Chapter 119 Will He Be This Year’s Dark Horse?

In the entire Group E, the three strongest players are Qiao Anli and He Zhian, two young men who are striving for the title of Dan, and Miao Xiaoxiao, a well-known amateur player.

But they were defeated in the first seven rounds alone! Even so, because of the selection process in the first seven rounds of the preliminaries, the opponents who could match Yu Shao later, although not as strong as Qiao Anli and the other two, were definitely not weak.

"I lost..."

Inside the game room, a young man about eighteen years old looked at the chessboard in front of him for a long time. Finally, he lowered his head unwillingly, placed two chess pieces on the board, and chose to admit defeat.

"The tip of the white piece is the most solid way to play. The chess pattern is very thick and difficult to break into, so the black piece sticks, which is the most natural response."

A referee stood behind Yu Shao. He witnessed the entire game. Until this moment, he was still looking at the chessboard with great shock, refusing to move his eyes away.

"But this guy named Yu Shao used his hand to force Bai Zi to let go of his tight breath, and then he immediately chose to dig it off..."

"This move was perfectly timed, sharp and precise, fierce and tricky!"

"I didn't expect this at all, and his opponent obviously didn't expect it either..."

"No wonder Qiao Anli, He Zhian, and Miao Xiaoxiao all lost to him. He has such chess skills that no one has ever heard of before."

He was the referee in this game room today. He heard his colleague ask him to pay attention to this guy named Yu Shao, so he came to watch this game.

As a result, he saw this game in which the opponent was absolutely crushed by his chess skills.

"Although some of his moves didn't seem very logical, his mid-game power was so strong and his calculations were profound. If it were in previous years, I would have no doubt that he could become a professional chess player."

"Unfortunately, this year is different..."

The referee couldn't help but look at Yu Shao, feeling a little complicated.

“However, I have to say that even this year, his chess skills still have a good chance of becoming a professional chess player!”

"I've never heard of the name Yu Shao before..."

"Will he be a dark horse this year?"

Hearing what the young man opposite him said, Yu Shao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It’s not because it was so difficult to win this game, but with the end of this game, the qualifying rounds of the professional chess tournament that lasted for so many days finally came to an end.

It's finally over! His record is the only one in Group E that has won all the games.

"Thanks for your advice."

Yu Shao lowered his head and spoke.

The 18-year-old young man sitting opposite Yu Shao was silent for a moment after hearing Yu Shao's words. Finally, he nodded with difficulty and said in return: "Thank you for your advice."

After hearing the young man's words, Yu Shao stood up and looked at the referee behind him.

Seeing Yu Shao looking at him, the referee finally came to his senses and nodded towards Yu Shao, indicating that he already knew the outcome of the game.

Seeing this, Yu Shao was about to leave the game room to eat, but the referee quickly called Yu Shao in a low voice: "Wait a moment."

Yu Shao was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the referee in confusion, wondering why the referee called him.

The referee took a deep look at Yu Shao, and then explained: "After the preliminaries are over today, the players in this group who have qualified for the main tournament will be photographed and filmed by reporters from the chess association. Remember to return to the competition venue after dinner."

Hearing this, Yu Shao was a little surprised.

I just qualified for the tournament, but there are reporters coming to take photos and videos?

But Yu Shao quickly reacted, nodded, and said, "Okay, I'll be back after dinner."

After saying that, Yu Shao left the game room.

Soon, Yu Shao arrived at the lobby and was about to go out for dinner, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the free snacks and fruits provided by the hotel lobby for the contestants.

"I don't seem that hungry."

Yu Shao thought about it and decided that he would have to come back soon anyway, so he just didn't bother to go out for dinner.

So Yu Shao took some snacks, sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby, and started eating.

Yu Shao's game of chess ended relatively quickly today, so most of the chess players were still concentrating on their own games and fighting hard. At this time, besides Yu Shao, there were only some staff members in the hall.

"The results of this year's Fangyuan Cup selection are out?"

On another sofa nearby, several staff members were gathered together chatting.

"Out! Gao Pengze 7th Dan, Li Jiefang 6th Dan, Lu Ding 5th Dan, Ji Hounan 5th Dan, and Yu Liyang 5th Dan."

A middle-aged man in his forties thought for a moment and said, "The five of them will compete in this Fangyuan Cup."

"As expected, Zheng Qin 2nd Dan failed to pass the selection in the end."

Hearing this, someone couldn't help but sigh and said, "I thought Zheng Qin 2nd Dan could pass."

"Zheng Qin?"

Hearing the name Zheng Qin, Yu Shao was a little surprised and looked at the group of staff.

"He is only a second dan, and has been a professional chess player for less than a year. How could he possibly pass the Fangyuan Cup selection?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and smiled, saying, "This is a selection for all young chess players between the ages of 18 and 21. How do you think Zheng Qin, 2nd Dan, can pass?"

"Because I heard that Zheng Qin 2nd Dan is growing very fast. After he became a professional chess player, he lost to Liao Shuang 2nd Dan for the first time. But now Liao Shuang 2nd Dan is no match for him at all!"

