The playing room remained silent even after Zhang Dongchen had left.
Everyone was still staring at the board, speechless.
Yu Shao looked at Zheng Qin, who sat across from him, head bowed, saying nothing. His expression remained calm.
"Just like I once chased after those stronger than ..."
"He, too, is chasing after now."
Yu Shao lowered his gaze, his eyes flickering as they reflected the black and white stones on the board.
"So, this ga... is my gift to you."
"A reward for your effort."
A mont later, he finally looked away from the board and spoke softly.
"Thank you for the match."
Zheng Qin remained silent for a few seconds before finally returning the courtesy.
"Thank you for the match."
Yu Shao exhaled slowly and stood up.
As he rose, the crowd instinctively parted, making way for him. He walked straight to the door, left the playing room, and disappeared from sight.
Zheng Qin, however, remained seated, his head still lowered.
"I used to be weak, completely ignorant of the ga..."
"For the past year and a half, my skills have improved trendously. I'm nothing like I was before."
"But..."
He slowly lifted his head, staring at the board with a dazed expression.
"But he... he keeps getting farther and farther ahead of ."
His fists clenched tightly, nails digging into his palms.
At that mont, the other players in the room finally noticed that Chen Shan’s match hadn't even started yet.
Confusion spread across their faces.
"Chen Shan lost too?!"
"Wait... does that an even Wang He isn’t his match anymore?"
"I heard that with Chen Shan’s current strength, he could hold his own against a 4-dan pro. Even if he was in bad form, he still shouldn’t have lost!"
The entire room was in shock.
Everyone had the sa thought—
"If even Wang He can’t stop Zheng Qin, then who can?!"
Among the younger generation, there were only a handful of players stronger than Chen Shan.
By now, it seed... unstoppable.
That Night
Jiangling, a luxury apartnt.
A man with a strong, imposing presence sat alone in a quiet chess room. His sharp eyes locked onto the board as he repeatedly picked up stones from the bowl and placed them on the board.
Just as he was about to make his next move—
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
His brows furrowed slightly.
He placed the stone onto the board with a crisp snap, then stood up and walked out of the room.
Crossing through the living room, he reached the door, opened it, and was t with a familiar face.
Upon seeing Zhang Dongchen standing there, his previously tense expression relaxed.
"Well, this is a rare guest."
The man raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What brings Zhang Dongchen, the Go Sage, to my door?"
"What, am I not welco, 9-dan Pro Chen Shan?" Zhang Dongchen chuckled. "Or do you plan to make stand here all night?"
"Co in."
Chen Shan let out a short laugh, stepping aside to make way.
As Zhang Dongchen entered, Chen Shan added, "I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you yet—three consecutive title defenses for the Go Sage title, and you even defeated Jiang Changdong."
"Appreciate it."
Zhang Dongchen casually slipped on a pair of indoor slippers and asked, "You haven't won a title in two years now. Are you planning to reclaim one this year?"
"Reclaim?"
Chen Shan shook his head with a smile. "It’s not like victory is guaranteed. I don’t even know if I can secure a challenge spot for the Tianyuan Title. Players like Feng He, 9-dan—none of them are easy opponents."
"You still have the National Master Tournant, don’t you?"
Zhang Dongchen grinned. "With your performance last year, you don’t even need to go through the preliminaries. You’re already seeded directly into the main event."
Hearing those words, Chen Shan glanced at Zhang Dongchen and suddenly let out a chuckle.
"Xiao Zhang, what are you really trying to say? There's sothing behind your words, isn’t there?"
Zhang Dongchen smiled, unfazed.
"I have a ga record here that I think you need to see."
He continued, "After all, before long, you’ll likely face the person who played this ga."
"Oh?"
Chen Shan raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"You certainly ca prepared."
"To be honest, I just wanted soone to discuss this ga with."
Zhang Dongchen grinned. "Among the top players in the Southern Region, you’re the one I’m most familiar with."
"Whose ga record is it?"
Chen Shan frowned slightly. "You ca all this way just to discuss it with ?"
"Yu Shao."
Zhang Dongchen’s voice was calm.
Chen Shan froze.
"...Zheng Qin?"
Hearing the na, he was montarily stunned.
Then, with a look of disbelief, he asked, "You an that rising first-dan player everyone's been talking about lately?"
Zhang Dongchen nodded.
"Him?"
Chen Shan found it hard to believe. He half-suspected Zhang Dongchen was joking.
"You think he can make it to the main event of the National Master Tournant?"
The National Master Main Event—
It was hallowed ground.
If a player didn’t have the strength of a 9-dan pro, they simply couldn’t make it.
Every ga in the main event was watched by the world.
Beating a few 9-dan players in scattered matches didn’t an one had 9-dan strength. To be truly considered at that level, one had to consistently hold their own against top professionals.
