Chapter 515 The Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth
"So, what's the next move?"
Yu Shao took a deep breath and quietly gazed at the chessboard.
He saw the key to this game: the dead stones in the upper black territory. However, he couldn't quite figure out how to utilize them...
Time passed second by second.
One minute.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Yu Shao fell into a long period of contemplation, but he was unaware of the passage of time, completely immersed in a world of black and white.
"Ten minutes have passed..."
The referee and recorder standing nearby were somewhat bewildered: "This board position is a typical two-way split. White has many possible positions to play, it shouldn't be hard to figure out!"
Fifteen minutes.
The air was thick with a heavy pressure, making it hard to breathe.
"White, what's your move?"
A young man sitting in front of his computer swallowed hard, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and asked.
Twenty minutes.
The world fell silent. Everyone could feel the oppressive atmosphere inside the competition venue, and almost no one dared to breathe.
This is not a place for prolonged deliberation, yet Yu Shao found himself deeply engrossed in it.
The implications of this made some people feel uneasy. This 20-minute long deliberation did not make people drowsy, but instead made them even more tense!
"I still remember that long deliberation during the Yingjiao Cup, which lasted a full half hour, and in the end, I abandoned the dragon..."
Someone murmured, "But Yu Shao has never thought for this long before. This is the first time."
With each passing second, the atmosphere grew heavier!
Everyone's heart was pounding in their chests, and it was beating faster and faster!
Thirty minutes.
Inside the competition venue.
Yu Shao continued to gaze at the chessboard, the pieces spreading and expanding in his eyes, becoming denser and denser. He was no longer simply calculating, but rather... feeling, feeling the connections and relationships between the pieces, and the complex variations that would arise from them.
The direction should be to engage in fierce attacks and defenses around the white stones at the top.
However, the road leading in that direction remained hidden in the thick fog, impossible to see through.
Here, it seems that the ko in the lower left corner is about to explode, and White can use the Black stones in the upper territory to find ko threats.
but……
Yu Shao felt that this was not the right path. There was no reason for it; it was just a feeling about the game, mysterious and elusive. But that's how Go is. Since there is no answer, at the end of calculation, one can only rely on intuition.
A few more moments passed.
Sudden--
The hustle and bustle of the world seemed to fade away in that instant, and all that remained in Yu Shao's eyes was the chessboard and the intricate black and white pieces on it.
They intertwine, so beautiful it seems unreal.
"Click".
He reached into the chess box, and the chess pieces immediately clattered inside.
Slowly pick out the chess piece.
A hand descends from ten thousand feet.
clatter!
The chess piece was finally placed on the board.
Ten columns and ten rows, the center!
This move—
It landed at the Tengen!
In an instant, the world was astonished!
In an instant, whether in China, North and South Korea, Japan, Britain... or even Africa, whether they were Go enthusiasts or amateur players, whether they were professional first dan players or title holders!
Countless eyes from all over the world were focused on the very center of the chessboard, on the awe-inspiring piece located there!
"?!"
"They've landed at the Heavenly Center!"
"How is this possible?!"
Even Zhao Zhengyang, the chief referee in the competition venue, forgot the rule of not speaking while watching the game and couldn't help but stare in disbelief, blurting out, "Holy crap!"
The chessboard, from top left to bottom left and top right to bottom right, is now filled with pieces, each with its own pattern and possible moves!
For example, the ko fight in the lower left corner is waiting to be triggered, the black stones in the upper left corner are particularly unstable, and the black stones in the lower right corner may be killed!
Only in the center of the chessboard was there no move to make, the space extremely empty!
No one would consider the center. Although the center is a large area, there are urgent situations everywhere. Moreover, the central chess piece cannot surround any empty space and has no response, so it is just like duckweed!
But upon closer inspection, this move was both elusive and unpredictable, both bizarre and shocking!
This move seems to have resonated with all sides!
On one hand, White seems to be attacking Black's lower right corner; on the other hand, it seems to be preparing ko threats for the lower left corner ko fight, while also implying the expansion of Black's influence on the upper side and the expansion of its own position on the left side!
However, neither side achieved any real results!
That's exactly what made everyone inexplicably feel... the beauty of Go!
My first reaction was that it was impossible; my second reaction was that it was a good move; my third reaction was that I didn't know why it was good; my fourth reaction was that it was too slow; and my fifth reaction was that it had a profound artistic conception!
It's impossible to explain now!
This is no longer a competition of computing power.
To pull off such a move, one can only rely on imagination!
"I don't know what kind of imagination it takes to come up with something like this."
