Chapter 455: Trying your best, but unable to win
The next day, the third round of the Phoenix Cup single-elimination tournament finally started again!
At around 8:30, one chess player after another arrived at the competition venue, and came to the lower left of their seats with heavy expressions and full of thoughts.
Soon it was 8:50, the competition venue was full, and all the players were in place, ready to face this round of fighting.
The atmosphere in the competition venue was solemn and depressing.
During the first round of competition, the huge competition venue was packed with people. Even after most of the chess tables were removed on the second day, the competition venue was still a little crowded.
But in this round, after half of the chess tables were removed, the entire competition venue seemed a little empty, and after today, half of the chess tables will be removed again.
All the players' gazes were firm and resolute, and their thoughts were almost identical—
The double-elimination tournament is not far away. Now that we have come this far, we must grit our teeth and get through this final stretch no matter what. Once we reach the double-elimination tournament and have a margin for error, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief!
Want to win!
They want to win no matter what!
Everyone wants to stay and stay on the stage of this world competition!
Although the players all remained silent, their will to win at all costs was deeply felt by all the amateur players and players who had been eliminated before.
"After today, half of the chess players will leave this stage."
Inside the competition venue, Zhao Zhengyang, the chief referee, felt deeply moved when he saw this scene.
He had seen too many scenes like this.
This sentiment is more or less present not only in the World Championship, but also in other major chess tournaments, cup competitions, and title competitions. However, it is only in the World Championship that this sentiment is so clear.
The three words "World Championship" have been given unique meanings by all chess players. A chess player may play many games in his life, but there are only two most significant games in a chess player's life!
Ranking Tournament, World Championship!
There is only one qualifying tournament, but there may be many world championships. However, there are only a few who can make it to the end of the world championship, even in a hundred years, and most people will become stepping stones for others.
"To have made it this far, they are all excellent chess players, but they all eventually leave this stage... I wonder who will leave today?"
Sometimes, even Zhao Zhengyang couldn't help but criticize the ruthlessness of the competition. Why couldn't so many people get a good result after struggling all their lives?
However, in the end, these questions just turned into a quiet sigh.
Finally, after seeing the clock on the wall show nine o'clock, Zhao Zhengyang raised his wrist, checked his watch, and found that the time was correct. He finally raised his head and said in a deep voice, "It's time!"
"Now, please start guessing!"
The moment Zhao Zhengyang finished speaking, all the chess players immediately reached into the chess box, and the sound of "clicking" to grab the pieces was heard continuously.
When the amateur players and players who were eliminated in the previous rounds saw that the game had finally begun, they immediately walked towards the players they were following. Soon, the areas around the more popular games were surrounded by crowds of people.
Compared with yesterday, there were not so many anticipated matches in today's game. The only one worth paying attention to was the game between Su Yiming and Xu Taiyang.
Naturally, most people came to this table to watch the game, so much so that some people couldn't squeeze in, so they had to settle for the next best thing and watch from another table.
"Xu Taiyang?"
After looking around, Zhao Zhengyang immediately noticed the table of Su Yiming and Xu Taiyang surrounded by a crowd.
He was not unfamiliar with Xu Taiyang. During the previous national championship period, there was a Go exchange between China and South Korea. At that time, led by An Hongshi, many outstanding young players came to China, and Xu Taiyang was one of them.
At that time, Zhuang Weisheng played chess with these young North and South Korean chess players. According to Zhuang Weisheng, the only one who defeated Zhuang Weisheng was Xu Taiyang.
Although it was heard that Xu Taiyang's legs were weak and he could not stand steadily after winning the game, and because it was just a friendly exchange of chess, Zhuang Weisheng probably would not take it too seriously, but winning is winning.
So, he also wanted to go and take a look at the chess game.
However, seeing that the table of Su Yiming and Xu Taiyang was already packed with people inside and outside, he, as a senior chess player and now the chief referee, felt embarrassed to squeeze with others.
Finally, Zhao Zhengyang looked at other tables and soon saw the game between Yu Shao and Wu Lai, which also had a large number of onlookers.
