The work of the Go master

"Oh."

After saying "oh," Kumagai Akihisa never received a reply from his opponent asking for his name.

—So that's how it is, that's the difference.

He gave a wry smile and silently accepted the fact that he was not as skilled as others.

"White wins by 15 points," the referee announced after counting the points.

"Thank you for your guidance."

Vice-General Battle (1/3)

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Attack Continues!

After lunch, at midday, the second round of the competition began, and a tense atmosphere descended once again.

"Please advise!"

The rivals exchange greetings on the surface, but in reality, each of them is secretly plotting against the other's horse.

"Um, nice to meet you." A rather frail-looking boy sat down opposite Ke Zhiguang and said timidly.

His name is Miyano Nobuyuki, the vice-captain of Inoue Hoshiaki's team, and also a high school amateur Go player with considerable strength.

Just now, he was told that the man in front of him had killed Kumagai Akihisa, who was known for his strength, with sheer power... Although it was a bit convoluted, he could understand that kind of power.

Be careful when dealing with him.

"Yes, please guide me." Ke Zhiguang replied casually, as if waking from a nap.

Just that one sleepy look from him sent a chill down Miyano Nobu's spine.

"Then let's begin." Ke Zhiguang raised the chess piece.

The next moment, the chess piece struck the board with a sound like ice breaking.

From the sidelines, Naosaka Kuranosuke suggested, "How about we watch Vice-General Gekyo and Koji Mitsuhiro's game this round?"

“Yes, yes, it’s possible. Mr. Naosaka, you seem to care a lot about this student?” Reiko said.

“Oh dear, I always feel his games will be more exciting,” Naosaka said, though it sounded a bit biased.

Actually, this is not a good thing. There are many other star players in this round who are also worth paying attention to. In comparison, Ke Zhiguang seems to be relatively unknown.

"Alright then, since you've put it that way, let's watch this match." Reiko, of course, couldn't make any decisions; Naosaka 8th Dan's opinion was clearly more important than the concerns of everyone present.

—We can only hope that this man named Ke Zhiguang will continue to play brilliant moves to convince everyone.

The game record was passed down, and Naosaka personally set it up step by step on the large Go board.

"In this game, Ke played with the black pieces and opted for a diagonal star opening, which is a rather aggressive and aggressive approach," Naosaka said.

Most players choose to place their pieces on the same side to form a formation, but many others prefer to stagger the star points to disrupt the game.

In some ways, this is quite reminiscent of medieval Go. Medieval Go had a special rule called "seats," where the four star points were fixed from the beginning as black and white diagonal stars, and the player's first move was strictly speaking the fifth move.

But it is precisely because of this rule that medieval Go had such an intense and fierce fighting spirit.

"Looks like it's going to be another exciting battle," Naosaka remarked.

Time passed slowly, people came and went in the lecture hall, and the number of moves on the large chessboard gradually increased.

Ten hands.

Twenty moves.

Thirty hands.

Forty hands.

And then more, and more.

On the chessboard, a fierce wind blew towards Miyano Nobu, making it difficult for him to move an inch.

—Damn it, I should have known better than to walk diagonally opposite him in the first place.

Although Black has the initiative, White can completely avoid it if White doesn't want to play the diagonal star point; White just needs to occupy Black's diagonal star point beforehand.

Of course, this game isn't something that can be solved simply by avoiding diagonal moves.

If either side seeks war, a battle is inevitable; constantly retreating will only gradually widen the gap between them.

Like building up a rage bar, he held a chess piece in his hand for a long time before shooting it out!

"White chose to invade, touching Black's large territory. The choice of point was really strategic," Naosaka said with satisfaction. It wasn't that he thought the move was particularly good, but rather that the long-awaited moment had finally arrived.

-

As Qinglong walked in from outside the lecture hall, he intended to just make a quick appearance and take a few photos that could be displayed in the newspaper, but he suddenly caught sight of the names of the two players on the large chessboard.

Kezhiguang?

Isn't this the person he met yesterday?

Is he qualified to play on the big chessboard?

"This kid named Ke Zhiguang is really amazing. Mr. Naosaka has been praising him for several minutes straight without stopping," a colleague said to Kiyotaki Ayumu.

"Really? What exactly did Mr. Naosaka say?" Kiyotaki asked with great interest.

"What are you saying? His middle game is at the level of a 7-dan. In a normal game, people probably wouldn't even see him finish the game. In short, he's very generous with his praise." My colleague said with a wry smile. He doesn't have much knowledge of Go and just thinks Mr. Naosaka might be exaggerating.

"Seventh Dan, is that a level that an ordinary high school student can reach?" Kiyotaki Ayumu remarked with some emotion.

