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

Chapter 244: Bloodshed Begins

"Mr. Ishida, the referee for this match."

The staff member who brought Yi Zheng introduced him to the referees for this competition. Since the Agon Kiriyama Cup is sponsored by Japan, the referees for the finals are also from Japan.

Hideyoshi Ishida, 9-dan, was once one of Japan's top Go players. In terms of age, he is probably a little older than Yi Zheng and his two cheap teachers.

Yi Zheng nodded at this person. Although it was an obscure field, he did recognize this senior.

He was one of the top-tier Go players of the previous era in Japan, but compared to other so-called top-tier players, he was not particularly famous. Unless you are a hardcore Go enthusiast, you don't know much about him.

The reason is that he won the title of Japan at a young age, and his record can be described as very brilliant. He even won the title of the number one Honinbo in Japan.

However, his performance declined later on, and he was even hailed by many as the first person in Japan to suffer from premature aging.

Yi Zheng didn't particularly like him when he was young because the chess player he liked when he was young was directly defeated by this person in terms of his record.

However, times have changed, their era has ended, and even this era seems to be coming to an end.

"China's Little Chess Saint".

Ishida is quite interested in Yi Zheng, the young boy. The Japanese media has promoted him many times, even calling him a "little Go master."

After all, Japan has always regarded China as its biggest rival in Go. The rivalry between the Honinbo and Kisei (gods of the Japanese and Chinese Go communities) started more than a hundred years ago. In modern times, Japan has been at a disadvantage in the tournaments and the matches between the Chinese and Japanese Kisei Honinbo. The days when Japan was in the lead were very few.

Even now, with everyone in the Japanese Go community realizing that there is no one to carry on the tradition, the Chinese Go community is still stagnating, which makes Ishida sigh.

If this continues, Japan will be sitting at the same table as Silla in the future.

"How are Ma Xiao and Jin Zi's health?"

Yi Zheng was not surprised that the other party knew his master and his master. After all, in the last era when the intensity of competition was not so terrifying, there were many chess players who were still active in the first-level competition in their forties. It was perfectly normal for the group to know each other.

"Both teachers are in good health."

They are indeed very tough. The last time we met, the two of them started arguing right away. If someone hadn't been holding them back, they probably would have started an unrestricted fight.

"That's good. Get ready to come in. We're about to have a press conference."

Lingyun Temple is a great place for the Go world. It's rumored that the final game between the second-generation Kisei and the second-generation Honinbo was played here. Unfortunately, apart from the two players involved, no one knows the outcome or the game record of that final match, which is truly a pity.

Legend has it that after the first Honinbo of Japan lost to the first Go master of China, he returned to Japan to focus on training his own disciple, who is the legendary second Honinbo.

After defeating his master in the second Honinbo title, he traveled west to China to challenge again, sweeping across the entire Chinese Go world for a time. However, he eventually lost to the second-generation Go Saint of China, who was also a disciple of the first-generation Go Saint.

However, it is said that the two became friends through chess and formed a deep friendship, but due to the limited transportation at the time, there are not many recorded games between them.

Legend has it that in his later years, the second Honinbo visited China again with an embassy and played a game with the second Kisei at Lingyun Temple. However, neither of them revealed the outcome of the game, which remains a major mystery in the Go world to this day.

Some speculate that the two players engaged in a once-in-a-millennium four-fold cycle of attacks, while others believe that they both tacitly stopped at the end, leaving the game unfinished.

It can be said that such legends have given many people wonderful fantasies.

At the press conference, neither Yi Zheng nor Kuroki Teruto used any provocative language. Instead, they flattered each other, acting as if they were on good terms and completely forgetting the verbal battles they had fought before they even met.

After a brief interview, the media took a few more photos. Yi Zheng and Kuroki Teruto then proceeded to the adjacent meditation room, guided by the temple abbot, to complete their match. This is the room where the legendary Go master Honinbo played his final game. Of course, the original room collapsed eight hundred years ago; the current room is simply a reconstruction on the original site.

After all, ancient buildings don't have reinforced concrete, so their shelf life is mostly limited. No matter how exquisite the structure is, it's hard to withstand the passage of time and the ravages of war. Most of the ancient buildings we can still see today are the result of continuous repairs and reinforcements throughout the dynasties.

After entering the room, Kuroki Teruto appeared very devout. After all, he was a direct descendant of the Second Honinbo, and naturally he was extremely respectful to the place where his ancestor played his last game of Go, even with a pilgrimage mentality.

As soon as he entered the room, Kuroki Teruto bowed deeply several times to the portraits of the Second Kisei and the Second Honinbo hanging on the wall. After all, without these two figures, the Kuroki family would not have had its glorious history of hundreds of years. They were the true ancestors.

Yi Zheng also bowed politely. These are all characters from history books, and have even been adapted into many TV series and movies. I heard all sorts of stories about them when I was learning chess as a child.

It's a strange feeling to be in the same place at different times as these historical figures.

Sitting in his current position, Yi Zheng couldn't help but feel a little emotional. "What a time!" he thought. "I wonder if the soul of the second-generation Go master still lingers in this place."

Upon hearing Yi Zheng's words, Elder Ke waved his hand and directly denied it: "It shouldn't be. After all, I'm a soul now. Even if you can't see me, I should be able to see me."

I haven't seen a single one yet, so the world is still based on science, and you should believe in science.

As human beings, we should still believe in science!
Yi Zheng was speechless upon hearing this. Looking at Old Ke floating in mid-air, he thought, "You old man are the biggest source of unscientific ideas, aren't you?"

Yi Zheng felt quite comfortable sitting in the chair. It is said that if the competition were held in Japan, both sides would have to kneel.

Most Chinese people are not used to this, after all, we are not like others asking if our feet are numb.

However, it is said that the Japanese adopted the kneeling posture because they only copied half of the Chinese posture and did not discover that the Chinese used to kneel with heels supported, resulting in bowlegs.

After Kuroki Teruto sat down, he looked at Yi Zheng sitting in front of him and couldn't help but say, "It's too early."

Yi Zheng smiled and replied, "It's not early anymore, it's been a year and a half already."

Master Ke nodded in agreement: "Indeed, in another year, he will be an individual chess player with a practice period of two and a half years."

It's a pity you can't sing, dance, or rap, and your basketball skills are just average, but you're pretty good at using the "Iron Mountain Lean" move.

Yi Zheng has become accustomed to blocking out Mr. Ke's stand-up comedy.

"I told you I would come."

"But it's too early."

Kuroki Teruto couldn't help but shake his head. No matter how you looked at it, it was simply unbelievable that a player who had only been a professional for about a year and a half could enter the China-Japan Go Tournament.

How long did it take you back then? Nearly ten years? It seems like it took even longer.

"It's getting late; one should become famous as early as possible."

Yi Zheng smiled and opened the lid of the chess box next to him. On the road to fame, it is inevitable to use others as stepping stones.

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(End of this chapter)