Chapter 450: What kind of chess move can be called a crushing victory?
"The first round of the World Championship has concluded. Now we are announcing the list of players who will advance to the next round..."
Finally, the commotion in the competition venue gradually subsided until Zhao Zhengyang's voice was heard again.
"Jiang Hanen, Yu Shao, Han Si, Su Yiming, Zhu Huaian, Dongshan Xun, Araki Ye..."
Whenever Zhao Zhengyang mentioned the name of a chess player, everyone would subconsciously look at the chess player whose name was mentioned.
Especially when Zhao Zhengyang mentioned the two names "Dongshan Xun" and "Arakino", it caused quite a stir.
Although Arakino was very famous ten years ago, he hasn't participated in any competitions in ten years. Many people think that Arakino cannot keep up with the times, and his performance may not be very good, or even very poor.
However, because Arakino's opponent in the first round was Zheng Qin, Zheng Qin was not very famous worldwide. Most people knew Zheng Qin only as a newcomer who had just played in the World Championship.
Therefore, many people were just a little surprised that Araki defeated Zheng Qin, and did not take it too seriously.
After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even though Araki has faded out of the Go world for ten years, he was once a player who single-handedly promoted the development of Go.
He transformed Go from an era of overall coordination to an era of competition based on strength and calculation. Even though Araki lost to Yasu Hiroiseki at the time, this achievement alone can still be described as great.
Therefore, even though Araki has faded from the chess world for ten years, he is still able to defeat rookie players after his comeback. Although most people are surprised, they can still understand it.
Compared to Araki, Kaoru Toyama was the dark horse that surprised everyone. After learning that Kaoru Toyama's opponent in the first round was his teacher, 10th Dan Kimurago, few people even thought that Kaoru Toyama had a chance of winning.
However, to everyone's surprise, Toyama Xun won in the end.
Many people in the crowd below the stage began to discuss in low voices.
"How did Toyama Xun win? Did Tendan Kimurago let his student down?"
"That's unlikely. This is the World Championship. And since Toyama Xun is his student, it's even more unlikely that Kimura Go-sensei would let him win in order to avoid gossip."
"Then how did Touyama Xun win?"
"Toyama Xun is very strong, he should have won that game." Someone who had watched the game between Toyama Xun and Kimura Go couldn't help but speak up.
"How is that possible? Although Toyama Xun is not weak, there should still be a big gap between him and top masters like Kimura Go, 10th Dan, right?" someone immediately retorted.
Soon, after announcing the names of all the players who had qualified for the second round, Zhao Zhengyang said in a deep voice, "These are the players who have qualified for the second round."
"Now, let's start the draw for the next round!"
Upon hearing this, all the noises in the audience suddenly stopped, and the expressions of the chess players who had qualified became more serious.
Even if half of the players were cruelly eliminated in the first round, this was only the first step.
In the next games, since the opponents are all players who survived the first round, the competition is destined to be more difficult and intense!
After the staff brought the lottery box and placed it on the table, all the qualified players walked forward silently and took out the lottery papers from the lottery box. The air was filled with an extremely depressing atmosphere.
Soon, it was Yu Shao's turn to draw lots.
Yu Shao walked forward, reached into the signature box, took out the signature paper, then opened it and took a look.
On the signature paper, it was written:
No. 23.
"Yu Shao, number 23."
Yu Shao withdrew his gaze from the signature paper, raised his head and said to the staff.
The staff nodded, quickly wrote down Yu Shao's signature number, and then said, "Next."
Immediately afterwards, Su Yiming, who was standing behind Yu Shao, walked to the signature box and took out his signature paper.
No. 89.
In this way, all the qualified players drew lots one after another. Because half of the players had been eliminated, this round of drawing lots was naturally much faster than before.
Before long, all the players had drawn their lots.
After the staff entered the lottery numbers into the computer one by one, not long after, Zhao Zhengyang took out a brand new printed paper and began to read out the lottery results.
"Number one, Qin Lang, yes, Shi Mi; number two, Matsushita Masao, yes, Pi Ai; number three..."
Soon, Zhao Zhengyang read out Yu Shao's name: "Number 23, Yu Shao, yes, Li Junhao."
Yu Shao was slightly startled when he heard the name of his opponent.
He still had some impression of his first-round opponent Dong He because he had appeared in the second China-US chess competition, but he had never heard of his opponent in this round, Li Junhao.
On the other side, on the North Korean team, a young man in his twenties, who was full of fighting spirit just now, became deflated instantly and his expression fell after hearing the result of the draw for the 23rd table.
"Ahh! Why me?"
