Chapter 471: Getting here has become an art!
"Who won...?"
The music noter at the side was still staring blankly at the chess game not far away. Even though the game was over, she still couldn't be sure who would win or lose.
Not only her, but others as well.
This game of chess was completely over, even the small endgame was completely concluded.
However, the board is extremely complicated, and the entire board is densely packed with chess pieces, which is dazzling. Even at the end of the game, it seems that the two sides are still evenly matched.
Only the tightly intertwined chess pieces tell the story of a terrifying and bloody battle that once took place on the chessboard.
"One eye, two eyes, three eyes..."
The scorekeeper collected his thoughts and began to count the number of white pieces on the board carefully.
"White, surround the open space... forty-seven points."
After she finally counted the number of points of the white chess pieces, she couldn't help but lick her slightly dry lips and began to count the number of points of the black chess pieces: "One point, two points, three points..."
"Forty...three."
When she counted to this point, she seemed to feel an unprecedented sense of oppression. A thin layer of sweat broke out on her face and then slowly slid down her cheek.
"Forty...four."
"Four...forty-five!"
"Forty-five and a half eyes!"
"Black, including the handicap points, has surrounded a total of 45 and a half points!"
Only then did she finally know the final outcome of the game and couldn't help swallowing.
"White wins by one and a half points!"
"The winner is, Araki No. 9!"
Even now, after she had counted the points, she still couldn't believe the result. Or, even if she had counted that the winner was Black, she still couldn't believe another result!
Su Yiming stared at the chessboard in a daze.
He also calculated the final outcome of this game of chess.
Frankly speaking, in this game, knowing clearly that Arakino's chess skills were extraordinary, he gave it his all from the very beginning, and made every move that he thought was the best.
In other words, the outcome of this game has nothing to do with anything else, and there is no way to make an excuse for being in bad shape. It simply depends on the strength of each move of both sides!
But in the end...
He lost.
One and a half eyes.
This feeling of losing in the end even if you try your best, is the first time he has felt it from someone other than Yu Shao in more than a hundred years, except for the time when he was still honing his chess skills more than a hundred years ago.
Although he had lost online before, that was an online game after all. He couldn't say that he didn't take it seriously, but it was still very different from a real face-to-face chess game.
He never thought that he would lose to anyone other than Yu Shao in a chess game.
More importantly, he had told Yu Shao at the opening ceremony of the Phoenix Cup that he would not lose.
As long as Yu Shao doesn't lose, he won't lose.
He will keep moving forward until he meets Yu Shao again in front of him, and then fight with Yu Shao.
It was precisely because he thought that Yu Shao would win, so no matter who his opponent was, he had to win. Therefore, in this game, he could even be said to have played much better than usual!
But in the end, the game was still lost.
Su Yiming gritted his teeth, his expression extremely unwilling, but he finally lowered his head slightly and said slowly: "I lost..."
After hearing this, Arakino just stared at the chessboard in front of him in silence without saying a word. His expression was pale, without a trace of blood, as if he had not won at all.
There was silence all around.
The whole world was silent.
…
…
"it's over."
Go reporter Ding Huan looked at his laptop, his eyes moistening. "It's truly... an unprecedented game..."
After a moment, Ding Huan wiped the corners of his eyes and began to type frantically on the keyboard, writing furiously. It seemed as if there were thousands of words in his chest, and he tried to express them all in his pen!
"Since ancient times, people have judged heroes by their success or failure, hence the saying that winners are kings and losers are bandits!"
"Su Yiming lost, but I don't think he lost either!"
"I can't imagine how Black could have managed to turn the tide and hold on in that situation, with White's incredible plan of killing a dead piece and then killing a living one!"
"Isn't it possible?"
"But Black did it!"
"In the middle and late stages of the game, Black made an unpredictable move to seize control of the field, ultimately turning the tide and saving the city from collapse. I'm afraid no one in the world can match his skill. I was completely stunned!"
