I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 112: That Game... Who Were the Players?

"Who do you think you're looking down on?!"

A teenage boy with a face full of acne glared at Qiao Anli and said, "I'm off. The match is about to start."

Qiao Anli nodded, bid farewell to his friend, and headed towards his match venue—Ya Xuan Pavilion.

Upon entering, he swept his gaze across the room and quickly noticed Yu Shao, who was already seated at Table Five, waiting for the match to begin.

"He's my first-round opponent?"

Raising an eyebrow, Qiao Anli walked over to the seat opposite Yu Shao, pulled out the chair, and sat down, waiting for the match to start.

About ten minutes later, three referees finally entered the competition hall. With their arrival, the entire room instantly became more tense and oppressive.

Finally, after another five minutes, one of the referees spoke:

"The time is about right!"

"Each player has three hours. After entering overtime countdown, each move must be made within one minute. Komi is 7.5 points."

"Now, both players may determine turn order."

Hearing this, Qiao Anli immediately reached into the Go bowl, grabbed a handful of white stones, and held them in his palm. Seeing this, Yu Shao also took a single black stone and placed it on the board.

"Six stones."

After announcing the count, Qiao Anli looked up at Yu Shao and said, "I'll play Black."

Yu Shao nodded, placed his stone back into the Go bowl, and the two players exchanged their bowls.

"Please guide me."

Qiao Anli gave a slight nod as he spoke.

Yu Shao returned the gesture. "Please guide me."

The first round of the Promotion Tournament Preliminaries had officially begun!

"Four years.I've been aiming for this for four years.Last year, I underestimated my opponent and was eliminated in the second round. This year... I must become a professional Go player!"

Qiao Anli took a deep breath, his expression turning serious. He pulled a stone from the bowl and placed it on the board without hesitation.

Snap!

Column 16, Row 4—Star Point.

Without delay, Yu Shao also picked up a stone and gently placed it on the board at another star point.

Column 4, Row 16—Star Point.

Qiao Anli swiftly played again.

Column 16, Row 16—Star Point.

Yu Shao followed suit.

Column 4, Row 4—Star Point.

Within the first four moves, both players had placed their stones on the star points, creating the Double Star vs. Double Star opening—a classic setup known for prioritizing influence and often leading to intense battles.

Seeing the black stone land on another star point, Qiao Anli didn't immediately respond. Instead, he stared at the board, deep in thought.

"I could go for the Three-Star formation, expand quickly, and settle this in an all-out battle?"

The Three-Star opening was his favorite—aggressive, grand, and ideal for setting up large frameworks that often led to exhilarating, hard-fought games.

"No… Three-Star is too high-positioned and leaves the sides exposed. It only works for large-scale territorial play, with no room for retreat. Even my teacher said it's difficult to control. This is the Promotion Tournament—I can't afford to take unnecessary risks."

"Better to play it safe and secure my corners first."

After careful consideration, Qiao Anli picked up another stone and placed it near the star point he controlled in the upper-left corner.

Snap.

Column 14, Row 3—Small Knight's Extension.

Seeing this move, Yu Shao didn't hesitate at all. He immediately picked up a stone and played swiftly.

Snap!

Column 17, Row 17—3-3 Point!

At first, Qiao Anli didn’t react. But when he looked at the lower-right corner, his eyes gradually widened.

"Did he just... invade the 3-3 point?"

For a moment, he was completely dumbfounded.

It was almost laughable.

Even though this was just a preliminary match, Qiao Anli had approached it with absolute seriousness, knowing that the Promotion Tournament required a minimum rank of Amateur 5-dan to even qualify. He had spent the first few moves meticulously weighing the pros and cons of each opening strategy, ultimately choosing a stable Small Knight extension instead of the riskier Three-Star formation.

And yet... his opponent immediately invaded the 3-3 point?!

"Is he really an Amateur 5-dan?"

If it weren’t for the tournament's entry requirement, Qiao Anli would have seriously doubted whether his opponent knew how to play at all.

He exhaled silently, pulled out a stone, and quickly placed it on the board.

Yu Shao followed up with another move.

Snap, snap, snap...

The crisp sound of stones being placed echoed continuously throughout the match hall.

As time passed, Qiao Anli’s expression began to change.

"Wait... this isn't right..."

Sweat started forming on his forehead.

"After his 3-3 invasion, Black should have gained solid thickness. But now... my position feels exposed!"

"If this continues, I'm in trouble."

Clenching his jaw, Qiao Anli hesitated for a long moment before finally playing his next move.

Snap!

Column 15, Row 12—Peep!

White quickly followed.

