Off to the side, the bald referee glanced silently at Yu Shao, eyes resting on the sharp lines of his profile. A strange feeling crept into his chest.
“Up to now, all of Yu Shao’s opponents have been young, low-dan players. Though Li You is already among the top-tier in strength, he’s still young and hasn’t held any titles.”
“But Teacher Zhu Xinyuan... he’s different.”
“Over the years, Teacher Zhu has made a na for himself across the global Go scene. Seven years ago, he even held two major titles at the sa ti!”
“This is the first ti Yu Shao is facing off on an even board against a true titleholder in an official match. The real test begins now.”
Inside the Handtalk Room, everyone shared the sa thoughts—nervous anticipation for the match ahead.
Finally, after a few more monts, the bald referee glanced at his watch, composed himself, took a deep breath, and declared solemnly:
“Ti’s up! Each player has three hours, with 90 seconds per move in overti. Black gives 7.5-point komi!”
“Now, players, please determine who goes first.”
The mont his voice fell, Zhu Xinyuan reached into the bowl and scooped up a handful of white stones, holding them tight. Yu Shao imdiately picked up two black stones and placed them on the board.
Zhu Xinyuan opened his palm—five white stones. Odd number.
That ant Zhu Xinyuan would play black, Yu Shao white.
The two quickly gathered the stones and bowed respectfully to each other.
The match began.
Zhu Xinyuan's face was serious as he stared at the board. After a couple of seconds, he finally picked up a stone and made the first move.
Clack!
16th column, 4th row—Star Point!
Seeing Zhu open with a Star Point, Yu Shao also picked up a stone to respond.
16th column, 16th row—Star Point!
Zhu didn’t imdiately place his next stone. Instead, he stared quietly at the board, recalling Yu Shao’s previous match against Li You.
“He beat Li You. And Li You didn’t hold back at all in that ga—he gave it everything. He may be young, but his skill is undoubtedly top-tier.”
“But Li You... has never reached the summit.”
“I’m not the sa as Li You.”
Finally, Zhu reached into the bowl again and swiftly dropped a stone.
Clack!
4th column, 3rd row—Komoku!
Yu Shao responded just as fast.
3rd column, 16th row—Komoku!
anwhile, in the Eastern Go Academy’s rest room—
Zhuang Weisheng sat in a chair with a Go board in front of him and a cup of tea nearby. He stared at the TV screen showing the live broadcast of the National Master Tournant, occasionally dropping stones on his board in sync with the match.
At that mont, soone appeared at the doorway.
Catching the figure in his peripheral vision, Zhuang Weisheng glanced over and smiled. “Well if it isn’t Teacher Jiang Changdong—what a rare visitor. What brings you here?”
Jiang Changdong looked at Zhuang but said nothing. He silently walked into the room and sat across from him.
After pulling out a chair and settling in, he finally spoke. “You don’t seem as surprised as you said you were that I showed up.”
“Maybe not,” Zhuang said, turning back to the screen. “This is Yu Shao’s first match against a titleholder. It makes sense that you’d be interested.”
“Similar to what I said?”
Jiang looked at the Go board on the table, then back up at Zhuang.
“Mhm.”
Zhuang nodded and pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket, offering one to Jiang.
Taking the cigarette, Jiang asked, “So what did he say?”
“He said, although Li You’s level is extrely high, he’s still young and lacks experience. If it were him...”
Just as Zhu Xinyuan placed another stone on screen, Zhuang dropped a stone to match and said, “...he wouldn’t have lost.”
Hearing that, Jiang’s hand paused as he reached for his lighter.
“......”
After a mont, he lit the cigarette in silence, inhaling deeply.
Just then, on the TV screen, Yu Shao placed a white stone.
Jiang’s brow furrowed.
4th column, 6th row—Shoulder Hit!
This match had opened with both players choosing Star and Komoku points. Both used the Unassailable Corner to defend. Then both chose Small Knight’s Moves to defend the star points. Finally, Zhu chose a side extension.
Up to this point, the layout had been balanced and reserved—each claiming territory without confrontation.
But now, just as Zhu extended on the side, Yu Shao made the boldest, most aggressive move possible—instantly shaking up the entire board!
Shoulder Hit on the Unassailable Corner!
It wasn’t the first ti Yu Shao had used this move. Other players had tried it recently too. Even so, Jiang’s emotions were still conflicted seeing it now.
In the old days, pulling off a move like this during a lesson would earn you a lecture—too greedy, they’d say.
It blatantly violated the classic Go principle: “When entering the opponent's territory, proceed cautiously.”
The Unassailable Corner was thought to be invincible. Yet white had slamd straight into it with a shoulder hit, aiming for a life-or-death fight!
“He suddenly appeared in the professional world and just kept winning. In official matches, he hasn’t even lost once—it’s unbelievable.”
Jiang tapped ash from his cigarette and finally spoke.
Zhuang turned away from the TV screen to look at him.
