The work of the Go master

The corner approach is the most common opening move in Go.

"Gold corners, silver edges, grass belly" is the most basic principle of Go. It means that the corners are the easiest to enclose, so occupy the corners first, then the edges, and finally the center, which is the most difficult to enclose and the most vulnerable.

Starting with Tengen only exists in anime.

The corner attack is the most common tactic for attacking the opponent's corner, and battles often begin at the corner.

“If he attacks you, just play the 3-3 point. No matter which side your opponent blocks, you should first climb down one move.” Mizuki Yuzuki continued explaining the game.

He is genuinely studying hard.

Mizuki Yuzuki was quite uncertain, as Ke Zhiguang had given her a huge sense of contrast in just half an hour.

Seeing how precise he was in reviewing the game, I thought he was actually quite skilled and was just here for fun.

But judging from his serious expression and the questions he's asking, he's definitely a beginner!

She couldn't quite see Ke Zhiguang's true colors.

Ke Zhiguang's gaze was fixed on the chessboard, looking at the established patterns and recalling the game he played with Qingdao Lu last night. The chess pieces seemed to fall into reality like light and shadow.

One step, then another.

[Total thought steps: 683] The system next to me gave a prompt, and this number is still increasing.

This is the amount of calculation that Ke Zhiguang has been thinking about since yesterday. A local variation diagram can contribute nearly a hundred moves of calculation. When applied to the entire board, 683 moves is not difficult.

Admittedly, it's not difficult for experts.

Next up is the instruction on the small-scale pattern, with eight minutes remaining.

The small eye is next to the star position; it only moves one space on either the horizontal or vertical axis.

There are many more joseki (standard opening moves) than star points. The entire history of Japanese Go has been studying the variations of joseki, and a large number of joseki have been summarized that people usually don't bother to play.

"I almost forgot, there's also this single-point 3-3 joseki, which means when you see the opponent play the star point, you can play a single point at the 3-3 point to create a living group of stones."

The chessboard has 19 lines and can also be used as a coordinate system.

The star position is exactly four paths along the vertical axis and four paths along the horizontal axis, which is counted as four-four.

The third position is naturally a position lower than the star position.

After showing the two variations of the 3-3 point opening, Mizuki Yuzuki said, "The advantage of the 3-3 point is that it will definitely allow a group of stones to live... At least you don't have to worry about losing too badly."

"Of course, you shouldn't play this opening move right at the start of the game. After playing this opening move, your side can only survive with a few points in the corner, while your opponent can build an iron wall outside."

"Got it, time's almost up, I have to go." Ke Zhiguang stood up from his seat with a "heh".

"Wait a minute!" Mizuki Yuzuki called out.

"what happened?"

"I still don't quite understand the situation, it's just that... uh... do you think that as long as I learn a few techniques, I can defeat Hase-senpai?" Mizuki asked cautiously.

"Of course not," Ke Zhiguang replied matter-of-factly and as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Then why did you still bet with him?" Mizuki Yuzuki seemed to be trying to persuade Ke Zhiguang to change his mind.

After pondering for a while, Ke Zhiguang replied, "Isn't it meaningful to challenge him precisely because we feel we can't defeat him?"

“This…” Mizuki Yuuki couldn’t quite understand what the other person was saying.

"To put it another way, if I knew from the beginning that I could definitely defeat him, then why would I challenge him?" Ke Zhiguang said, placing his right hand on his chest, exuding the passion of someone giving a speech.

Yes, he's about to step onto the chessboard. The chessboard is like a battlefield, and the fighting spirit is already quietly brewing.

"If God is the kind of being who knows he will win and ultimately does win everything, then the saint below God is the kind of being who doesn't know he will win, but also wins everything," Ke Zhiguang said.

"But upon closer reflection, isn't my goal to achieve sainthood?" Ke Zhiguang spread his hands, his smile somewhere between confidence and fervor.

Shuicheng Xiyue found it difficult to respond for a while, only feeling that Ke Zhiguang seemed like a different person, both mature and quite immature, exuding a strange contradictory beauty.

"That's settled then, I'll go. If I win, I'll treat you to dinner." Ke Zhiguang turned and headed towards Hasegawa Kamiya.

"Remember, if you don't know how to play, just hit his three-three!" Mizuki Yuzuki couldn't help but remind him, as if to say if you can't beat him, run away quickly.

It's also like wishing for good fortune in war.

"Okay, I'll do three."

Chapter Eleven: The Tanuki Demon

Those who were willing to stay and watch the excitement gathered around, while the students who weren't interested in joining in the nonsense had already embarked on their nightlife journeys.

It's already six o'clock, and the sun has set.

