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

Chapter 416 A Major Failure

"He gave up on the central government, but I think it would be too difficult to achieve anything there!"

Watching Yi Zheng once again skillfully employ the "base swap" tactic against him, Jiang Mobai felt utterly overwhelmed.

He couldn't help but think to himself that if Yi Zheng had chosen a conservative and prudent strategy, the situation might have turned out that Yi Zheng would have firmly occupied the central territory, while he would have had to settle for second best and barely manage to take over the territory on the top of the board.

This would actually be a win-win situation, with everyone benefiting. But right now, Yi Zheng has benefited, but what about me...?

Yi Zheng not only managed to reduce the area on his left side to a negligible amount, but he also seized the space above, at the cost of losing the center that originally belonged to him.

However, the problem is that what Yi Zheng could easily surround was a hellish challenge for Jiang Mobai.

Because Yi Zheng's influence is all around him, it's extremely difficult for Jiang Mobai to succeed; it's a complete hot potato.

Yi Zheng: That's none of my business. Anyway, I've already made my share up there. It's an equal exchange between us. How you handle things in the middle is your problem to solve. If you can't solve it, I can help you with that.

Although Yi Zheng felt that Jiang Mobai might not be willing to do it for him, he did.

What an incompetent husband!

What was the code name of that incompetent husband?
Jiang Mobai had no idea what strange things Yi Zheng could possibly be thinking about. He only felt his temples throbbing, as if they were about to explode.

The chessboard was full of tricky problems. Yi Zheng was really good at creating trouble for others. Every move he made seemed to hit his sore spot precisely.

The most troublesome thing is that the two remaining pieces from before are still effective, and Yi Zheng even has the first move in the team fight! I still have to finish them off!

It has become a major threat to me!

Xuanji Collapsed Clouds, how could it have turned out like this!
It collapsed, but it buried itself!
It wasn't until later that Jiang Mobai realized what it meant to have his head about to explode.

I originally thought Yi Zheng was going to finish things quietly and that everyone would plan their territory in peace.

However, Jiang Mobai felt that Yi Zheng's methods were not very effective. He didn't prioritize the important areas and instead went to some less important ones.

The final stage also involves value judgment; it's about securing the biggest gains in one area and taking control of the area first.

However, while the collection of taxes by Yizao could not be said to be bad, it was simply below standard.

However, the problem is that when Yi Zheng returned to the central government to take action this time, Jiang Mobai discovered that all of Yi Zheng's seemingly problematic methods were actually preparations for the central government!

He's torturing me!
He's torturing me!

Jiang Mobai realized he was practically surrounded by loneliness in the center; Yi Zheng had been relentlessly plundering him! He never stopped!
"Those two cripples have brought me to this!"

Jiang Mobai looked at the upper left corner in disbelief once again.

After completing the new transformation of Xuanji Collapse Cloud, Jiang Mobai didn't pay any attention to the two remaining pieces at the breakpoint. "With such a large and solid position, how could I be affected by these two pieces?"
You can only be affected once at most!
I can just add another move!
Why do I need more touch-ups?! No way! I've already had so many touch-ups, why are you still threatening me?!
The avalanche image has now truly turned into a bloodbath image, with every snowflake bravely venturing into the world!
What's even more upsetting is that Yi Zheng's plundering hasn't ended yet.

Just like the previous game, we won by half a point.

"Half a point! It's another half a point! Did you calculate everything? Did you calculate it in the last game too?"

Once could be a coincidence, but twice is definitely not! Three times is blatantly intentional!
Looking at Jiang Mobai, who seemed to have grown a mustache around his mouth, Yi Zheng nodded and then shook his head: "I just calculated that I could win. When I was in school, I estimated it to be between half a point and two and a half points. As for how much I actually win, I don't care too much."

This isn't some ancient game of gambling; there's no extra prize money no matter how much you win.

In order to enhance the visual appeal of Go, the ancient game adopted the "seat system," which involved placing two black and two white stones diagonally opposite each other on the board. This system could potentially lead the game to a ko fight.

Similarly, to encourage players to compete against each other, a lottery system is often used, where players are paid out a certain amount of money for winning a certain number of pieces.

If you win big by slaying the dragon, you'll get a lot of prize money. But if you play a game of Kung Fu Chess, you'll only win a little bit in the end. You might win as many games as someone else wins in a single game.

This is why ancient chess emphasizes combat so much—not because combat is fun, but because you can only feel fun if you win money through combat.

Suddenly, I felt that playing Go was no longer interesting.

Jiang Mobai lay back in his chair, looked at the chessboard, shook his head, and let the referee start calling out the numbers, since he had already lost everything anyway.

Yi Zheng was inexplicably worried when he heard this: "Jiang Jiuduan wouldn't be thinking of retiring, would he?"

If I really drove this veteran to a mental breakdown and forced him to retire, it would seem like I had committed a terrible sin.

He mainly wanted to use the competition as a training exercise to improve his various abilities, and Jiang Mobai happened to be a suitable candidate, so he used all sorts of methods.

Jiang Mobai waved his hand upon hearing this: "How could that be? After the New Year this year, Silla wants to invite me to the Jiuzheng Cup, which is a New Year's celebration."

As a country deeply influenced by Chinese culture, Silla in Japan naturally retains the New Year tradition just like China, a custom that exists in many parts of the world.

However, the island nation of Japan in the world of Conan was busy leaving Asia and joining Europe, and later abandoned the Lunar New Year and changed it to January 1st of the Gregorian calendar, but regions such as Okinawa still retain the old New Year customs.

Shilla Duty Free is another story. It's basically a copy of Chinese New Year with some regional touches. Instead of dumplings, they eat rice cake soup, and it's a three-day public holiday.

Yi Zheng was a little surprised to hear this: "You didn't invite me?"

In previous years, such commemorative events usually invited the reigning Chinese chess master. This year, I am the chess master, so why wasn't I invited?
Is this an attempt to make me lose my temper?!
Jiang Mobai glanced at Yi Zheng and couldn't help but shake his head: "They would only invite you if they saw a ghost. How can Li Junhe beat you in his current state? If the rest of us go, it will be a 50/50 chance, which is what makes it entertaining."

After all, spending money to host a competition during the Chinese New Year isn't about having other teams' athletes beat up your family members on your own doorstep. That's not celebrating the New Year; it's just adding insult to injury.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zheng couldn't help but purse his lips. Could it be that being too strong would result in having one's account banned? There's no such thing as a free lunch!

(End of this chapter)