two calamities...

Also known as "Oaring Calamity," or in ancient times as "Sword Dance Calamity"...

In the "Rowing Ko" (or "Chain Ko"), one side has dead stones and the other has living stones. The side with dead stones must find ko threats to capture their living stones, but the side with living stones can capture them back without paying any price.

However, as long as the player with living stones doesn't play a move here, the player with dead stones will have an "unlimited" number of ko threats.

Unfortunately, in this situation, the surviving side would definitely win...

Tick, tick, tick.

As the clock struck, Ji Yingting stopped playing her piece once again. She took a few breaths and then narrowed her eyes slightly.

"huh, huh"

It didn't last long before Ji Yingting raised her slender arm again...

She held a black chess piece between her fingers and gently placed it onto the chessboard.

*Thud... Boom!*

It was clearly a very light move, yet it seemed to explode in Lin Hong's ears like a thunderclap.

At that moment, everyone's pupils widened.

"Thud...she plunged into the last remaining breath shared by both the black and white dragons..."

[Pouncing: A Go term, also called "pouncing capture," is a common tactic in Go games where a stone is captured. It means to pounce into the opponent's mouth and offer the stone for capture, implying a desperate attempt to survive.]

"Aaaaaah!!! It seems like the ko has turned from a white ko to a black ko..." After a few seconds of silence, Niu Xiaochai screamed loudly.

"No, White won't care about this area anymore; they'll directly tighten their liberties. This shape... perhaps..."

Fei Qiluo looked somewhat shocked. She clearly hadn't expected Ji Yingting to dissipate the shared energy during the tense process and create the shape of the third tribulation eye.

"It's a pity, but the game is over. Indeed, it's very difficult to beat him."

Ji Yingting sighed inwardly. She gently rolled up her legs and stood up from the mat, rubbing her slightly soft, slender buttocks.

However, I also have to thank his fierce offensive... which allowed my chess skills to return to their peak. This outcome is probably not bad for me, Mr. Lin Hong.

Lin Hong lowered his head, his right hand fumbling in the chess box for a while, making a rustling noise, but in the end he did not raise his hand again.

"Your name is Ji Yingting, right... Are you from the Ji family?"

This game of chess... has no result... because it ended in a draw.

A triple ko is a type of cyclical ko in Go, referring to a situation where three kos appear simultaneously on the board. It is also called a triple ko cycle, and this triple ko cycle in a game is so difficult to avoid.

They cannot resolve their conflict. If both sides continue in this situation, they will only be able to keep taking pieces without any result.

"Three consecutive calamities, so this is indeed the shape," Fei Qiluo said with a sense of relief.

"..." Upon hearing Lin Hong's words, Ji Yingting's expression froze slightly, and she fell silent.

She gradually recalled the scene from that night when she buried her long, green hair in Ji Hongyun's arms and cried softly.

Finally, she nodded slightly. "Mm."

Hey……

Lin Hong sighed softly, his voice rather hoarse as he said, "As expected of the so-called Hyotei family of the Go world, you still have another strategy you haven't used..."

Um? ?

If Ji Yingting hadn't quite grasped the meaning of Lin Hong's previous sentence, then Lin Hong's next sentence made her eyes twitch a few times, and her light green eyebrows trembled slightly.

"How...how did you know?"

Ji Yingting asked in confusion, "I only used the 'Forgiveness Cat' move in this game because I was mentally exhausted, which is why I didn't continue using the moves."

Lin Hong, fanning himself with a fan, explained, "Don't you know? But there's no harm in telling you... The sons-in-law of the Ji family's daughters who marry are often skilled in Go... many Go players will develop 'Twin Go Formations'."

Because in addition to the Ji family's inherited chess strategy [Ice Crown], there is also their own chess strategy... That's why the Ji family stipulates that only women can marry each other.

Beyond the moon, chess players from other planets in the starry sky and from other federations outside the Eastern Empire Federation all refer to the Ji family, who live on the moon, as the "Ice Emperor Family."

……

Lin Hong was unaware that his words had a tremendous impact on Ji Yingting.

"The Ji family, the Twin Chess Formations, the Frost Crown? I see."

Ji Yingting gently closed her eyes. She could feel the layer of icy mist on the body of a huge, green cat in her soul, a technique she had used against Long Chou during her junior high school league matches.

One night, her eyes opened... Looking back now, perhaps it was because she had awakened to the effect of a second chess move...

"A triple ko, this is a famous game... As expected, everyone says that famous games are more likely to occur in handicap games. Teacher, shall I write down the game record?" Niu Xiaochai exclaimed, and she took out a small notebook for recording game records from her backpack.

"Okay, thank you for your help," Lin Hong nodded.

"Record? Why do we need to record the game scores?" Xin Yufei asked, puzzled.

Niu Xiaochai gently tapped Xin Yufei's forehead with her long, flaxen curls and began to lecture, "Because it's a famous game, a famous game, it's only natural to record the game score. Even in our chess academy, friendly games between professional players under our teachers are recorded."