The work of the Go master

A chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) teenager—this is a typical chuunibyou teenager in both age and demeanor.

"It's about to start, President!" Ke Zhiguang also jumped up under the other's influence.

"Yes!"

The coin toss was quickly completed: white for the high school group and black for the junior high group.

A large Go board was also set up to show the audience, and the host, who could say a few words about Go, set up a game on the board according to the game's rules.

Star, small eye, star, star.

The fifth move was made by Qin Xiang, landing on a star position, forming a three-star formation.

Like the Kobayashi style, the Three Stars is also a Go opening style, which involves placing three stones on the star point along a single side.

If Kobayashi's style emphasizes the beauty of a lake with its empty and solid territory, then the Three Stars style embraces the magnificent beauty of the center of the board. If one can master the Three Stars layout, it will be a very entertaining game.

If someone truly masters the Three Stars opening to a certain level, their style of play will be called "Cosmic Style," a term that is close to the truth of Go. For details, please refer to Masaki Takemiya.

"Oh, I didn't expect that the junior high school group, which looks younger, would choose such an aggressive approach. While the three-star formation is quite lethal to opponents with lower skill levels, it's not so effective against those with higher skill levels."

A sharp pressure slammed down from the corner, instantly suppressing the attack!

"Oh, here we go again, the magical Six-Five Flying Town. By the way, this is how their combination works: when they play black, they play the Three Stars, and when they play white, they play the Misaligned Small Eye. It seems like they've rehearsed it beforehand."

Since it was already the finals, the host made no attempt to hide the fact that the junior high school team had already teamed up.

Bai Mengyinyu held her breath.

This move, the "Six-Five Flying Attack," is not a conventional move. If we had to name it, it would be a very famous move in medieval Go called "Suppressing the God's Head." It's a high-flying attack that is quite imposing. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang also praised this "Suppressing the God's Head" move highly.

But Bai Mengyinyu remembers that, according to modern theoretical research, this is not a good move. White should just honestly fly back.

She watched nervously as Ke Zhiguang placed his piece...

Five seconds later, Ke Zhiguang did indeed choose to fly back, which reassured Bai Mengyinyu somewhat.

With a counter-attack and a pressure move, the local battlefield suddenly shifted. When the initiative returned to the junior group, Chunhu used a sharp attack to break through the white's flying head!

--this?

Bai Mengyinyu sensed something was wrong. The two opponents seemed to be very well prepared, the kind of players who had spent a week seriously studying the strategies of two-player Go, and had deduced many variations.

More and more people gathered around, and the noise grew increasingly lively. At this kind of commercial event, people naturally didn't adhere to the rule of remaining silent while watching the game, especially with a five-second window for each move.

"Hey, those two middle schoolers look pretty strong. Could they be in-house students?"

"That's quite possible. They don't look like they're short of money. Maybe they're just looking for a partner to play with."

"The high school couple across the street are pretty good too, but unfortunately there's still a gap."

"Damn it, are all chess players nowadays paired up like this? Is this really just an electronics store promotion, or a love hotel promotion?"

The surrounding chatter grew louder and louder, and the host also talked about couples without restraint in front of the large chessboard, hyping up the atmosphere for the couples.

Chunhu also heard the surrounding chatter and his face flushed red instantly: "Honestly, what are these people thinking about?"

"That's alright, let's... let's quickly figure out a way to defeat them, they're quite troublesome." Qinxiang blushed and her voice trembled.

Nearly five minutes passed, and the opening was completed with a quick attack. Bai Mengyinyu clearly felt that the situation was not good. Black's three-star formation had taken shape, while her side was much looser and weaker.

—It must be infiltrated.

However, such an invasion is obviously disadvantageous to one's own side. In this two-player chess mode, the most taboo thing is close combat. It is very likely that the two people's ideas will suddenly become inconsistent, and they will make contradictory moves, and then be drowned in the enemy's deep waters.

Conversely, the defending side has it much easier. Even if they make a mistake, they can stop the damage in time and instantly understand their teammate's intentions.

What should I do?

—The rhythm is in my hands; I should be the one to initiate the attack, but five seconds of thinking time is simply not enough...

pat!

For some reason, the sound of the piece being placed was particularly loud.

Bai Mengyinyu stared intently at the location of the seed.

It landed directly in the right side of the black formation, infiltrating a second-line position.

Ke Zhiguang took the initiative first and seized control.

—Huh? You shot it down that low?

Bai Mengyinyu couldn't understand this move. Usually, the entry point is on the third lane, which increases the chances of survival. Why is this player suddenly lurking on the second lane? Is he planning to crawl and survive in the ditch?

For a fleeting moment, Bai Mengyinyu tried to read Ke Zhiguang's intentions from his expression.

But... he didn't show many changes in expression, maintaining a deep, thoughtful look with his chin tucked under his hand.

