Zheng Qin

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Zheng Qin (郑勤)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Shanhai Chess Hall regular; Chinese professional Go circuit
Occupation/Role	Professional Go player
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Amateur Go player	2–20	A Jiang University student and established Shanhai Chess Hall regular. Though he had not attended a Go dojo, he had played since childhood, frequently competed, and possessed the strength to have pursued professional status before university. He lost his first two games against Yu Shao, but the defeats strengthened his resolve to turn professional. 2 16 20
Professional qualification	45, 104, 151	Won three consecutive preliminary games, then qualified as a professional with a perfect record despite entering from the amateur ranks. 45 104 151
Second Dan	110, 173	Reached Second Dan within roughly a year of qualifying; his rapid improvement brought him into matches against high-ranked professionals. 110 173
Third Dan	181, 184	Defeated Seven Dan Qin Haisheng by half a point to enter the Regional Competition main tournament; Qin acknowledged Zheng Qin's new Third Dan rank. 181
Five Dan	459	Entered the Phoenix Cup World Tournament as a Five Dan and drew Araki No, Nine Dan, in the opening round. 459

Background

Zheng Qin was a student at Jiang University and a familiar face at Shanhai Chess Hall. He had played Go since childhood, regularly entered competitions, and won the National University Team Championship while in college. Although he had the ability to challenge for professional status earlier, he chose university first. 2 16 56

He met Yu Shao at Shanhai Chess Hall when he volunteered to play the apparently inexperienced high-school student without a handicap. Zheng Qin initially underestimated Yu Shao, but Yu Shao's calm aura and unconventional play quickly forced him to take the game seriously. 2 3 4

After losing, Zheng Qin studied the game alone, identifying his own carelessness and Yu Shao's deeper calculations. He waited at the chess hall for Yu Shao's return, then lost a second, far more intense game despite mounting a determined counterattack. 10 13 17 20

Rather than being discouraged, he came to value the quality of the game itself. The experience convinced him that he loved Go and wanted to become a professional player, even if he had to keep losing to Yu Shao before one day winning. 20

Appearance

Zheng Qin is a handsome young man with messy hair. He has been seen wearing a plaid shirt at professional events. 173 181

• Messy hair and a handsome face. 181
• Usually carries a serious, focused expression when approaching important games. 173 200
• His tension often becomes physically visible during difficult matches, including sweating and clenching Go stones. 16 176

Personality

Zheng Qin is intensely competitive, resilient, and deeply devoted to Go. He does not view defeat as a reason to retreat; instead, he reviews his losses, identifies the gap, and trains until he can face the same opponent again. His determination to challenge Yu Shao drives much of his development. 10 20 110

His fighting spirit is his defining trait. Even when his position is collapsing, he continues searching for counterplay rather than resigning mentally. Stronger professionals regard this refusal to yield as both dangerous and a major reason for his extraordinary improvement. 17 203

Outside formal matches, Zheng Qin is more approachable and expressive. He jokes with friends, gets visibly annoyed when teased about old losses, and openly shares his enthusiasm for legendary players and international competition. 402 427 438

Abilities & Skills

Go Fighting Spirit

Zheng Qin excels at sustaining pressure and finding active resistance in unfavorable positions.

• Refused to concede when Yu Shao's attacks shattered his formation, instead launching a proactive counterattack. 17
• Can remain dangerous even after being stunned by an opponent's unexpected move or superior board vision. 16 203
• His tenacity is considered his most troublesome quality by other professionals. 203
• His desire to improve intensifies when confronted with stronger opponents, particularly Yu Shao. 184

Calculation and Tactical Combat

He has strong calculation ability in complicated fighting positions and can identify opportunities hidden within ordinary-looking moves.

• Against Ban Hao, Six Dan, he used a small jump whose deeper purpose was to seize initiative and create a potential dragon-slaying sequence. 176
• Intentionally sought a complex battle against Yu Shao, believing it would let him use his observational ability. 201
• His opening and middlegame play can pressure high-dan opponents despite his comparatively short professional career. 173 176 199

Game Analysis

Zheng Qin consistently reviews games and studies both his own losses and elite-level records.

• Replayed his first loss to Yu Shao alone, diagnosing his unstable formation and rushed counterattack. 10
• Analyzed Yu Shao's strategic intent after Yu Shao defeated Le Haoqiang, recognizing that Yu Shao had intended to kill Black from the outset. 221
• Provides detailed commentary on professional games, including assessments of positional judgment, risk, and the possibility of overturning an advantage. 413
• Continues studying alongside Yu Shao and Xu Ziqin at Shanhai Chess Hall ahead of the Phoenix Cup. 438

Rapid Improvement

Zheng Qin's growth rate is exceptional even among professional players.

