With Our Go Strength, We Still Couldn't See It

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Go stones continued to fall onto the board, black and white stones landing like stars.

By now, everyone could tell that today's game was completely different from the one two days ago—practically the opposite extreme.

The game had now shifted toward delicate entanglement. Every black and white stone affected the whole board, and in this kind of position, what mattered most was a player's overall judgment and understanding of the game.

If either side chose to attack proactively, it would be easy to expose a flaw in this sort of position and fall behind.

Therefore, this game would likely not see any broad, sweeping attacks. It would be easy for one side to slowly strangle the other, with the outcome decided in the endgame.

Yu Shao stared at the Go Board, his brows slightly furrowed.

The game is developing too steadily. It'll be hard to end this quickly. Still, this kind of game may seem calm on the surface, but hidden beneath it are killing intentions—and this is exactly what I'm best at.

Would it be difficult to Jump out directly on the next move? Or should I... use a Pincer attack?

But if I use a Pincer attack and he Connects, I'll be in an awkward spot... He might not spot this move, but I'd better not gamble on it.

So in the end... should I Tsuke directly?

After thinking for a moment, Yu Shao finally placed another stone.

Tap.

Column three, row eleven. Tsuke!

"This move?"

"Tsuke?"

The moment they saw that move, everyone's eyes widened involuntarily. Their bodies seemed to jolt as they leaned forward uncontrollably.

"He still chose to attack?!"

"And he didn't choose to Jump? He chose... Tsuke?"

This move was completely beyond their expectations.

Tsuke was a move where one inserted a stone into the gap between the opponent's clustered stones, creating a Cut Point or weakness in their shape, but—

"But if he does this, the White Stones on the left will split apart. As long as Black launches a fierce attack against the left wing, White's shape will completely collapse!"

Some people found the move utterly incomprehensible. It was as though he had gone mad with the desire to attack.

"Or could it be that the White Stones on the left, he..."

Suddenly, someone raised a possibility. "Sacrificed them?"

Those words struck everyone like a blow to the head. The entire room fell silent, and for a time, no one could say a word.

Sacrificed... them?

It was possible. No, it was very possible!

But that was the kind of move only a madman would make!

Sacrifice games had produced famous masterpieces throughout history, because this was inherently one of the fiercest and most ruthless methods—a thousand damage to the enemy, eight hundred to oneself. It could easily create games that left people slapping the table in admiration.

But it was even easier to overplay and ruin everything.

Indeed, if they considered it from the perspective of sacrifice, White could abandon the left wing and use the remaining stones to form a favorable attacking shape. That was what was known as Sacrifice Stones for Influence!

However, Black's shape was nearly flawless. Even if White's attack was sharp, it would be extremely difficult to invade Black's territory.

Even taking a step back, if White truly killed this group of Black Stones, Black would likewise kill White's left wing. It was hard to say whether White would actually gain or lose from it!

Yet White had still played this way!

Zheng Qin, seated across from Yu Shao, was also stunned when he saw White's move.

He had indeed considered that Yu Shao might force an attack, but he had never expected Yu Shao's chosen method of attack to be so... decisive.

Yes, decisive!

Succeed, or perish!

White charged toward his Black Stones with such a fearless, unwavering posture!

"At first glance, this move seems absurd. But on closer thought, it may actually be the best approach."

"Any other attacking move could easily expose flaws in White's shape, so he simply chose to sacrifice stones and force an attack!"

"But how many people would truly have the courage to play this move?"

Zheng Qin raised his head and glanced at Yu Shao. Then he let out a long breath and picked up another stone.

"Since you want to attack so badly that you're willing to sacrifice stones for it, then come!"

Tap!

Column four, row eleven. Block!

Facing White's sacrifice, Black chose a fierce counterattack!

Yu Shao immediately followed with another move.

Column six, row twelve. Charge and Cut!

"Charge and Cut?"

Zheng Qin stared intently at the board, thought briefly, then placed another stone.

Column eight, row nine. Clamp!

The entire room erupted!

"Clamp?!"

Someone blurted out in shock, "If he chooses Clamp here, then once White plays a Throw-in, Black will be in danger!"

"Exactly! Did Little Zheng make a mistake? Did that kid's sacrifice disrupt his thinking?"

"Wait, that's not right!"

Someone seemed to realize something. "If White plays a Throw-in, then Black can play a Wedge here and take the corner. Wouldn't that leave White... trapped between advancing and retreating?"

Everyone froze for a moment. When they looked at the board again, shock appeared on their faces.

That was indeed the case. If White played a Throw-in, Black still had the Brilliant move of a Wedge. But the move was far too hidden—without sufficient Go strength, it was impossible to notice.

Yet in such a short time, Zheng Qin had not only thought of this Clamp that ordinary players would never consider, but had also worked out the variation where Black played a Wedge after White's Throw-in!

Just then, Yu Shao finally placed his stone.

Column fourteen, row nine. Hane.

"He played Tenuki?"

Everyone was dumbfounded again.

Tenuki referred to a move in a contact fight where one side temporarily ignored the opponent's move and played elsewhere on the board.

Faced with that Clamp, an ordinary player would think about how to respond and resolve it. But White had chosen... Tenuki?

Generally speaking, choosing Tenuki meant that the player believed the local fight was less important than another area of the board.

Thus, one needed the overall vision to coordinate the entire game before choosing Tenuki. Otherwise, it would simply result in a loss.

"But... won't playing Tenuki here really lose something?"

Someone asked hesitantly.

Zheng Qin's next move immediately gave him the answer.

Column fourteen, row ten. Extend!

Zheng Qin likewise chose to play where Yu Shao had gone Tenuki, which meant that he too believed the fight over this position was more important!

Click.

The sound of stones colliding rang out.

Yu Shao reached into the stone bowl, picked up a stone, and placed it again.

On the other side, Zheng Qin refused to be outdone. Seeing Yu Shao's move, he thought briefly and quickly followed with another Black Stone.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Black and White immediately began to entangle and fight relentlessly on the left side near the center of the board, neither willing to yield an inch.

The people around them were already getting dizzy from watching.

They had originally thought the left wing would be the main battlefield. Especially after Black had played that Clamp, everyone believed the struggle over the left wing would become incredibly fierce.

But in reality, after Black played that Clamp, White chose Tenuki—and Black unexpectedly followed him!

Black and White began fighting with astonishing tacit understanding in a place far from the main battlefield, contending over an area that seemed completely unrelated to it!

Gradually, as more and more stones were played, some people finally began to understand why White had chosen Tenuki.

"So that's it!"

"After Black's Clamp, if White chooses the fierce counterattack of Shicho, both sides will inevitably develop toward the right wing!"

"Once White has stones on the right wing that can provide support, the Shicho variation will become very favorable!"

"After Black's Clamp, it will still take quite a few moves for Black to kill White's left wing. White can choose Charge and Cut, then play Shicho. Taking that into account, White chose Tenuki!"

"Black thought of the same thing, so he followed him and refused to let White have his way!"

"They appear to have moved away from the main battlefield..."

The speaker swallowed, his expression filled with shock.

"But in truth, they have been on the main battlefield all along. It's just that with our Go strength..."

"We still couldn't see it at all..."

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