It was Ke Zhiguang's turn to make a move again.

He raised the chess piece high, slammed it down, and smashed it into another corner, opening up another battlefield!

Keep making moves, keep attacking!

Tricky, numb, and electric shock-like sensations flooded the palms of the two junior high school students, making the situation extremely difficult.

In their ideal scenario, two-player Go would not involve fierce battles. The defender would have a clear advantage over the attacker, and with sufficient preparation in the opening, they could easily subdue the opponent without a fight.

But what's up with this guy?

Why did they suddenly have the audacity to stir up trouble?

"As you can see, the white pieces are starting battles everywhere, touching and moving around in all sorts of ways, like...like a handicap game!"

That's right, it's the move that gives the opponent a handicap.

Ke Zhiguang saw things very clearly and understood them even better.

The game diagram of that day with Harushima Kashima reappeared before my eyes. She used this method to disrupt the situation without moving. Later, Aoba Hashi-sensei also acknowledged that this was the only way to play handicap games.

The current situation is so unfavorable that it's almost like playing a handicap game.

Moreover, isn't this so-called five-second move, two-player chess game just a test of chess sense?

He always trusted his intuition about chess, just like when he saw a multiple-choice question, he would subconsciously choose C, or the longest one.

He had just sensed an opportunity to strike.

This must be the moment we were talking about, right?

Impact, break, lean, twist and break – suppress them all the way out!

The situation suddenly slipped out of Chunhu and Qinxiang's control and became complicated. What was clearly their own formation was forcibly disrupted, creating an isolated piece that was now attacking the white pieces.

—Shouldn't we go this way? He just exchanged some food here; he probably wanted to cross this line, right?

Bai Mengyinyu was unsure of her move and didn't know what had happened. They had agreed beforehand that she would control the pace, but now she had inexplicably become the one trying to figure out Ke Zhiguang's next move.

It feels like... my status has been instantly reversed.

80 hands!

100 hands!

120 hands!

As the number of pieces increased, both sides made inconsistencies in their moves. Although Chunhu and Qinxiang tried their best to avoid fighting, the white pieces kept entangling themselves, like a venomous snake or a wildly growing tree.

I can't stand it anymore!

Chunhu decisively chose to fight back.

"Black has chosen to use a large knight's move to cover White's stones, intending to kill them. The decisive move has already been made!"

In Go terminology, a "winning move" refers to a local move that determines the outcome of the game. A well-executed move can lead to an immediate victory, while a poorly executed move can result in an immediate defeat.

Ke Zhiguang's memory bank stirred, and he discovered that familiar chess pattern again, turning back time to a week ago.

At that crucial moment, Harushima Kashima forced a ko fight, allowing him to regain a two-stone advantage.

Breakthrough, consecutive breaks, victory! A perfect replica!

Chapter Forty-Four: The Queen of the End

A calamity has appeared out of nowhere!

Chunhu was disgusted.

In the first half of the game, Chunhu also realized that the older sister was mainly in control of the pace of the game, but after her first move of infiltrating the second line, the man instantly usurped the throne and suddenly changed the direction of the game.

This sudden and drastic contrast was also a major reason why Chunhu and Qinxiang were caught off guard.

For a moment, Chunhu thought that this man was a very passionate man who would play some honorable chess. But how come his chess style exuded a strong evil aura?

This guy's a villain!

A fierce struggle begins; a calamity is proposed, a calamity is sought! A calamity is proposed, a calamity is sought!

In the blink of an eye, Ke Zhiguang decisively chose to resolve the ko! A string of white stones was plucked in the corner of the black stones, and the white stones, which were just isolated, suddenly became incredibly solid.

The moment White's stones become thicker, Black's stones naturally become weaker.

This black stone is now unable to move!

Fortunately, the so-called ko is essentially an art of transformation. If you suffer a loss in a local ko fight, you can naturally make up for the loss in another part of the board.

But when Chunhu looked closely at the materials Qinxiang had found for robbery, he realized something was wrong.

This doesn't seem like a ko threat. If Black makes another move here, White doesn't need to respond at all.

This situation is commonly known as... picking a bad jackpot.

I'm so tired I can't walk anymore!

This is the thrill of taking one step every five seconds; no one can guarantee that they won't slap themselves in the face six seconds later.

Qinxiang realized her mistake and immediately covered her mouth, showing a wronged expression, as if afraid of being scolded.

Chunhu, of course, wouldn't scold her; he would only offer an encouraging, wry smile, and they would join hands with each other with difficulty.

The game progressed slowly, the two sides drew closer and became increasingly tense. The host stopped his lowbrow jokes and began to analyze the game based on his limited knowledge.

The audience also started watching the game intently. In this day and age, there are indeed quite a few people who can understand Go, although they are not very proficient.

It was like a regular competition.