Chapter 112: Skeleton of a Genius

In May, approaching early summer, as the cicadas chirped, the annual Go ranking tournament finally kicked off under the attention of everyone.

The qualifying competition is about to begin.

There are ten groups in total. Although there are nearly a thousand people in each group, only the ten best players in each group will be qualified to enter the competition and continue on the path of becoming a professional chess player.

If you want to become a professional chess player, there is only one way.

This road is destined to be bumpy, destined to be a bloody storm, and destined to produce the corpses of countless geniuses.

The winner will step on the bones of the loser and continue to move forward on thin ice until... he opens the door to becoming a professional chess player! As for the tears of the loser, no one ever cares.

Early that morning, Yu Shao took a taxi to Jinxia Hotel.

He was assigned to Group E, and this summer the Grand Hotel will be the venue for the Group E qualifying tournament.

"Finally, it's time for the qualifiers."

After paying the fare, Yu Shao got out of the taxi and looked at the magnificently decorated Jinxia Hotel in front of him. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

In one year, from the grade test to the amateur promotion, now, the day of the ranking competition has finally arrived.

As long as you cross this threshold, you can become a professional chess player and enter the professional world.

"Only by becoming a professional and competing fiercely in professional competitions can I make up for my shortcomings and improve my chess skills. Playing chess online... is still not enough after all."

During this year, Yu Shao spent a lot of time playing chess online in the first half of the year, playing one or two games every day. After his winning rate increased, he was often matched with opponents of relatively good level.

However, although those opponents were of decent level, there was still a big gap between them and Zheng Qinlai, and he failed to meet an opponent who could really make Yu Shao take him seriously.

Therefore, after gradually adapting to the attacking style, Yu Shao spent much less time playing chess online.

At this time, there was a crowd of people outside the Jin Xia Hotel. People kept walking into the Jin Xia Hotel one after another. The oldest ones were almost thirty years old, and the youngest ones were even less than ten years old, accompanied by their parents.

Outside the Jinxia Hotel, there is a huge poster with a few large characters written in a flamboyant style - Lan Ke Cup Go Qualifying Tournament!

Yu Shao calmed his mind and walked towards the hotel lobby.

"The number of participants in this year's ranking tournament has broken a new historical high!"

At this time, in the hotel lobby, several reporters and cameramen were gathered together chatting. A tall and thin middle-aged reporter in his forties couldn't help but feel emotional when he saw the chess players pouring into the hotel.

"Yes, the number of participants is increasing day by day, and this year is bound to be another fierce competition."

A short and fat cameraman couldn't help but laugh and said, "Although I have reported on so many matches of high-level professional chess players, I am still looking forward to the dan tournament."

"That's normal. Although these young players may still be a little immature, they represent the future of the Go world. There are still infinite possibilities. Who wouldn't be looking forward to the future?"

"Yes, the fierce battles between those long-established professional chess players on the field are certainly exciting, but the emergence of these young chess players is also exciting!"

Other reporters and cameramen around also started talking with a smile.

"well……"

At this moment, the tall and thin reporter suddenly sighed.

"Lao Zhang, what's wrong?"

The short and fat cameraman was a little confused and asked, "Why are you sighing? Aren't you looking forward to it?"

"Of course I am looking forward to it. Who wouldn't be looking forward to it?"

The tall and thin reporter nodded and said, "Seeing so many players who love Go and have dreams in their hearts embark on the professional path without hesitation, I am always moved and always look forward to it..."

The tall and thin reporter paused, shook his head and continued, "But, I feel inexplicably sad."

"Sad, why?"

Everyone was a little confused for a moment.

A reporter couldn't help but ask: "Isn't it a good thing that more and more players are participating in the ranking tournament? This shows that Go is still developing vigorously and the future of Go is more and more worth looking forward to!"

"That's what I said."

The tall and thin reporter said: "But, the number of professional chess players is limited. There are only a few people who can become professional chess players every year."

"More and more people are embarking on the path of becoming professional chess players, but this also means that more people will fail on this road, their dreams will turn into bubbles, and their sweat will be in vain."

"He devoted the first half of his life to Go, gave everything for it, and loved Go so much, but in the end he had to find another way out. Have you seen such examples rarely?"

Hearing this, all the reporters and cameramen fell silent.

As Go reporters, they have seen too many examples like this.

They have endured endless pain and suffering since childhood, and have put in countless sweat and efforts, but even so, some people still cannot become professional chess players.

Although they are not chess players, they can empathize with that kind of pain.

"I heard that Zhuang Weisheng's 10th dan son will participate in this year's dan ranking tournament."

The tall and thin reporter said, "Also, do you know Fang Haoxin? He has returned to China and will also participate in this year's qualifying tournament."

"Others may not know, but we definitely know. This is the biggest highlight of this tournament, right?"

