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

Chapter 19 Bashan Chess Academy
"This is the Bashan Chess Academy. From the outside, it doesn't seem as luxurious as your Yunyi."

Mr. Ke looked at the building in front of him and commented that, at least from the appearance of the building, the Bashan Chess Academy in the southwest region was not as good as the Yunyi Chess Academy.

But this is normal. Although many places in East China are famous food deserts, in terms of economic strength, the Southwest region has been difficult to compare with East China since ancient times.

After finishing his family affairs, Yi Zheng thought that since it was a rare trip to the southwest, he might as well visit Bashan Chess Academy, the first chess academy in the southwest located in Jincheng.

After all, it is very fast to take the high-speed rail from Shancheng to Jincheng, and you can also visit historical buildings such as the Wuhou Temple.

Yi Zheng’s first stop was still Bashan Chess Academy. As a holy place for Go in the southwest region, its status in the southwest region is comparable to that of Yunyi in East China.

At the same time, the holder of the Orange Fairy title in the southwest region also came from Bashan Chess Academy.

Chinese Go has set up seven different titles according to the seven major regions, namely:
Central China: Tianyuan

Northeast: Overlord

North China: National Team

East China: Divine Calculation

Northwest: Chess Ghost

Southwest: Orange Fairy

South China: Great Chess Player
The title holder in each region can be said to be the strongest player in that region, and also represents the top level of Chinese Go.

At a fixed time every year, seven major title battles will start at the same time, and each professional player can only choose to sign up for one of them.

Only by winning these seven titles can one be eligible to participate in the highest-level competitions in China.

Battle of Chess Saints!
In the Chess Saint Tournament, seven title holders will play twelve double-round round-robin matches. The top two players in points will then play five-game matches to compete for the strongest title representing China's number one player!
You know, due to historical conventions, the award ceremony for this title is presided over by the boss himself every year, and the prize money is as high as three million, which is unparalleled in value.

"Go Saint? Come to think of it, I have a nickname called the Last Go Saint."

Listening to Yi Zheng's introduction, Mr. Ke seemed to have thought of something and began to shake his head.

Yi Zheng felt a little strange when he heard this. The chess master is the chess master, so why is he called the last chess master?

"Because I'm the champion of the last Go Saint Tournament. It's that simple and abstract.

By the way, who is the title holder of this Southwest region?"

Yi Zheng blurted out without hesitation: "The owner of the Orange Fairy title is Tashi Sangjie."

These are basically common sense to Yi Zheng.

The title of Juxian comes from the traditional story of the chess fairy in the orange tree.

During the Tang Dynasty, the people of Baqiong made their living by growing tangerines. One morning, they woke up and saw a frosted tangerine fallen to the ground. They split it open, revealing two old men with white beards and eyebrows, facing each other, playing a game of Go. Beside the game board sat a pot of wine, sipping and chatting, relaxed and content. One of the old men exclaimed, "The joy of growing tangerines is no less than that of the Shangshan variety, but I regret that there's no fine wine." He then took a dragon jerky from his bosom, shaved it into slices, and threw it into the pot. Soon, the aroma of wine filled the room.

A nearby woodcutter watched, terrified and about to cry out. Suddenly, the two old men threw down their chess pieces and let out a long roar. They transformed into white cranes that soared into the sky. The tangerine peels suddenly reassembled, leaving only half the board unfinished. A strange fragrance lingered for three days.

Later generations wrote a poem: "The universe in the orange tree is long, and the sun and moon are long. A game of broken chess can tell the vicissitudes of life. The immortals are not interested in worldly affairs, so they leave the remaining chess pieces to talk about the changes of the sea."

“Zhaxi Sangjie, there are actually top Tibetan chess players.

But speaking of it, when I went to Tibet for the competition, I did see some Tibetans playing their traditional Tibetan chess. They used mud and stones and a branch to draw a chessboard on the ground. The rules were very similar to Go.

I never thought there are Tibetans in this world who have reached the top level of Go. They are truly amazing."

Mr. Ke seemed to recall something interesting, as if he were beginning to reminisce about his youth. "Not only that, but this Tashi Sangjie's background is quite legendary. I'll tell you about this gossip when I get a chance."

As they talked, the two walked into the Bashan Chess Academy. In addition to being a Go training base, this place also has a part set up as a Go museum, which is convenient for tourists to enter and browse and promote Go culture.

Yi Zheng swiped his ID card and successfully entered. The exhibits inside were basically the same as those in Yun Yi's museum.

Basically, it introduces the origin and development of Go, as well as the honors and famous players that the Go Academy has won over the years.

"They're basically the same. I don't feel any difference. I might as well go to the Wuhou Temple. In our world, I've competed there many times and won the title of King of the Southwest many times!"

As Mr. Ke was talking, he drifted off to somewhere unknown, and Yi Zheng walked around and toured the place by himself.

Just as Yi Zheng was looking at the Go board unearthed from the tomb of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty on display in the Bashan Chess Academy Museum and marveling at the long history of Go culture, Mr. Ke appeared from nowhere.

Seeing the cultural relics in the glass cabinet in front of Yi Zheng, Mr. Ke sighed sincerely: "The hand strength of the Han chess master is really great."

But just as he finished speaking, Mr. Ke seemed to realize something and quickly tried to grab Yi Zheng.

"There's a good show to watch, there's a good show to watch, hurry up and follow me."

Looking at the excited and impatient Mr. Ke, Yi Zheng asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Someone's challenging us!"

Mr. Ke had no interest in the exhibits in the museum, so he wandered over to the chess academy's study area and discovered that there were actually quite a few people in one of the classrooms.

You know, it's winter vacation now, and theoretically most of the students in the chess academy have gone home.

After Mr. Ke went in curiously, he watched the two players playing chess and listened to the whispers of the crowd before he figured out what had happened.

A student from the Toyo Go Academy came here to challenge a young Chinese player who is trying to become a dan. It is said that he has won three games in a row.

After hearing the news, Mr. Ke quickly found Yi Zheng who was still strolling around the museum. How could he miss such a good show?

This kind of challenge plot is a must for the protagonist to show off! If Yi Zheng doesn't go now, when will he go?

"Challenging? Let's go and see!"

Yi Zheng instantly became interested when he heard this. After all, it was rare to see a chess player challenging another chess master these days, let alone a chess player from Japan coming to China.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Ke led the way and asked, "How good are the Japanese chess players in your world?"

"The four countries of Goryeo, Silla, Japan, and Ryukyu are relatively close to us, so their Go culture is relatively strong.

Basically, each of them has one, two or three chess players of title level. Silla experienced a small boom more than ten years ago and produced a world number one.

But now Dali is basically on the decline, and his dominance is gone. Strictly speaking, it is hard to say who is the world number one now."

Yi Zheng naturally gave Mr. Ke some basic knowledge about Go in his world, and then watched Mr. Ke, who was leading the way, pass through the wall with great agility.

No?

I haven't gotten in the car yet!

No! How did you get through the wall? I can't walk through walls!

You are such a rip-off!

(End of this chapter)