“He started by beating low-dan players, and even then, a winning streak wasn’t surprising. But now he’s made it to the main tournant, and his opponent is Zhu Xinyuan—soone who once held two major titles at the sa ti!”
Staring at the screen, Jiang added, “He’s due for a loss.”
Inside the Handtalk Room.
Stones fell onto the board one after another, producing crisp clacking sounds.
“Though White chose a strong shoulder hit on the Unassailable Corner... Teacher Zhu Xinyuan is playing unusually cautiously.”
“He didn’t retaliate recklessly. Instead, he exploited the scattered formation of White’s stones to stir up a complex fight. At this point, the ga is still evenly matched.”
The bald referee fixed his eyes on the board and found a question forming in his mind.
“Is Teacher Zhu playing this way because he’s confident and wants to control the ga?”
“Or... is he lacking confidence and unwilling to take risks, thus choosing to avoid White’s sharp edge?”
At that mont, after a five-minute long think, Zhu Xinyuan stared at the board, reached into the bowl with a solemn expression, and swiftly placed his next move:
Clack!
3rd column, 15th row—Bump!
“A direct bump?!”
Everyone in the Handtalk Room was stunned.
“This is the hardest, most ruthless option—no breathing room for White!”
The bald referee stared intently at the black stone now pressed into the lower-left corner. “If he had pressed instead, both players could’ve eased the tension. But this bump…”
His earlier question now had an answer.
“This move doesn’t look like it ca from soone confident in controlling the board.”
“This is a desperate, no-holds-barred move made in pursuit of victory.”
The referee took a sharp breath.
“Yu Shao, 3-dan—his first official match against a titleholder!”
“How will Yu Shao respond?”
“How will Teacher Zhu follow up?”
“What will be the outco?”
At that mont—
Zhu Xinyuan’s aggressive bumping move prompted Yu Shao to run countless simulations in his mind, analyzing all possible outcos.
“Instead of pressing, he bumped—aiming to fully expand his influence on the left and to force my lower-left group into a predictable pattern.”
After so thought, Yu Shao picked up a stone and made his move.
4th column, 15th row—Hane!
Zhu Xinyuan’s gaze deepened. He responded imdiately:
3rd column, 14th row—Extend!
Yu Shao calmly dropped his next move:
2nd column, 16th row—Stand!
Zhu paused, stared at the board for a few minutes, then picked up a stone.
5th column, 13th row—Small Knight’s Move!
In the rest room—
Seeing this small knight’s move on the screen, both Zhuang Weisheng and Jiang Changdong grew visibly more serious.
“A good move,” Jiang said, narrowing his eyes. “The capturing race on the left favors black. He’s secured massive territory on that side.”
“More than that,” Zhuang added, eyes glued to the screen, “White has no good response on the left. If White attempts a standard capturing race, Black just needs to reinforce once. If White tries to extend outward, Black has a jumping tesuji.”
“So, what will he do?” Jiang asked, furrowing his brow.
Zhuang didn’t answer. He didn’t know either. If he were playing, he never would’ve chosen the hane after that bump.
Soon, as both n watched, Yu Shao placed another white stone.
Clack!
6th column, 12th row—Shoulder Hit!
Both n froze.
Then even they couldn’t help but show expressions of pure shock.
“Sixth line—”
“A shoulder hit on the sixth line?!”
Not just them. Everyone watching the match was stunned speechless by this move.
mories of Yu Shao’s ga against Zheng Qin ca flooding back.
That match wasn’t part of the main tournant and didn’t have a recorder, but by now, all of Yu Shao’s gas had been dissected—prelims included.
Back then, Yu Shao had used a fifth-line shoulder hit—an outrageous move people thought must’ve been a misclick.
But now...
A sixth-line shoulder hit—this was completely beyond human imagination!
Traditionally, Go theory held that the third and fourth lines balanced territory and thickness. The fifth line was too far to gain solid territory, often viewed as speculative or slack.
The logic was simple: Go is about enclosing territory. The closer you are to the edge, the fewer moves you need. The farther into the center, the more moves it takes.
Hence the proverb: “Gold in the corner, silver on the side, grass in the center.”
No one would ever think to play this high.
In fact, many watching couldn’t help but want to laugh.
Yes—laugh.
Not out of mockery, but from sheer emotional overload. When your brain expects one thing and sees the complete opposite, laughter is a natural release.
What are you even doing?
If anyone else had played this move, they’d be dismissed as a beginner.
But this was Yu Shao.
So rather than dismiss it, people tried to understand it—and the more they thought, the more confused they beca.
Still, so began to see its hidden depth.
In the rest room, Zhuang Weisheng and Jiang Changdong stared fixedly at the screen, at that radiant white stone on the sixth line.
“This move targets both an assault on the left and supports a potential capturing race.”
“If Black crawls, White extends. If Black extends again, White hane. Black hane back—White captures!”
“Black’s frawork seems vast, but with White’s thickness on both sides and the center broken through, it barely nets twenty points!”
