The work of the Go master

“It won’t be funny if you tell me, Akira.”

After the game started, Nishi Chiaki deliberately found a regular timer and timed the countdown precisely.

If it were truly possible to make up for a two-second time difference in 20 seconds, then the countdown he timed would have been significantly different. However, after some actual testing, the error was only a little over one second, which is a technical adjustment within a controllable range.

"As I said, whether it works or not depends solely on Zhi Shang himself. And as you've seen, it does work. As long as Zhi Shang can let go of his worries and go all out, coupled with what he considers his advantages, he can easily defeat his opponent."

Nishi Chiaki nodded. Xuan Yuzhi's momentum today was completely different from yesterday. It didn't seem like he had suffered a crushing defeat all day and then collapsed on the second day.

Previously, Nishi Chiaki used a simple provocation tactic to incite Gentsu no Ichisho, but now it seems that Koshikawa Tatsumi's psychological suggestion tactic is on a whole new level.

Nishi Chiaki suddenly felt that it was a waste of the other person's talents to just play Go like this. He should introduce him to a job as a secret agent, or even let him become a high-IQ criminal.

"If that's the case, you could have just told me from the beginning that the clock was working properly. That would have saved a lot of unnecessary trouble and reduced unnecessary risks," Nishi Chiaki asked.

This isn't a complaint; I just want to know why Tatsumi Koshikawa did this.

If he had simply replied with the statement, "To deceive your opponent, you must first deceive your own people," then Nishi Chiaki would have found it perfectly reasonable.

If he said he just wanted to see how Akira would react to being tricked, then... Akira wouldn't dare to complain.

“Some things, if spoken aloud, will never come true,” Tatsumi Koshikawa emphasized.

He continued, "The reason Zhi Shang was able to win this time was because he believed he had gained a two-second advantage, but for him to be so convinced, you and I also had to believe it..."

"If it's just about acting skills, I think I can pass muster. After all, I am an actor," said Nishi Chiaki.

"No, the belief I'm talking about isn't superficial; it's genuine belief that you truly believe. If you believe, it will happen; if you don't, it won't. Do you understand what I mean?"

Nishi Chiaki seemed to be deep in thought.

This is a psychological effect on fortune; the person applying the fortune must have a deep and unwavering belief in it... something like that, right?

Just like some things can only appear in a state of non-observation.

"I understand. I've learned a lot during this time." This was indeed Nishi Chiaki's honest opinion.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar female voice came from the other end of the phone: "It's already signed."

"What?" Nishi Chiaki asked in confusion.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a work agreement with one of my important employees to ensure that I pay her on time."

“An important employee… Could it be a member of our team for this Dragon Throne battle?” Nishi Chiaki frowned.

As a playboy, I'd naturally enjoy interacting with all sorts of socialites, but this chess tournament is an extremely important job, and women should be kept as far away as possible.

"She's a very meticulous girl. Without an employee agreement as a legal guarantee, she wouldn't have come all the way back from abroad to join our team. By the way, your charm probably won't work on her; you're not her type."

Hearing the crucial news that he had returned from abroad, Nishi Chiaki felt much more at ease.

There must be only one person who came back from abroad, was called a girl, and was capable of becoming their teammate.

"Although our strength is still not very high, we have enough cards to play. Please give my regards to Miss. I need to go and recruit Xuan Yuzhi now. This should be the best time, right?" west Qianzhang said.

"Good luck."

He left a generous tip for the clerk and was about to leave the convenience store when he suddenly turned back as if he had remembered something and went back to the counter.

"This is most likely the final game of the tournament, let's see how it goes." He switched the channel back to the chess channel.

......

......

The atmosphere in the game room was tense, like a dark cloud looming over the city.

The chess piece descended slowly, like a pebble sinking into a lake, raising a ring of sand and gravel the moment it landed.

Ke Zhiguang and Zhu Daoduan were playing a game at the bottom of the lake, quietly and slowly, under the pressure of being surrounded from all sides.

"These two are playing exceptionally steadily this game."

"Although for Bamboo Sword Forging, even if they win this round, they won't get the championship, but if they lose, they will completely lose the chance to compete for the championship."

"This is a rare example of internal strength in chess. I never expected that these two players could play like this."

"They've already gone straight to the endgame on the 41st move! Did Bamboo Blade Forging plan this all along?"

So-called "internal force chess" is similar to the orthodox style of Go, emphasizing slowness and solidity, taking into account the terrain, and leaving the outcome to the endgame. It was common in Go decades ago.

But that doesn’t mean such a game isn’t exciting; it just means the threshold for appreciating it is relatively high.

Slowly, tentatively, steadily... immense internal forces collided on the chessboard.

