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

“Hey, hey…

"Is this really Lin Ruixin's game?!"

At 4:45 p.m. local time on the same day, in the South Korean team's discussion and rest room at the Samsung Training Institute in Gyeongdo, South Korea.

Seeing that White's 126th move had once again hit the bullseye, Xu Xiangheng, who was watching the game, stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.

"Is he capable of defeating such a player who gives you no chance?!"

The reason Xu Xiangheng was so moved was precisely because of the current state of the game.

Since Liu Shixian made that crucial mistake on move 35 and fell into a disadvantageous position, although the win rate curves of both sides fluctuated in the subsequent battles, Lin Ruixin has always maintained firm control of the situation!
His moves were precise and calm, giving his opponent no chance to counterattack. On the contrary, Liu Shixian, who tried to recover from his disadvantage through various aggressive means, saw his win rate decline instead of rise under the opponent's watertight defense and sharp counterattacks!
In less than 100 moves, Black was already mired in a quagmire, with his winning percentage plummeting! And as the game progressed to move 126, Liu Shixian's winning percentage dropped to a pitiful 5.1%—it was practically a one-sided domination!
Liu Shixian was completely overwhelmed by Lin Ruixin, the famous "filial son of Liu," with no chance to fight back, after just one careless move!
Those who knew the other side were Lin Ruixin, but those who didn't would have thought it was Lei Qi or even Rui Zhao playing white! This greatly surprised Xu Xiangheng, who had been a foreign player for the Tianjin team for many years.

However, Park Minyeol, who had just been swept aside by Lin Ruixin in the first round of this year's Samsung Cup, shook his head slightly upon hearing this, a hint of disapproval on his face.

"...Brother Xiangheng, you have some preconceived notions about Lin Ruixin!"

"Although this guy looks old very quickly, his chess... seems to make him younger as he plays!"

After stating his own viewpoint, the legendary figure who brought the story to an end further explained:

"Actually, judging from yesterday's game, he had a good chance. Xiao Liu didn't gain a clear advantage for most of the game."

"It was only in the final, complex, and unpredictable moves that he made the last mistake, which led to his loss by one and a half points. It really was just a matter of one move."

"Today, the right side fell into his clearly laid trap, so it's not surprising that Xiaoliu was completely suppressed afterward..."

"But he's thirty-one years old now!"

Xu Xiangheng's voice still held a hint of confusion:
"How can he still be in such good shape?!"

"...Xiang Heng!"
Do you think the title of "the most gifted person in China" is just a compliment?

At this moment, Li Tingyan, a ninth-dan player sitting in the corner, raised his head upon hearing this, and his deep gaze swept over Xu Xiangheng:
"Back then, I watched him play against me every day with dark circles under his eyes or acting nonchalant, but he could still beat me evenly!"

"If this guy could really work harder during his prime, he might not end up like Rui Zhao, but at the very least, his historical status would definitely be reversed with Xiao Liu's!"

"Lately, he's been practicing Go like crazy every day, just so he can cause trouble for Rui Zhao. Is it really that strange that he was able to beat Xiao Liu in one game?!"

As soon as Li Tingyan finished speaking, the lounge fell silent.

The top South Korean Go players who were watching and discussing the game exchanged silent glances, each with a complex expression on their face.

Although the South Korean Go community had long sensed that compared to China, a great nation, its players were clearly at a disadvantage in terms of both talent depth and top-tier skill.

But in the past, thanks to Li Tingyan's tenacious perseverance and Liu Shixian's miraculous change of fate, the gap was not too obvious, and at times they could even suppress each other!
However, with the complete growth and maturity of Rui Zhao and Lei Qi, two representatives of the "post-05" generation, China has monopolized all the World Championships for the past year and a half!
After finally waiting for Rui Zhao to temporarily retire from the professional Go world and Lei Qi to be eliminated by Liu Shixian due to poor form, it was thought that the young master of the Liu family could finally win a world championship again after a long time and restore the prestige of South Korean Go. However, unexpectedly, the opponent, Lin Ruixin, a veteran in his thirties who should have been on the decline, was able to suppress the country's leading figure, Liu Shixian, to such a miserable state!

This huge sense of disappointment naturally made everyone quite down.

Li Tingyan keenly sensed the oppressive atmosphere in the lounge. He coughed lightly, forcing a relaxed smile, trying to ease the tension.
"...Ah, there's no need to be so pessimistic!"
"Xiao Liu isn't so easy to lose to."

Old Li's voice carried a hint of reassurance, while simultaneously affirming Liu Shixian's abilities:

"The reason why Lin Ruixin has not been given an opportunity before is partly because his skill level has indeed improved against his age, but also because he is willing to spend time thinking about it."

"But Lin Ruixin's time limit has just expired, and the countdown has already begun. I suppose..."

"It's time for Koyanagi to make his own move!"

As if to confirm Li Tingyan's words, as soon as he finished speaking, a crisp sound of a piece being placed came from the game room on the screen!
Urged on by the countdown, Lin Ruixin hurriedly made his 128th move – a top strike!
This move clearly aims to force Black to make its large group of stones live in the upper area! Otherwise, if White follows up with a move that involves a hook or a thrust, the entire Black group in the upper area will be in danger of becoming lifeless!

