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

Chapter 214 The Big Devil

"...Do all chess masters have a touch of abstraction in them?"

Watching Jiang Mobai, who was creating a huge entertainment effect during the live stream, Yi Zheng couldn't help but make a comment.

Jiang Mobai isn't just somewhat abstract; he's been quite abstract from beginning to end. In professional terms, some people might think he has narcissistic personality disorder.

In fact, Yi Zheng had known about Jiang Mobai's abstract nature for some time now. After all, he was the number one Chinese person in the world, so it was impossible for Yi Zheng not to know about him.

For example, when Jiang Mobai is interviewed, he likes to recite a couple of awkward little poems he made up, such as "If the heavens had not given birth to me, Jiang Mobai, the way of chess would have been like a long night for eternity." Then he would make some abstract entrances. You could say he likes to sprinkle some strange things, and then add some dry ice.

When they have nothing to do, they like to turn their backs to people, as if it makes them look like a superior person.

It is said that last time Jiang Mobai turned his back to his teacher Jin Wan and spoke without turning around, he was kicked in the butt and fell face-first to the ground.

Even so, Jiang Mobai still often maintains this habit, even when explaining chess moves, he often turns his back to the camera.

Unfortunately, with cameras and live broadcasts everywhere in modern times, Jiang Mobai can't always keep a slicked-back hairstyle like the God of Gamblers, and there isn't a single photo of his face.

His explanation for this was that he turned his back on the common people and acted unilaterally throughout the ages.

Maybe he really thinks he looks handsome like this?

Then there's the otherworldly chess master, Ke Lao, who's also quite abstract, with all sorts of strange and unusual references, and some other remarks...

What, missing her younger brother in Sydney.

What do you mean, she went to university? You went to a vocational school, that won't do.

Ke Lao can drive on any rough road. Yi Zheng doesn't know if Ke Lao himself has such a strong talent for abstraction, or if the abstraction in their world has developed to such an extent that Ke Lao's abstract jokes are endless and he can't use them all.

But if you were a chess fan from the original world, you would definitely say, "What is this? You haven't even seen the short videos that Master Ke made! This is what Tang is all about! That's what abstract art is all about!"

Go-chan!
Yi Zheng felt a strange worry deep inside. Could it be that after he replaced Jiang Mobai as the chess master, he would also become like this abstract figure?

No way!
Yi Zheng couldn't imagine what he would look like if he became this abstract in the future. But at least he was innocent now!

When Yi Zheng thought about such a future, he felt that his desire for the title of Chess Saint had diminished. It was true that the two Chess Saints in reality had diminished the allure of the title.

"Jiang Mobai, you played against him last time, right? Let me think... I remember now, I lost all three games to him, but no one has beaten me since then, hmm~"

This guy is a power-type fighter, and quite extreme one at that, kind of like a bully.

Looking at Jiang Mobai who had requested a match, Old Ke recalled the three games he had played with Jiang Mobai before, and quickly went through the process of how he had tormented him in his mind.

Jiang Mobai, as China's number one player, is also a player known for his powerful and aggressive style of play.

Since the beginning of the new century, power-type chess players have indeed dominated. Unlike the last century when many people could peacefully lay down their pieces, in this period, everyone would fight at the slightest disagreement.

Generally speaking, power-type chess players have a high ceiling, and they can easily make breakthroughs even when facing opponents who are stronger than themselves.

Of course, power-type players also have some instability issues. They can easily overexert themselves and be overwhelmed by the opponent's moves.

It can be said that the upper and lower limits are very large, but today everyone is looking forward to Jiang Mobai's upper limit, to see if he can defeat AlphaGo.

Jiang Mobai, your super wisdom tells you to quickly use your super power!

[Keep it up, big brother who likes to show off when he has nothing better to do!]

If Heaven hadn't given birth to Jiang Mobai, the world would have been plunged into eternal darkness!

Defeat the evil chess clique AlphaGo

[Go go go go go!]

Old Ke was a little unhappy when he saw the comments section. What was going on? Why was everyone suddenly supporting Jiang Mobai?
You guys were supporting me in the last game, how come your support has changed so quickly!

What a fickle bunch! "Your behavior is absolutely insane! Everyone still tends to support the weak. Right now, Jiang Mobai and his group are the weak ones!"

