Chapter 490: Solid Hands with No Weakness
Looking at the chessboard, Yu Shao saw that Black had chosen the diagonal star point and the small eye point, and couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
In his previous life, when facing him, the most commonly used layout by most chess players was the diagonal layout, but in this life, almost no one has ever seen him play it until today.
The diagonal layout is indeed considered bad because of its lack of efficiency. Go AI does not give the diagonal layout a high evaluation, but it does not think that this layout is too bad either.
In general, the evaluation of the diagonal layout by human chess players and the evaluation of the diagonal layout by AI are quite consistent, that is, it is a slight loss, but the loss is not that big.
If there is a certain strategic purpose, this method can also be adopted.
His former adversaries often employed a diagonal formation against him because of their unique strategic purpose: to seek change and disrupt the situation, while simultaneously dividing the battlefield and engaging in multi-front warfare!
Most of his failures in his previous life were caused by this layout.
Yu Shao pursed his lips, collected his thoughts, and finally took out the chess piece and slowly put it down.
clatter!
Sixteen columns and sixteen rows, stars!
Diagonal star small eyes, yes, diagonal star small eyes!
Seeing Yu Shao make his move, Araki Ye also picked up the chess piece again and dropped it quickly onto the chessboard.
clatter!
Four columns and five rows, hang high!
"Hang it high up?"
Seeing this move, Yu Shao pondered for a moment, then quickly picked up the chess piece and placed it on the board.
Three columns and five elements, support!
The black and white pieces kept placing their pieces on the board alternately. After a few moves, there was no immediate conflict between the two sides in the upper left corner. Instead, they formed a basic retreat pattern, and their mutual testing came to a temporary end.
Soon, Yu Shao picked up the chess piece again and placed it on the chessboard.
clatter!
Fourteen columns and seventeen rows, Little Fly guards the corner!
"Go to the bottom right corner and guard the star position."
When Araki saw Yu Shao's move, his eyes drooped slightly and his expression was calm, obviously he had expected it.
After all, after the retreat pattern in the upper left corner is played, the white chess pieces have only two options for the next step: either attack the black chess pieces in the lower left and upper right corners, or go to the lower right corner, protect the star position, observe the movements of the black chess pieces, and then make a decision.
One way of playing is to take the initiative, while the other way is to strike back and be the first to arrive. Although they are completely opposite ideas, both are quite good.
"Instead of making a proactive choice, he wanted to observe my response, figure out my playing style, and then make his move. Sure enough..."
"He is actually quite cautious. He never launches an attack without fully understanding the situation and without thorough preparation."
"But when it comes to situations where he needs to take the initiative, he's willing to go all out."
Arakino kept recalling all of Yu Shao's past chess records.
In the past two years, what he actually studied the most was Yu Shao's chess records, which even gave him a lot of inspiration.
"Although it is a diagonal layout, if the battle lines are stretched too far, then it will be inevitable that the diagonals will be connected. In that case, the purpose of my diagonal layout will be greatly reduced."
"Therefore, we cannot proceed step by step; we must demand change and dare to break with convention."
"So……"
Araki looked at the chessboard in front of him, and finally reached into the chess box and took out the chess piece. The next moment, the chess piece was clamped between his fingers and fell down quickly!
clatter!
The chess piece falls on the chessboard, making a crisp echo!
Thirteen columns and sixteen rows, shoulder charge!
"Shoulder strike?"
In an instant, everyone's expression changed slightly!
...
...
Phoenix Cup World Championship, Tokyo TV, inside the studio.
"Araki-sensei, are you going to use a shoulder thrust here?"
Hirohiro Ohno, the 9th dan who was in charge of commentating the game, was stunned and could not believe his eyes.
If the diagonal layout can be explained as having a strategic purpose, then facing the star position Xiaofei guarding the corner and directly charging with the shoulder is just unreasonable!
Although Hirohiro Ohno couldn't understand it and was greatly shocked, he still looked thoughtful. After a while, he slowly said, "A very interesting change. As expected of Araki-sensei."
"Hey? Teacher Haohong, did you understand?"
The female commentator who was her partner was quite surprised. She turned her head to look at Hirohiro Ohno and asked.
"Not really."
Hirohiro Ohno smiled awkwardly and said, "Shoulder-to-shoulder angles are not uncommon nowadays, but I haven't seen many small flying ones with shoulder-to-shoulder angles guarding the star position. The two seem to be similar, but in reality they are not comparable."
