White Stones' Win Rate 70%

It was Black's turn to move again.

Wang Rui stared intently at the board, picked up a stone, and quickly placed it down.

Clack!

On the fourth column, fifteenth row, a one-space high approach!

"A one-space high approach?"

Chen Jiaming was slightly surprised by this move. "He didn't choose the more common small knight's move approach or large knight's move approach, but a high approach? Could it be that Wang Rui intends to..."

Yu Shao was also slightly taken aback by this jump, but he quickly picked up a stone and responded.

On the third column, fifteenth row, an attachment!

Wang Rui reached into the stone bowl and picked out another black stone.

Clack!

On the fourth column, sixteenth row, a Star Point!

The two players alternated moves, and after quickly completing the first three moves according to a basic fuseki, it was Black's turn again.

Black had many options for this move, such as a jump, a small knight's move into the bottom right or top right corner, or even approaching the corner, all of which were common and viable plays.

However, facing the current situation, Wang Rui didn't even hesitate!

He stared intently at the board, reached into the stone bowl, picked up a stone, gritted his teeth, and as if impatient, rapidly slammed the stone down!

Clack!

The stone landed on the board with a resounding thud!

Fourth column, fourteenth row—

A press!

The black stone landed on the board, shining like a star!

"This is..."

Seeing Wang Rui's move, Yu Shao on the opposite side couldn't help but freeze for a moment, looking somewhat surprised. "The Great Avalanche?"

Chen Jiaming, who had been closely observing the game, instinctively pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses upon seeing this move.

"As expected... it's the Great Avalanche!"

"The reason Wang Rui chose the one-space high approach was to set up the Great Avalanche Fuseki, drawing the game into the most complex and perilous situation!"

"Black intends to seek a sliver of victory within the Great Avalanche, a fuseki that can be described as the most complex and fierce, by attacking and killing!"

This fuseki, as it unfolded on the board, often began with a single stone, gradually triggering a chain reaction. A series of stones, as if caught in an avalanche, would rapidly occupy large areas of the board!

Due to this swift expansion and coverage like snow, it was named the Great Avalanche. Its complexity and the intensity of its attacks were incomparable to most other fusekis!

For this very reason, even professional players rarely employed this style of play because it was too difficult to control.

However, once this fuseki was successfully implemented, it was truly like an avalanche, possessing immense destructive power and impact!

"The Great Avalanche..."

Yu Shao gazed at the board, his expression somewhat complex.

He hadn't seen anyone play the Great Avalanche Fuseki in a very, very long time.

In his past life, this fuseki had also been all the rage, praised by the public for its complex variations and fierce attacks, and hailed as one of the three most difficult-to-solve fusekis.

However, with the advent of the AI era, this fuseki had been calculated by AI as unviable and completely eliminated. It had virtually disappeared from professional competitions.

Therefore, seeing Wang Rui play the Great Avalanche Fuseki, Yu Shao felt a pang of nostalgia and a touch of inexplicable sadness.

After a long silence, Yu Shao finally reached for a stone and gently placed it down.

Fourth column, thirteenth row, a hane!

Wang Rui took a deep breath, picked up a stone, and placed it down.

Third column, seventeenth row, a stretch!

The two players quickly exchanged four more moves, all of which were standard variations. These four moves were all necessary plays after the Great Avalanche Fuseki had taken shape; any deviation would result in a disadvantage.

Then, it was Yu Shao's turn to move again.

Yu Shao lowered his gaze to the board and picked up a stone.

Clack.

Fifty-eighth row, an outside attachment!

As this move landed on the board, Wang Rui and Chen Jiaming's eyes widened simultaneously!

"An outside attachment?"

Chen Jiaming instinctively pushed his glasses up his nose. "The outside attachment is an extremely early variation. Since the inside attachment was developed, the outside attachment has been almost completely abandoned, practically disproven!"

"This kid... doesn't have a deep enough understanding of the Great Avalanche Fuseki?"

