Upon hearing the referee’s words, Gene was the first to reach into the Go bowl, grabbing a handful of white stones and pressing them into his palm. Yu Shao also imdiately picked out a single black stone and placed it on the board.
Then, Gene slowly opened his hand, letting the white stones fall onto the board to begin the count.
“Seven stones. Odd.”
The referee announced the result: “Yu Shao, 2-dan, will play Black and go first. Gene, 6-dan, will play White.”
Hearing this, the two players returned their stones to the bowls and gave each other a polite bow. “Please guide .”
The ga... began!
Yu Shao stared at the board in front of him, quickly picked out a stone from the bowl, and gently placed the first move.
Click!
Column 16, Row 4 — Star Point!
Gene looked at the black stone on the star point. He didn’t respond imdiately. After a mont’s pause, he steadied his mind, gritted his teeth, and picked out a white stone, gently placing it down.
Click!
Column 4, Row 16 — Star Point!
Seeing Gene play his move in the lower-left star point, Yu Shao didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, he stared at the board, seemingly deep in thought.
Watching this, the recorder and the two referees felt a suffocating weight in the air—it was almost hard to breathe.
Only two moves had been played, yet both sides were moving this slowly. Still, they weren’t surprised. In this Contested Ga, every move ca with trendous pressure.
“Please, don’t be nervous...”
The referees and the recorder all looked at Yu Shao, silently growing anxious on his behalf.
They understood the early moves could be slow under pressure, but they didn’t want to see this happen to Yu Shao. Because if he was already taking this long in the opening, it ant the pressure he was under was imnse—enough to hinder his performance.
Finally, Yu Shao lowered his eyes to the board and slowly reached back into the Go bowl. The clicking sound of stones colliding echoed quietly.
“Yu Shao’s calming down—he’s about to move!”
Seeing this, the recorder and both referees perked up, secretly breathing a sigh of relief as they turned their focus to the board.
Between Yu Shao’s fingers, a black stone erged—he placed it down with a steady hand.
Click!
With a crisp sound, the stone landed on the board!
But the mont the female recorder and the two referees saw where Yu Shao had placed his stone, they all froze.
Then their eyes began to widen, bit by bit.
“No way.”
“This...?!”
Even Gene’s expression changed drastically the mont he saw it. He suddenly looked up, disbelief written all over his face as he stared at Yu Shao.
“He’s... playing a 3-3 Point already?!”
On the board—
Column 3, Row 17 — 3-3 Point!
Yu Shao also looked up, locking eyes with Gene. Their gazes clashed midair!
The difference was—one gaze radiated shock, while the other was utterly calm.
That calm look seed to say—
Let’s settle this quickly.
...
...
U.S. Team Review Room
“He played the 3-3 on the second move?!”
Seeing the screen, all the players were stunned. A chubby blonde sitting in a chair even jumped to his feet, unable to contain himself.
“What the h*ll is that supposed to an?!”
Normally, a 3-3 Point is played only after both sides claim their corners. In slower gas, it doesn’t even appear until a full opening pattern is played elsewhere.
To play it on the second move—not that it’s forbidden—but isn’t it a bit too rushed?
Is the 3-3 really that necessary?
At the ga table, Ma Dong frowned slightly but said nothing. He soon reached into the Go bowl and placed a black stone at the lower-left 3-3 Point as well.
...
Broadcast Studio
“No way—he’s already playing 3-3?!”
Wei ngman was visibly stunned by the move on the big screen. “I an, these days, seeing soone play the 3-3 isn’t shocking anymore... but this early? This is insane!”
Beside her, Kong Zi stared at the screen, also surprised.
He thought for a mont, then said, “Whether or not the 3-3 move works here remains to be seen, but Yu Shao 2-dan clearly thinks it does.”
“If he believes in it, then playing 3-3 right away isn’t wrong in itself. It’s kind of like playing a diagonal approach on move two—rare, but understandable.”
“But you’re right... this is early—way too early.”
Kong Zi furrowed his brow. “It’s like... he’s afraid he won’t get the chance to play 3-3 later.”
Handtalk Room
Gene finally averted his gaze and looked back at the board. He took a deep breath, cald himself, and reached into the bowl again. He picked up a white stone but didn’t imdiately withdraw his hand.
“We’ve studied the 3-3 Point a lot recently, but there’s still not enough ti. I didn’t think he’d actually play it in the Contested Ga... but he did.”
Staring at the black stone at the 3-3 Point in the lower left, Gene’s mind spun rapidly. He clenched his teeth.
“Fine. The general idea is clear. If I respond with hane and extend, I’ll gain outer influence, but it won’t be solid. I’ll have potential, but not as solid as his territory from the corner. So I shouldn’t extend again.”
