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

Chapter 233 Tit for tat
Today's match features Yun Linglei as the main player against Alexander, who was previously the top player for AlphaGo and one of the five players who challenged AlphaGo last time.

However, in recent years, due to Ethan's rise to prominence, his so-called number one position has been questioned by many people, and many believe that Ethan has actually become the true number one in America.

After all, Ethan's upward momentum is very strong, and he has performed very well in various cup competitions. In comparison, Alexander has long entered a period of stability or even a gradual decline.

In addition, this player's record against Ethan is also appalling; he was beaten 1 to 3 this year. So, everyone will naturally lean towards the younger Ethan.

However, this does not mean that the pressure is not strong. If it were not strong, the ranking would not have remained in the top five in the world.

After all, it's common for players to experience a significant drop in ratings if they're not in good form.

With Alexander's ability, he could easily be the captain of any team, and there's no doubt that he'll be the captain in this round as well.

After all, the team leader Yun Linglei of Yi Zheng's team is ranked several levels lower than others.

This clearly shows the gap between the two teams; the difference between a top-tier powerhouse and an ordinary team is that significant.

Yi Zheng played in the rapid chess game in the league, which is quite normal, since many people in the team have a good feeling about Yi Zheng's rapid chess skills, including the coach and team leader.

After all, both the World Go Championship and the Agon Cup, where Yi Zheng won the championship, are rapid games, and the second one is even ultra-rapid.

Having achieved results in these two competitions, everyone naturally believes that Yi Zheng's strength in rapid chess is quite good, and it is only right that he be allowed to compete in rapid chess.

Yi Zheng couldn't help but marvel at how top-tier the sponsorship revenue of the top-tier league was, because the supporting facilities for the matches were at least a level higher than those of the second-tier league, and there were countless more chess fans gathered outside.

Yi Zheng leaned back on the sofa in the match area. He didn't know if it was psychological, but he just felt that the chairs in the top league were more comfortable than those in the second league.

"I heard you got a lot of money from your contract," Ethan couldn't help but say, looking at Yi Zheng who was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed.

In Ethan's view, Yi Zheng was able to get this price entirely because he beat him; otherwise, he would never have been able to get such a high amount.

So this is all my own money! This should all be my money! Including the prize money Yi Zheng won in the World Go Tournament!
"Okay."

"Ha, high prize money is a good thing, but you have to win to get it. Like today, you won't get a single penny."

In the top division, players receive a basic signing fee each year, but they only receive a match fee if they win a single game. Simply put, if you don't win a single game in a year, you can only receive the basic signing fee.

Of course, if you can't win even one game, you'll probably be out of the game next year. Do you still want to stay on our team then? You should go mess with other people. Our team really can't afford to support a god like you.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zheng retorted, "If you lose, you won't get a single penny?"

"nature."

Ethan nodded upon hearing this; most league players were like that, and he was no exception.

"That's good."

Yi Zheng laughed and said something when he heard this. Ethan didn't have time to reply because the loudspeakers in the competition venue had already announced the start of the match.

"The first round of the World Go League, Singapore leg, has officially begun!"

In the Go League, there's no need to dictate who goes first; each team has four boards, half black and half white, and this is all decided before the match.

Yi Zheng played black in this rapid chess game, so he had already prepared the opening strategy for black. He started with a small opening move, to which Ethan responded simply with a two-star formation.

After Ethan's defeat in the World Go Tournament, he went back and frantically studied Yi Zheng's game records, even including those from Yi Zheng's online games.

Although Ethan did not acknowledge Yi Zheng's strength, believing that Yi Zheng's victory was purely due to his own carelessness and failure to dodge, it did not mean that he was completely unprepared for revenge.

On the contrary, Ethan can be said to have made very thorough preparations in order to crush Yi Zheng in the next match.

After all, we've already capsized in the ditch once; we can't just fail to learn our lesson and foolishly rush in again only to capsize a second time.

Ethan firmly believed in the saying, "Even a lion must use all its strength to hunt a rabbit." He was determined to completely crush Yi Zheng in order to prove his status as the number one player of the younger generation and to prove that only he could reach the top of the world.

The main reason was that Yi Zheng's previous verbal attacks were too aggressive, which really broke Ethan's defenses, and he even wanted to have a one-on-one fight with Yi Zheng offline.

Yi Zheng's game records are not actually difficult to obtain. As Ma Lao said, even the game records within the national team are not immune to leaks, let alone the game records of public competitions and online games.

Yi Zheng himself is also a semi-workhorse of online chess, often playing games online, and the number of online game records is quite large.

The more Ethan studied it, the more he realized that Yi Zheng's style was so similar to AlphaGo's that it could be said that Yi Zheng was the person who most closely imitated AlphaGo to date.

Of course, there's a huge gap in terms of strength.

Both sides started very steadily, with one pushing back and the other pushing forward, both moves were quite simple and straightforward.

However, on his eighteenth move, Ethan directly attacked Yi Zhengli's two-on-three formation, looking quite aggressive.

"Don't press it down, otherwise the white corner will be too big if you stick it on."

Yun Linglei couldn't help but come over and take a look as soon as the game started, since this game between Yi Zheng and Ethan was a grudge match, and it was quite interesting to watch.

Ethan was clearly also furious, and he attacked right at the start. If Yi Zheng were to establish a fighting stance, it would be a good choice.

This was Yun Linglei's judgment. Yi Zheng responded directly to Ethan's provocation: "Since you've penetrated, I'll just force you to stay on the right and eliminate your good opportunities on the wing."

Ethan didn't hesitate and once again broke through from the third line.

"Both of them have a lot of tempers. Young people are more hot-tempered than us."

Yun Linglei couldn't help but shake his head. Only young people would be so ruthless and confrontational from the very beginning.

As he pondered this, Yun Linglei leisurely strolled back to his seat and slowly placed a piece.

It's much more peaceful on my side. We're all middle-aged, almost thirty, and don't have the fiery temper of young people. Everything starts off smoothly.

It's another peaceful and serene day.

PS: Please give me your monthly votes, brothers!

(End of this chapter)