The second round of the Fight for the Pro Slot began, with Zhang Dongchen leading the charge. Representing the Arican side was the current holder of the 10th Dan title, Wang Si, and after determining turn order, Zhang Dongchen took Black and played first.
The live chat was so packed with comnts it practically buried the ga screen. Yu Shao had to turn off the chat just to keep watching—it was the first ti he truly felt the terrifying heat of the Fight for the Pro Slot.
The ga started quickly.
Both players’ first four moves were lightning fast, quickly forming a Star–Small Point vs Double Star Point setup. On move five, it was Zhang Dongchen’s turn again—but this ti, he seed to fall into deep thought.
After a short pause, he finally made his move.
And that move caught Yu Shao slightly off guard—
Row 3, Column 3, a 3-3 Point Invasion.
Wang Si across the board clearly paused as well after seeing the move. After a while, he placed his next stone.
They quickly finished the basic 3-3 Point joseki in the upper left corner, and it was Wang Si’s turn again.
This ti—Row 3, Column 17, another 3-3 Point.
White, just like that, had invaded the 3-3 Point on Black’s upper right corner!
“Mutual 3-3 Invasion...”
Seeing this, Yu Shao felt montarily dazed, as if transported back to his previous life.
The 3-3 invasion wasn’t just a move—it symbolized a deeper understanding of thickness and thinness, and required acute judgnt of Go formations.
In his earlier gas during the Fight for the Pro Slot, he’d always opened with a Star Point, but no one had tried a 3-3 on him. There were two reasons this might happen.
One, his opponents might not yet fully grasp the concept of thickness, so they avoided it.
Two, they simply didn’t want to use the 3-3, since while it can be played, it’s not necessary.
Yu Shao leaned toward the first reason being true.
But in this second round, right in the very first ga, both players dared to initiate mutual 3-3 invasions. Clearly, both had a much deeper understanding of thickness and thinness, enough to feel confident using such risky moves in a high-stakes match.
Because this wasn’t just any match—this was the Fight for the Pro Slot. If a player wasn’t sure about how the 3-3 affected board dynamics, if their understanding was lacking, they’d never dare play it in a match like this.
Yu Shao stared at the TV screen, watching the stones fall one after another. His expression gradually turned serious.
“Strong,” he murmured.
As he watched the board unfold, his mind followed along, simulating future sequences.
“Both sides are calculating extrely deep variations. Their judgnt is dead-on. I’ve watched that one ga of Zhang Dongchen’s from the Go Sage Title Match, but now… he’s even stronger.”
“The board... is starting to show subtle differences!”
Ti flowed.
No one knew how long it had been before the first ga finally ended.
This match went all the way to the endga. After a fierce fight and a finish down to half a point, Zhang Dongchen, playing Black, ultimately won by three and a half points.
As the final result ca in, Yu Shao finally looked away from the screen and let out a breath.
It had been a match between two evenly matched players. Just when White had seed on the back foot, he exploded with incredible resilience, unleashing a string of brilliant moves that even Yu Shao had to admire. The two players tangled intensely in a chaotic skirmish.
Both displayed incredible skill, crafting a brilliant match on the 19x19 board using pure instinct and attacking prowess.
“Go really is sothing mysterious.”
Yu Shao closed the livestream and pulled up the ga record on the Go academy’s website. Staring at the board, he suddenly felt a bit sentintal.
“Even though the tis keep advancing… Even in the AI era from my past life, those players would still be stunned by the masterpieces from 200 years ago. Seeing those brilliant moves… they’d be awestruck too.”
Looking at the board, he could almost see the clash of blades and shadows.
“In chaotic, unclear board positions, can you find that one critical move… Yes, the tis are changing, but even with modern tools, people today may not be able to spot what our predecessors found.”
“That, maybe, is the magic of Go.”
“So moves are praised by AI, others dismissed. But even if AI denies a move, the weight of history behind it is sothing AI can never understand.”
Just then, Cai Xiaoi’s voice rang out from the living room: “Xiao Shao, dinner’s ready!”
The past few days, Cai Xiaoi and Yu Dongming hadn’t opened the hotpot shop. They’d taken a long break—partly to celebrate Yu Shao’s ten-ga win streak, and partly to make sure he was eating well.
Ten days of matches, with only breakfast and dinner each day—Yu Shao had visibly lost weight. Cai Xiaoi had been fussing over him non-stop, serving up rich, hearty als.
“Coming!”
Yu Shao was snapped out of his thoughts, responded, and closed the ga record before heading to the living room.
When he got there, the table was absolutely covered in dishes: Mapo tofu, stead sea bass, beef with potatoes, braised pork ribs... basically a feast fit for royalty.
“Mom, you made this much again? There’s no way I can finish it all.”
