I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 147: The Theory of Move Order (Hand-Cut Method)

Early the next morning, Yu Shao got up, freshened up, and left his residence. He had already exchanged contact information with Su Yiming the night before, agreeing to meet at 9 a.m. at the hotel entrance.

Taking the elevator to the first floor, Yu Shao exited the lobby and arrived at the hotel entrance—only to find that Su Yiming was already waiting for him.

"You’ve been here long?"

Yu Shao was surprised. He had woken up quite early, and it wasn’t even 8:50 a.m. yet. He thought he might have to wait a bit, but Su Yiming had arrived even earlier.

"Not long, less than ten minutes."

Su Yiming shook his head and said, "Let’s go. I found a Go hall online yesterday—it’s nearby."

"Let’s wait a bit. My classmate is coming too," Yu Shao replied, shaking his head.

"Classmate?"

Su Yiming was briefly stunned, then seemed to recall something. He hesitated before asking, "Xu Zi?"

Yu Shao nodded, a bit surprised. He chuckled. "Didn’t think you’d remember her."

Yesterday, Xu Zijin had messaged him, asking about his match with Su Yiming. When Yu Shao mentioned that he was playing against Su Yiming today, Xu Zijin said she wanted to come along.

Since they were classmates and soon-to-be professional players, Yu Shao naturally didn’t refuse. After all, anyone could visit a Go hall.

"A girl with that level of skill? Of course, I remember."

Su Yiming smiled. "She’s probably a lot stronger now than she was a year ago, right?"

"That’s not the answer I expected."

Yu Shao looked at Su Yiming strangely. "Shouldn’t you remember her because she’s pretty?"

"Is she?"

Su Yiming froze, furrowing his brows as if trying to recall. After a brief pause, he hesitated.

"Honestly… I kind of forgot what she looks like."

"Wow."

Yu Shao was genuinely speechless. Just as he was about to say something, he spotted Xu Zijin approaching the hotel entrance. He gestured toward her.

"Look, she’s here."

Xu Zijin had dressed simply today—a short-sleeved shirt, loose-fitting jeans, and canvas sneakers. Her hair was tied up, giving off a fresh, youthful elegance.

She soon arrived at the entrance, glancing at Yu Shao, then at Su Yiming.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing."

Yu Shao shook his head and turned to Su Yiming. "Alright, everyone’s here. Let’s go."

Su Yiming nodded, and the three of them left the hotel, heading toward the Go hall.

Before long, Su Yiming stopped in front of a beautifully designed Go hall.

"This is the place."

Yu Shao looked up at the sign, and his eyes widened slightly.

Xu Zijin also paused for a moment.

Because the signboard displayed four striking characters: Mountain-Sea Chess Hall.

"This is a franchise?"

Yu Shao was surprised.

Go halls were a rarity in his previous world, but in this one, they had expanded into chain businesses. Even knowing how popular Go was in this world, he still found it unbelievable.

"What’s wrong?"

Seeing Yu Shao and Xu Zijin standing still, staring at the sign, Su Yiming was puzzled.

"I’ve played at Mountain-Sea Chess Hall back in Jiangling. Didn’t expect to see one here too."

Yu Shao withdrew his gaze and explained briefly.

"Let’s head in."

Xu Zijin also looked away but gave Yu Shao another glance before following them inside.

The Go hall was bustling—men and women, young and old—yet the place remained quiet. Everyone was completely focused on their respective games, with only the crisp sounds of stones landing on the board breaking the silence.

After paying the fee at the front desk, Yu Shao and Su Yiming found an empty table and sat opposite each other.

Xu Zijin stood by the side, silently waiting for the game to begin.

"Let’s determine turn order," Su Yiming said as he opened the Go bowl and reached in.

Yu Shao nodded, grabbing a handful of white stones, while Su Yiming placed two black stones on the board.

"Five. I’ll take black."

After counting, Yu Shao looked up and said.

Su Yiming nodded, exchanged bowls with Yu Shao, and after a polite bow, the game began.

Yu Shao studied the board for a moment before placing his first move.

Column 17, Row 4—Small Point.

Without hesitation, Su Yiming responded.

Column 4, Row 4—Star Point.

The two players focused intensely, their gazes locked on the board, as if their entire world consisted only of the game in front of them.

Standing beside them, Xu Zijin quietly observed the match.

And then—

When Black placed a stone in a completely unexpected location, Xu Zijin froze.

Her expression shifted slightly.

"Black... actually played there?"

Three hours later.

Su Yiming stared at the board in silence.

Finally, he exhaled and spoke.

"I lost."

Beside him, Xu Zijin looked at the board, staring at the mind-bogglingly complex position. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

"How… did this happen?"

Her clear eyes were filled with confusion.

After the opening, White should have had an advantage.

But as the game progressed, White's position started feeling increasingly difficult.

By the mid-game, White launched a fierce counterattack, using an incredibly sharp and aggressive strategy—going as far as sacrificing stones to build influence—fighting head-on with Black.

Yet in the end, even after sacrificing stones, White still couldn’t shake Black’s advantage.

Though Black’s territory lead wasn’t enormous, White’s potential had already been completely outclassed. Resignation was inevitable.

"Thank you for the game."

Yu Shao lowered his head and spoke.

"Thank you for the game."

Su Yiming returned the bow, then gazed at the board again.

After a moment, he murmured, "So it really was the opening, not the mid-game."

Yu Shao raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I kept thinking yesterday about how my position gradually fell apart," Su Yiming explained.

"So today, I played the Demon Blade variation again. But when you chose to push instead of hane at the corner, that was the one move I hadn’t accounted for.

"That means—the problem started with that push."

"I originally thought my mistakes were in the later moves. But after playing through it again today, I still feel like I played fine."

Hearing this, Xu Zijin snapped back to her senses.

The other day, was this also where the Demon Blade variation turned against Su Yiming?

Yu Shao, on the other hand, was genuinely shocked.

The Demon Blade joseki was discarded precisely because of this one push.

Ordinarily, people assumed this move was a huge loss, leading to countless complex variations based on the standard hane at the corner response.

Most players who lost with this variation never considered that the push itself was the source of their downfall. They usually thought their later play was the issue.

But Su Yiming had pinpointed the problem.

This didn’t just mean Su Yiming had extraordinary intuition—it meant he had absolute confidence in his own skill.

Yu Shao thought for a moment.

Instead of discussing Go shape theory, there was another way to explain this.

"Actually, we can analyze it using the Hand-Cut Method."

"Hand-Cut?"

Su Yiming’s eyes flickered.

Yu Shao nodded, resetting the board and replaying the Demon Blade sequence in a completely different move order.

"With this method, look at moves 1 through 9. Doesn’t Black’s position look odd?"

Su Yiming stared at the board, silent.