After his initial shock, Wang Rui's eyes lit up, as if he saw a glimmer of victory.

His thoughts at this moment were no different from Chen Jiaming's.

"He's not familiar with the Great Avalanche Fuseki!"

"The variations for the inside attachment are relatively more complex. Since he's not familiar with the Great Avalanche, he's chosen the most old-fashioned outside attachment!"

"Even if his skill is higher than mine, as long as I can gain an advantage in the opening, I'll have a chance in the mid-game!"

"I can win this game!"

With that thought, Wang Rui's fighting spirit surged again, and he immediately picked up a stone and placed it!

Three columns, thirteen rows, Cut!

"He cut, just as expected..."

Yu Shao was not surprised by this move. After White's outside attachment, a Cut from Black was the inevitable move. Even if he were playing, this would be the only choice.

Yu Shao reached into the stone box, the stones clattering as he picked out a white stone and placed it gently.

Tap.

Two columns, thirteen rows, Hit!

Wang Rui had already eagerly picked up a stone and was about to place it.

But upon seeing Yu Shao's move, Wang Rui's hand, which was about to place a stone, froze in mid-air.

"Hit... a capture-hit?"

Wang Rui stared at the board, White's move completely catching him off guard, leaving him quite dumbfounded.

After White's outside attachment, the subsequent variations are all documented in game records, and these variations have been tested by countless masters. Deviating from the established sequence often means a bad move.

In this situation, White's standard move was to Stretch, which was the most acceptable play for everyone.

However, White chose to Hit, completely deviating from the established sequence, and it was a deviation to an almost incomprehensible position. He couldn't even understand the intention behind this move.

"He doesn't... know anything about the Great Avalanche Fuseki, does he?"

This thought suddenly occurred to Wang Rui.

On one hand, he felt it was unlikely. How could someone who played like that in a series of games know nothing about the Great Avalanche Fuseki?

But seeing this Hit move, he felt this possibility was very high.

Chen Jiaming, who was watching the game, couldn't help but frown.

After a moment of thought, Wang Rui finally placed his next stone.

Three columns, twelve rows, Stretch.

Yu Shao's expression was calm as he placed his next stone.

Tap.

Four columns, fourteen rows, Hane!

Seeing this move, Wang Rui's pupils contracted, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Hane?"

This was another move he couldn't have predicted, and it felt almost absurd. White's two consecutive moves were completely beyond his expectations.

Wang Rui took a deep breath, calming himself slightly. After thinking for a moment, he placed his next stone.

Five columns, sixteen rows, Connect!

The two players began to place stones continuously.

Reaching into the stone box, picking up a stone, placing it.

This repeated.

For a time, the only sound in the entire room was the alternating clatter of black and white stones being placed.

Tap, tap.

Chen Jiaming watched the game quietly from the side.

Soon, after more than a dozen more moves, Chen Jiaming's expression gradually changed. He found himself unable to comprehend the current state of the game.

"How can this be?"

"Wang Rui is playing exceptionally well in this game, without any discernible errors. When White made those consecutive Hane moves, Black even shrewdly played a Hit above, fearing it might miss an opportunity later. Even such details were handled perfectly."

"After White's two moves, Black should have rapidly fallen into a disadvantage, but why... is the situation so deadlocked?"

"The situation is... even?"

Just then, Black placed another stone.

Four columns, ten rows, Cap!

Seeing this, Yu Shao was slightly surprised.

It wasn't because Black's move was particularly brilliant, but rather that in the opening dozen moves, every single move by Black had been excellent, and even he couldn't find any significant flaws.

"I analyzed this opening variation with a computer before, but I didn't continue analyzing it up to Black's Cap..."

"Because, from the perspective of most humans, Black is only two points behind White, and the game is evenly matched, with either side capable of winning."

"However, the computer's assessment is—"

"White has a 70% win rate."

This 20% difference represented the gap between eras.

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