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

Chapter 331 What happened?
Yi Zheng didn't wander around on his day off. It was mainly because Ma Zhaoxu, a 9-dan player, came to accompany him and even blocked the door of his room.

Yi Zheng was told not to go out during this period and to stay obediently at the competition venue.

It's too dangerous outside! Not to mention the cars driving around everywhere, what if a small pebble falls from the sky and hits you?!

At this critical juncture, anything that happens would be a huge problem!
No! We absolutely cannot go out!
Mr. Ma said that he would take care of whatever Yi Zheng wanted to eat or drink, and anything else he wanted. Whether it was a 1982 Lafite or freshly picked pre-Qingming Longjing tea, he would deliver it to him as soon as possible.

You now have only one task: to prepare diligently.

Whatever your needs—no matter how reasonable or far-fetched they may seem—just speak up, and our Logistics Support Department of the East China Chess Academy will be on standby 24/7 to do everything in our power to resolve them!

It can be said that Yi Zheng's current status has completely surpassed that of high school students who are preparing for the college entrance examination in just a few days, since no high school student can mobilize so many resources.

Because in East China, not only Ma Zhaoxu, a 9-dan player, but also the director of the chess academy and all the 9-dan players of Yunyi came out in full force to accompany him in the competition.

There's nothing I can do; it's been almost a decade! I haven't won a single Go Saint title in East China!

If we go back 20 or 30 years, those were such good times!
Players from East China are frequent visitors to the Chess Saint position, holding it for at least half the time.

But as time went on, fortunes changed, and super geniuses began to emerge in other regions.

Jiang Mobai from North China won the title for seven consecutive years. Although Gu Jianhun from Southwest China did not win the title for a long time, he still won it for several consecutive years. In between, players from East China only won it once.

Mr. Ma even slammed his fist on the table during an internal meeting!
His voice was hoarse with excitement: "Our East China Chess Academy has its own principles! We cannot allow people to trample on us for a lifetime, generation after generation!"

"We're here to prove ourselves! Not to show how strong or capable we are, but to tell everyone! The throne we've lost must be taken back by our own hands! By our own hands!"

It has been twelve years since then!

Twelve years!
Do you know what this means?

Do you know how we've managed all these years?!
Currently, this is considered the most promising year in the entire East China region, so naturally everyone is going out in droves to support and assist them.

Yi Zheng can be described as "the last hope of the whole village" and "the torchbearer for the revival of chess in East China".

This treatment was not because he was a chess prodigy, but because he carried the dreams and resentments of several generations of chess players from East China who had suppressed them for twelve years.

So don't worry about whether it has any effect or not, at least you have to put on a show and create a strong aura.

Especially on someone else's home turf, don't end up alone with just the two of you, and they won't even listen to your complaints.

With such strong and intensive "protection," Yi Zheng's days off have effectively become high-level seclusion.

He was enveloped in sophisticated instruments, with no worries about food or drink, and his mind was completely focused, his brain forcibly concentrated on the center of the impending storm.

Time flew by, and the dawn of the next day seemed to arrive in the blink of an eye.

Today's match doesn't require guessing who goes first; the black and white sides will switch.

This is also one of the fairer aspects of best-of-three matches, where the ratio of black to white is 50% for both sides, unless the game is played to the very last game where the player has to divide the game again.

Yi Zheng didn't have much of a reaction after getting the black pieces, because he had seen data compiled online.

Yi Zheng has always believed that he plays white very well, feels comfortable when playing, and that his win rate should be quite good.

However, some people have compiled statistics on Yi Zheng's win rate in all official matches since he became a professional player, and the win rate of Black actually exceeded that of White. Yi Zheng was a little surprised when he saw this data.

But when he saw that they had listed all the matches, Yi Zheng couldn't help but admire how terrifying their data collection ability was.

Even after this incident spread widely online, Yi Zheng's nickname inexplicably expanded from "White Yi Scholar" to "Black Yi Prime Minister".

The reason is also quite good, because Yi Zheng's ability to control the board when playing black is terrifying, his layout is far-reaching, and his endgame is exquisite, just like a prime minister who can strategize and control everything in the court.

But Yi Zheng was very unhappy with this nickname! Emperor!

I am the emperor!
What prime minister! This person sitting on the throne is clearly plotting to usurp the throne!

There are only wronged officials in this world, not wronged emperors!
These unruly people insist on appointing me as Prime Minister? This is rebellion!

Looking at Jiang Mobai across from him, Yi Zheng knew that the day was the day of his coup.

What was once considered acceptable can now truly be realized.

Jiang Mobai is incompetent and corrupt, and the chess community has suffered for too long! Countless chess players and patriots have already risen up in rebellion! Today, it is my turn, the rightful emperor, to make the final decision and set things right!
Surprisingly, Jiang Mobai didn't cause any trouble today. He sat in his chair with a serious expression, looking at Yi Zheng.

Both players looked rather somber today, knowing that this could be a turning point in the match, a game that would determine the outcome.

If Yi Zheng wins, his probability of winning will increase to at least 95%.

If Jiang Mobai wins, the rhythm of the entire match will be completely disrupted, and it is very likely that the game will drag on to a decisive final round.

Therefore, both sides knew that they had to win this crucial match, which was like a pivotal game.

"I hereby declare the second game of the best-of-five final of the Kisei Tournament open!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Mobai's fingers, as if springy, slammed down hard on the black timer button next to his seat with lightning speed!

Almost at the same fraction of a second! Almost at the same instant the referee's last words were still echoing in the air! Yi Zheng's finger fell with the precision of a calculated reflex!

"Clap!"

The placement of the stone and the striking of the bell were completed in one smooth motion.

The timer only ticked for one second at Yi Zheng's place before the flow of time was captured on the other side.

Jiang Mobai's solemn expression instantly cracked, his face filled with a huge question mark of "WTF?!" and a visible sense of astonishment and frustration.

His sneak attack on Yi Zheng was premeditated, but he never expected his opponent's reaction speed to be so terrifying! His long-planned opening ambush had completely missed, and he hadn't even heard a sound.

Jiang Mobai's plan for this game was to deliberately launch a sneak attack to waste ten or twenty seconds of Yi Zheng's time, in order to avenge the sneak attack he suffered at the beginning of the first game.

Although it didn't serve any purpose, I still wanted revenge.

Seeing Jiang Mobai's astonished expression, Yi Zheng couldn't help but reveal a smug smile. I know all too well what kind of childish people you are! After all, I have someone just as childish as you in my own family.

Jiang Mobai held his breath and landed on the star position, while Yi Zheng immediately clicked on it without any hesitation.

Right from the start, Yi Zheng immediately used his signature move, Point 3-3.

"It seems that Yi Zheng is determined to win this game today. If he wins this game, his chances of winning are practically guaranteed."

Today, Shen Guhong, a guest on the show, couldn't help but say, "If he wins the Chess Saint title, I feel his chances of winning the Asian Cup next month will be even greater."

The Asian Cup has progressed to the quarterfinals in the previous stage, and the quarterfinals and semifinals will be held next month.

Furthermore, the semi-final match between the top four and the bottom two is also a best-of-three series.

Shen Guhong also made it into the top eight, but he really had no idea whether he could win the championship.

"It seems like not long ago he was on the same level as me, but suddenly in an instant he disappeared from sight."

Shen Guhong couldn't help but feel a little dazed. When was the final of the Rookie King competition between Yi Zheng and himself?
How come he's suddenly becoming a chess master?
What happened?
(End of this chapter)