• Qualified as a professional with a perfect record despite coming from the amateur circuit. 151
• Progressed from Second Dan to Third Dan in little over a year without participating in a promotion match. 184
• Defeated players including Qin Haisheng, Seven Dan; Yu Li, Five Dan; and Ban Hao, Six Dan. 176 181 199
• His strength as a Third Dan was considered comparable to a Seven Dan, and he had defeated former Meister Ke Qingfeng, Nine Dan. 293

Equipment

• Go stones and Go board — His primary tools for training, tournament play, and post-game analysis. 2 10 402
• Shoutan Chunqiu account — Used for online Go; he lost to the player “Just Learning, Can't Play” after underestimating the account's owner. 46

Relationships

• Yu Shao — Rival, benchmark, training partner, and later friend. Zheng Qin lost his first two games to Yu Shao, spent nearly two years awaiting their professional rematch, and continues to seek improvement through games with him. 20 110 200 402
• Xu Ziqin — Fellow Go player and regular Shanhai Chess Hall companion. Zheng Qin initially knew her as a spectator seeking a game with him; she later earned her first victory over him during their regular matches. 3 20 437
• Su Yiming — Fellow young professional whom Zheng Qin deliberately challenged after watching Yu Shao's game. Su Yiming defeated him in a little over seventy moves, forcing Zheng Qin to confront another major gap in strength. 289 293
• Ban Hao — Six Dan opponent and measure of Zheng Qin's progress. Zheng Qin had lost badly to him ten months earlier, then defeated him in their National Hand Tournament rematch. 173 176
• Qin Haisheng — Seven Dan opponent whom Zheng Qin defeated by half a point to qualify for the Regional Competition main tournament. 181
• Araki No — Legendary Japanese Nine Dan whom Zheng Qin greatly admires and hoped to face. He drew Araki in the first round of the Phoenix Cup. 437 459
• Le Haoqiang — Fellow professional and friendly sparring companion; the two discuss title-match ambitions and the Phoenix Cup. 427 428
• Sister Su — Shanhai Chess Hall receptionist who knows Zheng Qin well and teasingly refers to him as “Little Zheng.” 2 438

Story Role / Major Arcs

Shanhai Chess Hall Matches

Zheng Qin introduces Yu Shao to serious Go competition by inviting him to play at Shanhai Chess Hall. His first two losses establish Yu Shao's abnormal strength while giving Zheng Qin the purpose that defines his professional journey. 2 5 13 20

Professional Qualification and Rise

After committing himself to professional Go, Zheng Qin qualifies with a perfect record and rises at an extraordinary rate. His victories over increasingly high-ranked opponents turn him into one of the most watched young players in the professional scene. 45 151 173 181

National Hand Tournament Rematch

As Third Dan, Zheng Qin finally meets Yu Shao again in the National Hand Tournament qualifiers after waiting one year and nine months. He enters determined to give everything he has, but Yu Shao defeats him and leaves Zheng Qin confronting how far ahead his rival has become. 200 203 205 207

Shanhai Chess Hall Training

Following Yu Shao's rise to National Hand, Zheng Qin resumes playing and reviewing games with him at Shanhai Chess Hall. Their rivalry becomes a more openly friendly training relationship, though Zheng Qin remains determined to narrow the gap. 402 427

Phoenix Cup World Tournament

Zheng Qin enters the Phoenix Cup as his first world championship. Nervous but excited to face global legends, he trains with Yu Shao through super-fast games and hopes to survive as long as possible on the world stage. 439 453 458

His first-round draw pairs him with Araki No, the legendary “Uncrowned King.” Although the matchup overwhelms him, Zheng Qin remains eager to prove his strength and later supports Yu Shao's bid to win the tournament. 459 462 481

Notable Quotes

“I want to become a professional Go player. I thought about it before, and now I want it even more.” 20

“Even if I lose the next game, there will be another one after that. One day, I will win.” 20

“I've been waiting for this game for one year and nine months.” 200

“The stronger one's Go ability, the more they will feel genuine awe for the game.” 413

Trivia

• Zheng Qin paid Yu Shao's hall fee for their second game at Shanhai Chess Hall. 13
• He keeps unusually precise track of past games; when Ban Hao estimated their last meeting at half a year earlier, Zheng Qin corrected him to ten months and fourteen days. 173
• He occasionally smokes when emotionally overwhelmed by a game, though he says he does not smoke often. 305
• He was initially reluctant to accept Xu Ziqin's first win over him, repeatedly insisting that a missed cutting move would have changed the result. 437