Although when Qinglong Ayumu met Ke Zhiguang yesterday, he felt that Ke Zhiguang exuded an aura of considerable strength, but it was still unexpected that he was already a seventh-dan.

Could this be the big news that Ke Zhiguang was preparing?

"I need to find this talent. I have a feeling that if I follow him, I can write some great stuff." Kiyotaki Ayumu muttered to himself, feeling his journalistic spirit burning.

On the chessboard, air currents surged wildly upwards, instantly reaching the upper atmosphere, where a fierce aerial battle was about to unfold.

Break it, point it, keep hitting it upwards! Every move is accompanied by a special effect of tearing through the air, the clouds are ripped apart.

A fortress in the sky is gradually taking shape.

"This student named Miyano Nobuo seems to have a lot of skill in maneuvering, and he is quite sensitive to the midsection, where the force does not land."

"Mr. Naosaka, actually I've always had a question about the distinction between the ground and the air on the Go board. How many lines are considered air?" Seeing that the atmosphere had cooled down a bit, Reiko found an interesting topic to liven things up. This was also part of a female commentator's job... Sigh, it seems like female commentators have a lot to do.

"That is indeed an interesting question. We usually call the first route the sewer, the second route the ditch, the third and fourth routes are more like land, and the air route... it would have to be at least the sixth route."

"What should that 'Heavenly Glory' be called, in terms of its height?"

In terms of the height of the chessboard, the center point (Tengen) is naturally the highest point.

Of course, whoever moves at the very top is a fool.

But since ancient times, just as people have never stopped exploring the sky, chess players have never stopped studying the center point and the center of the board.

For example, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a technique called "Tian Yuan Yi Shi Fa," which involved starting the game by moving towards the center point (Tian Yuan) in a more elegant and unrestrained manner. It is said that this move was the prototype of the "Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth."

In Japan, Yasui Harumi, besides being an astronomer, also loved playing Go by moving to the center point (tengen), claiming that this was the correct way to play Go. However, he later became arrogant and challenged Dosaku, saying that if he lost by moving to the center point, he would never use this move again.

He was indeed hammered later; the Tianyuan he placed at the start was eventually taken down like trash.

Later, he stopped playing Go and became one of the greatest astronomers in ancient Japanese history... Well, this is a true story.

“If it’s Tengen, it should be called the sun, the kind that shines its light on every corner,” Naosaka thought for a moment and answered with an artistic rhetoric.

"It seems like Black has been thinking about this move for a long time; it's already taken five minutes," Reiko said.

“It’s only been 5 minutes, Reiko. You know, in our generation, playing Go often involved long periods of thinking,” Naosaka said cheerfully. However, he also realized that the current situation might not be optimistic for Black.

A double capture and a break create an obvious point of contact, which means that either point A or B must be obtained. Black is facing a test.

"Now is the time to test the players' skills," Naosaka said.

Time ticked by, the hourglass slowly sank, and the sunlight moved outside the window.

On the chessboard, something like a balance scale appeared. He had to choose one side, but he had to decide for himself which side was heavier.

Variety.

change.....

It continues to change.

Finally, the carefully refined variation diagram was extracted as the correct solution!

The blade materialized in his hand, and then he swung it out with all his might!

“Black has chosen a variation that looks a bit scary. Even if a flower is captured in the air, Black will still seal off and kill White.” Naosaka then set up the board.

Miyano was stunned. He thought he had successfully broken through by piercing through one flower, but he did not expect that after one wall was broken through, another wall appeared.

—The left and right sides are welded shut!

Cold sweat trickled down his back. He was now facing the same predicament as Kumagai Akihisa: should he cut his losses and survive?

Miyano Ken clenched his fists, his fingers digging deep into his flesh.

Cut ties just like that!

Harden your heart and cut yourself!

"Black wins by 21 points."

Vice-General Battle (2/3)!

Chapter 57 Every unscrupulous player will have an unscrupulous post-match interview segment.

"We did it! We jumped 148 points in one go! We set a record!" Ping Shisheng said happily. The word "we" was used well, giving people the feeling that he and Kobe Bryant scored 81 points together.

Of course, these are minor details in terms of word choice.

Around Harushima Deer, a group of club members hugged each other, more excited than during the Lunar New Year.

Groups from other nearby schools turned their attention to the celebrating group, casting disapproving glances, especially those from the two schools that had just been defeated.

Originally, everyone came to see Yun Jing make a fool of herself, but unexpectedly, they became the fool themselves. It's like coming out to watch a fire, only to find your own house burning down instead.

Like I said before, it's a good thing we're all from the Go club. If it were any other fighting club, seeing you celebrating so arrogantly, they would have already started a fight off the field.