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

Chapter 353 The boy who slays dragons finally becomes a dragon
"Yi Zheng, 9th Dan, please give me your guidance in this game."

Li Zongrui wore his signature, slightly rounded smile, spoke fluent Chinese with perfect pronunciation, and even had a touch of friendly Beijing accent with the "er" sound.

After all, he was sent by Malaysia to the Chinese capital for training from a young age, so his accent inevitably has a bit of a local flavor.

As a long-time friend of the Chinese national Go team, Li Zongrui is frequently sent to train with the Chinese national team as an overseas player due to his sufficient strength and through official communication. He is even jokingly referred to by many as an unofficial member of the national team.

Furthermore, Lee Zongrui is a Malaysian Chinese, and the team he plays for in the top division league is sponsored by China. He is also very eloquent, and many Chinese Go fans like him.

Many people even suggested that China should just naturalize Li Zongrui, so that everyone would have less of a psychological burden to support him.

However, this is highly unlikely, not to mention that Li Zongrui himself has a deep affection for his country and has received extensive training since childhood.

Moreover, if he were to be naturalized in China, he might have even fewer opportunities to compete. Li Zongrui is currently a consistent competitor in various major tournaments, but that might not be the case in China.

It's precisely because China is so ambitious that many countries around the world are naturalizing Chinese chess players, especially those who have begun to semi-retire, who are being invited to coach in other countries.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zheng couldn't help but wave his hand and say, "Stop, stop! Why don't you address me so formally? We're not strangers."

Yi Zheng still trains with the national team regularly, since the national team provides a regular schedule and excellent logistical support, which allows for better training.

Li Zongrui has been training with the national team for at least several months in the past two years. Since everyone sees each other every day, it's impossible for them not to know each other.

Not to mention that people of similar age will inevitably gather together. After all, if you don't hang out with people your own age, are you going to chat with those who are ten years older than you?
Jiang Mobai, sitting at the next table, couldn't help but sneeze: "Not feeling well and you've caught a cold too? It's like when it rains, it pours! Sigh!"

Li Zongrui chuckled upon hearing this: "I originally wanted to call you Master Yi Zheng, after all..."

Li Zongrui deliberately dragged out his words, mimicking a classic mournful tone: "Between us, there's already a pitifully thick barrier."

Yi Zheng couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard this: "Did that fatso teach you to say that?"

Hearing this, you don't even need to guess who said it.

"Haha, I knew you'd guess it right away."

However, I mainly want to be more formal, since I'm the one issuing the challenge! And I'm going to fight and win!

Li Zongrui straightened his expression and stared at Yi Zheng sitting opposite him. He remembered that just a year ago, Yi Zheng was a rising star whose achievements were not as good as his. Before he could react, Yi Zheng had become a towering mountain in front of everyone!

One must overcome a mountain if you don't want your name to become just a backdrop!

No chess player wants to be a mere supporting player, and Lee Zongrui is no exception!
Looking at Li Zongrui's serious face, Yi Zheng suddenly realized something: he seemed to have transformed from a dragon-slaying boy into a new dragon, with wings growing on his back and scales on his body, hovering over the throne!

A faint, indescribable emotion swept through my heart.

Surprise? Astonishment? There seemed to be a hint of surprise, yet not quite; it was more like a sense of relief, a feeling that "it's finally here." Perhaps even a touch of inevitability?

It seems that's how it should be?

Yi Zheng's lips curled slightly upward: "This feeling isn't bad." "The Asian Go Cup semi-final best-of-three series, first round, begins now!"
Please have the players guess who goes first! Media reporters, please leave the venue in an orderly manner ten minutes after the start of the match!

Upon hearing this, Yi Zheng took out a chess piece and placed it on the chessboard. After the coin toss, he took the black piece according to the rules, and the two switched seats.

Yi Zheng doesn't have much of a feel for black and white right now, because the first two games of a best-of-three series will naturally be one black and one white, and he has no intention of dragging the game into a third game.

Yi Zheng opened with a small, unconventional opening, while Li Zongrui used a simple double star formation.

On the 12th move, White makes a two-space jump!
Normally, most people would use a single jump in this layout, as this method is more stable. A two-space jump is also good, but the problem is that it creates a double-edged sword. It is very fast, but the corner is slightly empty.

Using it well can lead to profits, but using it poorly can also lead to losses.

Seeing this, Yi Zheng couldn't help but touch his chin. Perhaps everyone was speeding up their pace, and efficiency was becoming the most important factor that everyone valued more and more.

"These two started fighting right from the beginning. Li Zongrui is a skilled fighter, and he is very strong."

Shen Guhong watched the images broadcast on the television in the research room and arranged the chess pieces on the chessboard in front of him.

Although theoretically, players who lose a match can go home directly, in international competitions like these, teams usually go abroad as a group of countries, and often everyone stays until the end of the competition before leaving together.

Of course, if everyone is eliminated early, they might have to go home early as well.

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianjiao couldn't help but sigh, "He is indeed a very talented guy. This guy seems to be only twenty years old, or even under twenty? I wasn't this good when I was young. You young people nowadays are much better than we were when we were young. Don't you think so, Lao Zha?"

Tashi Sangye simply nodded upon hearing this: "That's excellent. Each generation should be stronger than the last."

"You're really open-minded!"

Watching the two veterans bantering with each other, Shen Guhong's mind was still focused on the chessboard. He had just lost to Li Zongrui in the previous game, where he was defeated by Li Zongrui when he was trying to save his own group.

He could clearly sense that Li Zongrui had conducted targeted research on how to counterattack the issue of orphans. It was obvious who the research subject was; he himself was merely an incidental victim.

And more importantly.

"Li Zongrui's skills seem to have improved a bit too quickly..."

Shen Guhong had always felt that his opponent was about the same age and had similar strength, but in the last game, he felt that he was being suppressed by his opponent.

This feeling isn't pleasant, because it might represent a less-than-ideal reality.

Is Li Zongrui's strength starting to surpass mine?
Thinking of this, Shen Guhong's expression turned rather unpleasant.

"Then let Yi Zheng test your true worth."

(End of this chapter)