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

Chapter 185 Preemptive Strike
Chen Yanran opened with a small eye, and Yi Zheng responded with a small eye. Then both sides began to fight for control of the large areas, and there was no extreme situation like Qi Ling's attack at the start of the previous game.

After all, when the board is completely empty at the start, every move is valuable, and both sides can focus on seizing large areas and dividing up territory.

When the existing resources are almost exhausted, the market turns from a blue ocean to a red ocean. Both sides have to fight tooth and nail over every single move, even risking the life or death of their own large group of stones.

Neither side played the 3-3 formation in this game. Yi Zheng did so because Chen Yanran made a mistake in the small-objective opening and there was no 3-3 formation to play. Chen Yanran doesn't like playing the 3-3 formation.

Or rather, he was skeptical of Dian San San and did not fully endorse it.

Chen Yanran is also one of the representatives among active Go players who are unwilling to play the 3-3 point. It's not that he's stubborn; according to him, he hasn't understood the theoretical basis of playing the 3-3 point.

In this situation, randomly choosing a three-three bet might lead to a difficult and dangerous situation.

In Chen Yanran's view, playing chess definitely requires one's own logic, especially in the opening patterns. One cannot simply accept what others say; one must understand not only what to do but also why to do it.

Chen Yanran said that if he understands the theoretical basis of the three-three rule one day, he will practice the three-three rule, but he will not practice it before that.

After Yi Zheng got close, Chen Yanran did not choose to continue the smooth process. Instead, she directly intervened and demanded to switch sides with Yi Zheng.

Yi Zheng naturally had no objections. The exchange resulted in a two-way situation. After the exchange, Yi Zheng boldly jumped directly to the center and then blocked the black stones in the lower right corner.

"Has it sealed me off? But this sealing is very weak. There are many flaws on the outside. What I need to think about is how to break through its external weaknesses."

Chen Yanran stared at the chessboard and fell into deep thought. However, in a tournament like the Agon Kiriyama Cup, with ten one-minute extensions, three to five minutes was already considered a long thought.

After all, if you were to take a long deliberation period of ten minutes or more like in other competitions, you would run out of time without even having to leave the game.

In other matches where the time limit is two or three hours, some players spend an hour thinking about a single move, and there are even matches where two players finish the time limit in just a dozen or twenty moves.

It's normal for some matches to go on until dark; a game can last for six or seven hours, sometimes even past two mealtimes.

Therefore, athletes must eat and drink something to replenish their energy. Otherwise, if they don't eat or drink anything, or even before the competition, it's not impossible for them to faint during the competition.

Chen Yanran thought for a moment and made a move, but did not cut off the enemy. According to her calculations, if she chose to cut off the enemy, Yi Zheng would have to sacrifice a piece on the left to create a change in the formation. In that case, it would be difficult to disrupt Yi Zheng's formation later.

Chen Yanran didn't want to play complicated variations in this game because he had gone through all of Yi Zheng's game records from the past few months, and Yi Zheng was too good at finding opportunities in complicated situations.

You could say that Yi Zheng's skill level might be lower than others, which is why he wins many matches by turning the tide.

But if he keeps flipping through it, how do you explain that? Who's really bad at it?
In particular, there were many games where the opponent seemed to have a winning hand, both at the time and in hindsight, but Yi Zheng managed to find an opportunity to turn the tide in the midst of a complex situation.

Therefore, Chen Yanran tried her best to keep the game simple and not give Yi Zheng any chance to cause trouble.

"They actually ignored my existence and made another quick buck in the bottom right corner."

Chen Yanran frowned slightly as he looked at the situation on the chessboard, but the timer did not give him much time to let his emotions run wild, and Chen Yanran did not launch an attack directly from above.

“If I attack from above, he can only run to the middle and defend by leaning or jumping.” This was the most normal move Chen Yanran felt, but Yi Zheng completely deviated from the usual path and went straight to the center to make a sharp attack, demanding that he not only make his way to the middle, but also cut off the connection between the top and bottom groups of black stones.

"Sure enough, his chess moves were full of a greedy element."

Chen Yanran had read many of Yi Zheng's game records. Yi Zheng was sometimes too greedy. Although he sometimes gained an advantage, he sometimes made a huge mistake because of it.

It's hard to say whether it's good or bad; it's just a personal style.

For example, Qi Ling is like a madman who immediately demands to fight. He feels great if he wins and dies if he loses.

However, you have to admit that many strong opponents are not used to Qi Ling's style, and this style has helped him defeat many formidable enemies.

Before the era of artificial intelligence, due to the influence of teachers' instruction and individual thinking, chess players' styles were quite different, and each person had their own unique characteristics.

But in the age of artificial intelligence, a completely different saying has emerged: style is a weakness.

The two sides clashed without any major problems, and it could be said that they were evenly matched.

However, Yi Zheng still retains some initiative after making a central cut and forcing the opponent on the right.

Therefore, Chen Yanran chose to directly approach and use his external influence in the middle to cooperate with Yi Zheng in the battle.

After a quick maneuver, Yi Zheng flew down to the right.

Outside the competition venue, Shi Yuhan looked at the chessboard on her phone and couldn't help but wonder, "Isn't the center the most important part right now? Why aren't they moving to either side?"

Shi Yuhan could tell at a glance that the central position was the most important. There was no reason why someone with only a second dan level like herself couldn't see that, let alone two top-level Chinese players.

Then why not leave?
Isn't it better to strike first?

"Because there are no good alternatives right now, taking action first might cause problems."

Sitting next to him, Miao Jun ate a strawberry bread and replied, "Both sides can see that the center is important, but importance doesn't mean it's easy to do."

If you make the first move and reveal a weakness, it will be easier for the opponent to seize on it.

Therefore, both sides expect the other to make the first move, and then follow suit, silently lying in wait for an opportunity to strike back.

Therefore, sometimes striking first is not necessarily advantageous; on the contrary, it may expose weaknesses. This is why both sides know that the central point is the key but do not strike first.

Meanwhile, the live broadcast of this match was also taking place simultaneously.

(End of this chapter)