Brilliant Move and Endgame

The game continued.

After a brief discussion, everyone fell silent again, staring unblinkingly at the Go Board, immersed in the battle.

As Black and White Stones continued to fall, more and more people showed looks of astonishment.

It was not just Xu Ziqin. By now, they too had gradually begun to see that White had somehow started falling into a disadvantage.

At first, when faced with Black's aggressive attack, White had been caught off guard but could still respond calmly and even strike back in local battles.

But later, White could only stalemate Black. Then Black took the offensive while White was forced onto the defensive. And now, White was beginning to fail at holding on!

The balance between offense and defense had changed!

Black was like a python coiled around White's throat, about to sink its fangs in viciously!

It would have been understandable if White had made some blunder or mistake, but in their eyes, White's play had been flawless from beginning to end, without a single fault to pick at.

But if there had been no mistake, why had White fallen behind?

A few moves later, it was Black's turn again.

Yu Shao gently placed a stone.

Tap.

Ninth row, seventh column. Crawl.

The moment the stone fell, the entire room sank into dead silence, so quiet it was almost frightening.

Because everyone knew exactly what that move meant.

Zheng Qin lowered his head and stared blankly at the Go Board.

With that Black Stone placed, the White Stones in the upper left corner had been completely driven to death. There was no turning things around.

In that local battle, he had been effortlessly slaughtered by the calm-faced high school student across from him.

"No!"

"I haven't lost yet. I still have a chance."

Zheng Qin took a deep breath. Though he was at a disadvantage now, he felt it could still be salvaged. He still had hope of turning defeat into victory.

His eyes locked onto a point on the Go Board.

"Black may control the upper left corner, but because of his 3-3 Point, his control over the center is insufficient. I still have control of the center!"

Zheng Qin reached into the Stone Box and picked up another stone!

Smack!

Fifth row, thirteenth column. Nobi!

"Nobi?"

Someone was initially stunned when they saw the move, unable to understand it. Their first thought was that it was a questionable move, since the White Stones in the upper left corner clearly looked doomed.

But after thinking it over more carefully and understanding the purpose of the move, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his face flushed red!

"So... so that's it!"

For a moment, he was so excited that he could barely speak coherently.

"Even though White lost the struggle in the upper left corner, White still controls part of the center! The upper left is already dead, but this Nobi prevents Black from expanding into the center so comfortably!"

"That gives White time to build outside influence and develop the center!"

"White actually made use of his own loss!"

More and more people saw the brilliance of the move, and they all grew excited.

"Looking at it this way, losing the upper left corner may not even be a bad thing? You could even call it a Sacrifice?"

"Genius. A true genius. That is an absolute Brilliant move!"

"As expected of Little Zheng. Even in adversity, he can still play such a dazzling move!"

"I'm almost wondering whether Zheng Qin deliberately sacrificed stones in the upper right to set a trap for Black!"

At that moment, someone noticed that Yu Shao still had not placed a stone.

"That kid played quickly just now, but he hasn't moved yet. This move must be giving him trouble too, right?"

"Hahaha, if I suddenly saw a move like that, I'd be shocked too."

Having witnessed an absolute Brilliant move, they were so excited that they could no longer keep their voices down.

Xu Ziqin also raised her head and looked toward Yu Shao, wanting to see his reaction.

But when she saw Yu Shao's expression, Xu Ziqin could not help but freeze slightly.

Yu Shao still looked calm. His profile was sharply defined, his eyes lowered as he looked at the Go Board. One hand rested inside the Stone Box, but he had not picked up a stone.

A moment later, the clack of stones colliding finally sounded from within the Stone Box again.

Yu Shao finally picked up a stone and gently placed it.

Tap.

Tenth row, fifteenth column. Contact Play.

In an instant, every voice fell abruptly silent.

"This... Contact Play?"

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know... I can't understand it!"

Zheng Qin, sitting opposite him, was also stunned. He stared at the Go Board blankly for a long time before finally coming back to his senses.

Zheng Qin picked up a stone and hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still placed it.

The meaning behind Black's Contact Play was unclear, and Zheng Qin could not understand it at all. He chose to continue following his previous plan, developing toward the center and waiting until he had built up enough influence to encircle Black.

Yu Shao remained calm and continued placing stones.

Tap.

Twelfth row, fifteenth column. Jump.

The two sides began placing stones in rapid alternation again, the frequent sounds of stones falling echoing through the quiet Go room.

Soon, another dozen or so moves had passed, and it was Yu Shao's turn again.

Yu Shao reached into the Stone Box and picked up a stone.

