Chapter 417 The Future of Go
"If possible, I hope to have a place in next year's World Championship."
This is, Xu Zijin smiled faintly and spoke.
Hearing this, Yu Shao looked at Xu Zijin with some surprise.
In his impression, Xu Zijin was a person who would hide his thoughts. It was somewhat unlike Xu Zijin to express his desire so bluntly in public.
Not only that, it was also completely beyond Yu Shao's expectation that Xu Zijin could say such vicious words to tease Zheng Qin just now.
During this period of time, Xu Zijin seemed to have quietly become a little different.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Xu Zijin glanced at Yu Shao and said, "Who doesn't want to make it to the World Championship and become the protagonist of the story?"
"story?"
Yu Shao was stunned and a little confused.
"Yes, there have been so many stories in previous World Championships."
Xu Zijin's eyes were filled with nostalgia as she said, "A long time ago, most people believed that women would never become top Go players."
"Until the Japanese female Go player, 9th dan Konishi Riko, emerged and became invincible in the world competition, defeating countless male Go players, including former Japanese Go master Seto Kowa, and shocking the world."
"However, facing the then-prominent teachers Zhao Zhengyang and Sun Shangxun, Mr. Lizi was never able to win the world championship."
"Until one session, Mr. Lizi, with his undefeated record, actually defeated Mr. Zhao Zhengyang and Mr. Sun Shangxun successively, making it all the way to the finals."
"Everyone thought that Mr. Lizi would finally get his wish in this World Championship."
"In the finals, Mr. Ritsuko met Mr. Yasuhiro Seki, who was just starting out at the time."
"The two sides fought fiercely for five games. The first four were decided by half a point. In the fifth game, Li Zi's big dragon was brutally slaughtered, and he missed the world championship again. Li Zi shed tears on the court."
"After that, Teacher Ritsuko never achieved such impressive results again. In the third year, she passed away due to illness. Before she died, she said that with Teacher Yasuhiroishi around, she was destined to never become a world champion."
Hearing this, Le Haoqiang couldn't help but sigh and said, "When Teacher Lizi said this back then, she was somewhat resentful, but compared to resentment, perhaps she was more regretful, right?"
When talking about this past event, everyone couldn't help but sigh.
Even Yu Shao couldn't help but feel emotional when he heard this story about a chess player that was unique to this world.
Go is such a cruel game. Skill is everything and the fittest survive. Even if you give everything, you may not necessarily get a satisfactory reward.
"And that time, when Kimura Go-sensei achieved a stunning comeback with three supernatural moves and defeated Lee Taehyung-sensei, it was truly shocking and unforgettable!"
"Park Jae-han swept the World Championship with his cosmic style, bold movements, and unparalleled bloodiness. It was also amazing!"
"And then there was the ultimate match between Mr. Zhuang Weisheng and Mr. An Hongshi, a fierce battle of ten games, each one bringing tears to my eyes!"
Everyone started talking at once, discussing the World Championships that were still fresh in their memories.
Listening to everyone's discussion, Yu Shao glanced at Xu Zijin inconspicuously.
There were so many stories worth talking about at the World Championship, but Xu Zijin only talked about this past incident with Xiao Xilizi. It can be seen what Xu Zijin was thinking -
The first female Go world champion.
This is not just difficult.
"In short, the World Championship stage is filled with countless love-hate stories. Almost every World Championship is memorable. Some stories make your blood boil, while others move you to tears."
Zheng Qin smiled, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. He said, "China is not small, but when you look at the world as a whole, it seems small. The World Championship stage is the true arena for chess players. The World Championship has never disappointed anyone!"
"Depend on!"
Le Haoqiang couldn't help but curse: "The more you say that, the more jealous I feel."
Le Haoqiang then clasped his hands together in a prayerful gesture, saying, "Buddha bless you, God bless you, Guanyin Bodhisattva bless you! Please let me participate in the next World Championship!"
"I really want to participate in the world championship and compete with players from all over the world!"
Hearing this, Zheng Qin couldn't help but feel a little proud and said, "What's wrong with just going through the motions? Some people can't even go through the motions!"
"What are you so proud of?"
Upon hearing this, Le Haoqiang couldn't help but roll his eyes: "I've been accumulating experience for a long time. As soon as I make it to the World Championship, I'm aiming for the top 16!"
The group walked and talked.
Soon everyone arrived at a beautifully decorated hot pot restaurant, sat down, and started ordering dishes with great interest.
"That's right."
Just after ordering, Zheng Qin suddenly remembered something. He turned to look at Yu Shao and said mysteriously, "Yu Shao, did you know that the Go ranking tournament ended not long ago? There were people you knew among them."
Yu Shao was stunned when he heard this. He really didn't pay much attention to the Go ranking tournament. He didn't even know when it started and ended.
As for acquaintances...
Yu Shao quickly reacted and asked, "Zhuang Fei?"
