Komi and Shen Yi

The next day.

As soon as Yu Shao entered the classroom, he noticed something was off with Zhou De. The kid had a goofy grin plastered on his face, chuckling to himself.

"Old Zhou, did you have a seizure?" Yu Shao asked.

"Can you say something nicer?"

Zhou De rolled his eyes and then said with a grin, "Let me tell you, after yesterday's hard work, I'm a noble Platinum player again."

Yu Shao was shocked: "Really?"

This losing streak team actually had a day where they gained points?

"You weren't here yesterday, we just kept winning."

Zhou De said proudly, "From this, it's clear that all the previous losses were because of you. Without you, I would have reached Diamond ages ago."

"Where did you guys get the money to hire paid players?" Yu Shao asked.

"What do you mean? We didn't hire anyone, we genuinely climbed the ranks with our own skill."

Yu Shao stared intently at Zhou De, his face full of disbelief.

Seeing Yu Shao's expression, Zhou De became angry and said, "Old Yu, you don't believe me when I say I can learn Go, and you still don't believe me when I say I'm Platinum again. Do you look down on your brother that much? You just can't stand seeing your brother do well, can you?"

"I didn't say I didn't believe you."

Yu Shao took out his English textbook and said, "Didn't I say yesterday that I believed you could learn Go?"

"Does that look like belief?!"

"Doesn't it?"

"It does!"

Yu Shao originally intended to nod seriously, but the thought of a muscular Zhou De sitting upright and playing Go made him want to laugh. He couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

"You just wait!"

Zhou De felt insulted. He had actually planned to give up on the 38 Lectures on Go Fundamentals that was giving him a headache, but now he suddenly became determined and took the book out from his desk.

"When I learn Go, I'll crush you so hard you'll be begging for mercy!" Zhou De said fiercely as he flipped through the book.

"Seriously, man? Going that hard?"

Yu Shao feigned concern and advised, "Good brother, I've never doubted your intelligence, but honestly, shouldn't you set a smaller goal first, like earning a hundred million?"

"Just you wait. You have no idea how valuable Jiangling's Shen Yi is," Zhou De snorted coldly.

"Shen Yi?"

Yu Shao was taken aback and asked, "Who is that?"

"You don't know Shen Yi?"

Yu Shao's question completely stumped Zhou De. Zhou De's eyes widened in shock, "Old Yu, I almost believed you could play Go. You're really risking your life for those Conduct Points!"

"I can play."

Yu Shao was a little confused, "Why? If I can play Go, do I have to know him?"

"Absolutely! He's the Go Saint, brother!"

Zhou De waved 38 Lectures on Go Fundamentals in his hand and said, "Even as a beginner, I know Shen Yi. Let me ask you, do you know about komi?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Yu Shao nodded with a strange expression, "Of course, I know."

"You know komi, but you don't know Shen Yi? That's impossible!"

Zhou De was skeptical and asked, "Then tell me, what is komi?"

"In Go, because Black plays first, they have a certain advantage. So, to ensure fairness, at the end of the game, Black needs to compensate White with a certain number of points, which is called komi, or 'compensation points'. For example, if the komi is seven and a half points, and at the end of the game White has fifty points, Black needs at least fifty-eight points to win."

After explaining, Yu Shao suddenly froze.

Right, what was the komi in this world?

Yu Shao genuinely didn't know. In his two games with Zheng Qin, he had played with a komi of seven and a half points, as per the Go rules from his previous life.

The number of komi points was determined after countless high-level players engaged in extensive practical play, ultimately concluding that this komi was the closest to fair.

"You actually know?"

Zhou De was somewhat bewildered, "Then you shouldn't not know Shen Yi! The book says the rule of komi was created because of Shen Yi!"

"Oh?"

Yu Shao frowned slightly and asked, "How so?"

"The book says that over a hundred years ago, there was no komi rule in Go, and Shen Yi was a player born in that era."

Zhou De thought for a moment and said, "He learned Go as a child and was obsessed with it his entire life. After mastering it, he swept through the Go world of his time."

"Shen Yi lost games when he was young, but later, when he reached the peak of his skill at the age of twenty-three, he never lost another game, whether playing Black or White."

"Then, he felt lonely, the loneliness of having no opponent. So, in search of a defeat, he proposed the komi system, saying that Black had an advantage at the start, so they should receive four and a half points."

As he said this, Zhou De shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Seeking defeat alone, tsk tsk, the way he showed off was truly incredible."

Yu Shao listened quietly from the side, not interjecting.

Zhou De paused and continued, "Then Shen Yi widely invited all the famous Go players, playing Go with the komi rule. He said he would play Black, and if anyone could win with White, he would hand over his entire fortune."

"As soon as this news spread, it caused a global sensation. Countless famous Go players, either for fame or for profit, accepted the invitation to play with Shen Yi. But do you know what the result was?"

Zhou De suddenly leaned closer to Yu Shao, asking with a mysterious air.

Yu Shao glanced at Zhou De speechlessly. The answer was practically written all over his face, yet he still wanted to play coy.

However, to play along with Zhou De, Yu Shao pretended not to have guessed and asked, "What, he didn't lose?"

"Yes, he didn't lose, not a single game!"

Zhou De said excitedly, "Shen Yi, under the pressure of four and a half points, didn't lose a single game!"

"Later, Shen Yi said that four and a half points was too little, and Black still had an advantage, so he proposed the rule of seven and a half points. Those who beat him could still win his entire fortune."

"At that time, those famous Go players were no longer playing him for fame or profit. They were angry, feeling that Shen Yi looked down on them. After all, with such a big difference of seven and a half points, they were sure they could win."

"But the result left everyone speechless. Even with seven and a half points in komi, there was still no one in the Go world at that time who could defeat Shen Yi!"

At this point, Zhou De's emotions became somewhat agitated.

"Then, Shen Yi proposed the rule of ten and a half points, which once again attracted countless masters to challenge him. But without exception, these masters all returned defeated."

"It wasn't until another famous Go player named Fang Xin appeared that Shen Yi was finally defeated."

"Well... saying he was defeated isn't entirely accurate."

Zhou De said with some emotion, "Because the game wasn't over yet. Just as Fang Xin was about to win, he... resigned."

Hearing this, Yu Shao couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

"Old Yu, want to know why he surrendered?" Zhou De asked, looking at Yu Shao with a hint of boastfulness.

Please follow and read! Please follow and read! Please follow and read!

Although the theme is niche, with the support of my brothers, it has already made it to the first round of recommendations! Thank you to everyone who voted and followed. I hope we can continue to do well, so please keep following!

Many thanks!