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

Chapter 156 A Hundred Schools of Thought Contend [Fifth Update! Bonus Chapter for 4000 Monthly Tickets]

"Welcome to the live game program 'The World of Chess,' exclusively sponsored by XXX. Today's featured game is the final of Group 4 of the Asian Qualifiers for the Junior Division of the Asia-Europe-Asia Challenge."

The match will feature Yi Zheng, 1-dan from Malaysia, against Lee Chong Rui, 7-dan from Malaysia. In other matches, Malaysia has already secured three final spots, including one where Shen Gu Hong will face Park Jimin, 6-dan from Silla.

I am your host today, An Jing, 3-dan. My partner today is Ma Zhaoxu, 9-dan, who will be providing commentary on this game. Please welcome Mr. Ma.

As An Jing spoke, she clapped. Ma Zhaoxu was considered a rather heavyweight guest on the show, and it was considered good if he came once or twice a year.

"Hello everyone, chess fans and viewers, I am Ma Zhaoxu."

Ma Zhaoxu also greeted the camera: "It feels like it's been a long time since I've given a lecture on chess, so I've come here specifically to give you a lecture this time."

"Speaking of which, Yi Zheng, a first-dan player, is also a favorite student of Coach Ma, and his performance this year can be described as very good."

Speaking of this, Ma Zhaoxu was no longer sleepy: "Actually, it's not too bad. Many young people participate in competitions and achieve some results, but the best they can do is reach the top four in the National Business Competition. But at this age, they still need to work hard. There is still a certain gap between them and the world's top level."

However, Yi Zheng is also very good. I don't have to worry about him much. He trains very actively every day. He is a very rare player who is both hardworking and talented.

The upcoming Rookie King competition, featuring a match against Shen Guhong, promises to be a highly anticipated event. This generation of Chinese talents is exceptionally talented, and we hope they will achieve even greater success for China in the future.

"However, young people also have really great energy. Yi Zheng, a first-dan player, has participated in almost every competition every month.

However, because the tournaments I've participated in are of a high standard, my rating has risen significantly, but I haven't yet accumulated enough games to reach the required rank for the first dan.

In Chinese professional Go, promotion to each rank requires meeting two criteria: the number of games played and the average score.

Simply put, ranking points can be calculated in any official match, but the responsibility points for promotion can only be calculated up to the two ranks above and below your current rank. Therefore, Yi Zheng can only be promoted by playing official matches against players at the rank of 1st to 3rd dan.

A first-dan player wins against a third-dan player by 100 points, a first-dan player wins against a second-dan player by 95 points, a first-dan player wins against a first-dan player by 90 points, a first-dan player loses to a third-dan player by 30 points, a first-dan player loses to a second-dan player by 35 points, and a first-dan player loses to a third-dan player by 40 points.

棋手可从责任对局数平均分三个层级中选择最有利的条件晋升，例如初段可通过12局平均75分、16局平均70分或20局平均67.5分都可升段。

Because the issue of mismatches between players is sometimes taken into consideration, a ranking tournament is held simultaneously with the ranking tournament every year, where players are matched with players of the same rank and the matches are counted towards the ranking points.

If Yi Zheng participates this year, his rank will most likely rise to second dan, or even close to third dan.

However, Ma Zhaoxu shook his head when he heard this: "He probably won't participate in this year's promotion tournament. Both he and I think that this kind of competition doesn't mean much to him."

Playing chess with other kids is like bullying them; playing piecemeal is too tiring.

I told him before, "Didn't you qualify for next year's Asian Cup main tournament? Win the Asian Cup title in one go and you'll be promoted to 9-dan immediately."

Of course, Ma Zhaoxu's statement was purely a joke with Yi Zheng. After all, even if the Asian Cup final is not to be held until the end of next year, Yi Zheng will only have been a professional for two and a half years by then. How could he possibly win the Asian Cup?