Bamboo Blade Forging exhaled a breath of foul fumes, and each chess piece seemed to be filled with lead, becoming much heavier.

Last night, Ke Zhiguang slept soundly, Xuan Yuzhi didn't sleep at all, and he was somewhere in between, half-awake and half-asleep, which affected his condition slightly.

Despite not having rested well, he had carefully devised a strategy: to fight Xuan Yuzhi with all his might and to fight Ke Zhiguang with internal strength.

After all, Ke Zhiguang only needs to win one more game to win the championship, so his side needs to change their tactics.

Unfortunately, despite his usually bold and fierce playing style, he still managed to grasp the details when necessary.

"Come on, let's give it our all in the final round!"

Once he made up his mind, the chess piece seemed to radiate intense heat from his fingertips.

Through his ability to communicate through chess, Koji Hikaru sensed the opponent's determination, and even saw images of the opponent training in Hokkaido.

Ke Zhiguang took a deep breath; to be honest, he was also under a lot of pressure.

Winning just one more game would secure the championship, which is both an encouragement and a pressure.

Since that's the case, we can only turn pressure into motivation!

Both sides, driven by the same competitive spirit, unleash their full potential.

"At move 42, White made a move that resulted in a two-space extension on the bottom side, a suitable adaptation move!"

"Move 48, this time White's appropriate move is the safe corner in the upper left!"

"Move 69, Black plays in the corner... cough cough, cough cough."

Reiko said, "Um, Princess Harushima, please slow down. There's no need to rush when commentating on a match."

"Sorry, I suddenly got into that feeling. Let me have some water first..."

In the short time it took to drink a mouthful of water, the black piece made its move with the bamboo sword.

On the chessboard, a shooting star squeezed into the lower left corner of the white pieces, a visually striking move that made Shizuka Harushima choke.

"What's going on? What's going on? Has a move been made?"

The meaning of "making a move" is that a problem is suddenly created in a seemingly problem-free local area.

Ke Zhiguang stared at the board quietly for a moment before slowly placing his piece, without any special effects.

"The effect is so-so, just an ordinary game," Inoue Masakado said in a low voice from the side.

Bamboo Knife Forging frowned slightly. This seemingly skillful move hadn't brought him much benefit.

The situation continued to develop in a relatively peaceful manner, with the black and white sides locked in a fierce struggle for control.

Just a glance...

A difference of half a point...

Then it becomes a difference of just a glance.

Nishi Chiaki finally became engrossed in reading and pondering deeply.

Although Tatsumi Koshikawa had a much higher opinion of Mitsuaki Kaname than one might expect, Chiaki Nishi did not think much of him.

But as the game has progressed, his perspective has changed considerably.

As a strong player in a two-day chess tournament, his inner strength is naturally extremely profound, and only in this way can he better understand what is happening on the chessboard.

On move 119, Black made an unremarkable turn to the right side of the board.

Nishi Chiaki clicked his tongue.

"Bamboo knife forging, the order of this move is wrong."

Ke Zhiguang's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened rapidly.

I smelled it.

They sensed the impending outcome.

On move 120, he gently placed his piece, turning it to the other side.

"Bingo, they were able to immediately catch the mistake in the bamboo sword forging." Nishi Chiaki exclaimed.

Although it was a mistake, its impact on the market is probably only a small fraction.

For a battle-hardened faction, this is nothing more than a flick of the wrist, but for a faction focused on internal energy, it represents a significant shift in the balance.

To paraphrase your Go teacher, "One and a half points isn't enough? That's enough to make you lose three games!"

The outcome can be decided by half a point.

The number of pieces on the chessboard continued to increase. Due to the profound inner strength displayed by both sides, the spectators had the illusion of time reversal, as if they were experiencing a two-day chess match from thirty years ago.

"The situation is still very close..." Harujima Kashima said anxiously, unconsciously rubbing his face.

No one could have predicted that the game would progress so peacefully, yet beneath that peace lay so much tension.

What was even more unexpected was that these two people, who were usually keen on fighting, actually had such profound internal strength.

“Half a glance, half a glance, half a glance…” Nishi Chiaki murmured repeatedly, his legs trembling.

In the current situation, Kezhiguang is half a point behind.

Although he had just displayed a clever and impressive performance, after carefully counting the points, he found that he was still short by half a point.

We have to wait for an opportunity...

151 hands, and the lake water trembled again.

That was a simple retreat by Black, and no matter how you looked at it, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

But... Ke Zhiguang sensed the crucial moment in the game.

On move 152, he calmly removed a piece and firmly placed it into a gap.

The moment the gap was filled, a golden light, like that of victory, flowed from the chessboard.