I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 139: Thickness and Thinness, Lightness and Heaviness

Stand?

Seeing this move, everyone was stunned, barely believing their eyes.

The Great Avalanche was one of the three most complex josekis in Go—its variations were intricate, its fights brutal, and many players feared it. Countless Go players had been buried beneath its crushing momentum, and in turn, countless thrilling battles had emerged from its depths.

But in all those years, among all those variations—this Stand move had never been played before!

"How is this possible? How could White not extend?"

Pu Weize stared intently at the board, his expression filled with shock. "Even if White doesn't extend, then the only alternative should be a Hane! Extending leads to a full-fledged Great Avalanche, while Haning results in a Small Avalanche—either way, an avalanche is inevitable!"

Beside him, Qiao Anli was equally dumbfounded, staring at the white stone at Column 2, Row 14 with an expression of disbelief.

"Black played a High Approach, and White responded with an Attach—this was bound to develop into a mutual life-and-death struggle within the Great Avalanche!"

"And yet... White actually chose to Stand?!"

Qiao Anli couldn't comprehend it. If White had wanted to avoid the Great Avalanche, then he shouldn’t have played the Attach in the first place. A Low Clamp would have led to a completely different positional battle!

But if White had already chosen to Attach, why now retreat with a Stand?

"Standing does indeed avoid the Great Avalanche, but if Black simply extends—"

"Then how will White respond?"

Even Su Yiming was momentarily frozen when he saw this move.

"He actually... stood?"

At this moment, anyone else should have chosen between extending or haning—this Stand was completely unfathomable.

"Or... is there a hidden meaning behind it?"

Su Yiming’s expression turned serious. He did not underestimate this move simply because it was unconventional.

He couldn't help but recall their match from a year ago. Back then, Yu Shao, playing Black, had played an astonishing Star-Point Attach followed by a series of Hane moves.

Even Su Yiming himself had failed to grasp the true intent behind one of Yu Shao’s jumps in that game. He had analyzed the potential cut but assumed that sacrificing a stone was enough to maintain the fight—yet he had completely overlooked Black’s second jump.

And when that move landed, the answer had finally surfaced—shocking everyone!

Su Yiming stared hard at the board, his eyes reflecting the black and white stones before him.

He fell into deep thought. In his mind, he envisioned an empty board where stones were continuously placed, simulating various future developments, searching for the true killing intent hidden beneath this position.

Time passed, second by second.

Clack, clack, clack…

The sound of stones being placed echoed throughout the playing room as other games progressed.

Finally, after a long contemplation, Su Yiming pulled his gaze back.

"Unbelievable..."

"No matter how I analyze it, Black’s extension should be a move White cannot tolerate!"

Reaching into the Go bowl, Su Yiming picked up a black stone.

"Perhaps... there truly is a hidden danger. But where does that danger lie?"

"Show me!"

The next moment, his stone landed on the board.

Clack!

Column 6, Row 14—Extend!

"Even after such a long think, he still chose to extend!"

The spectators were not surprised. They simply watched the board with solemn expressions, waiting for White’s next move.

Just now, White had chosen Stand instead of extending or haning. This meant that Black’s Extend was the most ruthless counter to that choice!

Black was building influence.

But Yu Shao was no ordinary player—he had undoubtedly foreseen this Extend. And if he had anticipated it, why had he still chosen to Stand?

No one doubted that Yu Shao had seen this move coming. He had already defeated Zhuang Fei—he was certainly capable of predicting Black’s response.

So then…

Why did he choose to Stand?

Would the answer be revealed in the next move?

Under everyone’s gaze, Yu Shao silently looked at the board.

At last, he reached into the Go bowl, picked up a white stone—

And placed it down.

Clack!

Column 5, Row 17—Crawl!

"He... actually Crawled?!"

The spectators were visibly stunned.

Su Yiming was also momentarily surprised. After thinking for a moment, he quickly picked up another stone and placed it down.

Clack.

Column 6, Row 16—Extend!

White responded without hesitation, dropping his next move immediately after.

Clack.

Column 6, Row 17—Crawl!

"Another Crawl?"

The spectators were even more bewildered.

Su Yiming reached into the Go bowl again and placed another black stone.

Clack!

Column 7, Row 16—Extend!

Without missing a beat, Yu Shao followed.

Clack!

Column 7, Row 17—Crawl!

Now, three consecutive Crawls.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

"Three straight Crawls?"

Pu Weize swallowed hard, his face filled with disbelief. "White just crawled three times on the third line?!"

The entire crowd stared at the board, sharing the same shock and confusion as Pu Weize.

Su Yiming frowned slightly. After a brief pause, he reached for another stone.

Clack.

Column 8, Row 16—Extend!

