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

Chapter 431 Five Knife Handles
Faced with Li Junhe's tough attitude and direct challenge, Yi Zheng had little time to think things through, and in order to win under such a disadvantageous situation, a chaotic battle was the only slim hope.

Since the other side has chosen to fight, there is only one way out: to meet them head-on. There is no need for further discussion.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yi Zheng decisively placed a piece in the upper right corner, connecting his several white stones in a coordinated attack. The two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle around this area.

Li Junhe clearly wouldn't allow Yi Zheng's pieces to have a chance to live. Taking advantage of the first move, he quickly began to compress the possible eye space for Yi Zheng.

Then, he ruthlessly struck at the vital point, clearly intending to completely destroy Yi Zheng and cut off any hope of survival for him.

Although Yi Zheng knew that it was impossible to make a living group directly in the local area, he still stuck to it, forming a shape similar to a knife handle five in the local area.

When this familiar shape appeared on the chessboard, Old Ke, who had been standing quietly by the side observing the game, seemed to have his lips twitch slightly involuntarily. This subtle reaction seemed to have stirred up some unpleasant memories of the past in his mind.

Li Junhe, who held the initiative, did not hesitate at all. He quickly shifted the battlefield to the upper left corner and continued to play his pieces. He steadily expanded his territory to increase his own strength, while always preparing to find the right opportunity to break through the blockade and break out to the outside.

Thus far, the two have engaged in fierce combat and mutual strife in this area, each step appearing solid and powerful, as if neither side has made a single mistake.

However, just as Yi Zheng placed a piece, forcefully pressing down on Li Junhe's large black group that was trying to break through from the outside,

After quickly scanning the left and right sides of the board, Li Junhe picked up a black stone and decisively turned back to the upper right corner, choosing to secure his liberties there.

Upon seeing Li Junhe's unexpected counterattack, Yi Zheng and the spectator Ke Lao both showed obvious stunned expressions at almost the same moment.

However, Yi Zheng had no time to delve into the intentions behind his opponent's move. After all, with only fifteen seconds allotted for each move, it was already quite difficult to vaguely plan his next move, let alone have extra time to carefully analyze what his opponent was up to.

However, Old Ke couldn't help but peek over and take a look. He felt that Li Junhe must have made some kind of sensory error that led to the miscalculation, otherwise, given Li Junhe's abilities, he couldn't have made such a mistake.

After all, Lee Jun-hyuk should be able to see that the best move here is to push out from the left and try to exploit White's weakness.

In this way, it would be very easy for Black to survive locally, let alone try to break outwards.

In this case, it would be very difficult for Yi Zheng to choose any response method, and he might even be severely defeated by Li Junhe in some of the branch changes.

Old Ke couldn't help but glance at both sides of the chessboard. When he saw the position where Li Junhe was holding back liberties on the right, some guesses began to form in his mind.

"Are you worried about White cutting off the right side?"

Old Ke tugged at his hair. The white group on the right side did indeed have a way to fight by stepping out. If that were the case, it would be easy for the black group to become inactive on both sides, allowing Yi Zheng to become entangled on both sides.

Actually, it's quite simple to handle; you can just make the corners more flexible.

After all, once the corner pieces are alive, it will be very difficult for Yi Zheng to capture the black pieces in the center. A double-live situation is already a very good one.

Unfortunately, the roughly 15-second interval between moves only allowed Li Junhe to sense the danger, but did not give him time to calculate and deal with it.

Driven by a sense of crisis, Li Junhe made a wrong move.

However, the two-piece advantage is significant, and one mistake cannot allow Lee Jun-hyuk to squander his advantage.

Li Junhe used his Qi to seal Yi Zheng on the left, while Yi Zheng also found an opportunity to use a brilliant technique on the right, digging directly inside. With this digging, Li Junhe's original attempt to pull outwards was completely neutralized.

Li Junhe could also see Yi Zheng's intentions, and directly engaged Yi Zheng in a fierce battle.

Regardless, with two superior pieces, defeat is not an option!

Move 59, White, leans in.

"Yi Zheng is indeed improving faster and faster, a master of breaking through enemy lines and controlling their energy. However, if we look at it from below, Li Junhe still has a significant advantage on the board."

However, this could still lead to a power struggle at the top, and if chaos ensues, Yi Zheng would still have a chance.

Old Ke could naturally see through Yi Zheng's intentions and silently gave him a thumbs up in his heart.

Regardless, Yi Zheng's fighting spirit under such disadvantages is still commendable.

It's the young people who have the energy; once people get older, they tend to adopt the same attitude as Yuan Shao.

When undertaking great tasks, one should cherish one's life; when faced with petty gains, one should forget righteousness.

"Even if a ko fight breaks out, Li Junhe doesn't necessarily have to win. After all, the advantage of the two pieces is too great. Even if he chooses to sacrifice pieces and make a few moves outside, he will still have a significant advantage."

Old Ke couldn't help but sigh. With such a huge gap in skill, it was still far too difficult; winning was practically impossible…

Move 60, Black connects.
Before Old Ke could even finish his internal monologue, he saw Li Junhe sticking right over from above.

Seeing this, Old Ke's lips twitched involuntarily. What are you doing, Li Junhe!
Are you trying to ruin Silla Go?!
Ke Lao is certain that after Li Junhe's move, his winning percentage has dropped from a significant advantage to around 50/50.

Yi Zheng astutely seized upon Li Junhe's weakness and crawled directly across the path, both to gather his energy and to use the "two hits, one hit" technique to extend his own energy.

However, Yi Zheng clearly couldn't make such a precise judgment in a short time, but he could sense that Li Junhe had thrown the spoon.

Lee Jun-hyuk was clearly too fixated on the attack on the upper side. Even though the other Silla players around him could see that they should abandon their pieces and turn back now, leaving the upper part for later, Lee Jun-hyuk just wouldn't budge.

Li Junhe was clearly completely out of control, and started to withdraw his troops from above. However, as both sides continued to place their pieces above, Yi Zheng had basically figured it out.

Yi Zheng could even be certain that his position was slightly ahead.

Even when Li Junhe was about to break through the eye from above, Yi Zheng directly broke through from the right side.

After seventy-seven moves, looking at the board, Li Junhe fell silent.

The difference on the board wasn't actually that big, but Yi Zheng not only recovered from the two-piece deficit but even took the lead on the board.

With the game progressing to this point, the outcome has been cruelly determined, and all meaning for Lee Jun-hyuk to continue has been stripped away.

(End of this chapter)