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

Chapter 207 Don't Do Something Foolish [Bonus Chapter for the Alliance Leader]

Jiang Mobai's words were heard by everyone through the live broadcast. Although he didn't say it explicitly, most people understood what he meant.

Defeating AlphaGo in the first round is no longer a topic worth discussing; it seems almost impossible.

The question now is, can we win if we let everyone go first? What are the odds of winning?
But to put it another way, this is a topic that top chess players cannot touch; they absolutely cannot touch it.

Whether or not to make this move, whether or not it's even possible to make this move, is a form of torture, even humiliation, for top players.

After all, no 9-dan player would ever think of giving someone a handicap and then considering whether they could win.

That's so shameful, so incredibly shameful!
Of course, most chess fans don't feel that way. They think that if you can't beat them, you should just admit defeat and give them a handicap of two or three stones.

In any case, most people don't care. They enjoy watching the drama unfold, and some even wish things would get even bigger.

But most top chess players feel a sense of shared sorrow, like the fox mourning the death of its accomplice. Now that AlphaGo has emerged, what good are world championships, multi-million dollar prizes, endorsement deals worth hundreds of millions, countless female celebrities swarming around them, fame, fortune, beautiful women, and luxury cars? (Ke Lao: I'm going to work at 8 AM! You bastards! I'll fight you all!)

Most people will no longer consider you the world's number one; everyone will only think that the only world number one is AlphaGo! No one can challenge him.

Lee Jun-hyuk seemed somewhat helpless as he leaned back in his chair. The Silla Chess Academy promptly cut off the live stream, fearing that Lee Jun-hyuk might do something that would break his composure and negatively impact his public image.

After all, Li Junhe was already quite excited during this live broadcast of the competition, pounding his chest, slapping himself, and pulling his hair. He probably did more tonight than he did in the entire past year or two of competitions.

If he makes any further moves that could have a negative impact, then Lee Jun-hyuk's commercial value might really decline.

After all, Li Junhe is currently the only cash cow of the Silla Chess Academy. Everyone else is far inferior to him in terms of both competition results and commercial value.

He's the only pillar of the Silla Go Academy right now, and there's absolutely no one who can inherit his position.

Moreover, even though Li Junhe is old and starting to decline, he still has at least five years of exploitable value. Let's use him up first, and at least we can't let him lose his job now.

"Junhe, why don't you go back and rest for a bit? It's almost midnight. If you really can't manage, we can cancel tomorrow's match. Just say you're feeling unwell and the match is postponed. We'll talk about it again when you're recovered..."

The headmaster of the Silla Chess Academy felt a pang of sympathy looking at Lee Jun-hyuk, who was lying on the chair looking completely dejected. After all, Lee Jun-hyuk was the greatest achievement he had personally nurtured.

It was thanks to Li Junhe that he was able to get to where he is today.

Today, even though only three or four hours have passed, Li Junhe seems to have aged more than ten years in an instant.

He exuded an aura of weariness that he had never seen in Li Junhe before. There seemed to be some last year, but it had long since disappeared this year, but now it was extremely strong.

As for postponing the match, it's a piece of cake for Silla. I'm not going to do anything to you.
Not to mention I have nine excuses, nine excuses! to justify my postponement of the match!
Live broadcast conflict, equipment problems, physical discomfort, aren't these reasons easy to find?

For example, when Lee Joon-hyuk first debuted, the Asian Cup that year was hosted by Silla. Silla deliberately stretched the tournament to its longest possible duration, manipulated the draw, and then postponed the match due to Lee Joon-hyuk's poor form in the final, ultimately helping him win the Asian Cup. Because they not only escaped punishment the first time but also gained benefits, Silla dared to continue testing the waters.

Moreover, this isn't an official competition. If it's postponed too long, the competition might just disappear altogether. Then, history can easily turn the tables and blame everything on AlphaGo.

It is problematic to say that the other party is unwilling to be monitored live throughout the entire event. Is there something wrong with their unwillingness to participate in the offline competition? Is this competition unfair and unjust?

Therefore, those previous matches don't count at all. Lee Jun-hyuk is still number one in the world, and AlphaGo is just a villain!

You say most people in the world don't believe it? That's okay, as long as a portion of them believe it, that's enough for Silla to live on in the future.

Many people look down on the theory of winning, but in reality, it is the foundation of the existence of most countries. Many people don't understand why some countries, which have lost everything, still claim to have won. It's because if they don't win, they will die.

Whether a country is developing or surviving, confidence, both internally and externally, is crucial, and Winning Science is a form of confidence.

"Sigh...actually, it's already..."

Upon hearing this, Li Junhe simply lay back in his chair and shook his head. Only after truly playing against AlphaGo could one understand that kind of despair.

The postponement might allow me to get back into better shape, but can I still win?
What's the point of just managing to hold out for a hundred hands at most?

Perhaps, as Jiang Mobai said, everyone should prepare themselves mentally to welcome a new era.

"Don't believe those things you see online! Don't have any inappropriate thoughts!"

The director of the Silla Go Academy looked at the dejected Lee Jun-hyuk and was afraid that he might do something rash and actually play a game against AlphaGo with a handicap.

No way! Absolutely not!

Perhaps there really will be top players who give AlphaGo a handicap, and perhaps one day everyone will think that giving AlphaGo a handicap is a matter of course. When that happens, it won't matter if Li Junhe goes to AlphaGo again.

However, if Li Junhe is the first to try this approach, and others don't play against AlphaGo in the same way in the future, he will become the only top-level player to be beaten with a handicap, which will greatly reduce his commercial value.

To put it bluntly, if Lee Jun-hyuk wins first, everyone will feel that this is how you win, and there's nothing to be proud of. If he loses, everyone will feel that he's a complete loser.

The risks and rewards are completely disproportionate, and the only result is a huge loss.

How can our Silla Chess Academy survive like this?! We still need to leech off you! Please don't do anything foolish!

"Li Junhe, you bear the responsibility for the entire Silla Go community. Remember! Never do anything foolish! Never do anything foolish!"

The director of the Silla Chess Academy immediately made up his mind that if Lee Jun-hyuk played this kind of game tomorrow, he would dare to directly disconnect the internet cable!
Everything must be done in the best interests of the chess academy! Everyone is willing to be sacrificed!
P.S.: Update complete. Please vote with monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)