Go: The live broadcast queen launched a gorgeous rebellion against the dog

"...Hey, it's been four years..."

"Is Lin Ruixin going to make it to the top four again?!"

It was 4:50 p.m. on April 2nd, in a studio at the Huaxia Chess Academy in Dajing City.

The game has now reached move 193, and the female host, Song Jin, is glued to the screen, her face filled with surprise and disbelief.

The screen then switched to a live camera view of the game room. Chu Jun sat at the chessboard, his face slightly flushed, his lips tightly pressed together, and his eyes filled with resentment and frustration.

"...We can see that Chu Jun, 9-dan, is already showing signs of redness! It seems he's quite bothered by today's loss..."

"But now that things have come to this, he's probably powerless to turn the tide... Ah! Chu Jun has chosen to stop the clock and concede defeat!"
"With this, Lin Ruixin 9-dan defeated Chu Jun 9-dan and advanced to the semifinals of this Sanshuang Cup!"

After announcing the match results to the audience, Song Jin turned her gaze to Yao Han, the commentator and coach of the Tiangang team:
"Teacher Yao, if I remember correctly, the last time Lin Ruixin 9-dan entered the World Championship semi-finals was four years ago at the Yingyi Cup!"

"As the head coach of the Tianjin team, seeing the team's veteran players reach the World Championship semifinals again, is that somewhat unexpected?"

"Actually... there's nothing to be surprised about."

At this moment, Yao Han, a 7-dan player, wore a calm expression of "I knew it."

"Over the past year or so... Lin Ruixin has maintained excellent form and strength, and his current ranking is second only to Rui Zhao, Lei Qi, and Sun Yi. He's even a bit higher than Chu Jun and Xiao Xiong!"
"Last year at the Sanshuang Cup, he ran into Rui Zhao early, which is why he was eliminated early—you know, even Zeng Guangwen made it to the semifinals of the Sanshuang Cup that time! It's not surprising that he made it to the semifinals."

"You could even say he had a really bad year at the World Championships, always running into the top three in the world in the round of 16 or quarterfinals..."

"If you disregard the fact that he hasn't made it to the top four yet... his strength has actually been gradually returning to the top tier!"

After reviewing and evaluating Lin Ruixin's performance over the past year, Yao Han brought the topic back to the chessboard:
"...This game is an example: both sides demonstrated excellent opening skills, and the first fifty moves were evenly matched."

"The turning point came on move 60. Faced with Black's push and pressure, the AI's view was to follow suit and seize a large area."

"A good spot is one that points upwards on the right, or hangs at the lower right corner or is a dotted corner."

"However, Xiao Chu's mentality here may have been affected by Lin Ruixin's comeback against Uesaka Rei in the previous round of chaotic battle. He is afraid that if Lin Ruixin makes a move, it will disrupt the situation in the middle. Therefore, he chose to clean up the mess and wait for Lin Ruixin to make a mistake later!"
"Indeed, Lin Ruixin has made mistakes in chess from time to time, which has given him opportunities. So even at his peak, his winning rate was not very high."

"But now that things are like this... it's a bit old-fashioned to judge people like this!"

Yao Han shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of criticism towards Chu Jun's naive ideas:

"You know, Lin Ruixin won all his matches and qualified as the top seed in the domestic Sanshuang Cup qualifiers this time! How could he have done that without sufficient consistency!"

"As expected, the hand was a little slow to pick up the price, and Lin Ruixin saw an opportunity and immediately started to short and control the market!"
"Although the winning percentage fluctuated at times afterward, it never gave White any initiative again!"

"Let's congratulate Lin Ruixin! It's truly not easy to make it back to the World Championship semifinals! It's just a pity..."

"pity?"

Song Jin keenly noticed the change in Yao Han's tone and immediately pressed for an answer:
"What's a pity?"

"Unfortunately... it's still a bit too late!"

Yao Han shook his head, his gaze gradually becoming profound:

"If he had maintained this level of training intensity in his earlier years, he would have achieved much better results with his talent—after all, everyone was hoping that he could surpass Choi."

"Although he made it to the semifinals this time, and with Rui Zhao retiring from professional competitions and Lei Qi being unexpectedly eliminated early in this year's Sanshuang Cup..."

"Judging from Liu Shixian's easy victory over Li Zhaokai just now, if he encounters this tough opponent, he might still not have much of a chance..."

He offered his only hope, but his tone was far from optimistic:
"If I had to say, I could only hope that Liu Shixian might stumble in the semifinals. Next..."

"We'll see how the draw goes later."

however……

Things did not unfold as Yao Han had hoped...

At 6 p.m. on the same day, the draw ceremony for the semi-finals of this year's Sanshuang Cup was completed!
The final semi-final matchups were clearly displayed on the big screen:

[Liu Shixian] versus [Yang Manjing]

Sun Yi to Lin Ruixin

...

...

[“The 'little idiots' in Lin Ruixin's fan group are hilarious! They're back from their undercover mission!”]

[Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've shared any fun from Lin Dazui's fan group!]

[I was reluctant to laugh at this clown anymore, but the commotion in Xin's fan group this time was just too hilarious, I had to share it with everyone!]

[In this afternoon's game, Xiao Chu didn't perform well and was beaten by Lin Dazui.]

This wasn't a big deal!

Although I don't like Lin Dazui and his bunch of idiots, considering how deeply he's obsessed with his goals, getting them into the semifinals would give them a graceful way out.

[As it turned out, before and after the draw, this bunch of little geniuses started dreaming again!]

[From the beginning, they were hoping to get the Little Witch if they could—after all, everyone would prefer to get the weakest one.]

[But after the draw, the semi-final matchup was Sun Lin vs. Liu Yang, and the little geniuses in the group actually started praying that the little witch would defeat young master Liu! Can you believe it?!]