However, An Jing was also shocked to hear this. She didn't expect that the master and disciple would be so arrogant and dare to say such things directly.

Anjing gave an awkward laugh: "The competition should be starting soon. Let's take a look at the footage from the scene."

Today's opponent is Lee Chong Rui, a 7-dan player from Malaysia. He has achieved a semi-final appearance in the Asian Cup and a quarter-final appearance in the Asian International Championship. Last year, he won the Best Newcomer Award in the World Go League and is hailed as a rising star in the Asian Go world.

Both players on the field could be seen holding their breath, waiting for the match to begin.

Yi Zheng nodded at Li Zongrui across from him. The two did not exchange much, but they had already prepared countless game records of each other.

Everything needs to be clarified in today's game of chess.

Although we speak the same language, there is no need for many words.

A game of chess on the board is worth a thousand words. After the coin toss, Li Zongrui played black and made the first move.

As soon as Yi Zheng turned on the timer next to him, Li Zongrui placed his piece on the star position without any hesitation.

The moment the timer started, Yi Zheng felt that the person opposite him had completely changed his aura.

If Li Zongrui seemed very shy and introverted while chatting outside, although he could talk freely among acquaintances, his frequent hand-wringing revealed his lack of confidence.

However, the moment he placed the piece, his entire demeanor changed dramatically; Li Zongrui's eyes even became filled with intense aggression.

Yi Zheng felt that the hawk-like gaze that his country's media had described to him was not an exaggeration.

But Yi Zheng really liked that look in his eyes.

"Because I like war."

Both sides opted for a double-star move. Lee Zongrui tentatively placed the ball in the corner, while Yi Zheng simply defended the corner with a small flyback. Lee Zongrui then launched a swift attack.

There was no hesitation.

Seventh move, Black plays at the 3-3 point!

Just as Yi Zheng corrupted the entire Yunyi and even the other seven major chess academies back then, the AlphaGo account spread the corruption of the 3-3 point to the whole world.

Some believe that the opening move at the 3-3 point will become a signature move in Go in the future, representing an innovative step.

Others also believe that this move is an insult to Go, an unacceptable move, as it involves playing the 3-3 point position. Is this still Go?

This move has been rejected by many high-level players, leading many young Go players around the world to adopt a wait-and-see attitude towards it.

But Li Zongrui is different. Although he is only nineteen years old, he is already number one in his country in terms of both achievements and strength.

The athletes from their country could only provide him with sparring and logistical support; there was no one who could guide or teach him.

Therefore, he has to rely on his own exploration and practice against players from other countries.

Lee Zongrui is very grateful for the Internet age, which allows him to play chess with players from other countries anytime, anywhere, even outside of regular league and international competitions.

Unfortunately, he missed several of AlphaGo's online appearances and has yet to play against it.

But he had studied AlphaGo's game records countless times, and even when playing online, he would constantly experiment with the opponent's moves and think about the subsequent variations.

Moreover, although the 3-3 point move, along with some other moves, has been met with a lot of criticism, many other moves have also been welcomed and have broadened people's thinking. Many players have also boldly innovated their own chess strategies.

In some respects, professional Go has recently presented a flourishing scene of diverse schools of thought competing for dominance.

As Ke Lao watched the game unfold, he couldn't help but recall many years ago, when artificial intelligence was just emerging. Apart from Master, the other AIs were neither particularly strong nor weak.

Master's innovative moves have inspired many, and everyone is constantly innovating their own strategies, feeling that they cannot be bound by the original fixed ideas, believing that the future will be an era of diverse schools of thought.

However, after the publication of the AlphaGo paper, the strength of other artificial intelligences also experienced explosive growth. Other artificial intelligences, which were losing to humans in 17, suddenly evolved to the point where they directly defeated humans to the point of giving them a two-stone handicap.

Artificial intelligence's methods have become the correct answer, at least in the eyes of humans. The debate among various schools of thought has been silenced overnight, and AI has become the sole dominant force.

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(End of this chapter)