The young man was about to cry, "This is only the second round! I want to hold on for a few more rounds!"
On the stage, Zhao Zhengyang continued to announce the draw results for each table. Every time a table was announced, it would cause discussions among many amateur chess players in the audience.
When Zhao Zhengyang announced the draw result for table 104, the crowd couldn't help but start discussing it.
Table 104, An Hongshi, yes, Kong Zi!
"Teacher An Hongshi, we are facing off against Master Kong Zi!" someone couldn't help but whisper.
"The second round is about to start, and it's going to be exciting. I'm afraid that not only Master Kong Zi doesn't want to see this result, but Teacher An Hongshi probably doesn't want to see it either. Both sides are under pressure."
"Teacher An Hongshi might feel a little pressured, but Master Kong Zi is definitely under more pressure... It's a single-elimination tournament, there's no second chance. Master Kong Zi is pretty unlucky."
"The others breathed a sigh of relief. Teacher An Hongshi and Teacher Kong Zi faced off. Suddenly, two powerful enemies disappeared, and the pressure dropped dramatically!"
Everyone was talking about it for a while, and they all looked at Kong Zi subconsciously. They saw that although Kong Zi's expression was a little heavy, he was still relatively calm overall.
Finally, after a while, Zhao Zhengyang finally announced all the draw results, and then he said, "The above are the results of tomorrow's competition. The match schedule will be uploaded to the Phoenix Cup official website later, and the players can check it themselves."
"Everyone, have a good rest today. The second round of competition will officially begin at 9:00 tomorrow morning!"
After saying that, Zhao Zhengyang finally turned around and walked off the stage.
Seeing the end of the draw ceremony for the second round of the competition, facing the results of the second round of draw, the audience instantly erupted in a flood of discussion!
"It's starting to get interesting. In the second round, not only is Mr. An Hongshi facing Mr. Kong Zi, but Mr. Jiang Changdong is also facing off against Go Saint Zhang Dongchen!"
"Also, the match between Jiang Hanen, 10th Dan, and Mr. Hans was also worth watching! I wouldn't be surprised if this match happened during the World Championship!"
"I remember the previous Go Saint Tournament, where Mr. Jiang Changdong challenged Mr. Zhang Dongchen. In the end, Mr. Zhang Dongchen successfully defended his Go Saint title with a score of 3 to 2. However, this time it wasn't a fan match, but a single-elimination tournament!"
"Teacher Jiang Changdong just lost his national team title. He's going to have to redeem himself in this world competition. I'm afraid he's going to have to fight tooth and nail."
"Unfortunately, Yu Shao's opponent is North Korean player Lee Junhao, 7th dan. I guess there won't be much suspense. I was hoping to see it."
"Su Yiming's luck in the draw is pretty good. He hasn't encountered a strong opponent in two consecutive rounds..."
"Go back and have a good sleep. I'll be fully refreshed and ready to watch the game tomorrow! I don't even know which game to watch. I want to watch them all."
Perhaps because half of the players were eliminated in the first round, the result of the final draw in the second round made many people excited.
While discussing enthusiastically, they walked out of the competition venue, full of anticipation for tomorrow's game.
Different from the onlookers who just enjoy watching the fun, the players in the game all have a heavy expression, and... a hint of fighting intent!
There are fewer and fewer people who can continue along the path to the World Championship, which also means that the next battlefield will become more and more difficult, and no one has the confidence that they can continue.
The only option is to fight!
…
…
Soon, it was the next day.
At around eight o'clock in the morning, many chess players arrived at the competition venue one after another. Just like yesterday, they all found their seats and sat down.
The only difference from yesterday is that the atmosphere in today's competition is obviously more murderous. After winning yesterday's game, most chess players have become more confident and determined, and less confused and nervous.
Therefore, compared to yesterday, they want to win more today!
Another difference is that half of the chess tables have been removed from the competition venue today. The competition venue was extremely crowded yesterday, but after the chess tables were removed, the competition venue became much more spacious.
After today's game is over, half of the chess tables will be removed, and the same will happen in the next few days, until all the chess tables are removed. Only the last table in the center of the huge competition venue will remain.
Such a large competition venue, such a big stage, is built just for this table. At that time, the Phoenix Cup World Championship finals will be fought at this last table!
After yesterday's game, although half of the players were eliminated, most of these eliminated players have returned to the competition venue one after another today.
They were still prepared to continue watching until the final Phoenix Cup World Championship was decided, and to see who would step on the countless bones, including their own, to reach the top.
Not long after, Yu Shao also arrived at the competition venue and quickly walked to table 23.