I'm truly impressed!

[Back then, Lin Dazui kept looking down on female chess players, but now his fans are still hoping to pave the way for him to win a championship using female players?]

Isn't that ridiculous?!

[Having just been upset by Sun Yi's team in the Chinese Weiqi League recently, instead of worrying about being crushed by Liu Shao in the finals again, they should be more concerned about whether they can even make it to the finals!]

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

[Wow... there are still active people in Lin Ruixin's fan group?!]

[Haven't he stopped livestreaming and participating in events for a long time? I thought he'd been forgotten in the group chat!]

[Replying to the comment above, there really are real people here! Quite a few—you're seriously underestimating the value of Lin Ruixin, the first Chinese Go player to break into the mainstream in the information age.] [“A person of supreme talent”—this is universally acknowledged in the Go community! Back then, there was even a saying that “if you don’t like Lin Ruixin’s Go, you don’t love Go.”]

[A young genius, dashing and spirited, unruly and untamed, the best in the world!]

[This kind of person has an absolute irresistible appeal to fans!]

"Well... yeah."

Sigh! I really feel sorry for those idiots now!

[To be such a devoted fan, yet still get ridiculed and mocked on forums because of their idol's stubbornness until the very end! It's truly pathetic...]

[Whose fault is this? Anyone who knows Lin Ruixin even a little bit would know something about him!]

I have no doubt about his talent, but his behavior is truly baffling.

[This person runs a fandom, squanders their talent, enjoys putting others down, is sarcastic and cynical, and occasionally resorts to underhanded tactics... It's no wonder people still have fans; they deserve all the ridicule and scorn!]

I'm just waiting to see Lin Dazui get eliminated again, and to see those little idiots look on their faces like they've lost their parents!

……

That was a really merciless insult!
At 7 p.m. on the same day, in Beijing, China, at Shang Chaotian's home.

Upon seeing this latest hot post on the chess forum, the chairman of the Chinese Chess Association, who was closely following the progress of the Sanshuang Cup, felt rather uneasy.

Despite his current dissatisfaction with Lin Ruixin, the chess prodigy he once had high hopes for, Shang Chaotian still hopes deep down that this once-glorious player can have a dignified exit, rather than ending his career in obscurity amidst endless ridicule.

This expectation has nothing to do with winning or losing, or with grudges; it is simply a senior figure in the chess world expressing his final respect and regret for a talented chess player—even if the current situation is entirely Lin Dawanghong's own doing.

Thinking of this, Shang Chaotian suppressed the heaviness in his heart, took a deep breath, picked up his phone, found Lu Wenjie's WeChat, and pressed the voice call request.

The voice call connected quickly, and Lu Wenjie's voice came through.

"Brother Tian, ​​is there something you need from me?"

"um, yes."

Shang Chaotian pursed his lips and then asked:

"I'd like to ask: Lin Ruixin has finally made it to the World Championship semifinals... what's his reaction?"

"reaction?"

Lu Wenjie paused upon hearing this, then sighed softly and said:
"It's the same as always!"

"After the match, he did not participate in any post-match interviews and showed almost no emotional fluctuations; he just kept a lifeless face."

"Whenever I have time, I take out my tablet or phone to review games, do problems, and study... I'm practically buried in Go!"
"If I have to say...

"You could say she's exactly like Rui Zhao!"

"……well!

"I wish they were exactly the same!"

Upon hearing this, Shang Chaotian shook his head helplessly.

Although Lin Ruixin has worked incredibly hard at chess in the past two years, almost to the point of being comparable to the famous chess master Yong Shi Zhaojun, the chairman of the chess association still understands the difference.

Rui Zhao's dedication stems from her pure love for Go, a love that is like an inexhaustible source, enabling her to tirelessly study and train like a perpetual motion machine.

Lin Ruixin's frantic dedication at this moment was entirely due to her deep-seated resentment and unwillingness to accept defeat. She was struggling to maintain her strength with astonishing willpower, which was extremely exhausting for her!
Lin Ruixin's current haggard appearance is a direct result of this!
Shang Chaotian couldn't bear to see Lin Ruixin continue like this, like watching an old, taut string on a musical instrument, ready to snap at any moment. He didn't know how to get this leader of China to let go of his obsession…

"Uh... Brother Tian?"

Seeing that Shang Shang Chaotian had suddenly fallen silent, Lu Wenjie on the other end couldn't help but ask a question.

"Ah! I know."

Shang Chaotian, who had been brought back to his senses, quickly replied:

"Thank you for your hard work, Wenjie. I don't have anything else to do for the time being!"

"Okay then..."

Lu Wenjie responded first, then, as if sensing something, added:

"Just let Lin Ruixin handle his own affairs, don't worry about it!"

“…Okay, got it.”

After a brief exchange of greetings, the chess association chairman hung up the phone, and the study returned to silence.

Shang Chaotian leaned back in his chair, his gaze unfocused, lost in deep thought, a heavy weight of regret and worry pressing down on his heart.

But just then, the phone on the table suddenly rang again!
A crisp ringtone broke the silence. The screen clearly displayed:

Caller: Xiao Wei

Shang Chaotian frowned slightly, but knowing that his secretary wouldn't usually call him after get off work for no reason, he quickly answered the phone.

"Xiao Wei? What's up?"

Shang Chaotian's voice instantly returned to its usual calm and steady tone, but his speaking speed was a fraction faster than usual.

"Chairman Shang! Something's happened in Japan!"

And came the secretary's anxious voice from the other end of the phone:

"Just half an hour ago, someone posted photos on social media, reporting collusion and cheating in the Special Challenge!"

"It's now the latest headline on foreign social media!"

"...Huh??!" (End of Chapter)