Inside the debriefing room, Xu Zijing's beautiful eyes were already somewhat unfocused; she was completely mesmerized, staring at the television screen, and softly murmured:
"I don't know what profound impact this seemingly useless yet useful move will have on the whole situation..."
She wasn't someone who liked to express her emotions outwardly, but at this moment, even she couldn't control herself.
It's impossible to judge whether this move is good or bad. At least in the current state of the board, this move won't give White an immediate advantage, nor will it immediately put White in a losing position.
Because this move might be completely useless, or even if it is useful, its impact could be so profound that it would be invisible in the end.
But it is precisely because of this that this move can be played so strangely, so wonderfully, that it makes all the chess players in the world bow down!
…………
The room where the game was played was extremely quiet!
Su Yiming was stunned for a full minute before he regained his ability to think. He stared intently at the chessboard, his mind racing as he calculated the subsequent changes.
This move is actually far less effective than White directly triggering a ko fight, which would exert much less pressure on Black.
However, Su Yiming felt that the pressure from this move was a hundred times greater than that from White triggering a ko fight. He couldn't help but clench his left fist, and the veins on his fist bulged out!
"Next move, I'll capture, then White will turn out, I'll dig, after White finishes playing, I'll also connect, and White will inevitably connect again..."
"In this way, once White blocks Black's lower left corner, White's territory on the left side will immediately expand!"
The key to victory lies on the left!
A moment later, Su Yiming finally took out a chess piece from the chess box again and quickly placed it on the chessboard.
clatter!
Eleven columns, twelve rows, let's eat!
Soon, Yu Shao also took out a chess piece from the chess box, looked at the chessboard, and placed the white piece as if racing against time.
Ten columns, twelve rows, turn!
"Click!"
The moment the black piece fell, the sound of the pieces colliding rang out again. Su Yiming immediately took out a black piece from the chess box and placed it on the chessboard again, and Yu Shao followed suit, placing his piece on the chessboard as well!
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The sound of pieces being placed echoed continuously.
The black and white pieces were intertwined, and the attack and defense were extremely fierce. In the center of the originally empty chessboard, the pieces spread like snowflakes with lightning speed, so much so that it was suffocating to look at.
clatter!
Su Yiming pressed down on a piece, and the black piece was placed on the board!
Seven columns and thirteen rows, a town!
"Su Yiming's single move has directly broken through the territory that White lost on the left side!"
Before anyone could think it through, Yu Shao placed a piece in the upper right corner of the chessboard.
"It's moved to the top right corner again?!"
Someone exclaimed in shock, "Approaching! This is a test move, aiming not only to destroy Black's territory on the top, but also to keep an eye on Black's large group of stones in the lower right corner!"
Su Yiming made another move.
clatter!
Fifteen columns, four rows, Tiger!
"Tiger's move is also crucial, a brilliant move! Brilliant! Black was going to use the ko in the lower left corner, but instead of being attacked there, Black used this move to create his own ko threat! Completely unexpected!"
Someone shouted incredulously!
Da, da, da
As the chess pieces were placed one after another on the board, everyone looked bewildered.
From the initial planning to the present, every move, every confrontation, every contest for supremacy has been meticulously planned and full of hidden secrets. Ingenious and skillful moves have been made one after another. It can be seen that any one of these diagrams is a large-scale theory of divination!
This game of chess has completely exceeded everyone's comprehension. Most people can only watch, unable to think along with it, and can only try to understand and feel it!
Tap, tap, tap...
The sound of pieces being placed echoed frequently in the quiet chess room. Each crisp sound seemed to be accompanied by a chilling killing intent!
clatter!
Black moves again.
"With this clever move, the black stones diagonally above become stronger, and at the same time, the black stones will cut off my white stones' retreat on the left side!"
As the pieces were continuously placed on the board, Yu Shao looked at the board and felt a sense of unease. His eyes were filled with a coldness. Although the overall direction was still developing as he had expected, the local situation was somewhat out of control!
"In this way, the calamity in the lower left corner will become a situation where both sides are equally affected!"
Black's tenacity here also exceeded his expectations!
Click!
The sound of chess pieces colliding rang out.
"We must go all out and give Black no chance to breathe, otherwise, things will completely spiral out of control!"
Yu Shao looked at the chessboard, reached into the chess box again, picked out a chess piece, and placed it down.
clatter!
White has finally made a decisive move!
Eleven columns and three rows, click in!
"Click directly from above?!"