"Hahaha, yes."
Zheng Qin smiled and nodded, jokingly saying, "Teacher Zhuang Weisheng's son actually failed to qualify for the professional professional title last year. It's all thanks to you."
"Don't wrongly accuse me."
Yu Shao shook his head and said righteously, "After he fell into the loser's bracket, he had a chance to climb back out. His failure to qualify last year should be blamed on Fang Haoxin!"
Hearing this, Wu Zhixuan suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Speaking of Fang Haoxin, he's had a very good record recently. He's won all the games in the Go Saint Tournament and only lost two games!"
"This year, Zhuang Fei was undefeated and qualified for the professional dan position."
Zheng Qin rubbed his chin and said, "It's said that he's a very strong chess player. He wins every game in the middle game. He has no rivals at all. After officially becoming a professional chess player, I'm afraid he'll seek revenge on Fang Haoxin."
After saying that, Zheng Qin looked up at Le Haoqiang and said solemnly, "How is it? Do you feel the pressure, Xiaole?"
Le Haoqiang, who had been silent the whole time, was suddenly hit by Zheng Qin's Q and was completely stunned.
After realizing what was happening, Le Haoqiang's eyes widened instantly and he said angrily, "Fuck, Zheng Qin, what do you mean?! Do you think I'll be caught up by those two?!"
"I didn't say that."
Zheng Qin put on an innocent expression and immediately shook his head: "You said that yourself."
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Speaking of which, now that the qualifying tournament is over, the Torch War is about to begin, right?"
Wu Zhixuan blinked, and suddenly thought of something. She looked at Yu Shao and asked, "Yu Shao, if you accept the Xinhuo War, is it possible that Zhuang Fei's opponent's partner will be you?"
Yu Shao was stunned by the question, and everyone present was also stunned.
Could Zhuang Fei's opponent's partner be Yu Shao?
They hadn't originally thought in this direction, but after Wu Zhixuan mentioned it, if they thought about it carefully...
It's really possible!
Zhuang Fei's partner is most likely Zhuang Weisheng, after all, they are father and son fighting together. And if Yu Shao agrees to participate in the Xinhuo Battle, he may really become the partner of Zhuang Fei's opponent!
"Holy shit?"
Le Haoqiang's expression turned a bit strange. "My opponent from a year ago is now sitting across from me again, and... in this capacity?"
"Yu Shao!"
Wu Zhixuan suddenly slammed the table, looking like she was enjoying the fun and excitedly said, "You must participate in the Xinhuo Battle, absolutely! Tell Chairman Ma that you want to apply to be Zhuang Fei's opponent's partner!"
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The others were also having fun, and each of them became extremely excited: "You must participate in the Xinhuo War. You got the title in a year, but if you don't participate in the Xinhuo War, wouldn't it be a waste of the title?"
"If I don't participate in the Fire War, will this title be in vain?"
Yu Shao was confused and felt that it was a bit outrageous. He shook his head and refused: "Forget it, I——"
"It seems that it can't be counted."
Zheng Qin thought for a moment and said seriously, "I seem to have heard that if a chess player wins a title for the first time, in order to motivate new chess players, as long as the title holder has not competed recently, he or she must participate in this year's Xinhuo Battle."
"ha?"
Yu Shao was completely confused.
Why is there such a rule?
"Now that you have the title, you must bear the burden that comes with it. As the saying goes, if you wear the crown, you must bear its weight."
Zheng Qin patted Yu Shao on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Yu Shao, although you are only seventeen years old, you are already the one who needs to pass on the flame of Go to the next generation of players!"
…
…
On the other side, the United States, California.
"They should see how Su Yiming and I played."
A handsome blond man in his twenties, wearing round-framed glasses, was reading media reports on his computer. He couldn't help but smile and said, "I'm offended."
"He has the capital to say this."
A voice sounded beside the man.
The person who spoke was none other than Ma Dong, the chess player who led the team to China to compete for the game, and the current holder of one of the seven major Go titles in the United States, Grandmaster.
"Ma Dong, I didn't say no. Wasn't I watching how he and Su Yiming played?"
The blond man shook his head and smiled. "If anyone else said that, I'd think they were arrogant. But after seeing those two games at the Gemini Cup, I just thought, well, I really need to watch more."
"More and more outstanding young chess players are emerging in China."
Ma Dong frowned and said, "If it were just Yu Shao and Su Yiming, it would be fine, but there are also Zheng Qin, Qin Lang, Le Haoqiang, Che Wenyu and others. Each of them has a bright future."
"Also, I heard that there are quite a few talented Go players who have just been promoted to Dan this year in China, such as Zhuang Weisheng's son Zhuang Fei, as well as Yuan Jing and He Yu."
Ma Dong looked a little worried, sighed, and said, "On the other hand, among the young players who have been promoted to Dan this year, I don't see any outstanding talents. Zeng Jun is talented, but compared to Yu Su, he is far behind."