"Ultimately, Black lost because he didn't anticipate White's astonishing idea of using a dead piece to kill a living one, not because he lost in the chaotic mid-game and late-game battle with White!"
"You could even say that from the moment Black made the incredible decision to sacrifice the main move and ultimately entered the endgame with only a slight disadvantage, the game was actually won by Black!"
"It's just that this victory can't completely make up for the gap after White used a dead piece to kill the living piece!"
"Therefore, Su Yiming still won honor in defeat!"
"Because of this game, I also deeply realized that while chess players may be divided by nationality, the pursuit of the strongest move knows no boundaries!"
"Even though he was a chess player from another country, I couldn't help but be surprised and excited when I saw him play moves that far exceeded my imagination and understanding!"
"That man is back!"
"For ten years, he was the loser of his time, but now he's making a comeback with an invincible attitude that is jaw-dropping. Perhaps he will bring a new storm to the chess world!"
"I have to say, Mr. Arakino is truly extraordinary. This chess game is so brilliant that it's awe-inspiring!"
"However, in the winner's group, there are also Teacher Zhuang Weisheng and Yu Shao. In the loser's group, Zhu Huaian and Zhang Dongchen also defeated their opponents and advanced to the next round!"
"Although Su Yiming lost to Araki and fell into the loser's bracket, climbing from the loser's bracket to the finals stage was certainly extremely difficult, but who can really say that Su Yiming will definitely not have a chance to make a comeback?!"
"In short, the world is still uncertain—"
"Who will win the Phoenix Cup World Championship is still unknown, let's wait and see!"
…
…
Japan, Tokyo Go Newspaper.
"I can't describe how I feel about this game of chess!"
"At this moment when I'm writing the copy, my hands are shaking uncontrollably!"
"From the moment the two sides began to clash, a fierce battle unfolded in the upper right corner, albeit without visible sharp edges, yet with surging undercurrents. Every chess piece that fell was the fruit of scheming and thorns!"
"In the subsequent mid-game, every move made by Black was precise and sharp, forcing White into a desperate situation in the lower right corner. Everyone thought White was doomed, but in the end, White sacrificed a piece to save his own piece!"
"At this point, even if the rest of the game had just progressed normally, it would have already been a good game. But I never expected that this was just the beginning!"
"The subsequent chess games elevated this game from a good one to a famous one, or even a game that will be remembered for all time!"
"Black's strengths reveal their profound skills. They're about to plunder White, and White will of course retaliate immediately. However, in subsequent moves, Black's seemingly reckless attacks actually have other plans. Ultimately, they successfully reinforce the center of the board and lay the foundation for the White dragon!"
"White was in a desperate situation, and although he fought desperately, he was ultimately defeated and killed!"
"I originally thought it was over here, but I never expected that this would completely trigger the climax of the entire confrontation!"
"Everyone, I can only kneel down and submit—"
"White actually used a dead piece to kill a live piece, and finally revived himself, launching a full-scale, no-dead-angle combo attack across the board!"
"Black, shockingly, sacrificed his core pieces, using jumps to maintain complexity. Miraculously, he managed to break out of his own trap, rivaling White and forging his way into the endgame!"
“Getting down here has become an art form!”
"This game of chess is so thrilling and brilliant, it doesn't seem like something played in the human world!"
"This game of chess is thrilling and magnificent!"
"I never expected that after a decade of silence, Mr. Arakino would make a comeback and appear before the world in this manner. This makes me extremely excited!"
“It’s all back!”
"I believe that in this World Championship, Mr. Arakino will definitely sweep away all his opponents and win the World Championship!"
…
…
Amsterdam, Netherlands.
"Mr. Arakino, you're actually... so strong."
A young man looked at the computer screen in disbelief and couldn't help muttering.
The two or three good friends behind him were still staring blankly at the screen, unable to recover from this huge shock.
"What will be the outcome of this World Championship?"
…
…
Gangneung, Southern Chess Academy.
"Arakino wins."
Ma Zhengyu looked at the computer screen and fell into a long silence.
The cigarette between his fingers had burned to the end.