Yi Zheng couldn't help but shake his head. Ke Lao had previously appeared as an online chess god in a grassroots manner, and then challenged top chess players from all walks of life, which made everyone feel very involved.

Just like in online novels, an ordinary person can suddenly defeat chess masters and kings, becoming the only one who reigns supreme in the world!

Many amateur players felt extremely immersed in the game, as if they could also dominate top players online like AlphaGo, laughing and raving.

But now, Ke Lao's record is just too amazing. The more he plays, the more outrageous it becomes. He has already forced the world number one to give him a handicap, completely reversing the offensive and defensive situation, and now it is the top players who are challenging Ke Lao.

Now, Master Ke has become the ultimate demon king in the entire Go world, and Jiang Mobai is like a brave man who dares to challenge the demon king despite his own incompetence, like Don Quixote charging at a windmill.

Chess fans: There seems to be a sad, thick barrier between us and AlphaGo.

You were once an unknown amateur player who rose to the top, but now you are recognized as the world's number one.

Therefore, chess fans easily switched their support to Jiang Mobai, who was actually in a "weaker" position.

Just like Erlang Shen splitting the mountain to save his mother, he was the absolute protagonist! Who doesn't know his deeds, and who doesn't admire him immensely?

However, as Erlang Shen rose in status, people lost their sense of identification with him. So, they created a nephew with the exact same deeds as him as a stand-in, and used him as a demon king to challenge him.

That's how it is with Ke Lao now. He's been challenged by everyone as if he were a demon king. Do we even need to say who everyone should support?
"Tch! I'm going to mold them into the hero they're all hoping for!"

Although Master Ke said that, he was still quite vigilant. After all, aggressive chess players are like madmen. Although they can easily overturn a game, they can also cause problems if you are not careful.

Although Ke Lao's own style is quite restrained by aggressive players, one still has to be careful sometimes.

"But you'd better watch this game carefully, because if you want to reach the top in the country, you have to defeat this guy in the end."

"Your country's Chess Saint Tournament system is really exhausting. First, you play a title match, then a round-robin tournament, then a best-of-three series. It takes so long."

Old Ke couldn't help but shake his head. This tournament format was really too tiring. If he wanted to win the title of Chess Saint, it would probably take almost twenty games if the game dragged on.

Yi Zheng, however, felt this was quite normal: "The prize money is five million."

Stop talking nonsense and just tell me if the bonus is high or not!

The Chess Saint Tournament, as the highest-level and most historically significant competition in China, has seen its prize money increase in the past two years, rising from three million to five million.

"forget it!"

Upon hearing this, Old Ke's fists hardened again. At his peak, even with all the invitational tournaments combined, his annual prize money was only a little over ten million. But this one tournament alone had a prize of five million.

Looking back on his first world championship, Ke Lao said that he went from qualifying from 362 people in the preliminary rounds to the main tournament with 64 people, and then from the best-of-three semifinals to the best-of-five finals. The number of games he played was not much less than that, but the prize money was only 1.8 million.

Where did the number of games in the Chess Saint Tournament go too far?! It's been the same number of games for all these years! Don't lie through your teeth!
The thought of how easily Jiang Mobai made money made Old Ke extremely anxious!

We all hold the title of Go Saint! Why are you living so comfortably in another world?

Today I will make you pay the price for all these years of comfortable living!
Prepare to die! A million horsepower of magnetic field rotation! Graphics card self-destruct explosive punch!
While cursing and swearing, Old Ke made Yi Zheng approve Jiang Mobai's request for a match. He was determined to give this guy an unforgettable match!

Wait, there are still those people in line behind them!
At the start, Jiang Mobai didn't move first and landed normally in the upper right corner star position, while Ke Lao landed in the opposite corner at the 3-3 position.

However, Jiang Mobai did not immediately occupy the other two corners, but instead placed a piece at the star position to attack Ke Lao's 3-3.

"Interesting, instead of securing a corner at the start, they're attacking me directly!"

Could Old Ke sense that this was Jiang Mobai's provocation, a way to prove his strength from the start?
However, this will only make your death more miserable!

PS: Please give me your monthly votes, brothers!

(End of this chapter)