A Move That Subverted the Situation

Yu Shao quickly lost interest in this game and turned his attention to Xu Ziqin's match.

Upon seeing the game, Yu Shao couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

Looking at the current board situation, Yu Shao felt a subtle sense of familiarity.

The stones of both sides were tightly entangled, appearing to be in close combat, yet the black stones remained uncommitted, refraining from attacking, merely pressing with their influence.

This situation was all too familiar to him, as it was precisely the style and approach he had excelled at in his previous life: using a broad strategic view and deep calculation to kill his opponents without revealing a single weakness.

Yu Shao continued to watch a few more moves, his expression shifting to one of mild surprise.

"Xu Ziqin can actually play like this?"

"Although some moves are still immature and the thinking isn't comprehensive, many of the conceptions are quite exquisite, the moves are very agile, and the calculations are spot on."

"In this situation, black has surrounded white from all sides, forming an encirclement, and white is in a precarious position."

"But..."

Yu Shao glanced at the young man sitting opposite Xu Ziqin, whose expression was grim.

"White isn't without a chance to turn this game around."

"Can he find that opportunity and hold onto it tightly?"

Soon, both sides made another five or six moves.

"It's a shame, he didn't realize it at all... Now, as long as black doesn't make a mistake, no, as long as they don't make a major mistake, white has absolutely no chance."

Yu Shao felt a touch of regret.

However, he wasn't surprised, as the chess strength required to play that game-changing move was far beyond that of an amateur player.

Even some low-ranked professional players might not be able to execute it, and even if they found the move, they might not be able to calculate the subsequent positions accurately.

If the calculation was incomplete, the move could backfire, failing to break through and ultimately leading to black killing the white stones, causing a swift collapse.

Finally, after another seven or eight minutes, the young man opposite Xu Ziqin dejectedly lowered his hand and said weakly, "I... I lost."

"Thank you for the guidance."

Xu Ziqin nodded gently at her opponent, her expression calm, showing no joy at winning the game.

"Thank you... for the guidance."

The young man bit his lip and spoke with some reluctance.

It was only then that the young man noticed Yu Shao standing to the side.

He blinked in surprise, then immediately turned his head to look at the board where Yu Shao and Wang Rui had been playing.

"It's... over already?"

He widened his eyes, finding it hard to believe.

He had assumed that losing after only thirty minutes meant he was the fastest to lose.

But he never expected that Wang Rui's game would finish even faster than his own!

Who won?

He immediately stood up and walked towards the board where Yu Shao and Wang Rui had been playing.

The board hadn't been cleared yet, so as soon as he got there, he saw the final position of the game.

Upon seeing the final position, his pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpricks.

"This..."

"What is this?!"

He felt as if his brain had been hit by a heavy club, his mouth agape, staring at the board in utter shock.

"Black's formations are almost completely cut off, with weak points everywhere!"

"Even... even black's clumsy shapes are being attacked by white, they're almost wiped out!"

"From the stones in the lower right corner, it seems the game started with the Great Avalanche Fuseki, but... but why is black the one being swept away!"

His mouth felt dry, the black stones in this game were so tragically annihilated.

"I can't understand at all, how did this game end up like this?"

Although he didn't understand the specifics, he now understood his earlier question: why this game had ended so quickly.

Even though neither side had played many moves, looking at the current board, black had no way to recover; white's advantage was insurmountable!

It was an absolute crushing victory!

Meanwhile, just as Yu Shao was preparing to leave and check on the progress of the last game, Xu Ziqin suddenly spoke, asking, "You seemed disappointed just now?"

"Hmm?"

Yu Shao was taken aback, surprised that Xu Ziqin had noticed his expression while observing the game.

"Did I play poorly somewhere?"

Xu Ziqin looked at Yu Shao with her amber-like eyes and asked.

"No, you played very well."

Yu Shao shook his head, hesitated, and then looked at the board. "It's just that White's moves had some issues."

"White?"

Hearing this, Xu Ziqin's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, a hint of confusion in her expression.

Many of White's moves were problematic, and she could see that. If Yu Shao had been observing from the very beginning, it would have been one thing. But by the time Yu Shao arrived, White had already fallen into an insurmountable disadvantage.

Even if White had played well, with such a disadvantage, wasn't the outcome already decided?

"Here."

Yu Shao pointed to a spot on the board and spoke.

"Here?"

Xu Ziqin lowered her head, looking at the spot Yu Shao indicated, still a little puzzled.

But then, Xu Ziqin stared at the board, as if frozen for a few seconds. Her beautiful eyes widened involuntarily, and her body leaned forward slightly, beyond her control.

"This..."

"This move... at first glance, it's completely incomprehensible."

"But if you think about it carefully, it's chillingly profound."

Xu Ziqin gazed at the board, stunned.

"If White had ignored the large territory below and played here instead, directly attacking and fighting within my influence, attempting a Life and Death Struggle..."

"If you don't think about it carefully, you really wouldn't realize that my large Black formation has extremely hidden flaws and weaknesses in its shape."

"If White could truly make something of this, then the outcome... is indeed uncertain."

The so-called Life and Death Struggle refers to a strategy where, in order to disrupt the opponent's overall situation and break the global balance, one must fight within the opponent's territory and endure their attacks, thereby shifting the situation in one's favor.

Life and Death Struggles are arguably the most difficult aspect of Go.

This is because Life and Death Struggles have almost no discernible patterns and rely entirely on the player's fighting ability and judgment, with victory determined by absolute skill!

White was indeed at a significant disadvantage, but if a brilliant move could lead to a successful Life and Death Struggle, the situation could even be reversed!

However, this was not a move that just anyone could see!

Because White's formation had already been cut off, the normal approach would be to try and make White's stones alive. Moreover, the flaws in Black's formation were very subtle; without deep calculation, they were impossible to discover, and thus one wouldn't even consider a Life and Death Struggle!

But...

Yu Shao saw it.

Xu Ziqin opened her mouth, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

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