Separated by a Go board, Takashi Hase and Hikaru Shino sat facing each other.

Hase Kamiya felt an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Some people, when sitting in front of a chessboard, naturally exude an aura of pressure, like a radiating center, regardless of how handsome or delicate their appearance may be.

Koji Mitsuaki's face wasn't exactly handsome, but it wasn't the kind of overly strong Showa-era look either.

Hase Kamishiro shook his head, banishing the fear from his mind.

Hasegawa knew some information about Koji Mitsuaki because he was quite familiar with the trio of thugs from before. He had heard them talk about Koji Mitsuaki and knew that, judging from his character, he would never have anything to do with Go. He spent all his time playing video games and reading comics.

He also knew that Ke Zhiguang had changed his mind about a week ago, which meant that he had only been learning Go for at most a week.

Hasegawa Takashi has been studying for a year.

No problem, taking down this person shouldn't be a problem.

He thought to himself that this was the thought.

The vice president placed a timer next to the chessboard: "How about setting the time to 15 minutes per side, with two 20-second countdowns?"

"Each player only has 15 minutes, that's the rule for rapid chess, right?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

If I remember correctly, a formal match usually lasts at least two hours for both sides.

"We're just an ordinary student club, and it's already quite remarkable that we can use something as formal as a clock," the vice president sighed.

“No problem.” Ke Zhiguang nodded, showing a rare understanding of the vice president’s predicament.

“Me too,” Hase Kamiya followed suit.

"Let's begin!"

Let's guess who goes first.

Every board game has a small ritual to determine who goes first. In Go, the older player takes a few pieces from the box and holds them in their hand, while the opponent guesses whether the number of pieces is odd or even.

If you think it's an odd number, flip a piece onto the table.

If you think it should be an even number, then take two photos.

If you guess correctly, you move black first; if you guess incorrectly, you move white second.

From the moment the coin toss begins, neither player utters a single word, entering a silent phase.

The conversation between the two only takes place during the move of a piece, and is also known as "hand talk".

Hasegawa Takashi, considering himself the older player, grabbed a piece directly, while Kazuhiro Shinobu countered by placing two pieces on the board.

Wrong guess.

Hasegawa Kamishiro's side only has one piece, which is an odd number.

The result of the coin toss was that Hasegawa Kamiya, playing black, would attack first, which is his forte.

As someone who has only been playing chess for a year, he thinks playing black is more enjoyable. Moving first means attacking first, and attacking first is naturally more enjoyable.

Otherwise, why would so many people in Yu-Gi-Oh! be shouting "I'll go first" all the time?

Ke Zhiguang, Zhibai.

Black makes its first move—

With a crisp sound of a piece being placed, Takashi Hase's symbolic spirit appeared.

Was that a raccoon dog?

A tanuki, a species unique to Japan, appeared behind Takashi Hase, wearing a straw hat and with a cunning look.

The word "deceit" was written on the straw hat.

The fox had a trap on its back.

Symbolic Spirit: Tanuki

[Note: Deception is its nature]

The moment the raccoon appeared, the surrounding environment seemed to dim a bit, and a beam of sunlight fell, creating an effect like a fighting arena.

Compared to the various dairy animals in the intermediate class, Takashi Hase's [Tanuki] has clearly evolved and developed its own unique personality.

But to be fair, this [Tanuki Demon] looks much inferior to the [Dragon-Locking Pillar], as if they are from two different dimensions.

Black's first move – outside the eye.

As the pieces were placed, someone outside the game uttered a surprised and questioning sound.

This is not a conventional opening; it is located at position [3.5] or [5.3] on the board, and is a very weak corner defense.

Hasegawa Takashi also understood this very well. Just now, Koji Hikaru had only roughly learned some star positions and small eye patterns. The opening of the eye outside was beyond his limited knowledge.

"Let's end this game quickly," was Takashi Hase's thought.

But soon Hase Kamiya returned to normal, and the second horn occupied the star position.

Ke Zhiguang's side is the minor star position.

On the fifth move, Black placed a stone in the center of White's side, below the star point on the side. It was a very relaxed move. No matter which side Black forced, this stone would be pushed to the other side.

—Come on, let me see. The initiative is in your hands. What will you do?

Ke Zhiguang sighed at the empty chessboard, his plan falling through. Based on his experience playing against Qingdaolu yesterday, he knew that an opponent who believed he had the upper hand would likely focus on one of his local areas from the start, and then the situation would escalate.

That's why he hurriedly learned a few techniques; otherwise, it would be too bad to be at a disadvantage in the very beginning of the battle.

How should we play the sixth move?

How do I download it?