Go: Is the portable old man the nine-time champion?

Chapter 144 Making a Spoon Flow

Shen Junmin looked up at Yi Zheng sitting opposite him with slight dissatisfaction. In his opinion, a junior player like Yi Zheng should take the initiative to greet a senior like himself.

After all, in Silla, the "senior culture" is deeply ingrained. If a lower-ranking Silla person greeted someone with honorifics instead of bowing, and Shin Junmin nodded, the other person would not dare to sit down.

Yi Zheng sat down without saying a word, showing that China's new generation is becoming increasingly impolite.

Seeing the somewhat dissatisfied look in the other person's eyes, Yi Zheng glanced at it but didn't care, and directly opened the fan in his hand and started fanning himself.

Although the venue had central air conditioning, the temperature inside didn't feel very low because of the large number of people on those floors.

As the athletes from various countries began to enter and take their seats, the competition venue gradually became noisy, as people tend to chat with acquaintances after seeing each other.

How can we communicate if we're not from the same country? You can play Go but can't speak Chinese?

But as the match time drew closer, the noise gradually subsided, as everyone realized that the match was about to begin.

Until the referee's voice rang out.

"Asian Cup Comprehensive Qualifying Tournament, Group 30, Round 1! This competition adopts the number system Go rules. The competition officially begins. Please guess first."

Upon hearing this, Shen Junmin grabbed a handful of white stones and held them in his hand, while Yi Zheng took out two black stones and placed them on the board.

Shin Junmin saw the two black stones he had placed and loosened his grip, revealing two white stones as well.

Even numbers are represented by the black symbol.

The two nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and Shin Junmin immediately turned on the timer next to him, officially starting the competition.

"Playing black is just a slightly better rule in terms of numerical representation."

Yun Linglei, serving as the chief referee for this event, was free to enter and exit various venues. Naturally, he immediately headed to the table where Yi Zheng and Shen Junmin were competing.

Unfortunately, the first piece of news they received was not good.

However, although Yi Zheng was playing black, the Asian Cup uses a number system, with black receiving a six-and-a-half-point komi. Therefore, the burden on black is much less than the seven-and-a-half-point komi system.

"However... Yi Zhengzhibai is undoubtedly stronger."

Many chess players are unbalanced in certain areas, but Yi Zheng's imbalance is definitely too great.

The win rate of playing white is much higher than that of playing black. Even in Chinese number-based games, this difference in win rate is somewhat abnormal.

Yun Linglei paid quite a bit of attention to this junior brother, after all, if this guy really grew up, he would be the one to take his title.

Yun Linglei believed that he was still young and that he could definitely survive for another five years without any major problems, and that he would definitely be able to survive until Yi Zheng seized power.

The best outcome would be to repel the first wave of attacks, and then have power seized and a handover between the old and new leaders completed.

Therefore, Yun Linglei was also paying attention to his future opponents in advance.

"So it's even more difficult now. Choosing a 3-3 formation and a small eye at the start, is the goal to secure territory first? It is indeed a relatively safe approach."

Yun Linglei nodded in approval as he looked at Yi Zheng's initial strategic intentions. Choosing to cash in when one's strength is inferior to that of the opponent was undoubtedly a good option.

"Of course it's a pity. No matter how good the intention or how strong the strategy, it's useless in the face of absolute power!"

Shen Junmin glanced at Yi Zheng sitting opposite him. He checked the news and found out that this guy had actually defeated the three well-known Chinese musketeers and made it to the finals of the Chinese Rookie King competition.

After all, the Three Musketeers are hailed as the future pillars of Chinese Go. Even if Shin Junmin were to encounter these three, he would not be careless and would be wary of being caught off guard.

However, after watching the game, Shen Junmin felt that in Miao Jun's game, under that situation, he had no idea how the fat guy lost.

Of all the ways to victory, Miao Jun chose the one that would lead to failure, which is simply laughable.

Faced with Yi Zheng's imitation of AlphaGo's 3-3 point, Shin Junmin chose the simplest response: block and extend, turning the stone into a single stick. Move 21, Black, point!

"Aren't you willing to handle this simply?"

Seeing Yi Zheng's move, Shen Junmin instantly understood Yi Zheng's thoughts.

Shen Junmin handled things very simply at the beginning of the game to avoid being tricked by the opponent's strategies and tactics, but Yi Zheng was clearly unwilling to let Shen Junmin handle things so easily.

After all, by the middle game, Shin Junmin, a 9-dan player, should be stronger than Yi Zheng no matter what.

In a normal match, Shen Junmin would definitely not mind having a chaotic brawl with Yi Zheng and then just killing this little brat.

However, Shin Junmin would not do as Yi Zheng wished. He came with the important mission of securing extra spots for Silla, so he had to play it safe.

Simple and substantial.

"What an old tortoise."

Seeing Shen Junmin's method of attack, Yi Zheng couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Using this turtle shell method against a young man like me."

However, Yi Zheng still followed his strategy of first securing territory and then clearing it, and completely plundered all four corners of the board.

"They really went all out!"

Seeing Yi Zheng frantically securing territory, Shen Junmin quickly determined his own strategy, expanding his position on the left and below.

After more than ninety moves, Yun Linglei, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but shake his head and choose to leave.

Yi Zheng's strategy in this game was too greedy. Despite the opponent's rapidly expanding momentum, he still chose to frantically try to gain territory. How could he win like that?

Now that Shin Junmin's formation is basically complete, it will be extremely difficult for him to win.

Even Shin Junmin himself felt that in this game, given the current situation, it was impossible to score an attack.

Although it was expected, Yun Linglei couldn't help but sigh. Creating miracles is not so simple. Even legendary figures rarely create miracles.

In fact, each one is worthy of being remembered by the world.

Move 96, White, move 'Suppress'!

Seeing this, Yi Zheng knew he had finally angered Shen Junmin.

Yi Zheng acted so greedily because he knew Shen Junmin would definitely have a temper.

Every human being experiences emotional fluctuations; even a clay idol has a temper.

Especially when you're facing repeated provocations from someone who's clearly less capable than you, it's incredibly difficult to remain calm and collected.

Even if Shen Junmin initially approached the game with a cautious mindset, it was impossible for him not to harbor murderous intent given Yi Zheng's constant contempt and the fact that he had already gained the upper hand.

That's how people are; once they have an advantage, they start to get carried away and become arrogant.

Yi Zheng believes that defeating Shen Junmin through normal, head-on battles is an impossible task, so he must find the opponent's weaknesses to achieve victory.

Although Shin Junmin often makes blunders in the second half of the game, you can't bet that he will do the same in this game.

Placing your hopes of victory on your opponent is truly a form of slow death.

As Coach Ke said before the match, you can't just wait for your opponent to throw a scoop; what you need to do is help your opponent throw a scoop.

"But that's how it is! Anger will cloud your judgment, and once you lose your senses, you become... a sieve!"

Ko's Go Method - Spoon-Making Flow!
(End of this chapter)