At table 23, a young man in his twenties took a deep breath and prepared himself when he saw Yu Shao walking towards him.
Not long after, around 8:50, all the contestants had arrived, all sitting upright, and the competition venue suddenly fell silent.
The eliminated players and the amateur players who were invited to watch the world competition kept looking back and forth at Jiang Changdong, Zhang Dongchen, Jiang Hanen, An Hongshi and others, with hesitant expressions.
After a while, some people took the lead and walked towards the table of Jiang Changdong and Zhang Dongchen, followed by others. Some people finally walked towards the table of An Hongshi and Kong Zi, and some walked towards the table of Jiang Hanen and Hans.
There were also some people who looked at each other but were reluctant to move.
"Just pick a match that interests you and go check it out."
Seeing this, someone suddenly said in silence: "It's not like you're locked in once you get there. At most, you can just look around a few times and switch tables. Then, look around a few more times and switch back."
Hearing this, the others were stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted and were speechless.
In the end, some people walked towards Arakino, and some walked towards Toyama Xun.
Of course, in addition to these more popular games, a small number of people went to other tables to watch, including Yu Shao, Su Yiming, and Zhuang Weisheng...
Time passes by little by little.
Even though there was still some time before the game started, the eliminated players and the amateur players invited to watch the game subconsciously held their breath and waited quietly for the game to begin.
Finally, when the clock hanging on the wall of the competition venue pointed to nine o'clock, Zhao Zhengyang looked down at his watch and said in a deep voice -
"The competition time has come, contestants please start guessing first."
Upon hearing this, Yu Shao quickly grabbed a handful of chess pieces from the chess box and held them in his palm. Li Junhao on the opposite side also immediately took out two chess pieces and placed them on the chessboard.
"Six."
After counting the white pieces in his hand, Yu Shao looked across and spoke.
Li Junhao nodded and said, "I guessed right. I play black."
Yu Shao nodded, quickly put the chess pieces on the chessboard back into the chess box, then lowered his head and said, "Please give me your guidance."
"Please advise me."
Li Junhao also bowed his head, then took a deep breath, picked up the chess piece and placed it on the chessboard.
The first hand, seventeen columns and four rows, small eyes!
Yu Shao also quickly picked up the chess piece and put it down.
Four rows of sixteen stars, stars.
The two sides took turns placing their pieces, and soon formed a classic layout of a wrong small eye against two consecutive stars. The white side placed pieces at the star position, aiming to quickly gain momentum and pursue combat and attack.
"Erlianxing is right or wrong, Xiaomu..."
Han Xiu, looking at the chessboard, fell into deep thought. "Li Junhao's forte is the star position layout. However, Li Junhao still chose the wrong small eye. In his chess records, small eye layouts are quite rare."
"But Lee Junhao still went down like this instead of going down to the two consecutive stars..."
Han Xiu glanced at Li Junhao and saw Li Junhao's extremely solemn expression. He roughly understood Li Junhao's intention.
"I know Yu Shao is good at taking advantage of opportunities and attacking, so even though I am also good at attacking, I feel that I have no chance of winning against Yu Shao, so I want to break up the situation and try to prolong the battle..."
"I have to say, it's not very wise."
Even though Han Xiu is an amateur chess player, he would say that this is definitely not a good idea.
Even if the opponent is good at attacking and killing, you must never abandon what you are good at and choose to avoid fighting. On the contrary, the stronger the opponent is, the more you should engage in a melee with the opponent. Only in this way can there be a chance of winning in the chaos.
"Although this move is not very wise, it may be the only solution for Lee Junhao."
"The pressure Yu Shao put on him was too great..."
Han Xiu asked himself, if he were playing chess with Yu Shao, he might... also tend to be defensive. Even though he knew that he had a better chance if he took a gamble, he didn't dare to really take a gamble.
What's more, this is the World Championship!
If you take a chance, you may get a chance, but you may also end up with nothing!
Soon, Yu Shao and Li Junhao made seven or eight moves in succession, while Han Xiu watched quietly from the side.
Thinking of what his friend said about Yu Shao yesterday, he couldn't help but have doubts in his mind.
Before the game, his friend was more optimistic about An Hongshi winning the championship. Why did he suddenly change his mind after watching a game yesterday?
"Lee Junhao is probably no match for Yu Shao. Yu Shao should be able to win, but no one who can reach the World Championship stage is weak. Moreover, in this game, Lee Junhao has already adopted a defensive counterattack posture."
"So, what kind of chess game can be called a crushing victory?"
That's why he ignored the game between An Hongshi and Kong Zi and came to watch the game between Yu Shao and Li Junhao!
…
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(End of this chapter)
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