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

Chapter 265 Drawing Lots
"Wow, this... this Rui Zhao is really exaggerating!"

At 10 pm on the same day, in the Tsubaki Hotel in Toudou, the capital of Japan.

Angelina, who was browsing news about the tournament on her laptop, suddenly let out a small exclamation.

Xu Nanying, 2nd Dan, who was analyzing the chess records of potential opponents, couldn't help but look over, blinked slightly and asked in a calm tone:
"What, what's wrong?"

An Huilin turned the computer around and showed it to Xu Nanying:

"Look! So many media reporters are waiting for her at the airport tonight! If you don't know, you might think she's some big star in the entertainment industry!"

Big Star...

Xu Nanying looked carefully and saw that the computer screen was playing a news report about the Chinese delegation arriving in Dongying City.

In the news footage, there were quite a lot of media reporters guarding the airport exit with all kinds of cameras, and when the Chinese team appeared, they immediately surrounded them.

The media's target is highly consistent, which is naturally "the strongest new first-dan in Chinese history", "the creator of the first women's game", and "the most beautiful woman in Chinese Go" - Rui Zhao, second-dan.

However, the person involved did not expect such a situation at all. He was so frightened that he immediately shrank behind another plump, short-haired young woman like a frightened hamster, and did not show any willingness to answer questions. The scene was very awkward and chaotic.

Finally, it was Lu Wenjie, vice chairman of the Chinese Chess Association, who took the initiative to cut off the media reporters from being interviewed, which allowed Rui Zhao to successfully board the organizing committee's vehicle and rush to Chunzhuang Hotel, the venue of the competition.

Xu Nanying was speechless for a moment:
"Isn't she a host? Why is she so camera-shy?"

"Uh……"

An Huilin was completely stunned, and couldn't figure out the reason. She could only scratch her head and said:

“Although I don’t know much about it, I have to say that Rui Zhao is indeed quite special.

"Those who have better grades than her are not as pretty as her, and those who are prettier than her...

"Uh……

"Well, there is no one prettier than her in the chess circle. If you can get a little closer to her, her main focus will not be on the official competition.

"As a result, such a person would actually come to such an important competition as the ring match...tsk tsk."

"She... is quite amazing."

The fifteen-year-old girl Xu Nanying gave a simple answer, but she felt quite uneasy in her heart.

The reason is very simple: Xiao Nanying was not very happy about leaving the Dongjiang Women's Team - even though she received half of the salary for the second half of the season for nothing.

After all, signing a contract with a foreign club is quite troublesome.

It's just that she was indeed in the wrong this time about the Lakeside Cup. In addition, Shao Hui and Zou Yang, who had taken good care of her in the first half of the season, were begging her eagerly, so Xu Nanying finally gave in and accompanied the Dongjiang women's team to finish the whole show.

...But is Rui Zhao really worthy of their pursuit?

I am only fifteen years old. In three years, I may be worse than Rui Zhao!

Xu Nanying, who was replaced, was secretly a little dissatisfied. So since she was selected, she has been working hard to study Rui Zhao, hoping to prove herself in the ring competition.

Fortunately, Rui Zhao has been live-streaming his online chess practice recently, and he plays every game very seriously, which provides Xiao Nanying with a lot of research material.

However, as Xu Nanying's research became more and more in-depth, she felt that something was wrong.

Because she began to feel that as time went by, Rui Zhao's chess skills seemed to be getting stronger!
Although it is an objective law that one becomes better at Go the more one practices, it would be extremely scary if one could feel it in a short period of time.

What kind of monster is this!
I heard that she was actually happy during a live broadcast recently!

After complaining a little in her heart, Xiao Nanying immediately turned her gaze back to the screen and continued to analyze the numerous chess games that Rui Zhao had played online recently...

...

...

"Hmm? You said...you'll be the vanguard?!"

At 10:16 p.m. on October , in the conference room of the Dongying Chess Institute.

Hiroaki Shindo, who was attending the Nongshim Cup operational meeting, was a little surprised when he heard his teammates' suggestions.

After all, the one who made the suggestion was one of the "Three Birds of Reiwa", the holder of the three titles of [Kisei], [Tengen] and [Honinbo], and the number one player in Japan today: Takuya Ichijo.

"Ichichi... can you tell me the reason?"

The 26-year-old No. 1 man in Japan, with a handsome face and a lean and upright figure, answered directly.

"Shinto Ouzu, this time China directly let Lei Qi play as the vanguard. It is obvious that he has not fully recovered from his slump since the Chinese Chess Saint Tournament. Recently, he lost to Shangguan Sheng in the fifth round of the Chinese Weiqi League on October 10, which is an example.

"I think that instead of deploying troops step by step and giving him a chance to recover, it is better to attack continuously and fight hard!
"If we can successfully defeat this future world No. 1 who is very likely to succeed Liu Shixian in the first stage at home, it will undoubtedly be a great encouragement for us in Japanese Go."

After hearing this, Shindo Hiroaki completely understood the thoughts of his junior.