"It's okay, don't you have me?"
The blond man shrugged and said with a relaxed smile, "The overall Go level is meaningful, but not much. Go only needs to look at the strongest player in a country, that's enough."
Ma Dong didn't agree with this, but he didn't refute it. After thinking about it, he asked with some disbelief: "So, you are sure you can beat Yu Shao and Su Yiming?"
"No."
The blond man said calmly.
Hearing this answer, Ma Dong was speechless and didn't say a word for a long time.
"But didn't he say that we should see how he and Su Yiming play?"
The blond man looked at the computer screen and smiled. "I think it makes a lot of sense. I benefited a lot from just reading it once, so I really plan to read it more."
"well……"
Ma Dong couldn't help but sigh, feeling helpless about what to do with the blond man.
"Andre, you've really made great progress this year. It's going to be very difficult for me to beat you, even if I try my best. But it's useless if you're the only one who's strong. There needs to be someone who can keep up with you."
Ma Dong thought for a moment and said, "At the moment, it seems that no one can keep up with you, not even Zeng Jun. Those first-dan players are the future of Go."
"The future of Go?"
Ander smiled, looked at the computer screen in front of him, slowly stood up, patted the computer, and the smile on his face gradually faded. He said in an inexplicable tone: "I think the future of Go should be here."
Hearing this, Ma Dong was stunned.
"Go is too complex. Human power is finite. It would be impossible to find the answer to Go in a lifetime."
Ender pushed his glasses up on his nose and said, "Then we can only rely on data and code."
"Ender, are you crazy?"
Ma Dong shook his head and said, "There are approximately 10^170 to 10^808 variations in Go, and the total number of observable atoms in the universe is approximately 10^80."
"In other words, the variations in Go far exceed the total number of observable atoms in the universe!"
"There's no way a computer can calculate all the variations in Go. Technology companies have developed Go software before, but a computer can't even match an amateur player, let alone a professional."
Hearing this, Ander shook his head and said, "It's not necessary to list them all."
“Not exhaustive?”
Ma Dong thought this was ridiculous and calmly analyzed, "You have to understand that Go requires a sense of the overall situation, and computers are destined to lack this. Without this, they must exhaustively enumerate, but exhaustive enumeration is obviously impossible."
"Computers have cracked countless chess and board games, but Go is unique. It's been around for four thousand years, and yet humans still haven't been able to comprehend its essence."
"This is also the charm of Go."
Ander did not deny Ma Dong's words and said with a smile: "Master Ma Dong, you are right."
"But can we create a neural network that gives Go software a feel for the game? Then, by feeding it all the previous human game records, it would be like seeing an entire tree, and then calculating the probability distribution of moves based on the branches of the trunk?"
“Then perhaps software has a bigger picture.”
Ma Dong frowned further and further upon hearing this. He shook his head and said, "I still don't think it's feasible. Go sense is unique to humans, and overall perspective is something that carries strong emotional overtones."
"If a computer had a global perspective, wouldn't that be like it having emotions? How is that even possible? Furthermore, inputting all the previous chess records and calculating the probability of moves would be an enormous undertaking."
Ander stretched and said, "Master Ma Dong, I actually think it's a bit outrageous that I gave the computer a sense of the overall situation and chess."
"Maybe it really won't work, but we have to give everything a try, right?"
"After all, if we fail, there won't be much loss. If we succeed, there will be huge benefits."
Ander rubbed his chin and continued, "I have accepted Apollo Technologies' invitation and am willing to serve as their Go consultant."
"The project has already begun. Although it's progressing very slowly and has encountered various difficulties, even if it succeeds, it won't be a short time. But... I think it's worth a try."
"Because we lost the previous chess competition, the government has injected a lot of money into this project. They hold a significant stake, so it can be said to be a national-level project."
"Therefore, Apollo Technologies has promised that if the project is truly successful, it will not be used for commercial purposes immediately, but will first be used for training by our professional chess players."
"If this project is truly successful, then he might become our country's strongest Go player, and we will hold the key to the Go arena."
“It’s up to us to decide who gets in.”
"That's why I say that when it comes to Go, you only need to look at the strongest player in a country. That's all that's needed."
"Let's not talk about this for now."
"What if, I mean what if...the answer to Go is really in there?"
"Anyway, let's give it a try."
Ander exhaled lightly, turned his head to look at Ma Dong, and asked, "Master Ma Dong, as a Go player, don't you want to know the answer to Go?"
"That which is hidden on the chessboard, which has troubled mankind for four thousand years, which has haunted the dreams of hundreds of millions of people, and which has caused millions to sit in front of the chessboard in despair, yet remains elusive—"
Ander's eyes became a little sharp, and after a pause, he said softly:
"The answer to Go."
Please give me a monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)
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