"Is Wu Lai tenth dan?"
As the president of the Chinese Chess Academy, Zhao Zhengyang naturally knew something about Wu Lai. He knew that although Wu Lai was very young, just in his early twenties, he had achieved quite good results in major competitions in Malaysia in recent years, winning two cup championships in a row.
Although the Go environment in Malaysia is certainly not comparable to that in China, there are not as many masters and the competition is not as fierce, it is still a game worth watching.
Zhao Zhengyang pondered for a moment and finally walked towards Yu Shao's table.
As the chairman of the Northern Chess Academy, he has been in Beijing. Although he is familiar with Yu Shao's name, this world competition is the first time he has seen Yu Shao.
Soon, Zhao Zhengyang came to the chess table and looked at the chess board.
In this game, after guessing the first move, Wu Lai played black first, and Yu Shao played white second. In just a short while, five moves had already been made on the chessboard.
Black starts with two stars in a row, and white responds with two stars in a row. Then black makes a small flying move in the corner. Now, it is Yu Shao's turn to make a move.
Yu Shao looked at the chessboard in front of him, thought for a moment, quickly picked up the chess piece, and made the sixth move.
clatter!
Seventeen columns and three rows, dot three three!
Seeing the three white pieces in the upper right corner of the chessboard, although Wu Lai was not surprised, he still couldn't help but take a deep breath and then slowly exhale.
Wu Lai fell into deep thought.
Everyone knows how to respond to point 33 now, but seeing Wu Lai lost in deep thought, the people around him didn't know why, but they didn't feel surprised at all.
After a moment, Wu Lai looked at the chessboard, his eyes changed, he subconsciously clenched his left fist, and finally reached his right hand into the chess box, then picked up the chess piece and dropped it quickly!
clatter!
Seventeen columns and four rows, block!
Yu Shao looked at the chessboard with clear and calm eyes. He quickly picked out the white piece and put it down gently!
clatter!
The sound of the pieces falling is crisp and pleasant!
Sixteen columns and three rows, long!
Both sides kept making moves, and time passed quickly with the sound of the pieces falling!
Zhao Zhengyang's expression gradually changed from calm to serious, then from serious to focused, and finally from focused to stunned.
He subconsciously opened his mouth slightly, and then never closed it again...
…
…
I don’t know how long it took.
"Da da."
Two black pieces fell onto the chessboard.
The next moment, Wu Lai's expression turned pale, he gritted his teeth, and finally lowered his head in great sadness, saying, "I lost..."
The chess game is over!
“Wow… so impressive.”
Someone next to him was sweating profusely as he stared at the chessboard with an expression of deep disbelief. His mouth had been slightly open and hadn't closed until now.
“I originally thought that the hanging was for invasive elimination, but I didn’t expect it was preparation for the introduction of the levy!”
In the previous two games, he was paying attention to other games. This was his first time to watch Yu Shao's chess game. Although he thought Yu Shao should be able to win, he never expected that the game would turn out like this.
He was truly shocked.
Most of the other people around had watched the first two games, and although they couldn't help but look surprised because of Yu Shao's brilliant moves and amazing handling of the isolated piece in the middle game, they were also a little surprised.
However, it was not surprising that the black pieces were defeated by the white pieces with great ease.
"Wu Lai, 10th Dan... is no match at all."
"What a beautiful win, so seamless. The mid-game maneuvers were like a massive guerrilla campaign, attacking from all sides, yet Black didn't find any flaws. It's amazing how they can keep playing like this."
"It's not very polite to say this, but the truth is... Black is completely manipulated by White throughout the entire game. White knows everything Black is thinking. We're completely on different levels."
"Yu Shao is strong, but... is he really that strong?"
Seeing the chess game was over, the people around finally couldn't bear it anymore and lowered their voices to whisper to each other.
Zhao Zhengyang looked at the chess game and couldn't help but think of the game between An Hongshi and Kong Zi yesterday.
Compared with this game, there is no doubt that yesterday's game was far more exciting than today's. The two cannot be compared, but all of this is based on Kong Zi's strong foundation.
Go is a game for two people.