After all, for Japan, whose current strength is completely insufficient to compete with China and South Korea, it is a bit unrealistic to want to win the Nongshim Cup.

The key is to be able to defeat the opponent's key figures, achieve more victories, save one's own face, and boost domestic morale.

"……I see.

"But one thing is, even if Lei Qi is in a bad state now, you will still be at a disadvantage if you go there." Yes, that's right.

Even though Takuya Ichijo is the holder of three titles in Japan and the best player in the world, judging from the recent competitions, he is only at the level of a weak ninth dan in China, and can only be ranked around 20th in China at best.

However, Takuya Ichijo answered decisively:
“That’s more than enough!

"If you have to be absolutely sure before you dare to play chess, then what kind of chess player are you?"

That is indeed...

Hearing the answer from his junior, Shindo Hiroaki nodded with a smile.

Even though this 26-year-old "younger generation" would be considered old if he were sent to China...

"…But if you go first, who will be the commander in chief?"

"Of course it's you, the throne!"

Takuya Ichijo answered decisively:
“I have communicated with Ueno and Tokugawa, and they both agree with my idea.

"Originally, your strength and mine were on par with each other. In the Honinbo tournament, you were a little exhausted so I was lucky enough to win in the last set.

"The Nongshim Cup is a fast game, which is more friendly to veteran chess players like you. Two years ago, you achieved the longest four-game winning streak in the history of the Nongshim Cup in Japan, and led us to the first Nongshim Cup runner-up in nearly 20 years.

"I think it's most appropriate for you to be the captain. Maybe you can lead us to second place again!"

Let me come...

Shindo Hiroaki couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Although it may seem to outsiders that taking the initiative to be the vanguard to pick on the weak is an opportunistic behavior, those who have a practical understanding know that things are far from being as simple as they seem.

Because the order of appearance in the competition directly reflects the players' strength level to a large extent, it can be regarded as an official certification in a sense.

Like China's Shang Chaotian and Lin Ruixin, South Korea's Cui Minghao and Liu Shixian, these recognized leaders of a country have never let the main general fall into the hands of others once they reach the peak.

In the past two years, Hiroaki Shindo has handed over the two major titles of "Kisei" and "Honinbo" to Takuya Ichijo twice with a total score of 3:4, basically announcing the replacement of the number one player in Japan.

At a time when the new king was establishing his authority, Takuya Ichijo actually took the initiative to propose this "lowering of status" suggestion, which made the Japanese throne quite pleased.

But...

There is one sentence that needs to be corrected.

The usually polite Shindo Hiroaki immediately made a little joke to cheer up the players:

"Hey, Yitiao. If you want to go to Xialeiqi, I have no objection.

"But... don't have no confidence in me!
"Although I am much worse than Liu Shixian, it doesn't mean that I can't win! Maybe we can win the championship this time!"

Unfortunately, it was different from what Shindo Oza had expected, where the team members would happily banter with each other.

His words suddenly chilled the atmosphere in the entire conference room.

Everyone present except him was suddenly at a loss, with an awkward but polite expression on their faces.

Shindo Hiroaki, the number one man in Japan, felt his cheeks burning and his toes digging into the ground:
Speaking of which...you younger generations, why are you so disrespectful?
Can't you just agree with me superficially?!
Can't any of you read the air?!
...

...

The time came to the evening of October 10th.

At 7 o'clock that evening, the opening ceremony of the 25th "Nongshim Ramen Cup" and the 2nd "Lakeside Cup" was held at the prestigious Dongdu Chunzhuang Hotel.

Due to the presence of a certain beautiful 2nd dan player and the unremitting publicity of the Dongying Chess Institute, there were so many media from the three countries that they registered to attend the opening ceremony that the huge venue seemed to be packed.

After speeches by guests from various countries and executives of Nongshim Group, the opening ceremony finally came to the truly meaningful part - the drawing of lots.

Because it is a three-kingdom competition, two of the parties must be determined to start the game.

But in this case, the side with a bye in the first round will undoubtedly have the advantage, so this matter can only be decided by drawing lots.

Unlike the last Wu Yue Cup, Vice Chairman Lu had pretty good luck this time.

Both the men's and women's teams avoided the first round of matches, which was undoubtedly a good draw.

After the draw results are announced, according to convention, the participating teams on the first day need to announce their pioneer candidates on the spot at the same time.

Finally, the first round of the Lakeside/Nongshim Cup to be held tomorrow is:

Lakeside Cup - South Korea's Heo Nam-young, 2nd dan, versus Japan's Sakurai Miko, 3rd dan.

Nongshim Cup - South Korea's Cho So-hyun, 8th dan, vs. Japan's Takuya Ichijo, 9th dan.

With such a result, South Korea's deployment can be described as mediocre - it just puts the player who is recognized as the weakest at the vanguard.

However, the two pioneer candidates from Japan caused an uproar in the media.

Xiao Zhao is expected to start her first game in the challenge match tomorrow.



(End of this chapter)