Chapter 363 I Won’t Escape From You Anymore
Another three days passed.
When the clock pointed to twelve o'clock, the next day, even though it was still early in the morning, the number of people in the official live broadcast room of the National Team Battle began to surge at an astonishing rate!
Today is the final round of the national players' competition!
Today's game of chess will determine who will qualify to challenge the national players. If Yu Shao wins today, he can directly challenge the national players.
If Li Congyou wins, he will have to play another game. If Li Congyou wins the second game again, then it will be Li Congyou who will challenge the national player! In the first round of this tournament, Li Congyou played against Yu Shao, and he lost that game.
In other words, this will be a battle of revenge!
"The game between Li Congyou 8th dan and Mr. Zhuang Weisheng a few days ago was amazing. Li Congyou's performance was absolutely superb, and his calculations were so precise that it was breathtaking!"
"Li Congyou is still strong. Although he has reached the level of a title holder, his luck is still not good enough. After so many years, he still hasn't won the title. This year he is facing a monster like Yu Shao. I don't know how he will win."
"Yes, as a genius who was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhu Huaian, now Zhu Huaian has two major titles, but Li Congyou has not yet obtained a title. I'm afraid he will really have to try his best this time."
“I don’t know if Li Congyou’s dream of getting the title will come true this year, but Yu Shao is only seventeen years old this year. It’s incredible that he has actually made it this far.”
"If Yu Shao makes it all the way to the Challenge Tournament and finally wins the title at the age of seventeen, he will truly be considered a god!"
Barrages of comments kept floating around in the live broadcast room, and all netizens were discussing the national team competition that would begin soon. The outcome of this match was on everyone's mind.
After all, the seven major title tournaments have been the highest level of domestic Go competitions in various countries since ancient times. Except for some large international competitions, there are almost no other competitions that can compare with the title tournaments! On this road, many heroes are vying for the top spot. If you want to get the title, you must defeat one world-famous master after another to finally enter the hall of the title!
Now, this will be the battle that determines who can step half a foot into the title hall, and the number of people paying attention to it is naturally incomparable to the previous rounds!
Time passes amid the heated discussions across the entire Internet.
At around 7am, the number of people watching the National Players Battle official live broadcast room had exceeded 10 million, and the number was still rising! At around 9am, the number of people watching the live broadcast room reached a terrifying 40 million, and the trending searches on major social platforms were dominated by the three words "National Players Battle".
Can Yu Shao continue to take that step? And can Li Congyou realize the dream he has been working hard for for more than ten years?
As the game was about to start, the barrage of comments in the live broadcast room, which had been constantly popping up before, started to decrease.
I don’t know if it’s because it’s cloudy today, so the entire East China Sea is gray, everyone’s heart is beginning to feel heavy.
There seemed to be a sense of tension gradually spreading in the air, as if a great war was about to break out and a storm was about to come.
At this time, in a high-end apartment in Donghai, Jiang Changdong and Chu Jingfeng sat in front of the computer, looking at the live broadcast room with a black screen, without saying a word.
On the other side, in the reporter's office of Jiangling Chess Academy, Ding Huan was also looking at the computer screen nervously, as if he had foreseen that a big battle was about to begin.
In Seoul, South Korea, a group of young professional chess players gathered in front of a computer. They had already set up a four-legged chess table and opened the lids of the chess boxes, ready to take apart the chess pieces simultaneously when the game began.
In New York, USA, a group of people sat on a big sofa and looked at the TV screen. The youngest of them was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and the oldest looked to be in his early fifties. Zeng Jun was also among them.
now--
The eyes of all over the world are focused here!
National players battle, this competition, final round!
At this time, in the talk room, two referees and the music notator were already sitting upright.
The three of them were in extremely complicated moods at the moment. They couldn't control their gazes and subconsciously glanced towards the center of the chess room from time to time, looking at the young man who was already sitting on one side of the chess table.
Li Congyou had already arrived, even earlier than them.
But since they came to the chess room, Li Congyou has been silent. He just stared at the chessboard in front of him with a stern expression, and they didn't even dare to talk to him.
Li Congyou was just sitting there. Even before Yu Shao arrived, there was an inexplicable sense of oppression in the air, so heavy that they could hardly breathe.
