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

Chapter 184 Can the world have a crown prince who reigns for ten years?

"Chen, Eighth Duan".

"good afternoon."

Looking at Yi Zheng sitting down, Chen Yanran nodded: "This should be our first time playing chess, right? We haven't even played against each other in training."

Yi Zheng recalled what he heard: "Yes, I don't think we ever played against each other during internal training in the national team. Miao Jun was the one-on-one mentor I received back then."

Previously, the national team implemented a policy of one-on-one mentoring between national team members and national youth team members, and Miao Jun naturally volunteered to mentor Yi Zheng.

Yi Zheng was happy to see this happen, because if it were someone slightly older, there might have been more problems.

"The national team selection is about to begin this year, and with your level, getting into the national team shouldn't be a problem."

"Hmm, that should be about right."

Yi Zheng nodded upon hearing this. With his current strength, he shouldn't have much trouble getting into the national team. After all, those ranked higher in the rankings don't need to go through the selection process and can directly enter. As for the strength of the others, Yi Zheng felt that he shouldn't be afraid.

Take Chen Yanran, an 8-dan player, for example. He was directly selected for the national team with a Chinese ranking of seventh.

Chen Yanran, an 8-dan player, is a Go player from North China. He was once the champion of the National Championship, which is why he earned the 8-dan rank.

In some ways, this person's fate was also quite tragic.

There's a feeling that I've always lived in his shadow.

In this world, ranks above 7 cannot be obtained through normal promotion; you must win a championship to receive the corresponding rank rewards.

Therefore, there is no such thing as a blank slate 9-dan like Kosei Tecmo (9-dan but without a single championship title).

Those who can achieve a rank of 7 or higher are geniuses among geniuses, and such geniuses undoubtedly show their talent in their youth.

Chen Yanran was the same. As a native of Ji, he showed extraordinary talent when he learned Go from a young age. By the age of ten, he was invincible throughout Ji Province and had no rivals.

Then it was sucked into the capital city.

Beijing: Talented people? Bring them here!

Hebei Province can be considered a blessed place in some ways. After all, it is served by two municipalities directly under the central government. No other province in the country can compare to such a blessing.

Although it has been almost completely absorbed by the two municipalities, and even the border between the capital and them is full of dead-end roads.

Everyone says that Brother Nan's provincial capital city status is not good, and Fatty only knows how to leech off his own brothers, but who knew that Brother Zhuang's GDP is not even as high as Tangshan's, and he doesn't leech off his own brothers at all.

Zhuang: Did I not want to suck? They sucked it all dry! I couldn't suck any at all!

However, after Chen Yanran went to Beijing, he encountered the biggest rival in his life, or rather, the biggest shadow in his life, Jiang Mobai, who was four years older than him.

He was older than him, more skilled than him, and even three centimeters taller than him.

Given Chen Yanran's skill level, if she were in a different region, even if she couldn't hold onto the title, she would at least be able to get one.

However, he happened to run into Jiang Mobai in North China, and to this day, he has never received a title.

However, Chen Yanran was equally stubborn and determined to fight Jiang Mobai to the death. She was determined to take the title from him, because if she didn't take it from him, it wouldn't be a title to her!
He seemed determined to smash the wall with his head, even if it meant hitting it headfirst.

Therefore, Chen Yanran is also jokingly referred to by many as the executive vice national champion, because he is a national champion challenger every year, rain or shine, and is even hailed by many as the crown prince.

After all, among the middle-aged generation in their early twenties, Chen Yanran is the strongest.

However, this crown prince position is completely devoid of presence. After all, the emperor is only twenty-six years old and in his prime, several powerful ministers are eyeing the throne covetously, other princes also covet the throne, not to mention the grandchildren who all harbor ambitions to usurp it. "It's difficult."

Chen Yanran couldn't help but shake his head. How could a prince last ten years?

However, the age gap between Chen Yanran and Jiang Mobai is too small, and their peak periods largely overlap. Unless Chen Yanran completely surpasses Jiang Mobai, it is basically impossible for him to succeed to the throne.

After all, if Jiang Mobai is thirty years old, Chen Yanran would be twenty-six.

Chen Yanran appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, she was extremely anxious, feeling as if her life was in grave danger.

This impatience is not jealousy, but a competitive spirit.

Without such a competitive spirit, one is not worthy of being called a first-class chess player, and may never even win a championship in their lifetime.

Looking at Yi Zheng sitting opposite her with his eyes closed, Chen Yanran knew that this was probably her biggest rival in the future.

To suppress the opponent, you must suppress Yi Zheng from the very beginning.

So I have to win this game.

Meanwhile, Yi Zheng on the other side also felt that the atmosphere at the scene was a bit heavy, as this match was already the semi-final.

Yi Zheng will face off against Chen Yanran, an 8-dan player.

On the other side, Yun Linglei was facing another player, Dongfang Xiang, a seventh-dan player.

Yi Zheng took a deep breath, because he had previously failed in the semifinals of the national competition, so he hoped to break through that record this time.

"Damn it!"

Hearing the noises from Mr. Ke beside him, Yi Zheng felt speechless again, his carefully cultivated emotions being interrupted once more.

Why does it seem like Old Ke is easily startled by anything he sees, and he keeps blurting out something incomprehensible?

"Where is this Dongfang Xiang from? How did a basketball player end up playing Go? Is it because Kobe Bryant cracked his 'Kanglong Buhui' whirlwind dunk?"

When the legend of absolute invincibility is to be broken forever, a fight is necessary! What was the rest of the song again…?

Old Ke, watching Yun Linglei and Dongfang Xiang sitting on either side, began to sing to himself: "I never noticed before, Yun Linglei, if you read it backwards, it's Lei Lingyun. It's a pity you don't have the Divine Brain Pill, you can't become the Great Ming Chess Saint."

Thinking of this, Old Ke couldn't help but shake his head. It was only because there was no drug testing in the Ming Dynasty that Lei Lingyun would have been arrested on the spot.

However, this kind of drug only exists in anime; it cannot be developed in reality.

Anyway, Mr. Ke can't think of anything that can instantly unleash the brain's potential; eating mushrooms will only lead to poisoning.

Moreover, using this thing to play Go is such a waste. If it could really make the brain explode with activity and increase thinking level by a lot, it would cause some top researchers to make breakthroughs.

"Science and technology are the primary productive forces..."

Mr. Ke couldn't help but sigh, "Even Go has achieved an explosive leap forward thanks to the advancement of science and technology."

Just as Mr. Ke was still reflecting, the referee's voice rang out.

"The Agon Kiriyama Cup, semi-final of the main tournament, is now officially beginning! Players, please guess who goes first!"

P.S.: What are your thoughts on the new rules for Go in South Korea? Players are only allowed one bathroom break per match, and this must be with the referee's permission, with the break not exceeding five minutes. (Note: Most world tournament matches last around five or six hours.)
(End of this chapter)