Chapter 505 Seeking Transcendence
In the official live stream of the World Championship, countless comments flew by like a waterfall.
"I never dreamed I could dive here. It's not a complicated move or hard to understand, but I just don't get the feel for it at all!"
"That was brilliant! That lunge, that move, it sent chills down my spine!"
"One move and the game is over! Once Black's dragon at the bottom is alive, White is doomed!"
"What a pity! White should have had the advantage, but with this one move, White had no chance at all! The turning point and the outcome were all completed in that instant!!"
The whole world was in an uproar at that moment!
The moment this move was made, everyone was initially confused, then horrified, and then utterly shocked, realizing that this move would surely go down in chess history!
Everyone was deeply moved!
One year passed, ten years passed, twenty years passed...
Many games will be forgotten, and even the memories of those brilliant games will gradually fade, but the brilliance of this move will live on forever and will surely illuminate the future.
Even if twenty, fifty, or a hundred years pass, there will always be people who remember this amazing dive in this World Championship, this move that shocked the world!
Amidst the global discussion and shock, after a long while, Su Yiming once again picked up a chess piece and slowly placed it on the chessboard.
clatter!
Seven columns and fourteen rows, lift!
"Should we continue playing?"
Upon seeing this, the crowd, who had been intensely discussing the blunder, abruptly stopped, their faces showing astonishment.
After Black's move, his large group of stones came to life, while White's three large groups of stones remained alive. It could be said that the game was over. Continuing to play would be meaningless and would only waste both sides' time.
When defeat is inevitable, almost all chess players will choose to give up directly and admit defeat gracefully.
This is different from games, where there is often a saying like "never surrender until the crystal explodes," which means that you can't say you're guaranteed to lose or that you have no chance until the end of the game.
It seems that the chess player lacks the spirit of "never giving up until the very last moment" that is praised by the world.
Before all the endgame moves are completed in Go, there is always a chance for a turnaround. If the opponent makes a huge mistake, such as an absurd self-filling of an eye, then there is certainly a chance to turn defeat into victory. However, Go players generally do not do this.
In Go, there are even situations where the positions of both sides seem evenly matched, but one side suddenly resigns.
Because the situation was not truly evenly matched, the side that resigned had already realized that the opponent had the upper hand. Based on their understanding of their opponent and their own judgment, they chose not to continue.
He felt that his opponent would not make a mistake, and he did not place his hopes on the opponent making a mistake. He believed that if he persisted, he would still lose, so he resigned. This was a kind of pride for the chess player, as well as respect and reverence for his opponent, and also a reflection of the chess player's own self-respect!
Most chess players believe that their opponent will make the mistake of "filling in one spot," which is even an insult to themselves, because the person sitting opposite them is their "opponent"!
Are you sure the other party won't make such a basic mistake as "filling in the blank at a glance"?
Definitely not.
Although the probability is very low, the opponent could indeed make such a basic mistake. However, the player would rather assume that the opponent would not make the mistake of "filling in one spot" than admit that he has a chance of winning.
Because if the other party makes the mistake of "filling in the blanks with one eye", then how can the other party be worthy of being your opponent?
Chess players often prefer their opponents to win cleanly, leaving behind a clean game record. Indeed, if an opponent wins by making a basic mistake or by exploiting rules outside the board, most players consider the game record to be unclean.
This is strange and hard to explain to outsiders who don't understand Go, but as a professional Go player who dedicates his life to the Go board, he does often have some inexplicable persistence.
Of course, there is a way of playing Go called "waiting for the opponent to make a mistake," which means waiting for the opponent to make a mistake, making yourself invincible first, and then waiting for the opponent to become vulnerable. However, this situation is different from the current situation, and the two should not be confused.
Waiting for the spoon to flow is like constantly posing questions to the opponent, forcing them to answer. If the answer is wrong, you can gain an advantage. However, in the current situation, it is no longer about posing questions.
This game of chess is clearly the same.
But Su Yiming chose to continue making moves.
This only proves... it wasn't the last moment?
"Could there be another variable?"
Immediately, everyone was shocked, took a deep breath in disbelief, held their breath, and continued watching.
Tap, tap, tap...