Gene glanced at Yu Shao, then finally pulled his hand out of the bowl and swiftly placed his stone.
“But you already said the answer yourself!”
Click!
Column 3, Row 16 — Block!
As the white stone landed, Yu Shao imdiately responded.
Click!
Column 4, Row 17 — Extend!
Seeing this move, Gene didn’t hesitate and played next.
Column 5, Row 17 — Hane!
Yu Shao responded just as quickly.
Column 5, Row 18 — Hane!
Gene took another deep breath and carefully placed his next move. But instead of following the usual 3-3 Point sequence and extending, he chose the sa response Yu Shao had once played against Su Yiming in the finals of the Hero’s Pride Cup.
Column 6, Row 18 — Double Hane!
Seeing this, Yu Shao wasn’t surprised. He calmly reached in and made his move.
Click!Click!Click!
In the lower-left corner of the board, the two quickly recreated the exact sa shape from that Hero’s Pride Cup final. After a black atari, two black stones on the third and fourth lines were surrounded by White and sacrificed—an exchange was made.
Then, it was Black’s turn again.
Yu Shao studied the board and reached into the Go bowl.
Since White hadn’t extended but chose the correct response of the double hane, even from Yu Shao’s point of view, the board was now balanced.
At least for now, the situation was still even!
Yu Shao finally placed his next move.
Click!
Column 17, Row 16 — Small Point!
Seeing Yu Shao tenuki to the lower-right corner and take territory with a small point, Gene exhaled slightly and began to think.
“A small point is solid, but a little slow.”
His eyes shifted from the lower left to the upper left.
“After the 3-3 exchange in the lower left, my outer white stones are strong. Compared to taking the upper-left corner with a small point, a star point would be better.”
With that, Gene grabbed a white stone and dropped it swiftly.
Click!
Column 4, Row 4 — Star Point!
Click!
Even as the sound of White’s move still echoed in the air, Yu Shao had already reached into the bowl and played again.
Column 3, Row 3 — 3-3 Point!
“Another one...?!”
Gene’s face changed imdiately, his eyelid twitching. “And he’s playing it that fast?!”
The recorder and the two referees stared at the board in shock.
Gene looked at the board, instinctively wanting to respond quickly—but suddenly hesitated.
“Could it be that Yu Shao’s response in the Hero’s Pride Cup final was actually wrong? Is that why he’s so obsessed with 3-3 Points? Doesn’t he have anything else he can play?!”
“A trap?”
But Gene quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.
“No. Master Ma Dong also said—if after the 3-3 exchange, it results in a weak group rather than strong influence, then the double hane is one of the right responses.”
“But... what if Ma Dong was wrong?”
“No... how could Master Ma Dong be wrong?”
“But if he wasn’t wrong, why is Yu Shao playing so fast? Why two 3-3s in a row?”
Gene was caught in intense inner conflict, staring at the board in deep thought.
“Calm down. Overthinking leads to bad moves. Just stick to Master Ma Dong’s recomndation. If the double hane had a trap, I would’ve already fallen for it in the lower-left corner!”
After a long pause, Gene clenched his teeth and forced himself to calm down. He pushed all doubts aside and reached into the bowl again.
Click!
Column 4, Row 3 — Block!
Seeing that move, Yu Shao imdiately responded, fast as lightning.
Snap!
Column 3, Row 4 — Extend!
Watching Yu Shao move with such speed, Gene’s expression turned grim. A mont later, he made his next move.
Click!Click!Click!
Once again, both sides moved at lightning pace, and soon, in the upper-right corner, they ford the exact sa shape as in the lower-left.
Now it was Yu Shao’s turn again.
He silently stared at the board and reached into the bowl.
“Two 3-3 invasions complete. The ga is still in a balanced state.”
Yu Shao slowly picked out a black stone and placed it down.
“This ga... is only beginning now.”
Click!
Column 14, Row 16 — Two-Space Extension to Secure the Corner!
“He actually... played a two-space jump to secure the corner?!”
The recorder and two referees all jolted at the move, sensing a rising storm in the ga—completely shocked!
“He’s this greedy?!”
“This is the Contested Ga!”
They hadn’t expected Yu Shao to take such a risky move in this setting!
The two-space extension to defend the corner was a high-risk move. The black stone, placed on the fourth line, was highly efficient for the side and center—but it left the corner dangerously open!
It was an ultra-aggressive move, aiming to dominate both the center and the sides while still defending the corner. Naturally, this would provoke White to invade and initiate a brutal fight!
There’s a saying: “There are no naless gas in a Contested Match,” because the stakes are too high—players usually play safe and conservative, not daring to unleash any wild tactics.
But!
This two-space extension was blazing with bold, unstoppable montum!
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