The man said, "It's only been a year."

"That's true. It's just a pity."

The middle-aged man sighed, "Zheng Qin 2nd Dan was an amateur chess player after all. If he had been trained in a dojo since he was a child, it would be hard to imagine how good he would be now."

"For example, Yu Liyang, 5th Dan, is one year younger than Zheng Qin, 2nd Dan, but he was promoted to Dan much earlier than Zheng Qin, 2nd Dan, and he is a teenager trying to get promoted. Even if Zheng Qin, 2nd Dan, is very talented, it will be difficult for him to catch up, right?"

"After all, they are all geniuses and are still in their rising stages."

Hearing this, a staff member shook his head and said, "No, I think... we can catch up."

"Um?"

Everyone was stunned and looked at the staff who was speaking.

"You probably didn't watch the game between Zheng Qin 2nd Dan and Yu Liyang 5th Dan, right?"

He hesitated for a moment and said, "I saw it."

He paused before continuing, "Although Yu Liyang 5th Dan won in the end, his victory was... not easy at all."

Hearing this, everyone was stunned, their expressions showing some disbelief.

"Zheng Qin, 2nd Dan, was not that interested in Go before. He just wanted to treat it as a hobby and become a professional Go player. I actually knew him before he became a professional Go player."

The staff member who had just spoken slowly said, "But... a year ago, he seemed like a different person. He only started to practice and learn chess seriously a year ago."

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Everyone looked at each other for a moment, and they could all see the shock on each other's faces.

By the way...become a professional chess player?

Other amateur players, although not as focused on Go as the young dan-chao, have also put in a lot of hard work! "Then... what was the reason that led to Zheng Qin's transformation?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask.

"That's something only he knows."

The staff member smiled and shook his head.

Yu Shao listened silently to the conversation between the staff members, and his mind couldn't help but recall the two games he played with Zheng Qin in Shanhai Chess Hall a year ago.

"It's been a year since Zheng Qin and I played our second game of chess..."

"After I become a professional chess player, maybe it won't be long before I have my third game against Zheng Qin, right?"

Thinking of this, Yu Shao felt inexplicably complicated for a moment.

He knew that Zheng Qin must have been waiting for that day for a very long time.

"I don't know what kind of chess move Zheng Qin will make at that time."

As time passed, the contestants in the game room finally began to come out one after another.

Most of them had very heavy expressions. There was even a boy about eleven years old who burst into tears as soon as he walked out of the game room. His mother squatted beside him and tried to comfort him.

Yu Shao was speechless when he saw this scene. It was normal that he didn't get promoted to the upper level at the age of eleven. In his previous life, he got promoted to the upper level at the age of twelve. Not to mention that the competition for promotion in this life was so fierce.

But Yu Shao could actually understand this.

Although it is normal to fail to qualify as a professional player at the age of eleven, you will still feel pain and unwillingness when you fail to qualify.

People who are older can still bear it, but it is difficult for young people to bear this kind of pain, so it is normal to cry.

Only a few people had flushed faces and uncontrollable excitement on their faces. It was obvious that they had performed well and got tickets to the competition.

At around six o'clock in the afternoon, all the games were finally over!

The top ten players in Group E have finally been selected. They will get tickets to the main tournament and continue on their path to becoming professional chess players.

As for the others, they can only become stepping stones for these ten people.

All the contestants have now gathered in the lobby of the competition hotel, filling the hall to the brim. Although there are many people, it is very quiet and the atmosphere is somewhat depressing.

Several reporters and cameramen were constantly pressing shutter buttons at the front of the crowd, taking photos and videos.

"Now let me announce the top ten contestants in the Group E qualifiers. Please step out when your names are read."

In the hall, the referee with a goatee held up the score sheet and said loudly: "First place in the men's group, Yu Shao; second place, Miao Xiaoxiao; third place, Qiao Anli; fourth place, He Zhian; fifth place, Zhou Weifang..."

After hearing the referee read out his name, Yu Shao walked out of the crowd.

The moment Yu Shao walked out of the crowd, everyone couldn't help but look at him with complicated eyes.

Qiao Anli, He Zhian, and Miao Xiaoxiao, who were previously considered to have the best chance of competing for the top three points, all lost to the little-known Yu Shao without exception.

Until now, this still seems unbelievable to them.

Soon, the top ten contestants in the men's and women's groups, a total of twenty people, had all stepped out and stood at the front.

The reporters and photographers were carrying cameras and camcorders in front, taking pictures of Yu Shao and the other twenty people.

"The above ten male contestants and ten female contestants will advance to this competition!"

"I hope you can keep up the good work. The preliminaries are just the beginning. I hope you can continue to perform well in the next games and eventually become a professional chess player."

The goateed referee paused for a moment, then continued, "Finally, I hope that the players who were eliminated in the preliminaries will not be discouraged. Thank you for the wonderful games you played in the preliminaries."

"The end of one game is the beginning of the next. Go is a long road worth learning for a lifetime!"

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(End of this chapter)