Tap.

The stone fell.

Tenth row, twelfth column. Cap!

Zheng Qin froze when he saw the move.

Then his pupils shrank to pinpoints, and he involuntarily rose from his chair.

He leaned forward slightly, staring fixedly at the Black Stone as though he could not believe his own eyes.

"It's actually... a Cap?"

The surrounding spectators looked at one another, unable to understand why Zheng Qin was reacting so strongly.

"Isn't it just a Cap?"

"What's wrong with that move?"

Puzzled, they furrowed their brows and lowered their heads, beginning to examine the game again.

As they looked, many expressions gradually changed—from confusion to astonishment, from astonishment to shock, and from shock to horror. Their mouths fell open, but they found themselves unable to make a sound!

Still, some people could not understand the Cap and could not help asking, "Brother, what's wrong with that move? I can't see anything."

The person being asked swallowed, feeling his mouth go dry.

"If you're only looking at the current position, of course... you can't see anything..."

Even his voice trembled as he spoke. "But think further ahead. From White's perspective, think further ahead..."

Think further ahead?

The man was full of questions, but he patiently looked at the game again. Then his expression changed too, his face full of disbelief. "This is?"

"Yes. White... is already constrained everywhere! It started with that incomprehensible Contact Play... no, even earlier than that!"

The person who had answered earlier nodded, looking at Yu Shao in disbelief. "That kid didn't fail to see White's Nobi. On the contrary, he had already calculated it all!"

"That's why, the instant White played the Nobi, he chose the Contact Play, because that was the vital point more than ten moves later!"

"After taking that point, White's Nobi variation would... collapse quickly!"

"In such a complicated position, there were countless viable moves, yet he calculated every move White would make, and more than ten moves after each of them..."

"But... is that even possible?"

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Zheng Qin opened his mouth, but he could not say anything. His throat was dry.

"I... lost."

Only after a long while did Zheng Qin finally manage to say the words. He resigned and conceded defeat.

The game could actually have continued, but precisely because his Go strength was not poor, he had already seen the outcome of the endgame. There was no point in continuing a meaningless game.

"Thank you for the game."

With the game finally over, Yu Shao let out a breath of relief, nodded to Zheng Qin, and prepared to gather the stones before leaving.

"No need. Leave them as they are."

At that moment, Zheng Qin stopped Yu Shao. His voice was somewhat weak, as though the game had drained all his strength. "You... how long have you been playing Go?"

"For quite some time," Yu Shao answered.

"You really... have never entered an amateur tournament or trained at a Go academy?"

Yu Shao answered honestly, "No."

"Then do you have a Go teacher? Who is it?"

Yu Shao shook his head, indicating that he had no teacher.

Upon hearing Yu Shao's answer, Zheng Qin immediately fell silent.

"Then I'll be going. I have quite a lot of homework today."

Seeing that Zheng Qin had no more questions, Yu Shao picked up his backpack, stood, and prepared to say goodbye.

"Can you come play another game with me tomorrow?"

Just then, Zheng Qin suddenly raised his head and stared at Yu Shao. "I'll pay your club fee."

"Tomorrow..."

Yu Shao hesitated before saying, "It depends on whether I have time."

In the adult world, saying it depended on whether one had time was essentially a polite refusal.

But Zheng Qin seemed unable to understand that. With a serious expression, he said, "I'll wait for you."

Yu Shao immediately felt a headache coming on. He forced a smile, then turned to leave.

"Hm?"

Only then did Yu Shao finally notice Xu Ziqin among the crowd, and he could not help but pause in surprise.

Xu Ziqin had been staring at the Go Board all this time. Only now did she finally shift her gaze away, raise her head, and meet Yu Shao's eyes with her amber-like, crystal-clear gaze.

Why is she here?

Out of politeness, Yu Shao nodded to Xu Ziqin. Though he was somewhat puzzled, he had no desire to speak with her further. Carrying his backpack, he turned and left.

Only after Yu Shao had left did news of Zheng Qin's defeat gradually spread.

"What? Zheng Qin lost?"

"How is that possible? Zheng Qin won first place in the College Student Go Championship and already has the strength to challenge Professional Go Players!"

"How many points did he lose by? Was there a handicap?"

"I just saw that high schooler play the 3-3 Point and then leave. That high schooler won? How is that possible?"

"He lost in the middle game? Are you fucking kidding me?"

People kept rushing toward the Go Table. Some even abandoned games they were in the middle of playing, and before long, the Go Table was surrounded so tightly that not even water could pass through.