Hikaru no Go: I taught you Go, and you made the Kisei cry?

Because with each additional piece given away, the difficulty of winning increases exponentially.

Even Touya Kouyo wouldn't dare boast of giving an amateur player a handicap of three stones or more.

Three sons.

This is already the limit of human humility.

Hey!

Hikaru Shindo finally managed to trap the black stones and placed his first move on the board.

Four columns and four rows, stars!

The prelude to a great war was thus unveiled.

One of them is Hikaru Shindo, who is only twelve years old and still a primary school student.

On the other side is Masao Kato, who is widely recognized as the top of the six great Go players today!

"This game of chess..."

Harada Ikegami habitually pushed up his reading glasses, glanced at Masao Kato, and thought to himself, "Being able to play two games with Akira and even become friends with him means that Hikaru Shindo must have some skill."

"In addition... his casual remark about his 'tip of the hand' just now also proves that his talent is definitely not weak."

"Mr. Kato should be well aware of this as well."

"Therefore, even with a three-stone handicap, this game might still be a difficult battle for him, even at his peak as an eighth-dan player."

"Mr. Kato must have been prepared for this as well."

In other words...

"In this game... Kato will not hold back. Given the disadvantage he faces from the start, he will inevitably continue to attack."

"So...who won and who lost?"

Thinking of that hand that could be described as a "divine hand," Harada Ikegami couldn't help but look at Hikaru Shindo.

He wanted to see clearly whether the child had stumbled upon this by chance or if he really had something to rely on.

At this moment, Hikaru Shindo had already picked up the second piece and gently placed it on the board.

Sixteen columns, four rows, stars!

The second character also falls in the star position.

With a gold corner, silver edge, and grass belly, Hikaru Shindo, as the player who was given a handicap, made impeccable choices in his first two moves, including selecting the crucial gold corner position.

but.

Even if the first two moves were played very steadily.

Harada Ikegami still doesn't believe that Hikaru Shindo has the strength to fight Masao Kato.

Even if it means giving up three sons!

Because he was an eighth-dan master, a strongman hailed as the top of the six great masters in the Go world!

Finally, Hikaru Shindo placed his third piece.

Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!

On his third move, Hikaru Shindo placed his stones on the star point again!

After Hikaru Shindo finally placed all three of his stones, Masao Kato said in a deep voice, "Then, let's begin!"

After saying that, Kato Masao reached into the Go box and picked out a white piece.

The next moment, Kato Masao's hand, holding the chess piece, descended from a great height!

When Kato Masao placed his piece, a flash of light appeared, dazzling and bright, followed by a crisp sound that echoed throughout the entire Go room!

Snapped!

Sixteen columns and sixteen rows, stars!

Seeing Kato Masao make his move, both Ikegami Harada and Touya Akira held their breath, instantly feeling immense pressure!

"Is this... the peak of the eighth dan?"

Akira Touya couldn't help but swallow hard: "Even just watching from the sidelines, I felt a real pressure! Kato-senpai, like my father, is one of the strongest Go players in the world!"

"I don't know when I'll be able to catch up with them, Kato-senpai, my father, Hikaru Shindo, and that person I admire so much..."

"Su Ran-jun!"

……

A 51-point opening move with a 3-3 point? That's the move of the Qingyuan Chess Saint!

Chishang Go Club.

Just as Kato Masao made his move, preparing to engage in a fierce battle with Shindo Hikaru on the Go board.

Other new students who had registered also arrived at the chess room one after another.

When these children who love Go saw Masao Kato, they were immediately filled with admiration and amazement.

"Oh my god! Everyone look, that old man looks like Kato Hachidan!"

"real or fake?"

"My God, it really is Kato, the 8th Dan! What is he doing here?"

"Hey, look, isn't that young man sitting next to Mr. Kato Akira Touya?"

"Akira Touya? Could it be... the son of Meijin Touya?"

"Yes, that's him. Rumor has it that he's the best player in our generation, and even ordinary professional players can't beat him!"

“I heard that Meijin Touya did not allow his son to participate in junior Go competitions, saying that he was afraid that it would damage the self-confidence of his peers.”

"Isn't that a bit too arrogant?"

"Heh, if you had half his strength, you could be just as arrogant."

The whispers of his peers reached Akira Touya's ears clearly, but they didn't even make him frown.

At this moment.

All his attention was focused on the chessboard in front of him.

In handicap chess, giving a three-stone handicap and giving a four-stone handicap may seem like only a one-stone difference, but the difference is enormous.

Once a player gives up four pieces, it means that all four corners are occupied by the player who gave up the pieces.

The position of the corner is absolutely crucial in the opening of Go.

As for Kato Masao, who was giving up a piece, he naturally had to start his strategy from the bottom right corner, the only spot not occupied by black pieces.

Sixteen columns and sixteen rows, stars!

This is the only spot that the black pieces haven't occupied, and it's also where the white pieces' chance of survival lies!

Although the white stones were given a piece, resulting in black occupying all three other strategic points, white did not gain nothing!

As the saying goes, fortune may be a harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be a harbinger of fortune.

Although the black pieces occupy three corners.

but.

Furthermore, because the black stones in the three corners need to develop simultaneously, it is easy to fall into the predicament of not being able to take care of both ends.

in short.

Because the white pieces have nothing, they can focus on a corner to start laying out their strategy and build a swift offensive.

They stormed into the black formation with unstoppable momentum!

but.

Black spots won't work.

It is essential to maintain the dominance of the three black stones and to make them play a significant role in the middle game.

otherwise.

They would have no choice but to abandon their advantages.

This is similar to a handicap game in chess. If you give up a knight, you can move a rook instead.

With just one step, the strongest vehicle can be deployed.

The side with horses must first dismount to clear the way for the chariots before they can move their chariots out of the camp.

Therefore, in chess, there is a famous opening trick called "Iron Chariot".

In other words, the opening move involves sacrificing two knights and using two rooks in conjunction with two cannons to launch a thunderous attack and quickly defeat opponents who are not very skilled.

The handicap games in Go are similar in principle to those in Chinese Chess.

of course.

Although the side that gave the piece a piece gained a speed advantage, it seemed insignificant compared to the cost of giving up the piece.

Simply put, although the party who gives up the right to receive some compensation, they are still at a disadvantage, as the compensation is not as good as the effort they put in.

Therefore, if the side that is giving the other a piece a handicap wants to win, it must make full use of its advantages; otherwise, it will almost certainly lose!

Hikaru Shindo understood this perfectly.

Because Hikaru Shindo is very knowledgeable about handicap games.

As for why...

nonsense!

He's been playing handicap games with Sai every day lately, and he's almost gotten used to it!

As the saying goes, "Experience makes one a doctor."

If being forced to give up one's child is a kind of illness, then Hikaru Shindo has at least reached the highest level of "startled awake from his deathbed, laughing and asking the guest where he came from."

He had long since developed several unique countermeasures against Bai Zi's fast attacks.