Riding the wind of rebirth

When Hu Lidong saw Zhou Zhi and the other person, he carried his plate over and said, "Oh? Did you come back especially today?"

"Why did you rush back?" Zhou Zhi asked, holding his tray and queuing to pick out breakfast. "Our mission in Lianhe Township is over, and today is my official return to work. Is there something you need?"

"By the way, today is Christmas," Mai Xiaomiao said. "Merry Christmas, Brother Hu."

"Merry Christmas, Xiao Miao," Hu Lidong said. "But that's not what we're talking about. Today is the China-Japan Go Tournament! Chang Hao is challenging the Japanese captain, Otake Hideo! You guys really didn't come back for that?"

"Why should I rush back for this?" Zhou Zhi wasn't a chess enthusiast, so he naturally didn't understand the importance of this game.

"Wow, Chang Shentong has defeated five Japanese players in a row. Today he's facing Old Wang directly. If he wins this game, he'll take the NEC Cup!"

"Is he that amazing?" Zhou Zhi was taken aback. "Another five-game winning streak? Back in the day, the Chess Saint's five-game winning streak was the only one in the China-Japan Chess Saint Tournament. This prodigy has already tied the Chess Saint's record twice?"

"How can you compare them? Chang Shentong is only just beginning to show his talent, while the Chess Saint has turned the tide in three consecutive tournaments. They are completely different."

Nie Weiping was the last remaining Chinese player in the first China-Japan Go Tournament. After Kobayashi Koichi, a top-tier Japanese player, defeated six Chinese players in a row, Nie Weiping, as the last remaining player, turned the tide when the Chinese team was trailing 5-7. He defeated Kobayashi Koichi, Kato Masao, and Fujisawa Hideyuki in succession, winning the victory for China.

Then, in the second China-Japan Go Tournament, Nie Weiping, as the last player, defeated five Japanese players in a row: Kataoka Satoshi, Yamashiro Hiroshi, Sakai Takeshi, Takemiya Masaki, and Otake Hideo, once again achieving a comeback and helping the Chinese team to turn defeat into victory once again.

In the third China-Japan Go Tournament, Nie Weiping faced off against Japan's captain, Kato Masao, in the final and won, leading the Chinese team to a three-game winning streak.

Because of his outstanding performance in three consecutive tournaments, Nie Weiping was called "Whirlwind" by the Japanese and was awarded the title of "Chess Saint" by the State Sports Commission and the Chinese Go Association, becoming the first person to be conferred this title after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Therefore, although the young prodigy Chang is only twenty years old and has equaled Nie Weiping's record of defeating five Japanese generals in a row, he still cannot compare with the glory of Nie Weiping.

Feng Xueshan also manages the catering at the data center, which is of the same standard as the Clover Digital Center headquarters. Breakfast is a buffet with a wide variety of choices.

Zhou Zhi picked out a bowl of tofu pudding, a fried dough stick, and a bowl of chicken giblet noodles, while Mai Xiaomiao picked out a bowl of steamed egg, a steamed bun, and a cup of coffee. The two of them carried their plates and found a place to sit down with Hu Lidong, listening to him chat in detail.

Then Zhou Zhi gained some understanding of the chess scene this year.

There are many Go tournaments now, such as the Orient Securities Cup, Fujitsu Cup, NEC Cup, Ing Cup, and Samsung Cup, which are all quite influential competitions. This is the time when the sport is at its peak.

However, the most prominent figures this year were not Chang Shentong, but Ma Yaodao and Lee Seok-fo from South Korea.

However, the two of them were in completely opposite directions of attracting attention.

In March, Ma Yaodao made it to the finals of the Dongyang Securities Cup, but unfortunately he encountered Li Shifo and lost.

This game is known as the "half-point miracle," which marked the beginning of the tragedy of Ma Yaodao.

In August, Ma Yaodao once again made it to the Fujitsu Cup final, only to be defeated by Lee Shi Fo again.

This was just the beginning of a nightmare. Ma Yaodao could never have imagined that he would face Li Shifo in eight more consecutive defeats.

Then another interesting thing happened this year: in August, Liu Changhe, the current core figure of Chinese Go, defeated Yoda Norimoto of Japan to win the Ing Cup; then less than a month later, Yoda Norimoto defeated Liu Changhe to win the Samsung Cup. The rest is up to Chang Shentong to perform.

Chang Shentong's selection as the third challenger actually indicates that expectations for him were not high from the beginning.

Although he had an outstanding performance in the last competition, at the age of only nineteen, he defeated Mimura Tomoyasu, Morita Michihiro, Ryu Shika, Kobayashi Satoru, and Rin Kaiho in succession. Although he was defeated by Otake Hideo in the end, he laid an absolute foundation for victory.

But they are too young, and one performance is not enough to prove anything.

This year was different; both sides fielded female players first. First, Toyo Aki defeated Nishida Emi, ensuring a good start and a good finish for the Chinese women's team. Then, Hane Naoki defeated both Toyo Aki and Wang Lei, giving Japan a slight lead.

Then Chang Hao came on and shattered all of Japan's hopes.

They defeated Naoki Hane in the fourth game.

In the fifth game, the black player defeated Wang Licheng by 4 points.

In the sixth game, he defeated Liu Shixun. Liu Shixun is also in great form this year. Although he is only 25 years old, he has already won the two major titles of Tengen and Oza in Japan, becoming a "double crown king".

As a result, Chang Hao played with great gusto in this game, winning a decisive victory in the middle game with white. Liu Shixun was so angry that he stormed off, leaving the prodigy to review the game's outcome with Liu Xiaoguang.

In the seventh game, Chang Hao, playing black, defeated Yoda Norimoto by 2 and 3/4 points.

In the eighth game, Chang Hao, who had won four consecutive games, defeated Kobayashi Satoru, repeating the success of the previous competition, and will face the Japanese head coach, Otake Hideo, directly.

The battle begins today.

"To be honest, there aren't many chess games left for Xiaozhi to learn from. Now, he mostly plays against himself. In the words of Chess Master Nie, Xiaozhi has created quite a few 'divine games'," Hu Tianyu said. "Every time a new top-tier chess game appears, it's a great opportunity for Xiaozhi to learn."

No wonder Hu Tianyu assumed that Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao had rushed back specifically for this match.

"This is what's called the 'chess observation mode,' right?" Zhou Zhi looked at Mai Xiaomiao: "I think I've heard you guys discuss this before."

"Yes, Xiaozhi can assess the situation of both sides during the game and deduce the optimal next move. If the player's move is inconsistent with its calculation, it can also calculate the winning probability of the player's move."

This piqued Zhou Zhi's curiosity as well: "Then let's eat quickly, and after we finish, let's go to the meeting room to prepare. I want to see what Xiao Zhi thinks of this game."

"Xiao Zhi's judgment of victory and defeat is quite accurate now." Hu Tianyu laughed: "In the game where Chang Shentong defeated Liu Shixun in this competition, he made three brilliant moves in a row. Xiao Zhi directly judged that Shentong's divine rate jumped from 54 to 63, and then to 72."

"Those three brilliant moves are now known as the 'Three Candies.' Later, when the media interviewed the prodigy, he said it was all based on intuition, and at the time he made those three moves, he didn't actually know that they would have a decisive impact on the subsequent game."

After speaking, he lowered his voice, using a volume only Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao could hear, and said, "Those three moves were exactly the same as Xiao Zhi's movement back then." (End of Chapter)