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

Chapter 187 Easier said than done
"They've started robbing again. These two are really relentless. How many times have they robbed us now?"

Shi Yuhan, watching the new ko fight erupt on the board, couldn't help but complain, "They've started another ko fight! It's never going to end. Is ko fighting really that good?"

"...I think it's pretty good."

Old Ke curled his lip upon hearing this, "Do you have a problem with robbery?"

However, looking at the continuous moves on the chessboard, Mr. Ke felt that the outcome was truly unpredictable.

Since both players have used up their time limit, each move now has to be completed within 30 seconds. Furthermore, the situation isn't particularly straightforward; in the ko fight, either player could make a move that decides the outcome of the game at any moment…

Terrible move.

That's right. Sometimes, what determines the outcome of a game is not a brilliant move, but who makes the final, terrible move.

Unfortunately, people don't have time to calculate these days; most of the time, they rely entirely on intuition and experience.

Just like now, Yi Zheng finally gained an advantage, but because he didn't calculate it correctly, he gave it back. However, he forced the advantage into Chen Yanran's hands, and even though Chen Yanran didn't want it, he pushed it back.

The two of them went back and forth, acting like they were refusing to give out New Year's money, as if the advantageous situation was a hot potato.

It's fair to say that when the two of them reviewed the incident carefully, they had to take turns sweating profusely.

Leaving aside the post-mortem analysis, Yi Zheng is now drenched in a cold sweat.

Because Yi Zheng has now realized that he has no way to kill the black stones in the middle, and he has also realized what kind of mistake he made just now.

In this kind of game, there is no time to be frustrated. Thirty seconds pass in the blink of an eye, and Yi Zheng can only make a quick choice to let the opponent's dragon in the middle live, threatening the Zed fight on the right.

Seeing that the central dragon had come back to life, Chen Yanran breathed a sigh of relief. In his opinion, the situation was finally acceptable, so he decisively chose to attack and capture the dragon that had come back to life.

But upon seeing this, Yi Zheng keenly sensed something: Chen Yanran hadn't rushed forward first?
Yi Zheng: Did you miss another move? Now it's your turn to be sweating buckets!
Judging by the amount of sweat on them right now, people would believe they were playing chess in a sauna.

Move 254, White, connect.

"This part is easy to handle, it's obvious that the basic skills are not solid, and many young people have this problem."

In terms of whether it's alive or dead in this specific area, clamping it is definitely the best option; sticking it on would actually create a problem of survival.

Qi Lu, the commentator, immediately spotted Yi Zheng's flaw, and then, as if he had found some supporting evidence, he began to speak smugly.

But in reality, Yi Zheng could not possibly be unaware of this basic life-or-death issue. He deliberately chose a less-than-ideal approach: to deliberately create a loophole and lure Chen Yanran into a trap.

The fifth and final ko fight of the game will be formed in the bottom left corner to decide the outcome!
In addition, Yi Zheng knew that Chen Yanran hadn't played the move he had anticipated, and that Chen Yanran was unlikely to win this battle against him!
Chen Yanran felt his mind was blank. A ko fight in the lower left corner was inevitable, but the situation was too chaotic. He couldn't tell who had the advantage or if it was still a stalemate.

Whether it was a complex situation or a lack of time to calculate, Chen Yanran was overwhelmed.

Not to mention that there is no AI-assisted explanation now. The two players, who are not as good as the two high-ranking players, will end up concluding that whoever wins the ko fight will win.

Even Old Ke, who was watching from outside, felt a little dizzy. The situation was indeed too intense, and the time was too tight for him to calculate things clearly, not to mention that the two players also had to face all kinds of pressure. "This is not only a matter of skill, but also a battle of mind and body. Whoever can last until the end will be the final winner."

Even Ke Lao had to admit that, to some extent, the struggle had become a contest of wills.

However, in this contest of wills, Chen Yanran was clearly the first to lose.

Move 275, Black, connect.

With just this one step, Old Ke, who hadn't fully grasped the situation before, instantly understood the situation.

"Now I understand. Chen Yanran wasted a ko threat with this move. Otherwise, even if Yi Zheng had won the bottom right corner, the situation would still have been very tense, and in the end, it would have come down to the endgame."

However, now that he's stuck on it, Yi Zheng only needs to easily remove the calamity. His original attack is useless now, and Chen Yanran can ignore Yi Zheng's attack completely, because the sticking now is no longer a first-mover advantage.

Yi Zheng naturally saw this as well. His plan to fight Chen Yanran for the last tribulation was based on the little time he had accumulated over time to calculate the final tribulation.

Therefore, even the smallest mistake made by Chen Yanran was magnified infinitely in Yi Zheng's eyes.

Yi Zheng previously thought he had a high probability of winning, but now he is 100% certain that he will win!

As Yi Zheng predicted, Chen Yanran ultimately lost the battle, and Yi Zheng resolved the conflict.

After this robbery was over, there were no more major battles left; all that remained were minor skirmishes.

Both sides made their moves almost instantly, finishing all the endgame pieces on the board before the referee came over to calculate the winner.

However, both sides had already calculated the score when they finished, so even if the referee didn't come over, both sides knew the result of the game.

Yi Zheng won four and a half.

The referee followed the proper procedures to count the pieces. After confirming the result, he announced the verdict to both players: "In this game, there were a total of 326 moves. White wins by two and a quarter points."

Once both players have no objections, the referee writes the result on the results sheet and has both players sign it for confirmation.

Chen Yanran looked at the chessboard and couldn't help but shake his head. He had considered that he might lose, but he never expected to lose in this way.

The initial strategy was to avoid getting into a complicated situation with Yi Zheng, but in the end, we still ended up in a complicated situation.

It's one thing to think about something, but another to actually do it.

It can only be said that the final outcome was a combination of chance and inevitability. Both sides maintained restraint at the beginning, but when it came to the crucial moment, neither side was willing to back down.

The two engaged in a fierce battle involving five ko fights lasting over 160 moves, with Yi Zheng ultimately emerging victorious.

Chen Yanran could only sigh: It's easier said than done.

(End of this chapter)