Yu Shao looked helpless. “You’re going too far with all this ‘recovery food.’ It’s just going to go to waste.”
“Better to be chubby!”
In the living room, Yu Dongming stood up and walked toward the table. “Look how skinny you are. You need to work out more. Back in the day, your old man carried two tanks of gas up to the ninth floor without even breaking a sweat!”
“Exactly, chubby is good. If you don’t want to waste it, just eat more.”
Cai Xiaoi walked out of the kitchen carrying bowls and chopsticks, laughing. “Once it’s eaten, it’s not wasted. And hey, ten straight wins in the Fight for the Pro Slot—we should celebrate for ten days straight!”
“Right, no matches right now. Ti to relax.”
Yu Dongming picked up the thread excitedly. “I’ve been watching short videos lately, and you’re all over them. You really brought honor to the Yu family na!”
Yu Shao gave a modest smile, filled his bowl, and started eating.
Halfway through the al, Yu Dongming suddenly paused, chopsticks hovering. “By the way, Xiao Shao, since we’re off from the shop right now, your mom and I were thinking... maybe we should change the na of the hotpot place.”
“Change the na?”
Yu Shao looked confused. “To what?”
“‘Old Yu Hotpot’ doesn’t sound great. What if we call it... Yu Shao Hotpot!”
Yu Dongming clapped him on the shoulder, looking full of confidence. “Then we can print out the ten ga records from your Fight for the Pro Slot, stick ’em on the wall—guaranteed money-maker!”
Before Yu Shao could respond, Cai Xiaoi chid in with excitent: “Yes! Every ti you play a ga, we’ll print it and post it on the wall. Eventually, we’ll cover the whole place!”
...
...
The next day.
The second round of the Fight for the Pro Slot continued.
Yu Shao was still keeping an eye on it.
Zhang Dongchen once again played incredibly well and won by midga resignation. But in the third match, the Aricans sent in Master Ma Dong, and Zhang Dongchen narrowly lost.
The Go Academy had said they wanted Yu Shao to do comntary for one of the matches, but they hadn’t contacted him yet, so he wasn’t sure which ga it would be.
In three days, his rest break from the Fight for the Pro Slot would end, and the National Master Tournant would begin again.
Yu Shao figured the academy was waiting until after his next National Master Match before scheduling him for comntary.
But just as the third match ended, the academy called.
“The fifth match?” Yu Shao asked after hearing the staff mber on the line.
“Sure, no problem. Who’s my co-comntator?”
The answer ca quickly: “Xu Zi, 2-dan.”
“Xu Zi... 2-dan?” Yu Shao blinked. “She got promoted?”
“Yep.” The staff mber laughed. “Xu Zi just completed her 20 matches. Her average score not only hit 75—it was a full 90. Of course she got promoted.”
“Players like you and Su Yiming, who made it to 2-dan so fast, are incredibly rare. You’re about to hit 3-dan, right?”
The staff sighed. “Just recently, Xu Zi even beat ng Chenxi, 7-dan. She’s a genius in her own right.”
“We were originally going to pair you with a higher-ranked female pro, but ever since Xu Zi beca 2-dan, her popularity’s been off the charts. Everyone wants to see her on screen.”
“So the academy asked if she’d be willing to do comntary.”
“At first, she said no. But once she heard her partner was you, she changed her mind.”
After listening, Yu Shao thought about it. It was true—Xu Zijin’s progress had been visibly fast. In under two years, she had basically transford her entire ga.
“Alright, got it. Where’s the comntary happening? I rember the broadcast studio isn’t at the academy?”
“Yeah, it’s at the TV station. I’ll send you an email with the location and photos,” the staffer replied.
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
Yu Shao thanked him and hung up the call.
The night passed slowly.
The next day, under the gaze of the entire internet, the fourth match of the Fight for the Pro Slot began.
This ti, Chen Shan, 9-dan, faced off against Ma Dong.
At first, Ma Dong had the upper hand—but Chen Shan mounted a furious coback, unleashing a string of godly moves, and actually flipped the board.
The whole internet exploded with excitent!
Unfortunately, during a critical endga fight, Chen Shan slipped and lost the exchange. Ma Dong won by half a point, and Chen Shan—9-dan—was defeated, blood taphorically spilled on the board.
Amazingly, after losing two gas in a row, the Arican team ca back with two wins, leaving viewers on edge—the second round of the Fight for the Pro Slot was proving to be full of ups and downs.
By the next day, the fifth ga was about to begin.
This one would feature Kong Zi, playing Black, versus Ma Dong!
Kong Zi’s na was well known—his skill had shone through countless fierce battles, and the world had taken note. This upcoming match had everyone watching in eager anticipation.
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