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

Chapter 346 This moment is just like that moment
The Chinese Chess Saint Tournament, a title that carries hundreds of years of rich history and symbolizes the highest crown of the Chinese Go world, has once again come to a perfect and unsurprising close.

Calling it "perfect" doesn't mean the process was thrilling. On the contrary, this top-level national event, with its unparalleled historical heritage and official backing, has reached an astonishing level of rigor and standardization after years of operation and refinement.

An accident? That's practically a fantasy.

After all, things like poor ventilation causing oxygen deprivation in athletes and unexpected mass poisoning incidents are unlikely to occur even if you hold a competition at an ordinary school.

Not to mention the Chess Saint Tournament, which brings together the nation's top players. The logistical support is top-notch; although the meal allowance isn't high, the food will definitely be of high quality.

After passing the regional title preliminaries, the title decision tournament, the title round-robin tournament, and the five-game final of the Chess Saint Tournament, Yi Zheng overcame all obstacles and became the new Chess Saint.

Although he hasn't completely reached the top of the rankings yet, many people already consider Yi Zheng to be the number one player in China.

This is not meant to disrespect Jiang Mobai, who is currently ranked number one in the rankings, but rather stems from the weighty and almost overwhelming symbolic meaning of the title of Chess Saint.

After all, the Chess Saint Tournament is recognized as the number one competition in China. It is a "survival challenge" that is fought all the way out of the domestic arena.

There was no room for luck, no easy opponents; every game was a battle of wits, a true clash of titans.

Some even believe that this competition is more prestigious than some continental tournaments because the process is too complex and the competition is too intense.

Some competitions, like those in the Asian Games, are not that intense because each country only has two athletes participating in individual events. Excluding China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea, the other countries are basically just there to make up the numbers for ordinary professional events. It's more about the honor of guarding half of the area and raising the national flag.

What's even more remarkable is the sheer size of the prize pool for the Chess Saint Tournament, enough to make any professional chess player's heart race and their pupils dilate slightly.

With the prize money for the regional title, the winning prize money for the third stage, and the championship prize money for the final, Yi Zheng glanced at his bank balance and realized that he could almost actually buy a villa.

That's quite normal. If a top player in an industry can't gain a foothold in the capital, then that industry is basically finished, and it's better to switch careers as soon as possible.

The award ceremony was about to begin, but Yi Zheng was still watching the other staff set up the venue. Looking at the photos hanging in the Chess Saint Time Corridor set up at the headquarters of the Chess Academy, Yi Zheng felt a little... awkward, or how should I put it?

After all, a person only has such a big photo hanging here while they're alive. Luckily, it's not black and white, otherwise it would really be unlucky.

This corridor does not only contain photos of the Chess Saint after the formal establishment of the modern competition; its origins can be traced back directly to the very beginning of the Chess Saint Tournament.

The previous generations of chess masters left behind not pixels, but ink paintings with brushstrokes that were either vigorous or elegant. Yi Zheng's gaze swept over those ancient and charming portraits.

You don't know if they really looked like that, since many painters create ancient figures based on their own image or the image of people around them.

But more than anything, it's a kind of charm, a charm that matches the image of the character in everyone's mind.

Just like some people say, if Di Renjie wasn't fat, or Guan Yu didn't look like Lu Shuming, that's their own problem!

Yi Zheng glanced at the portraits of the first and second generation chess masters. One was a serious-looking middle-aged man, while the other was a spirited young man. The main difference was that the two became famous at different times.

The second-generation Go master can be said to have achieved fame at a young age. Although he lived to a ripe old age and did not die young like the first-generation Go master, what he left behind was a portrait of himself in his youth, full of youthful vigor.

What the ancient chess masters looked like is not important; what is conveyed through their portraits is the spirit and character recognized by that era.

Yi Zheng stared at the portrait of the young chess master, as if he could feel the decisive and ruthless nature of the person in the painting when playing chess.

In modern times, with the advent of cameras, most of the photos were taken and labeled with the name of the winner, indicating which generation of Go Saint they were. Many were champions who had served as Go Saint for a certain number of generations, such as Jiang Mobai and Gu Jianhun, who were ahead of Yi Zheng. "Teacher Yi Zheng! What are you still doing here? The awards ceremony is about to begin!"

A young staff member, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, had clearly been searching for Yi Zheng for a long time, and finally found the newly crowned chess master "strolling leisurely" in a corner of the hall.

Yi Zheng was pulled back to reality from his daze of history. He responded and was led by the staff to the main venue.

Yi Zheng, as the winner of this Chess Saint title, was placed in the center of the first row, while the other title holders from other regions were lined up in a row.

Meanwhile, the core leadership team of the Chinese Chess Academy sat on the edge of the first row, like a solid barrier guarding both sides.

As soon as he sat down, Yi Zheng subconsciously straightened his back a little more, feeling a little pressured. After all, he used to sit in the back row, slacking off and playing on his phone while watching the people in front of him. Now that he was sitting in the front row, he couldn't even slack off anymore.

Playing on his phone was out of the question, with several cameras filming him. Yi Zheng could only focus his attention on the stage and pretend to be engrossed in the performance.

However, young people find the performances on stage incredibly boring. It's the same old thing every year, and they really need to come up with something new. Every year it's just song and dance performances. Although the performers are indeed quite pretty, they don't really have the aesthetic appreciation for them.

Finally, the last performance arrived: the chime bells.

Hearing the same melodious music that seemed to play every year, Yi Zheng perked up, because the music meant the awards ceremony was about to begin.

Yi Zheng has been listening to this music live for two years, but this is the first time that the music is playing for him.

The music of the chime bells is very ancient. In ancient times, they were ceremonial instruments exclusively for nobles, and only kings and nobles could use them in important ceremonies.

The use of this music now is also to show the importance attached to the title of Chess Saint. After all, it is the strongest title that surpasses the other seven titles, representing the status of the number one Go player in China. So, the prestige must be maximized.

"Next, please welcome the president of the Chinese Chess Academy and special guests to present the award to Yi Zheng, a 9-dan player who won the Chess Saint title for the first time this year and broke the record by winning the title at the age of eighteen!"

After winning the title of Chess Saint, Yi Zheng's rank was directly promoted from 8 dan to 9 dan, which is currently the highest rank honor in Go in the world.

As for the so-called 10-dan, it is an honorary title in Japan, equivalent to something like the Tengen National Master, and is not a dan rank.

Yi Zheng suppressed his excitement as he walked onto the stage and bowed to the audience. In a daze, Yi Zheng seemed to see himself and Old Ke sitting in the last row two years ago.

The conversation from that time seemed to suddenly ring in my ears again.

"What is this?"

"The Chess Saint Seal, the seal bestowed upon the first generation of Chess Saint by the emperor, is in the National Museum. This is a replica, and it bears the name of the recipient."

This scene happens every year, and Yi Zheng has seen it many times on television and computer screens. This time, it was finally his turn to go on stage.

This moment is just like that moment.

The only protagonist in the spotlight.

The focus of everyone's attention, unique, and the best in the country.

I will take your place!
(End of this chapter)