…
…
In a chess academy in Marseille, France.
"It's a game that will go down in chess history!"
Finally, a young man couldn't help but slap the table excitedly and shouted, "It's so beautiful!"
"Indeed, it was so exciting that I couldn't even blink!"
"My scalp was tingling the whole time. It was like watching God play chess. I never dreamed that the game would reach this level."
"Yes, there have been many times when I thought the outcome was decided, but I was wrong every time. This game of chess has already produced so many miracles!"
Inside the chess hall, the other people seemed to be a powder keg that had been lit, exploding all of a sudden. They were discussing the matter intensely and relishing every exchange in the game.
"I'm really looking forward to what the next chess game will be like. Who will be the final winner of this world competition?"
"Will Arakino face off against Yasuhiro Ishi again, just like he did ten years ago? If they do, who will win this time?"
"And what about Yu Shao? I'm really looking forward to the match between Yu Shao and Araki Ye. It's bound to be very interesting! Maybe they'll play a game even more exciting than this one!"
"Although Su Yiming lost, I have to say, he was incredibly amazing. I actually feel he's amazing just because he lost. This feeling is really weird..."
…
…
After a brief silence, the whole world suddenly became noisy!
As for what was happening in the outside world, Yu Shao was naturally unaware of it.
"Su Yiming...lost."
In the crowd, Yu Shao looked at the chessboard quietly. He never thought that Su Yiming would lose to Araki in the end.
No... saying that is a bit disrespectful to Arakino.
Araki deserves to win this one.
Of course, even if he lost in the end, Su Yiming and Araki showed him a chess game that even he couldn't help but be shocked by.
In his previous life, Yu Shao had played many famous games and witnessed the peak confrontations between countless masters, but this game was one that even he felt was impeccable.
He had heard of many chess games that were hailed as "peak showdowns", but in his opinion, most of these games were not worthy of these four words, but this one was worthy of the word "peak showdown"!
Yu Shao finally withdrew his gaze from the chessboard, raised his head, and looked at the man sitting opposite Su Yiming with an extremely calm expression.
Arakino!
Ten years ago, there was a player who single-handedly pushed Go from the classical era of "overall balance" to the competitive era of "strength and calculation", the "loser" of the Yasu Hiroshi era!
"The competition is over. All contestants, please gather. I will announce the list of players who will advance to the winners' and losers' brackets."
Finally, the silence in the competition venue was broken when Zhao Zhengyang's voice suddenly rang out from the loudspeaker.
The game between Su Yiming and Araki lasted for an extremely long time. The matches at other tables had already ended. This was the last game of the entire tournament, so when this game ended, today's schedule naturally ended as well.
When they heard Zhao Zhengyang's voice, all the chess players and the audience finally came to their senses and withdrew their attention from the game between Su Yiming and Arakino.
However, although no one was watching the game anymore, everyone's mind was obviously still on it.
The participating chess players all had extremely complicated emotions. They stood at the competition venue one after another, waiting for Zhao Zhengyang to announce the results of today's competition.
Zhao Zhengyang was waiting for the chess players to gather one after another, and he couldn't help but look at Arakino and Su Yiming in the crowd. His mood was also unsettled.
Naturally, he was one of the spectators in this game. Perhaps because he was the oldest among those present and had seen more games, this game shocked him even more than others.
It can be said that this World Championship was beyond his expectations in every aspect.
He originally thought that after two years of training, An Hongshi's chess skills might decline, but after watching a few games, he was surprised and felt that An Hongshi seemed like a different person.
In the first round, Fumio Toyama met Kimurago, but Kimurago lost. Fumio Toyama, on the other hand, made it all the way to the top 64. He thought he was going to shine, but he was defeated by Araki in the first round of the top 64.
Araki, who had long faded out of the chess world, now showed his chess skills beyond imagination. He started a bloody battle with Su Yiming, and finally they played today's shocking game together.
What will be the final outcome of this Phoenix Cup?
Even he couldn't tell...
(End of this chapter)
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