What was a board game?
There were many kinds of board games, including Five-in-a-Row and Chinese Chess.
The game of Go that Li Hao played was also called Sitting in Seclusion, Hand Conversation, and Yi.
Vertical and horizontal lines crossed to form a grid on the board. Stones were placed on its intersections and linked into formations. These were the patterns that took shape upon the board.
Those who first ventured into the Chess Dao learned the rules. Those who crossed the threshold into proficiency placed their stones with practiced precision, attacked fiercely, and understood what to take and what to sacrifice.
True masters of the Chess Dao, however, valued momentum over individual stones. They no longer confined themselves to capturing and killing, but arranged their own formations to build momentum.
Whether Chinese Chess, Five-in-a-Row, or Go, all emphasized accumulating strength until momentum took shape!
Once the greater tide turned in one's favor, winning moves came naturally, and nothing could stand in the way.
Li Hao's previous sixth dan of Chess Dao had already given him a glimpse of this principle. Now, however, he realized that relying on himself as the player to gather momentum made his intentions too obvious to an expert. True Chess Dao momentum seemed born of nature itself; without deliberately gathering it, it formed on its own!
From the moment the first stone was placed, momentum already existed.
Every stone had its own mission. Though they all appeared to be white stones, some were strong and others weak. Some white stones were soldiers, while others were generals, their momentum fierce and seamless!
Clack!
Li Hao placed a white stone, sending it deep among the black stones like a lone army. Yet its momentum struck like sudden thunder, connecting and rescuing a group of white stones that