On the chessboard, the pieces were placed one after another, and the sound of each piece being placed seemed to echo in everyone's ears.
Just as everyone initially predicted, after White captured a stone, Black captured it, and White formed a situation where it couldn't connect. The originally precarious Black stones were actually connected to the outside and were reborn from the ashes!
However, as we continued watching, the expected change did not materialize. White's situation became increasingly dire, while Black's situation improved, constantly eroding and pressuring White.
As everyone looked at the chessboard, they gradually seemed to realize something, and their feelings became complicated.
There's nothing to change.
It was only because of intense resentment and dissatisfaction that I wanted to make a few more moves.
Although this seems to contradict the "self-confidence" that chess players insist on, then again—this is, after all, a world championship, and a battle leading to the finals!
Everyone can understand that this kind of example has happened many, many times in previous world championships.
Because it is a crucial world tournament, even when the outcome is already decided, players want to persevere a little longer. Even Ahn Hong-seok has had instances where he continued playing despite knowing he was destined to lose.
Who could bear to be so harsh?
...
...
Inside the competition venue.
"Bai Zifei, Hei Zichang, Bai Zichong, Hei Zida, Bai Zichang..."
Su Yiming stared intently at the chessboard, constantly calculating the possible future moves. His expression was so cold it was almost frightening, and beads of sweat streamed down his forehead.
A moment later, Su Yiming involuntarily clenched his left hand tightly, reached into the chess box again, picked out a chess piece, gritted his teeth, and quickly placed it down.
clatter!
Seven columns and nine rows, paste!
Just as Su Yiming lifted the black piece from the chessboard, Araki took out a white piece from the chess box and quickly placed it down.
Although Su Yiming continued to persist, which was somewhat unexpected, as long as Su Yiming did not resign, he would go all out, make every move carefully, and ultimately fight to the bitter end!
clatter!
Ten columns, nine rows, break!
Su Yiming took a deep breath before picking up another white piece from the chess box, gritting his teeth, and placing it on the chessboard once more.
clatter!
Seven columns and ten rows, sharp!
Tap! Tap! Tap!
On the chessboard, pieces kept falling one after another. After the black pieces made their large group of stones live at the bottom, they had no more worries and surrounded and blocked the three large groups of white stones that were not alive. It could be said that this was a one-sided battle.
Su Yiming stared at the chessboard, his expression grim, yet strangely calm than ever before, before quickly reaching into the chess box.
The piece is clipped out and then placed down again!
Seeing the black piece fall, Araki immediately took out a piece from the chess box and placed it with lightning speed!
clatter!
Twelve columns and seven rows, sandwiched!
Tap, tap, tap...
Everyone watched in silence as the chess pieces fell one after another on the board, a sense of desolation rising in their hearts.
Looking at the chessboard, it's as if you can see a fierce general covered in blood, surrounded by enemy troops and besieged on all sides, using his last strength to try to escape and kill enemies, but he is exhausted and can only look up to the sky and let out a mournful roar!
"There is still a way out..."
Su Yiming clenched his teeth so tightly they almost broke, staring intently at the chessboard, his mind racing with calculations, trying to anticipate every possible change and anticipate every variable!
"Black's only large group is alive, and the board is getting narrower and narrower. White's three large groups are still not alive and do not seem to have any strength..."
"It seemed like he was doomed, but—"
There is still a way out!
Su Yiming's eyes flashed like swords as he picked up a chess piece.
The chess piece landed with a "thud"!
...
...
World Championship, post-match analysis room.
"There's probably... no hope left, right?"
Wu Zhixuan looked at the chessboard and spoke softly.
Although Wu Zhixuan seemed to be talking to herself, Yu Shao knew that Wu Zhixuan was asking him a question.
Yu Shao stared silently at the chessboard, calculated the subsequent changes, and finally shook his head: "White... should have lost."
No one was surprised by Yu Shao's answer. From that one move, the game had already gone against everyone's expectations, and the fate of White was already sealed.
That lunge was absolutely brilliant, so brilliant it was terrifying; it was a stroke of genius, the finishing touch.
However, seeing Arakino's victory in sight, even the Japanese players showed no joy on their faces, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.