"The reason for the shoulder attack on the corner is that the corner is already very thick. The idea is to make this piece even thicker and weaken the efficiency of the corner. This was first played by Yu Shaoguo, which gave all players a lot of inspiration."
"The principle of 'avoiding thick positions' is no longer the golden rule of Go. In fact, sometimes when players see a thick position, they even think about how to make it even thicker. All of this is thanks to Yu Shao."
Hirohiro Ohno stroked his chin and pondered, "But this place is completely different from the one at the shoulder-facing corner."
"The small knight's move at the star point, while relatively solid, is not as good as the corner without worries. Therefore, Black's shoulder hit really helps White solidify their position, while the side that hits the shoulder only gains external influence, and their direction is still limited..."
"Although I remember that Yu Shao had played a game where he used a small knight's move to defend the corner and then a shoulder attack, the arrangement of the surrounding pieces was different in that game."
The female commentator beside him nodded in agreement and chimed in, "That's true, but why did Araki-sensei do it that way?"
"Then I really don't know."
Hirohiro Ohno smiled calmly and said, "I'm just an ordinary 9th dan. Although I can keep up with their thinking most of the time, there is still a considerable gap between me and these top masters."
Hirohiro Ohno thought for a moment and then spoke again: "However, since this move was made by Araki-sensei after careful consideration of the situation, it must have a deeper meaning. We just need to be patient and watch it!"
...
...
“A shoulder strike will indeed help White build a solid position.”
Arakino looked at the chessboard, waiting for Yu Shao to make his move.
"but--"
"After the shoulder strike, White must respond. Although White has built a solid position, Black has also instantly restricted all of White's possibilities to develop from this corner towards the center and the side!"
"At the same time, we can also underestimate the importance of the shoulder strike. If the shoulder strike becomes a burden in the subsequent battle, then we should discard it without hesitation, even if it is a key piece!"
"Or rather, rather than viewing it as a key piece, it's better to see it as a sacrifice to restrict the opponent!"
"Even if I am undoubtedly losing money in this particular area, the overall picture may not be so!"
Araki slowly raised his head and looked at Yu Shao opposite him with calm eyes and indifferent expression.
"We no longer adhere to the core principles of 'solidity, natural moves, and no weaknesses,' but instead pursue speed and overall coordination! As long as we have speed and overall coordination, and find that balance point, any other principles can be discarded!"
"I learned this from you."
"We'll return it now!"
Time ticks by.
Yu Shao finally picked up the chess piece and gently placed it on the chessboard!
clatter!
Fourteen columns and sixteen rows, long!
This long arm is almost the only way to respond to the shoulder attack at this time!
Seeing this, Arakino immediately took out the chess piece from the chess box and put it down without hesitation!
clatter!
Seventeen columns and twelve rows, tear it down!
"After the shoulder strike, instead of continuing the move, he played here to extend the side... no, it's like a corner attack?"
Everyone around couldn't help but feel moved.
After the shoulder charge, Black should have continued to fight with White in the local area, but Black did not do so. Instead, he chose to give up the initiative, and the position of this move seemed a bit strange at first glance.
It looks like removing the edges, but also like hanging the corners.
If you do this, it often fails to have both the function of removing edges and the function of hanging corners. On the contrary, it often fails to have the function of removing edges and loses the function of hanging corners!
"I see!"
In the crowd, Kimurago took a closer look and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"At this point, if White defends the corner and Black extends back, then the previous exchange of Black's shoulder hit and White's extension will make White's corner slightly redundant!"
"If White pushes forward, Black can defend the corner on the top while fighting against the White stone that has been forced forward!"
"This is Araki-sensei's idea, and it's also the killer move he's revealed!"
Arakino's expression was solemn, waiting for Yu Shao to make a move.
"bring it on!"
Finally, after a while, Yu Shao finally took out the chess piece and put it down again!
clatter!
White chess pieces, seventeen columns and six rows, hanging corner!
"Hanging it directly at the corner?!"
Araki suddenly raised his eyes, his expression somewhat moved: "He didn't defend the corner, nor did he force the enemy back; instead, he directly led the battle to the upper right corner, refusing to compromise in the slightest?!"
Arakino's eyes trembled as he looked at the chessboard and this move. In a trance, he actually had a sense of déjà vu.
Opposite him, there seemed to be an extremely familiar figure sitting.
"Leave no room for compromise, pursue a decisive battle in the middle of the body."
"It's like..."
"Su Yiming".