A reporter nodded and said, "I originally thought Fang Haoxin would stay in Seoul, but I didn't expect him to return home. It just so happens that Zhuang Weisheng's 10th dan son will also be promoted to dan this year. This is really interesting!"

"But what about thinking about it from another angle?"

The tall and thin reporter said, "There are only a limited number of professional chess players. With these two, the others will be suppressed and unable to raise their heads, right? The chances will be even smaller, and more people will become their stepping stones."

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

Every professional chess player has climbed to the top by stepping on the bones of others. Although this year's qualifying tournament is full of highlights, I am afraid that more people will indeed become the bones under the feet of these two people.

"I heard there's a genius in the women's group as well."

At this time, the short and fat cameraman seemed to remember something and said, "It seems her name is Xu Zijin. Chang Yan Jiudan said that she will give all of us a surprise."

"Xu Zijin, is she the new female disciple of Chang Yan, the ninth level?"

Another reporter looked puzzled and asked, "I remember that Chang Yan, the ninth dan, didn't accept disciples. I heard that she accepted a disciple a year ago, and I felt strange."

"She is Xu Duanhua's daughter."

The short and fat photographer laughed and said, "It's you, you don't want to accept it? Isn't this a waste of money?"

"Fuck, Mr. Xu's daughter?"

Everyone was shocked.

"Mr. Xu's daughter is going to be a professional chess player? This is big news!"

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

While this group of reporters and cameramen were discussing heatedly, Yu Shao finally walked into the hotel lobby.

After passing the security check, Yu Shao quickly came to the front desk and reported his competition number to the staff.

"Yu Shao, right?"

After the staff input Yu Shao's number, they said, "Your first match will be at Yaxuan Pavilion, table 5, and your opponent is Qiao Anli. The match will start at 10 o'clock sharp, so pay attention to the time."

"Ten o'clock?"

Yu Shao nodded.

There are a large number of participants in the ranking tournament, so the qualifying round is a points round-robin format. There is no draw and the opponents of both sides are randomly matched by the system.

In the round-robin tournament, if you lose in the first round, then the opponent you meet in the second round must also be the player who lost in the first round.

The player who wins the first round will definitely be matched with the opponent who also won the first round in the next round.

In short, in the points round-robin tournament, everyone has points, and they will try their best to match opponents with the same number of wins. Finally, the total points will be calculated, and the top ten players in points will advance to the main tournament.

Yu Shao quickly arrived at Yaxuan Pavilion. Even though there were still more than 20 minutes before the competition, many contestants were already waiting in the room.

Although there were many people in the room, it was surprisingly quiet at this moment. Everyone was silent, as if they had something on their mind.

The room was filled with a heavy and tense atmosphere, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Feeling the unique atmosphere of this extremely familiar arena, Yu Shao was a little dazed for a moment.

Yu Shao shook his head and looked towards the fifth table.

At this time, there was no one at the fifth table. It was obvious that the man named Qiao Anli had not arrived yet.

Yu Shao walked to the fifth table, pulled out a chair and sat down, waiting for his opponent to arrive and the game to begin.

At this time, the two teenagers also walked into the hall together. After reporting their numbers to the front desk staff, they also learned about their opponents and competition rooms.

"Old Joe, it's a good thing we didn't fight."

One of the boys, who was about 16 years old and had acne all over his face, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If we have to fight each other in the first round of the preliminaries, it will be really disgusting."

"As long as we both have high points and keep winning, we will definitely face off."

Qiao Anli smiled and said, "In order to avoid being crushed by me, it would be better if you lose one or two games to keep your points down."

"Fuck, our record in the dojo is evenly matched, okay?"

The acne-covered boy's eyes widened and he said, "You've won eleven of the twenty games we've played. That's two more than I have. How dare you say such arrogant things?"

"Hahahaha, if I win one more game, that means my winning rate is higher."

Qiao Anli couldn't help laughing and said, "Where does the fifty-fifty saying come from?"

The two walked forward. Their two competition venues were not in the same place, and soon it was time to part, so they both stopped.

"Although given our strength, the preliminaries shouldn't be a problem, I still feel a little nervous."

The acne-covered boy took a deep breath and said with a wry smile, "It's just a preliminary round."

"Even though it's a qualifier, it's still a qualifier for the Dan Tournament, so it's inevitable to have some pressure."

Qiao Anli shook his head and said, "But our goal is to become a professional. Remember this. As for pressure, we should wait until we reach the finals."

"You have a really good attitude."

The boy with acne all over his face said with envy.

"I'm already thinking about how I'm going to beat you if I meet you someday."

Qiao Anli smiled and said, "Don't lose the game. If the wins and losses are inconsistent in the end, I may not be able to meet you again."

…………

ps: Putting out a bowl to ask for monthly votes!

Please give me a monthly ticket!

(End of this chapter)