Column 10, Row 17—Turn!

Both sides continued placing their stones rapidly.

With every move, Qiao Anli’s expression grew darker.

His playing speed slowed significantly.

Originally, he had planned to open the board with an upper-side attack, but his opponent’s responses had been completely unpredictable. The situation was quickly slipping out of his control.

"The lower-side weakness remains unresolved, the upper-side fight is uncertain, and my left-side territory... has almost been completely stolen by White!"

"I have to control the center."

"I must suppress White completely."

"I can’t allow him to invade and destroy my influence!"

With gritted teeth, Qiao Anli reached into the bowl and pulled out another stone.

"If I don’t stop him now... it’ll be too late!"

Snap!

Column 7, Row 13—Clamp!

The moment Black’s stone landed, Yu Shao glanced at the board, then smoothly placed another stone down beside it.

Column 8, Row 12—Atari!

Seeing this move, a dangerous glint flashed in Qiao Anli’s eyes.

Without hesitation, he played again.

Snap!

The crisp sound of the stone hitting the board echoed through the silent room.

Column 14, Row 10—Push!

Faced with White’s atari threat, Black ignored it completely, sacrificing two stones in favor of seizing the central battlefield, ready to go down in flames with his opponent!

Yu Shao calmly studied the board. The rhythmic click of stones echoed as he reached into the Go bowl and gently picked up another piece.

His wrist hovered in the air, fingers poised.

Then, slowly, the stone descended.

Snap.

The entire board seemed to ripple from the move!

Column 10, Row 15—Shoulder Hit!

Seeing this move was like being struck by lightning on a clear day—Qiao Anli froze on the spot.

White had just faced Black’s most aggressive sacrificial attack. Yet instead of responding with the strongest hane or simply capturing for solid territory, he had… invaded ruthlessly into the lower side!

Before this move, the skirmishes across the board had been like scattered sparks. But now, this single stone had ignited a wildfire, one that would inevitably engulf the entire board!

At first, Qiao Anli thought a hane would be the toughest counterattack. But now, with this shoulder hit played, that option suddenly seemed... utterly ridiculous.

He stared blankly at the Black stone on Column 10, Row 15.

His hand, still holding a Go stone, began to tremble slightly.

"This playstyle..."

A game record suddenly surfaced in his mind.

It was a match that had caused a huge stir online a year ago—a game so eerily similar to Shen Yi’s style that people had speculated it was his only recorded loss. The debate had been heated, sparking widespread discussions.

Eventually, as more players reviewed the match, they found that both White and Black had played a few suboptimal moves.

White had resembled Shen Yi—incredibly strong, but still a step below his level.

And more importantly, if the Star-Point Attach—a move as groundbreaking as an earthquake—had truly been played by Shen Yi, it would have been famous across the Go world.

Even so, that game record remained a topic of discussion, with many players still curious about the true identities of the players.

Despite some minor missteps in that game, it introduced a brand-new Go joseki that shook the entire community!

And now, White’s shoulder hit was identical to the one in that game—where Black had abruptly ignored the fight and clamped instead, triggering a chaotic battle across the fourth line.

Qiao Anli stared blankly at the board, swallowing hard.

At 2 PM, a teenage boy with a face full of acne walked out of the match hall, grinning from ear to ear.

As soon as he entered the hotel lobby, he immediately noticed Qiao Anli, who was sitting motionless on a couch.

"Old Qiao, you won so fast?!"

He looked stunned.

"I thought finishing in three hours was fast enough, but you beat me again?! Damn! Have you eaten yet? Let’s grab a meal!"

Qiao Anli kept his head down, silent.

Seeing his expression, the acne-faced boy paused.

A realization struck him. His voice lowered, tinged with disbelief.

"Old Qiao... did you... lose?"

Qiao Anli didn’t answer.

But the silence was already an answer.

The boy’s eyes widened in shock.

"What?! That fast?! How is that possible? With your strength... who the hell did you play against in the first round? What was your opponent’s name?"

Qiao Anli still said nothing.

Just as the boy was about to press further, Qiao Anli suddenly spoke.

"He Zhi’an... do you remember the ‘Shen Yi Loss Game’ that went viral online a year ago?"

"Shen Yi’s loss?"

He Zhi’an blinked, momentarily confused by the question. But then he nodded.

"Of course I remember. But that was obviously fake—there’s no way Shen Yi played that game. Why are you bringing this up?"

"I never said Shen Yi played that game."

Qiao Anli paused for a moment, then asked softly,

"I just want to know..."

"If it wasn’t Shen Yi who played that match... then who were the real players?"