However, Liu Shixian seemed to have anticipated this move!
Without any hesitation, he decisively tapped the upper right corner!
This is a sharp probing move, intended to test White's response and find possible weaknesses!
White had no choice but to stick together, but when Liu Shixian immediately followed up with another move, Lin Ruixin clearly felt the pressure! He used up a precious delay and ultimately chose to reinforce the cut point in the center!

This move is to ensure that one can continue to extend towards the center of the abdomen.

At that very moment, Liu Shixian keenly seized this fleeting opportunity—first breaking through, then climbing all the way over!
This series of combined moves was efficient and decisive: not only did it successfully revitalize the large group of black stones above, but it also cleverly severed the connection of the white stones above, continuing to put pressure on the opponent! Seeing that the white stones above that had been severed were not completely alive, Lin Ruixin fell into a long period of contemplation!
He frowned, his eyes scanning the chessboard rapidly, clearly assessing the complex situation. In the end, after using up two more delays, he chose to connect the remaining pieces, honestly linking the group that wasn't fully alive.

However, it was this seemingly simple act that caused a sudden shift in the AI's win rate curve!

Black's winning percentage, which was originally only 5.4%, skyrocketed to 25.6% in an instant!

The game, which had been one-sided since the beginning, suddenly became suspenseful!
...

...

"...Ah! Lin Ruixin's move received a bad review from the AI!"

Meanwhile, in a studio at the Huaxia Chess Academy in Dajing City, Huaxia.

When the screen displayed Lin Ruixin's 136th sticky move being rated as a "mistake" by the AI, Song Jin, who was in charge of today's explanation, frowned instantly and then let out a soft sigh of regret:
“Lin Ruixin, a 9-dan player, made a move that is actually quite understandable here. Under time pressure, after playing for almost four hours, he may not have been able to calculate the local variations clearly and dared not take the risk of cutting off the group of stones above.”

"But in the AI's view, this move was clearly too slow. A decisive move was needed to jump into the center to break through the territory. If Black dared to cut, then White would counter-cut the Black stones in the upper right and start a ko fight—in the AI's view, Black could not win this ko."

"As a result, with time running out, Lin Ruixin couldn't calculate clearly. Because of this hesitation, Liu Shixian 9-dan immediately extended the move, repairing the connection and breaking the gap, and White's advantage was reduced to only half a point to one and a half points..."

"Teacher Fan, in my opinion, when Black just opened up the first line, White should have just honestly closed up as well, right?!"

"This simplifies the situation at the top."

"...Um..."

"From our God's perspective, that's certainly true..."

"But in actual gameplay, it's not that simple!"

Fan Zhuo, who was the commentator today, first affirmed Song Jin's observation, and then changed the subject:
"If White plays like this, Black, who has the initiative, will undoubtedly cut in the center without hesitation!"
"Although on the surface White may still have a winning percentage of over 90%, Black has instantly gained enormous potential in the center! In terms of territory alone, Black may have already taken the lead—a situation that Lin Ruixin can hardly tolerate!"
"I can only say that Liu Shixian is indeed worthy of his reputation; he seized the opportunity very skillfully."

The coach of the Beijing team spoke with a hint of admiration:
"Although he didn't get a chance in the first half of the game, he still managed to leave a lot of clues through his various harassing tactics, forcing Lin Ruixin to be unable to win easily."

"Once Lin Ruixin ran out of time, Liu Shixian immediately launched an attack! And without enough time, Lin Ruixin played more conservatively!"
"Now, both sides will focus on the final shaping of the midsection! This is also the most difficult part of this match... um..."

"It feels exactly the same as the last game!"

Just as Fan Zhuo said, in the first game of yesterday's final, after a long stalemate and a close game, the two sides engaged in the final battle in the complex midfield shaping stage!

Under similar time pressure, Lin Ruixin seemed to lack energy in the second half of the game and made an imprecise move at a crucial moment, ultimately failing to achieve his goal and losing by a narrow margin of one and a half points!

It's obvious that Liu Shixian wants to repeat yesterday's tactics! He wants to use time pressure and a complex situation to force his opponent into making a mistake!

And this time, he succeeded once again!

On the screen, the game continues.

Faced with an extremely complex central shaping scenario, the two top players, pressed by time, danced on the edge of a knife with every move! Their win rate curves fluctuated wildly like a rollercoaster!

The AI's recommended locations are also changing rapidly, demonstrating the high degree of uncertainty in the situation!
Overall, the odds of winning for both sides are narrowing, and Lin Ruixin's slight advantage of about one and a half points is being gradually eroded by Liu Shixian!

By move 208, Black's winning percentage had risen to 40%!

This is not just a half-point victory; it's a situation where even the AI ​​is unsure who will ultimately win!

The situation has reached its final stage!
In the studio, Song Jin and Fan Zhuo held their breath, their eyes fixed on the screen. For a moment, the only sounds in the studio were the simulated sound of chess pieces falling onto the board and the two of them breathing softly.

On the small chessboard, two players are engaged in the ultimate battle of will and skill.

The balance of victory swayed violently with subtle shifts; while time, like an hourglass about to run out of sand, urged on the final move... (End of Chapter)