This time, Yu Shao did not continue Crawling. Instead, he picked up a stone and gently placed it elsewhere.

Clack!

Column 4, Row 5—One-Space High Approach!

"He Tenuki’d to approach the corner…?"

Ma Zhengyu looked at the board, his tense nerves relaxing just slightly. White had not continued Crawling—but the questions in his mind remained unresolved.

"‘Don’t suppress a stone on the fourth line by pushing on the third'—that’s basic Go knowledge. Yet White repeatedly Crawled on the third line, which completely violates this principle..."

"With those three Crawls, White neutralized Black’s cutting potential in the corner, forcing Black to block in a way that was not sente. Now, with Black’s influence fully established, White has ignored the fight to approach the corner instead."

"But…"

"Black has extended once more, and now the lower side is incredibly thick!"

Ma Zhengyu couldn't help but glance at Yu Shao, his heart filled with confusion.

"What... exactly is he thinking?"

Ma Zhengyu didn’t doubt Yu Shao’s understanding of Go. His previous games had already proven his immense skill, not to mention the fact that he had defeated Zhuang Fei.

But if he truly understood the game, how could he have played that Stand move? And after standing, why was there no follow-up surprise—only a completely illogical series of Crawls on the third line?

Yu Shao gazed at the board, his expression unreadable.

The Great Avalanche had long been abandoned, not only because both its large and small variations led to losses, but more importantly—

The Great Avalanche never truly existed in the first place.

Even if the board developed into an Avalanche shape, it did not necessarily mean an avalanche had occurred.

Yes, White could follow the classic Avalanche variations.

But the Stand was also completely viable—one could even say it simplified the position and secured an advantage.

And after White's three Crawls, Black appeared to have gained overwhelming influence.

But in the eyes of AI, the evaluation of Black’s position was clear—this was merely an isolated group!

Yes. An isolated group.

Or rather, in modern AI-based Go theory, formations like this—where stones align in a single linear structure—are not influenced at all.

They are merely—

A stick.

This was a fundamental shift in the understanding of thickness and thinness, of lightness and heaviness.

On the other side of the board, Su Yiming stared at the position, falling into deep thought once again.

"After White's Stand, followed by three Crawls, this was completely unexpected. Though Black’s blocks are no longer sente, I have already built a thick position on the lower side..."

Yet, despite securing influence, Su Yiming felt no joy.

On the contrary—

His expression became even more serious.

Because the person playing White was Yu Shao.

And if it were Yu Shao—he had to rethink everything.

Even though the position seemed straightforward, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

And the longer he analyzed it, the stronger his unease became.

"Everything should make sense—from fundamental Go theory, from shape, from territory calculations... No matter how I look at it, this should be the correct judgment."

"But why... why is this unease growing stronger?"

Su Yiming stared at the board. The sense of foreboding grew deeper and deeper.

The game appeared calm on the surface, yet beneath it, a storm was brewing.

The surrounding players exchanged uncertain glances.

They had no idea why Su Yiming, despite seemingly securing a strong position, had fallen into such a long contemplation.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The spectators grew even more puzzled.

This was a slow-game format, and even in overtime, each move still had a full minute—but this was still just the opening phase.

Barely a dozen moves had been played.

There was no reason to be thinking this long.

And yet—

The longer Su Yiming thought, the stronger his unease became.

But no matter how much he analyzed it, he could not pinpoint the exact source of this feeling.

"No… This can’t go on. I have to force a decisive battle!"

Su Yiming took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions. His expression grew steadier—yet also sharper.

"No matter what, I must drag him into a brutal fight and battle to the death!"

His gaze turned fierce.

"I will drive White into a corner—I will fight to the bitter end, all the way to the last move!"

"I will give him no breathing room!"

After reassessing the board, Su Yiming finally reached into the Go bowl, picked up a stone—

And slammed it down!

"Then let’s settle this in the upper left corner!"

Clack!

Column 4, Row 8—Clamp!

"Clamp... Clamp?!"

The crowd froze for a moment—then their expressions instantly changed!

"He actually clamped?!"

As soon as this move landed, the board position, which had just begun to stabilize, was immediately thrown into chaos once again.

In fact—

This was even more dangerous than before!

The spectators were stunned.

Black had already secured influence on the lower side.

Even with the 7.5-point komi, he could have simply extended the game into a long, drawn-out battle.

If Black had chosen to Attach at the corner instead, opting for a solid and steady strategy, then this game would have turned into a prolonged territorial contest.

But instead—

To everyone’s shock, Su Yiming had launched a ruthless clamp against White’s High Approach.

There was no hesitation.

No room for retreat.

No chance for White to settle easily.

It was a move filled with pure aggression and relentless bloodlust—so brutal that the spectators felt chills run down their spines.

"He’s going all in!"