They all understood what this game of chess meant to Li Congyou.
They couldn't help but be curious about what Li Congyou was thinking as he was about to fight with Yu Shao again.
After all, Li Congyou had already lost to Yu Shao once!
Perhaps, it was because Li Congyou, the eighth dan, lost the previous game, so the next game was destined to be filled with a touch of tragic and fierce color.
Time passes by every second.
The entire chat room was filled with silence.
“Squeak.”
Finally, with a creaking sound, the door of the chat room was slowly pushed open.
The four people in the chat room immediately looked towards the door, and all eyes were instantly focused on the door.
But when they saw the person coming, the four of them were slightly startled.
The person who came was not Yu Shao, but...Zhuang Weisheng.
Outsiders are usually not allowed to enter the games held in the chess talk room, but players participating in the competition are an exception. As long as they do not disturb the players, they are allowed to watch the game.
Zhuang Weisheng glanced around the discussion room, and finally came to the referee's seat silently without saying anything.
Li Congyou also said nothing, quickly withdrew his gaze from Zhuang Weisheng, and continued to wait for his opponent to arrive.
"In the recent game, Li Congyou, 8th Dan, played very beautifully and eventually defeated Mr. Zhuang Weisheng."
A referee couldn't help but look at Zhuang Weisheng, then at Li Congyou, thinking silently in his heart.
After a while, the door of the chat room creaked open again, and then a handsome boy about seventeen years old slowly walked into the chat room.
The chat room suddenly became even quieter.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the person who came, even Zhuang Weisheng was no exception.
Li Congyou's eyes were also deeply attracted by the visitor and he could not look away. Then he stood up and stared at the visitor closely. Although the visitor was still young, there was no look of contempt in his eyes.
"Yu Shao Sandan, you are here."
Li Congyou looked at Yu Shao who was standing at the door of the chat room and finally spoke.
Upon hearing this, Yu Shao raised his eyes to look at Li Congyou, but saw Li Congyou looking at him with sharp eyes, and was silent for a moment.
There was no trace of retreat in this gaze, it was extremely firm, with stubbornness, unwillingness, and a strong desire to fight, or murderous intent, as if it was burning with flames!
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Yu Shao."
Li Congyou spoke in a serious and earnest voice.
"Sorry, I'm a little late."
Yu Shao apologized, then finally took a step forward and walked towards the chess table in the middle of the chess room. He soon came to the opposite side of Li Congyou, then pulled out a chair and sat down.
Li Congyou opened his mouth but didn't say anything in the end. He sat back in his seat, closed his eyes, and kept breathing. His chest rose and fell, as if he was adjusting his emotions.
The female music notator standing by was even surprised to notice that Li Congyu's right hand was actually trembling slightly at this moment.
She suddenly remembered what her Go teacher told her when she was learning Go: a Go player is one who pursues with a trembling body and challenges with awe.
In her opinion, Li Congyou is the chess player she needs to challenge with awe, but Li Congyou's right hand is actually trembling slightly when facing a 17-year-old boy? "Although Yu Shaoxia defeated Li Congyou not long ago, there is no need to... Li Congyou's level of 8th dan is top-notch even if you look at the whole world!"
The female music notator was in disbelief: "This is too much!"
The two referees beside the female scorekeeper didn't notice Li Congyou's slightly trembling right hand, but they also felt that the already depressing atmosphere had become even more tense since Yu Shao's arrival! Time continued to pass.
The time for the competition is getting closer.
Li Congyou seemed to have finally adjusted his mentality. His right hand stopped trembling, and his chest stopped rising and falling. He finally opened his eyes, looked directly at Yu Shao, and his expression became calm.
The tit-for-tat and tense atmosphere in the air has intensified!
finally.
A few minutes later, a referee looked at his watch, took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and finally said, "Time's up!"
"The match time is three hours for each side, with a one and a half minute countdown, and black will be given a seven and a half point handicap!"
The referee looked at Yu Shao, then at Li Congyou, and said, "Now, the two players can start guessing the first move!"
Hearing this, Li Congyou reached out his hand, grabbed a handful of white pieces from the chess box, and held them in his palm. Seeing this, Yu Shao immediately reached into the chess box, took out a black piece, and placed it on the chessboard.
