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

Chapter 249 Miraculous Healing and Quitting Alcohol [Seeking Monthly Tickets at the End of the Month]

"Let Kuroki Teruto 9-dan and Yi Zheng 1-dan review the game for everyone."

After letting the two players come on stage for a brief commentary, Anjing handed the stage over to them, allowing them to briefly review the game they played that day.

After all, although Jiang Mobai explained the changes, most of them should have been clearly explained, but the perspective of an observer is completely different from that of the person involved.

Therefore, many people prefer to listen to the parties involved in the battle, and the parties involved will even tell you what kind of psychological changes they went through when they made that move, what their mental journey was like, and even what kind of changes their opponents made at that time, which gives people a more immersive feeling.

"Actually, when Yi Zheng came over in the lower right corner, my first reaction was to block at the 3-3 point. If that happened, I would connect with Yi Zheng when he crawled back. In that case, although Yi Zheng could live, I could also gain the initiative and then invade from below. The situation should be quite good."

However, in actual combat, I chose to stick to the bottom right corner for a more conservative approach, which made Yi Zheng too comfortable and I didn't apply enough pressure.

This was my first move in the later part of the game, and from here on, my situation was already quite unfavorable.

No one is without regrets when reviewing a lost game.

I should have played it this way back then. I could have seen it coming, so why didn't I play it this way?

Kuroki Teruto is currently filled with daily regret, feeling that if he hadn't been so complacent, he might have won this round.

It's all that Kawaguchi's fault!

You haven't even learned Chinese properly!

Decisiveness leads to failure, while hesitation leads to defeat!
But if you can't be decisive or hesitant, how can you defeat Yi Zheng?

It seems we shouldn't overthink things. Just focus on doing our best and leaving no regrets.

Looking at the diagram Kuroki Teruto had laid out, Yi Zheng asked with some curiosity, "Didn't you think about blocking it from above?"

Yi Zheng originally thought that Kuroki Teruto's idea would be to block from above, but he didn't expect it to be from below.

While blocking from below is still possible, there's a very clever way to block from above; if the opponent were someone else, they might be able to dig a hole and bury them.

Why are you blocking it from above?

Kuroki Teruto found this strange; he had never considered blocking it from above.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zheng immediately placed the chessboard on it and said, "If you block from above, I'll play the pin. If you follow suit, I'll stick to it."

Seeing the changes Yi Zheng made, Kuroki Teruto couldn't discern anything mysterious about them. However, when Yi Zheng extended a hand in the upper left corner, Kuroki Teruto seemed to realize something.

"At this point, it must grow from the upper left. It may seem like replacing the upper left corner would be a waste of future resources, but in reality, this is laying the groundwork for what's to come."

If Black then moves back down to connect, and White tries to push again, and Black blocks, then if White dares to cut directly up from above…

When Anjing 3-dan saw this diagram, he really wanted to go up and say, "Isn't this an advantageous situation for White in a ladder?" But after glancing at the upper left corner, he suddenly seemed to realize something.

Oh no! Thank goodness I didn't say anything! Otherwise, I would have been incredibly embarrassed!

A professional Go player misread the leap!

"When White cuts, it seems like a ladder is advantageous, but in reality Black can cut directly in the upper left corner."

The capture at the top will be extremely severe, and White must defend it. This way, when Black tries to capture, White will have no way to escape. If White tries to escape by force, it will end up in a huge trap on the top. I'm too lazy to draw the diagram; you can do the math in your head.

Of course, it's not that the white one is no good. My initial plan was to cut it off from the bottom, then patch it up with the black one before putting it back up. That would be about the same. The main thing is that this way, it might fool them and maybe even lure them in.

If this were done by running a chariot, it would take dozens of moves, which would be exhausting for Yi Zheng, so naturally he wasn't in the mood for it.

With this set up, everyone should be able to figure it out mentally, right? Surely no one can't figure it out with just a few moves, right? Really?
Seeing this huge change, Anjing Sanduan felt it was very ingenious, but looking at it now, it doesn't seem that difficult. I can understand it.

However, Kuroki Teruto and Jiang Mobai, who were present at the scene, remained silent.

"You came up with this yourself?"

Looking back from now, Kuroki Teruto feels that figuring it out wouldn't be particularly difficult, but in actual combat, figuring it out would be extremely difficult.

The state of mind is completely different when researching, practicing, and reviewing.

Let alone rapid chess, even in a standard slow game where both sides have two hours to play, they might not be able to come up with this variation.

Of course, if there has been similar preparation before the competition, then it is still possible.

But if it was conceived during the competition...

Yi Zheng, on the other hand, felt it was perfectly normal; that was his first impression: "I've seen similar changes quite a few times, so this was my first thought. I haven't done any research on it; it's probably just a matter of habitual thinking."

Jiang Mobai stopped fanning himself and his face turned serious: "It's terrifying. Although it's very much in your style, it's a game you would play."

Looking back at the variations that Yi Zheng presented, it seems easy, but in reality, it's not so easy to see them during a game.

After a moment of silence, Kuroki Teruto issued another challenge to Yi Zheng: "You are very good. I lost this time. I look forward to meeting you again in the China-Japan Kisei Honinbo Tournament."

"Ha, Kuroki, what nonsense are you spouting? Why did you skip my challenge? Yi Zheng, I'll be waiting for you in the Chess Saint Tournament and the finals. I hope you'll be playing me in the best-of-five finals next year. I acknowledge you!"

I'll prepare to consider you my biggest rival next year, but the title of Chess Saint is mine for ten consecutive years; you can't take it away!

Looking at Yi Zheng in front of him, Jiang Mobai felt that Yi Zheng would probably be the one to represent East China next year.

Meanwhile, in the bar on the other side, Yun Linglei, still somewhat disheveled and watching TV, couldn't help but crane his neck: "Wait a minute? What are you guys making plans for? Can't you at least ask for my opinion first! You have to go through me to participate in the Chess Saint Tournament! There's still the paperwork for the Divine Calculator title to go through first!"

What the heck? Are you guys implying that Yi Zheng is guaranteed to win?!

Yun Linglei now only regrets not being there; he's become the sole victim of this show-off!

This kind of thing is like when everyone's friends are chatting and bragging together; anyone who's not there feels awkward.

"No! I need to feel a sense of urgency! I must dedicate my time to Go!"

Thinking of this, Yun Linglei picked up a mirror and looked at his somewhat thin face. He couldn't help but sigh, "I've been ruined by wine and women, and I've become so haggard!"
……

Starting today! No alcohol!

P.S.: It's the last day of the month, so please vote for me, brothers! There's one more chapter coming a little later.

(End of this chapter)