On the other side, Su Yiming's expression also turned solemn and cold. He stared intently at the white piece that had just been placed, reached into the chess box, and finally picked up another piece.
"With such a series of first moves all in White's favor, his direct attack here puts immense pressure on Black, making it unbearable. The attack is relentless, leaving Black completely suffocated and unable to defend its position!"
Su Yiming stared at the chessboard, took a deep breath, and felt a calmness he had never felt before.
The chess piece is placed!
"But there's still a way out here!"
clatter!
Nine columns and twelve rows, break!
"A cut, a good move! Here, you use a move to escape and avoid being tied down by Black!"
Seeing this move, many people were extremely excited, simply because they could finally fully understand this move, which was also a move they had thought of before!
Soon, Yu Shao took another chess piece from the chess box and placed it on the chessboard.
clatter!
Ten columns and fourteen rows, paste!
"Here, instead of pressing the advantage, should we connect and reinforce our position?"
Everyone was stunned by this move.
But Su Yiming's expression remained unchanged as he picked up another chess piece and quickly placed it down.
"If he sticks this spot to me, then I'll stick it to him too, and we'll fight it out!"
clatter!
Nine columns and thirteen rows, paste!
For a moment, everyone's hearts were filled with turmoil as they stared intently at the black piece on the chessboard.
This move not only strengthens its own position but also aims to break White's eye position by capturing on the right side later!
"Stick! Are you going to keep pestering me?"
Seeing this move, Yu Shao remained incredibly calm. He slowly shifted his gaze from the center of the board until finally looking at the top of the board, where a black stone was trapped in the air and a white stone was dead!
"Click!"
Inside the quiet competition venue, the sound of chess pieces clashing rang out once again!
Yu Shao reached into the chess box again, a sharp glint suddenly appearing in his eyes!
"So--"
clatter!
The chess piece fell, its impact deafening!
Seven columns and three rows, so long!
"long?"
Seeing the white piece's move, Su Yiming was slightly taken aback. He had clearly not expected it at all, since the white piece above was already dead and no one would care about just a dead piece.
The next moment, Su Yiming's expression suddenly changed. He abruptly raised his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, and looked at Yu Shao opposite him!
Yu Shao also stared at Su Yiming, his eyes sharp and piercing, his gaze like a sword, meeting Su Yiming's gaze!
At this moment, when White made this move, White's true intentions were revealed, and the others finally saw the clues on the board!
"That……"
Some people's voices have become hoarse!
"That white stone isn't completely dead!"
"That move at the center point just now, and the resulting variations, have even perfectly echoed that white stone, giving that dead stone a chance to rise from the ashes!"
At this moment, the world was shaken!
Now that Black has realized this, he is in a very difficult position.
If Black connects now, White can easily push with a move. If Black then moves aggressively, White has the means to cut and capture, eventually killing one of Black's stones. When Black plays, White captures, Black captures two of White's stones, and White plays a move that leads to a play.
So not only did White survive, but White also broke Black's territory!
However, if Black doesn't connect but instead uses a strong move, such as placing it, it's also not feasible. If White pushes, the white stones in the center of the square will come into play. If Black blocks again, White can cut and capture after finishing the move!
Even Black's move of connecting and linking is not feasible!
The situation here is quite complex. It seems like the move of "Ban" and "Han" can kill two birds with one stone, but after a series of calculations, in the end, when the two stones are locked in a fierce battle, Black is still at a disadvantage!
There's no door in front and no way back!
Finally, Su Yiming picked up a chess piece again, gritted his teeth, and quickly placed it down!
And this move—
Seven columns, two rows, two support lines!
The visual impact of this move is unparalleled, not even inferior to Black's ultimate move!
Everyone paused for a moment, then their minds began to race, calculating until they reached the furthest point—
"..."
Everyone has become completely speechless.
That's outrageous.
Here, Black surprisingly takes an unconventional approach, using the amazing move of slow capture to actually kill White!
Whether they can actually see the actual battle is one thing, but whether they dare to participate even if they do see it is another matter entirely.
Tap, tap, tap...
The chess pieces began to fall again.
Both sides, black and white, moved with divine speed, constantly playing moves that were both unattainable and eagerly anticipated—they couldn't help but want to get closer, yet were intimidated by the distance.
"Boom—!"
In North and South Korea, it suddenly started raining, with lightning and thunder.
At this moment, everyone in the chess academy was completely unaware, their hearts filled with shock and bewilderment... unable to speak for a long time.
…………
P.S.: Today is my 25th birthday... There's a lot I want to say, but I'll save it for when the story is finished.
(End of this chapter)
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