Wu Lai was indeed not as good as Kong Zi, but he was definitely not a weakling either. However, in this game, he was almost played around by the white chess pieces, and there was no chance for him to win at all.
Although he had never met Yu Shao before, he had seen all the chess records played by Yu Shao. In other words, there is no chess player today who has not seen Yu Shao's chess records.
He felt that Yu Shao's strength lay in his subversive understanding of Go and his cunning ideas in making moves. This was indeed an unprecedented feat that pioneered an era. He could be said to have single-handedly changed the way Go was played and shocked the Go world.
But then again.
Now that most chess players have begun to gradually accept and understand these cognitions and ideas, he actually does not think that Yu Shao has any significant advantage.
Indeed, Yu Shao's calculations were profound, his judgments were extremely accurate, his reactions were swift, and his grappling skills were first-rate. Although he didn't play many endgames, the few games he did play showed that he handled them with great care...
However, other top chess players also have these things.
Even as a chess player who prefers to fight vigorously, Yu Shao felt an inexplicable sense of disconnection while playing chess, which he could not explain.
The last game of the national team match had left a very deep impression on him, but it was obviously just a game that was played by chance due to a flash of inspiration.
In short, Yu Shao lacks something that other chess players do not have, something that only he has, and something that other chess players cannot learn or catch up with. This is a trait that a true top chess player must possess!
Therefore, after watching this game, his first reaction was not that Yu Shao was strong, but that Wu Lai was too weak.
However, when he thought about the game again and put himself on the black side, the conclusion he came to was -
"If it were me, I would also..."
"He played me in the palm of his hand."
It's not that Black is too weak, but...
White is too strong.
The shock this brought to him was even no less than the game of chess between An Hongshi and Kong Zi yesterday.
In this game, Yu Shao seemed to be different from the Yu Shao in previous chess records, but he couldn't tell what was different. From just one game, he couldn't tell.
"If An Hongshi and Yu Shao play a game, who will win in the end?"
He stared at the chessboard, this thought uncontrollably appearing in his mind.
At this moment, seeing Wu Lai finally surrender, Yu Shao also bowed his head slightly and saluted, "Thank you for your guidance."
Wu Lai did not reply.
Immediately afterwards, Yu Shao saw Wu Lai opposite him with his head down and his body trembling slightly. The next moment, a few drops of water fell on the chessboard.
Yu Shao was stunned for a moment.
That wasn't water, it was... tears.
The people around watched this scene and fell into silence.
Wu Lai was only 20 years old when he won the 10th dan title and became famous at a young age. Now he is aiming for the world championship. He must have felt that the stage in his country is too small and he wants to prove himself on the world stage.
Perhaps losing the game is not unacceptable to Wu Lai.
but……
In this game, I was beaten all the way and lost miserably. I was completely played around with and couldn't find any chance.
Not to mention Wu, who is a tenth-level master, even they might find it difficult to accept it.
“…”
Yu Shao looked at the tears on the chessboard and couldn't help but fall silent.
Although Wu Lai holds the tenth-dan title, his level is completely incomparable to that of domestic title holders.
In this game, he did not hold back at all, and even gave his all in every move to ensure victory.
Although Wu Lai could not find any chance to win from the beginning to the end, he was able to hold on for more than 180 moves, which was already a very good performance.
In the end, Yu Shao stood up slowly without saying a word, turned around and walked towards Su Yiming.
Survival of the fittest, this is the game, and losing is a necessary step for every chess player. Only chess players who can get up on their own after losing will become stronger!
Soon, Yu Shao squeezed into the crowd watching around Su Yiming's table, cast his eyes towards the chess board, and watched the game intently.
clatter.
clatter.
clatter.
Time keeps passing by with the sound of chess pieces falling.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, Xu Taiyang lowered his head with difficulty and said with a look of resignation, "I lost."
Although he knew that his opponent in this round was Su Yiming, he was prepared to lose the game. However, after all, he had a record of defeating many top players, so he also wanted to give it a try and win.
But in the end, despite trying my best, I still couldn't win.
…………
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(End of this chapter)
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