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

Chapter 293 The Cycle Begins

The third stage of the Chess Saint Tournament is a round-robin tournament with a total of seven rounds. All eight participating players will face off against each other, and the two players with the highest scores will advance to the fourth stage, the Chess Saint best-of-five final.

If there are players with the same score, they will be ranked according to their tiebreaker score. The tiebreaker score is calculated by adding up the scores of all your winning opponents. If the tiebreaker scores are still the same, a tiebreaker match will be held to determine the winner.

In theory, round-robin tournaments are the best competition system to guarantee the selection of strong players, as they have a high margin for error.

Because in the knockout stage, if even the slightest mistake is made, losing a game can end the entire tournament.

However, in a round-robin tournament, you can't just say you're always one move behind, that would be simply a sign of badness. So, a round-robin tournament is a good safeguard for strong players.

There's no need for a cycle anymore; even with a double-elimination format, the margin for error is greatly increased for top-tier players, and their chances of winning can be said to have doubled.

Therefore, some countries canceled the double-elimination rule of their world championships when the world number one was in another country, and then created a round-robin world championship when their own country produced the world number one.

The most outrageous thing is that they still want to guarantee a spot in a world championship with a round-robin format, and they can manipulate the match time at will even when there is no conflict with the format.

It's worth noting that during a previous world championship, flights were delayed due to weather conditions, and some athletes were at risk of being late. China and South Korea discussed postponing the competition, but South Korea refused outright, stating that being late would be considered a forfeit. This was a world championship hosted by China.

South Korea could simply change the time of their matches so that their players wouldn't have to compete all the time. They could hold their matches at a different time, and that almost caused their team to fail despite being guaranteed a spot.

The consequence of constantly thinking about giving face to others is that they'll want to trample your face on the ground.

You want to be a nice guy, but actually others see you as a sucker.

The two finalists determined through the round-robin tournament are essentially the two strongest Chinese players this year, which is why the Chess Saint title is so highly prestigious.

The overall competition format is extremely long and encompasses almost all competition formats and most of the Chinese players.

Yi Zheng dragged his not-too-heavy steps into the small but clean public washroom, turned on the tap, and started brushing his teeth with a toothbrush cup.

The advantage of playing at the Chinese Chess Academy is that there are dormitories available, and the competition venue is just a short walk away.

For some large-scale competitions, due to hotel arrangements, it is often necessary to get up early and take a shuttle bus to the competition venue, which can take an unexpected amount of time and hassle.

The only downside is that the building of the China Chess Academy is a national protected cultural relic, so many renovation plans simply cannot be made, resulting in many inconveniences in daily life.

"Yo ho! Good morning, Xiao Yizheng!"

Chu Tianjiao, the title holder of the Iron Dome Chess Academy, with his messy hair that wasn't completely tidied up, couldn't help but stretch lazily in front of Yi Zheng. Then he glanced out the window and said, "Look! Every time it's a competition day, the weather is so cooperative! This blue sky, this dry weather, it's amazing!"

Yi Zheng spat out the foam in his mouth, gargled indistinctly, and mumbled, "It's much better than the South. The South is already in the plum rain season at this time of year. It's been raining continuously in Lin'an for several weeks. I guess a bunch of typhoons will pass through in a while."

Lin'an is quite livable in most situations, but the humidity is just too high. In some seasons, if you lift the mattress, there will be a large wet patch on the bed board.

Miao Jun had previously complained that he felt he would really get rheumatoid arthritis if he lived in Lin'an until retirement.

Another issue is that Lin'an is frequently hit by typhoons every summer.

Yi Zheng recalled that when Yunyi's old campus was still in operation, there seemed to be some problems with the buildings. Once, a typhoon even took a bunch of students to a school's stadium for refuge.

But at that time, it was a very happy time for the children. They didn't have to play chess, and a bunch of kids could run around in the big stadium.

When I returned after the storm had passed, I found the old school building completely undamaged. Looking back, it's a fond memory. "The north is dry, the south is humid; the north is cold, the south is hot, but the south doesn't have central heating, so Hainan is still the best."

As a native of Northeast China, Chu Tianjiao still prefers to stay in Hainan, after all, Hainan is the fourth province in Northeast China.

With its cool summers and warm winters, this is truly the most livable city for humans. Not to mention, it also boasts beaches and bikinis, making it an authentic paradise.

As Chu Tianjiao spoke, his tone shifted, his laziness vanished, and his voice revealed a unique sharpness: "Today is a competition between the two of us, and I won't hold back. After all, Yunyi doesn't have this much funding but still has a bunch of other sources of income, while we Tieqiong are struggling to make ends meet with this meager amount of funding."

As he spoke, Chu Tianjiao couldn't help but shake his head. Originally, the Northeast, as a heavy industrial base, was developing quite well, but like most places in the world, once the resources are exhausted, the lifespan of resource-based cities comes to an end.

That's how it is in Northeast China; now all that's left is a big flatbread.

"Everyone is poor, no one has rice to cook, let's all rely on our own abilities."

Yi Zheng knew exactly how much money he would lose between winning and losing a game. Although he wouldn't get all of the money himself, each chess academy would share it with him through other means.

After all, if you don't pay them, why would they work so hard?

Pay more!
Yi Zheng glanced at the time, went back to his room to pack up, and prepared to go to the competition venue.

Back in his room, Yi Zheng felt a bit uncomfortable. The walls were so thick that the Wi-Fi signal often got stuck in a "Schrödinger's cat" state in the center of the room, connecting but not connecting.

Most importantly, because it is a national-level cultural relic protection building, the internal structure cannot be touched, so it is impossible to find a suitable place for the socket. It is truly a case of "protecting the historical features while neglecting modern needs".

No wonder even Old Ke couldn't stand it and went to the hotel. Even if no one changes the channel, watching a TV series is better than staying here.

After getting ready, Yi Zheng got up, left the dormitory, and walked towards the square where the competition was to be held.

The bluestone slabs at the foot of the square have been polished smooth as a mirror by hundreds of years of people coming and going and the changing seasons, and four elegant wooden chess tables are placed in a staggered manner.

According to historical records, the official records of the second-generation Go Saint clearly mention the fierce battle fought here during the national stage of the Go Saint Tournament.

Over the centuries, the world has changed, and the chess academy buildings have been renovated several times, but this chessboard battlefield, symbolizing the highest level of competition, has stubbornly remained, witnessing generation after generation of national players striving for the "saint" position.

Standing in the center of the square, you can almost hear the sounds of chess pieces being played hundreds of years ago and the whispers of the onlookers.

Today, he will face another new Go Saint title match.

"History."

Yi Zheng couldn't help but squat down and touch the ground. He wondered if the chess players who participated hundreds of years ago could have imagined that a hundred years later, someone might have made the same move as him in the same place.

Because it's a round-robin tournament, the match times and opponents have all been arranged in advance. Yi Zheng will face Chu Tianjiao on the first day, Zaxi Sangjie on the second day, Jiang Mobai on the fifth day, and Lian Qiao on the seventh day.

The competition will be held all at once, which means it will last for seven consecutive days. Since no one will have a bye, no one will have a day to rest or adjust.

It's fair to say that it demands a lot of physical strength, after all, seven consecutive days of high-intensity matches will really leave you feeling completely drained by the end.

In the final rounds, it may no longer be a contest of pure skill, but rather a tug-of-war between willpower and adrenaline levels.

(End of this chapter)