Very few had ever broken into the National Master Main Event without being a 9-dan.
"Before I saw this ga, I didn’t think so either."
Zhang Dongchen’s usual smile faded slightly.
"But after watching it..."
He paused, then said seriously, "I think he just might."
Chen Shan furrowed his brows deeply, studying Zhang Dongchen’s expression.
After a long mont, seeing that Zhang Dongchen wasn’t joking, he finally spoke.
"...Let's take this to the analysis room."
Zhang Dongchen nodded and followed Chen Shan into the chess room, where they sat across from each other.
Chen Shan swiftly cleared the board, his expression turning serious.
"Alright, show the ga."
"Understood."
Zhang Dongchen reached into the Go bowl and began.
"This ga was played between Yu Shao (Black, 1-dan) and Zheng Qin (White, 3-dan)."
With that, he placed the first move.
Row 16, Column 4—Star Point.
Then he placed White’s first move.
Snap, snap, snap...
Chen Shan was calm as he watched, his face expressionless even as he saw the bold tenuki at move 17.
Even when he saw the seemingly reckless peep—
Or the unusually high extension—
He remained unfazed, quietly observing.
But then—
When Zhang Dongchen placed a black stone at Row 5, Shoulder Hit, Chen Shan’s pupils contracted.
His expression finally changed.
"...A shoulder hit on the fifth line?"
He looked up at Zhang Dongchen, unsure if he had misheard.
"You didn’t misplace it?"
"No mistake. That’s exactly where it was played."
Zhang Dongchen nodded, clearly anticipating Chen Shan’s reaction.
After a brief pause, he continued placing the next moves.
Chen Shan took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain patient as he watched the ga unfold.
But as the ga progressed—
His expression kept changing.
His gaze grew sharper.
By the ti the ga neared its conclusion, his face had turned solemn.
Finally, Zhang Dongchen placed the last move.
"At this point, White could no longer hold on and chose to resign."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Chen Shan said nothing.
The chess room was utterly still.
"At first, it looked like White had the advantage."
After a long pause, Chen Shan finally spoke.
"Whether in terms of territory or gains, White seed ahead. Even the center Black group wasn’t fully alive."
"But looking at the ga as a whole—"
He exhaled slowly.
"Black... sohow took all of White’s potential and erased it without a trace."
"From a whole-board perspective, Black had undeniable advantage."
Zhang Dongchen nodded.
"As expected of Chen Shan, 9-dan."
"You saw it too."
Chen Shan’s gaze fell back on the board. His eyes locked onto the lone black stone at the fifth-line shoulder hit.
He lifted his head again and asked,
"What do you think of this move?"
"White failed to find a severe response to counter the fifth-line shoulder hit."
Zhang Dongchen was prepared for this question and answered imdiately.
Chen Shan fell silent for a mont, then asked,
"Did White fail to find the right counter?"
"Or—was there never a counter to begin with?"
Zhang Dongchen didn’t answer.
He knew exactly what Chen Shan was implying.
"This is why I ca to you for this review."
After a mont, Zhang Dongchen t Chen Shan’s gaze and spoke.
"If this fifth-line shoulder hit is truly valid—
Then without a doubt...
The way Go is played will have to change."
Another silence.
Finally, Chen Shan took a deep breath.
"Alright," he said, his voice steady.
"Let’s start breaking it down—beginning with the fifth-line shoulder hit."
"I’ll play White."
"I’ll play Black."
Zhang Dongchen nodded.
They cleared the board and began analyzing variations.
Move by move.
Debating, exploring, tearing apart the position piece by piece.
They played through one variation—
Then reset the board.
And did it again.
Over and over, they tried different responses, unraveling the complexities of the move.
Hours passed.
By the ti they finally stopped, it was past midnight.
Neither spoke for a long while.
At last, Chen Shan broke the silence.
"...Now that you've seen this move, what do you think?"
Zhang Dongchen took a deep breath.
"The saying goes: ‘Gold in the corners, silver along the edges, grass in the center.’"
He exhaled slowly, his tone heavy.
"But—the center isn’t always weak."
"When the whole-board position shifts, even the classic ‘golden corners’ rule can be overturned."
He looked back at the board.
"Compared to a flying move in the lower right, this fifth-line shoulder hit is even tighter—even stronger."
"For centuries, Go theory dictated that the third and fourth lines were the balance points—"
"Third line for territory. Fourth line for influence. Even shoulder hits were always made on the fourth line."
"But this..."
Zhang Dongchen's fingers hovered over the black stone at Row 5.
"In the right context—
The fifth-line shoulder hit is valid."
Silence.
Chen Shan closed his eyes for a mont.
Then he looked at Zhang Dongchen and said,
"This move—"
"A divine stroke, beyond human reach."
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