“This move rewrites the aning of *‘Gold corners, silver sides, grass center.’”
“No one else could’ve seen it.”
“Even ‘unconventional’ doesn’t do it justice.”
“This is a move from beyond the heavens—a divine move!”
Jiang said nothing. He simply stared at the screen.
Zhuang took a deep breath, finally turned to his own board, and mimicked the move:
6th column, 12th row—Sixth-Line Shoulder Hit.
He stared at it for a long ti.
Then he spoke again: “What a sha.”
Jiang finally looked away from the screen. “A sha? You found a better move?”
“That’s not what I ant.”
Zhuang shook his head. “As of now, I can’t think of a move better than this.”
“Then what are you regretting?”
Jiang furrowed his brows.
“I regret that the one sitting across from him... isn’t .”
Zhuang stared at the board, his eyes reflecting the complex battle on screen.
“To witness a move like this—how could I, as a player, not regret being on the sidelines?”
“Winning or losing doesn’t matter.”
“Where it happens doesn’t matter either.”
“I want to face soone who can play a move like this. I look forward to it—deeply.”
Inside the Handtalk Room.
Silence.
The referee and recorder stared, dumbfounded. Zhu Xinyuan, sitting across from Yu Shao, looked equally stunned.
But then—his pupils shrank, and cold sweat beaded on his brow.
“So that’s it!”
He stared at the sixth-line white stone, sweat trickling down his cheeks, dampening his wavy hair.
“This move... is unimaginable. No human should be able to conceive of it.”
“In this complex position, he seized the fleeting opportunity and found the strongest move.”
At last, Zhu picked up a stone and responded:
3rd column, 11th row—Small Knight’s Move!
Yu Shao imdiately followed:
4th column, 10th row—Small Knight’s Move!
Black and white stones began to spill across the board like wildfire.
“White is attacking on the left, but I can counter from below. If he jumps, I attach. His strongest move is hane—I’ll pull back. If he connects, I’ll turn!”
Zhu Xinyuan’s expression was icy. He reached for another stone.
“This will create a large frawork on the bottom, surrounding White. Then my ataris up top will land, and any white invasion will be harshly punished!”
Clack!
6th column, 13th row—Extend!
Yu Shao’s eyes sharpened, and he responded instantly:
10th column, 15th row—Small Knight’s Move!
“He... completely disregarded the sixth-line and upper small knight stones!”
Zhu’s expression turned ugly. That move shattered his strategy!
The small knight’s move was clearly ant to strengthen the bottom. If Zhu tried to counterattack the upper white stones, Yu Shao would sacrifice them and attack fiercely elsewhere!
Zhu clenched his jaw and responded:
7th column, 12th row—Hane!
Yu Shao quickly followed:
8th column, 12th row—Double Hane!
Clack. Clack. Clack!
Stones fell rapidly. Zhu Xinyuan’s face grew darker, sweat now pouring.
“This won’t work!”
“He sees through everything—as if he knows every move I want to make!”
“And every move—flawless!”
Seeing the board worsening, Zhu suddenly cald.
“Left side is collapsing... but I still have opportunities on the right and upper sides. That’s the real battlefield.”
Seconds ticked by.
“I can still maneuver in the lower-right corner!”
After nearly ten minutes of deep thought, Zhu made his move:
16th column, 14th row—Bump!
Yu Shao took a mont, then answered:
17th column, 13th row—Pull back!
Zhu responded instantly:
16th column, 15th row—Push!
Yu Shao, unfazed, countered:
17th column, 15th row—Block!
“Still potential on top! Build a formation down below to pin White—then the tide will turn!”
Zhu, sweating heavily, dropped his next stone:
17th column, 17th row—3-3 Point!
But this wasn’t a standard opening move. In such a complex board, it was a surgical strike against White’s vital territory!
Yu Shao frowned, considered, then answered:
15th column, 16th row—Clamp!
“Clamp!”
Both the referee and recorder stiffened.
“Black is launching a mutual destruction attack—fish die, net breaks!”
“But White refuses to back down—clamping hard!”
Zhu’s eyes changed again but showed no surprise. If anything, his aggression deepened:
15th column, 18th row—Hane!
Because of White’s earlier clamp, this hane was now a guaranteed sente. Yu Shao had no choice but to respond:
16th column, 18th row—Hane!
Clack!
The mont that stone landed, Zhu’s hand darted to the bowl, pulling out a stone with speed—
14th column, 18th row—Connect!
“Connect?”
Everyone watching froze.
Before anyone could process, Yu Shao moved again:
17th column, 18th row—Stand!
That move completely surrounded and killed the invading black stones at the 3-3 point!
And with it, White could solidify the corner into secure territory.
Black lived on the outside but didn’t gain enough points in return.
After two more exchanges, the lower-right was settled. Zhu stared at the board, dropped another stone—
10th column, 5th row—Jump!
Finally, after all his buildup, Black’s true intent was revealed!
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