White chess pieces, six.
Black chess piece, one.
After seeing the result of the guessing, the referee spoke again: "In this game, Yu Shao, 3rd dan, plays black first, and Li Congyou, 8th dan, plays white second!"
Hearing the referee's words, Li Congyou bowed his head slightly towards Yu Shao and said softly, "Please give me more advice."
Yu Shao also bowed his head in return and said, "Please give me your guidance."
Seeing that the two of them had finished their thoughts, the notator, the two referees, and Zhuang Weisheng all became more serious! The game had begun!
Yu Shao lowered his eyes and looked at the empty chessboard in front of him. After a moment, he finally reached into the chess box, picked up the chess piece, and in the silence, he made his first move.
Da! Sixteen columns and four rows, stars! The chess pieces fell on the chessboard, like meteors streaking across the sky, and when they landed on the board, they burst into dazzling brilliance!
Li Congyou looked at the chessboard in front of him, at the black piece occupying the star position in the upper right corner, but he was hesitant to make a move.
He thought again of the previous game of chess he had played with Yu Shao.
The last time, in the game between him and Yu Shao, although he tried to fight back with robbery many times, in the end, he still lost, and it could even be said that he was defeated miserably!
After that, he watched Yu Shao's subsequent chess games, almost every one of them, and then continued to study and look at them.
But the more chess records he read, the more he studied, the more he saw the amazing moves, the new understanding that almost overturned his view of Go, he began to... want to escape! Because he was a good chess player, he knew very well how powerful Yu Shao's moves were! All his pride collapsed in front of those chess records, and nothing was left!
At one point he even didn't want to fight with Yu Shao anymore, nor did he want to face Yu Shao. He was afraid of playing against Yu Shao again!
So, he called Zhu Huaian before.
That was not only a call to Zhu Huaian, but also a call to himself.
No one can stop him from moving forward, no one! "I... won't run away anymore!"
Li Congyou reached into the chess box again, touched the chess pieces with his fingertips, and felt the cold touch of the chess pieces! "I finally understand that if I shrink back because of this, if I don't face you again, if I just keep avoiding you, my chess skills will never improve at all!"
Finally, the chess piece was clamped out and fell down quickly!
Da! Four columns and sixteen rows, a star! Seeing this move, the two referees and the scorekeeper in the chess discussion room were slightly stunned.
Although this was just an ordinary move, for some reason, they seemed to feel something unusual from it.
But what it was, they couldn't tell.
"This is... Hand Talk."
Zhuang Weisheng looked at the chessboard and the white chess piece that had just been placed, and was silent for a moment.
“All the thoughts and feelings of a chess player go into every move.”
Zhuang Weisheng moved his eyes away from the chessboard, raised his head and looked at Yu Shao.
"What kind of game are you going to play?"
"I can feel it. From this move, I can clearly feel—"
"Li Congyou, with the determination to fight to the death, challenges you!"
"Although he lost to you before, past victories and defeats do not represent current victories and defeats!"
"A chess player with this desperate mentality can create miracles!"
Yu Shao looked down at the chessboard, and seemed to be able to hear something from the sound of the chess pieces falling.
"A desperate fight?"
After a moment, Yu Shao finally picked out the chess piece and put it down again.
"So--"
Da! Three columns and four rows, small eyes! "Come on!"
Yu Shao placed his chess piece, then raised his head and looked at Li Congyou on the opposite side! Seeing Yu Shao place his chess piece, Li Congyou immediately picked up his chess piece and placed it on the chessboard again.
Da! Seventeen columns and sixteen rows, small eye! At this point, the two sides have formed a classic pattern of star small eye against star small eye. This layout is very flexible, and it is completely unpredictable what the final outcome of the game will be!
“I must win!”
Li Congyou picked up the chess piece again and moved it very quickly!
"I am determined to win the national champion title this year, and no one can stop me!"
Da! Fifteen columns and sixteen rows, hanging high! Yu Shao followed closely behind, not wanting to be outdone, and also made his move quickly.
Da! Fifteen columns and seventeen rows, To!
(End of this chapter)
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