Araki couldn't help but clench his fists, feeling a little unbelievable. He actually saw the shadow of Su Yiming in Yu Shao!
He originally thought that in this world competition, meeting An Hongshi would probably be the most difficult battle. However, up to now, he actually felt that the most difficult battle was not against An Hongshi, but the one against Su Yiming!
Although the game with An Hongshi was also very thrilling, with the advantage and disadvantage constantly reversed, he had confidence in his heart no matter how he played, even if he was at a disadvantage!
However, it was different from the game of chess that Su Yiming played. In that game, he almost lost and was completely forced into a desperate situation. Until the last moment, he didn't know whether he could win!
Araki's eyes were solemn and deep, and his mind was frantically calculating the subsequent changes. In this competition venue where only the sound of falling pieces could be heard, there was a solemn atmosphere.
The next moment, Arakino took out the chess piece.
The chess piece is placed.
Thirteen columns and fifteen rows, long!
Black ignored White's invitation to a fierce battle in the upper right corner and made no response. Instead, he went to the bottom and tried to attack each wing with White in order to win by speed!
...
"Arakino-sensei has grown up!"
"That's too much of a thief, is it long here?"
"He didn't pay attention to the corner piece? That's too dangerous!"
"They're really going all out! But Yu Shao's move earlier was definitely too forceful!"
Audiences from all over the world are closely watching this chess game. Every minute and every second, countless barrages of comments are surging in the official live broadcast room of the Phoenix Cup!
"Brilliant! The previous shoulder strike, in retrospect, perfectly complements that splitting and cornering move!"
In Jiangling, Zhuang Weisheng's home, Zhuang Fei stared at the TV screen in shock, watching the black and white pieces fall alternately on the chessboard without even blinking.
Fang Haoxin, standing to the side, also looked shocked. Every move made by both sides made his heart skip a beat!
"Go get the chessboard, quick!"
Suddenly, Zhuang Fei seemed to have thought of something and quickly said to a boy wearing a baseball cap next to him, "Set up the game! We can't just sit here and watch!"
"I want to see what I would do if it were me!"
Zhuang Fei took a deep breath and said, "I want to see how far I am from them!"
"good!"
The boy in the baseball cap nodded immediately, left the living room like a flash, and ran towards the chess room.
...
North Korea and South Korea Go Institute, inside the replay room.
"Yu Shao didn't continue the attack here, but instead made a move to solidify his position. But if he had used a sharp move, wouldn't it have been much easier to build a strong position?"
A group of professional chess players gathered together, staring at the computer screen. They were all around 30 years old, and each of them was a well-known high-level chess player.
It can be said that apart from the professional chess players who participate in the world championships, they are the strongest chess players in North and South Korea.
"Yes, if it were me, I would definitely not hesitate to go for it."
"Why isn't it pointed? Is there a problem?"
"And here, why did Araki-sensei discard the shoulder strike stone? It's a key stone, extremely important, there's no need to discard it!"
They were discussing amongst themselves, with a chessboard in front of them and the chess pieces arranged exactly like the chessboard on the computer screen, clearly indicating that they were simultaneously analyzing the moves.
Their chess skills were already quite advanced, but when faced with this game, there were many things they completely couldn't understand, as if they were reading a book written in heaven.
"Yes. Why discard the shoulder strike stone?"
"However, what's even more outrageous is that Yu Shao didn't eat the seed; instead, he used the thorn to force Professor Araki to make a statement."
Their brows furrowed deeper and deeper. It was one thing for Araki to abandon the chess pieces, but the key was that Yu Shao ignored them. This was truly terrifying to think about, yet they couldn't figure it out for the time being!
"What should Yu Shao do now? Xiao Fei?"
"I feel like Xiaofei is bound to make this move, right?"
Suddenly, someone's expression changed, and they exclaimed, "Yu Shao is off! He's made his statement, it's not Xiao Fei! Twelve columns, twelve rows, top!"
On the chessboard, someone immediately took a chess piece out of the chess box and placed it in the twelfth column and twelfth row.
Suddenly, everyone looked at each other, and they could see the shock in their eyes!
"Holy crap, awesome! Not only did Yu Shao not capture Araki-sensei's sacrificed piece, he sacrificed his own!"
"He's forcing Arakino-sensei to make a statement!"
"If Araki-sensei ignores the move or leaves it alone, Black will inevitably be scattered by White. Moreover, capturing the key stones now would be a huge and clean move!"
"So Yu Shao was waiting here! His attack has begun!"
(End of this chapter)
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