After all, Su Yiming played this game exceptionally well, even admirably. Seeing Su Yiming about to lose, they all felt a great sense of regret for him.
If it weren't for that last save, would Araki-sensei have been able to win?
They felt it was not necessarily true.
That's not necessarily true.
Facing Su Yiming, with whom they had been locked in a fierce battle for so long, only by making this world-stunning save could they deliver the final blow!
Before this brilliant game of chess, there seemed to be no national boundaries, or rather, the chess players had forgotten about national boundaries and were simply immersed in the game.
"I don't think Su Yiming will definitely lose."
Just then, Xu Zijing suddenly shook her head and denied Yu Shao's statement.
Upon hearing this, Yu Shao looked at Xu Zijing with slight surprise. The others were also stunned for a moment before turning to look at Xu Zijing, their faces filled with astonishment and disbelief.
After all, even Yu Shao thought that White had already lost the game. Could it be that Xu Zijing saw something that even Yu Shao couldn't see?
—It's not impossible!
Go is very mysterious. Sometimes a casual move by a low-level player can far surpass the deep thinking of a top player. There is no logic to this, but although it is rare in Go, it does exist.
Wu Zhixuan frowned, tilted her head to look at Xu Zijin, and asked in confusion, "What do you mean? You saw the way out for the white pieces?"
No, not at all.
Xu Zijing shook her head, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and smiled faintly: "If Yu Shao didn't see it, how could I? At least I didn't see this game of chess."
"So you mean... you think Araki-sensei will blunder? It's not impossible, but with this plate, the blunder would have to be extremely large to lose, and it's unlikely that Araki-sensei would blunder such a large blunder, right?"
Le Haoqiang stared at the chessboard, thought for a moment, and then asked a question.
“I don’t think Araki-sensei would make a mistake either.” Xu Zijing shook her head, denying Le Haoqiang’s guess: “To be able to make that save, Araki-sensei must be in incredibly good condition right now, and he might even get better as he plays.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was puzzled. They couldn't see any way for White to survive, nor did they think Black would make a big mistake. So why did they say that White might not necessarily lose?
Wu Shuheng frowned, puzzled, and asked, "So what do you mean?"
"It is often said that those involved are confused, while bystanders see clearly. This is true in most cases. Bystanders can often see things that those involved cannot see. Therefore, there is a saying that watching a game can improve your skills by three levels. When watching a game, you are often much better than when you play it yourself."
Xu Zijin glanced at Yu Shao, then looked back at the television screen and said, "However, I don't think that's entirely true."
"Some things can only be seen by those involved; bystanders can never see them clearly."
"Because the perspectives of those in the situation and those outside of it are different, no matter how much an outsider tries to adopt the perspective of an insider, they can never truly be the same as an insider."
Xu Zijin's tone was inscrutable.
"Sometimes, only by being in the midst of the game can you see the mysteries of the situation, and only by being trapped in the game can you achieve transcendence."
"Transcendence?"
Wu Zhixuan narrowed her eyes and couldn't help but laugh: "Oh my, you're getting philosophical now? This is Buddhist thought, you know? You want to be a Bodhisattva?"
Yu Shao paused for a moment, but didn't say anything. Then he raised his head and looked at the TV screen again.
On the television screen, black and white pieces continued to fall alternately.
"Xiao Fei, is this a move by Su Yiming?"
Suddenly, when he saw Su Yiming make a small knight's move, Le Haoqiang was slightly taken aback. Before he could think about it, he saw the black pieces fall quickly. Le Haoqiang had no choice but to focus his attention and continue watching.
clatter!
clatter!
clatter!
As black and white stones alternated on the television screen, and as more and more stones were placed, the situation for white became increasingly worse. But soon, everyone's expressions began to change drastically!
"No, no! Black's large group of stones at the bottom should have been impenetrable—"
Finally, Wu Shuheng stared intently at the television screen, his eyes filled with deep disbelief, and couldn't help but exclaim, "But after White's small knight's move, the eye position of Black's large group of stones actually revealed a flaw—!!!"
…………
P.S.: I've been coughing all day, and I'm still coughing like crazy today. Asthma is really killing me...
(End of this chapter)
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