I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 16: A Heavenly Move – Suppressive Elegance

“That’s incredible…”

Someone couldn’t help but shake their head and sigh, feeling an overwhelming sense of disparity.

“That high schooler named Yu Shao… is unbelievable. Are you sure he didn’t come from a professional Go dojo?”

“Yeah, to play like this at his age… if you told me he’s never received any formal training, I’d find it incredibly hard to believe. That tenuki (ignoring a local move) was too deep in calculation, and his sense of the overall game was just outstanding!”

“But didn’t Little Zheng also not train at a dojo?”

“That’s different! Little Zheng has been playing Go since elementary school and has frequently participated in competitions. His skills have been honed over time. If Little Zheng weren’t planning to pursue professional Go after college, he’d probably already be a professional by now.”

“If that kid really hasn’t received any professional training before, calling him a genius wouldn’t even begin to describe it, right?”

The surrounding spectators buzzed with chatter, while Xu Zijin stared at the board, a complex expression in his eyes.

“Professional Go player, huh…”

Click.

The sound of the stone hitting the board echoed like the resonance of metal striking stone.

Row 4, Column 11 — Press!

“He chose a press?” Xu Zijin couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Everyone else also noticed this move, and one by one, they expressed surprise.

“He chose to press? He didn't attack directly, but instead quietly observed?”

“A probing move… Is he testing how Black will respond? But isn’t this approach a bit slow?”

For a moment, the room was filled with murmurs.

Zheng Qin stared at the press move, his gaze sharpening. After thinking for a moment, he finally placed his stone.

Row 5, Column 12 — Cut!

Yu Shao lowered his gaze, once again placing his next move.

Row 8, Column 6 — Diagonal!

“A diagonal… is he planning to extend next?”

Zheng Qin’s first thought was to extend, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

“No, if I extend and White presses back, I’ll be forced to connect, and the situation will become too chaotic. If he’s calculated a sequence I haven’t foreseen, it’ll be easy to fall into his trap.”

“No doubt… he has that ability!”

“In that case, my only option is to make a small knight’s move.”

“If he cuts through, I can invade White’s left flank directly. Then it’ll be a race to attack on both sides, and speed will decide the game!”

“Even if my right-side stones are invaded, I’ll gain compensation on the right flank, and the board will still be evenly matched!”

After much deliberation, Zheng Qin finally made his move.

Row 9, Column 13 — Small Knight’s Move!

It was as if Yu Shao had anticipated this all along. The moment Zheng Qin placed his stone, Yu Shao immediately followed with his own.

Row 8, Column 10 — Jump!

“Jump?!”

Zheng Qin’s pupils dilated slightly, and cold sweat formed on his forehead. He couldn’t believe it.

White didn’t play where he had predicted but instead chose a jump he had never considered!

The spectators were equally stunned when they saw this move.

“He jumped away?”

“White has already sacrificed some stones. What he has to do now is attack, or he’ll lose outright!”

“But if he wanted to attack Black, the most reasonable move would’ve been to press, not jump away!”

Some were baffled, their faces full of disbelief.

“He’s not just aiming to attack Black’s right side; he’s also trying to enclose territory? How’s that even possible? That’s way too greedy!”

“That kid’s been blinded by White’s current offensive. He’s too greedy. Does he really think he can rely on local initiative to secure territory?”

Staring at the jump, Zheng Qin fell into deep thought.

One minute…

Two minutes…

Time ticked away, second by second. Finally, after five minutes, Zheng Qin looked up at Yu Shao, then reached into his stone bowl.

He picked up a stone and placed it decisively.

Snap!

Row 8, Column 11 — Attach!

“He’s blocked White’s direction to press! Black is preparing to counterattack!”

The audience instinctively held their breath.

Everyone realized that the game had entered its most intense and complicated phase of combat. Both players were attacking each other’s flanks — it was kill or be killed!

Yu Shao placed his stone.

Row 6, Column 12 — Large Knight’s Move!

Zheng Qin immediately responded.

Row 7, Column 15 — Cut!

Click.

Click.

Click.

The chess room fell into complete silence, save for the relentless sound of stones hitting the board.

The two players were locked in a fierce battle. The board had become so complex and tense that everyone felt like they couldn’t even breathe. Only by mentally simulating the game could they barely keep up with the thought processes of both players.

Even so, many of the moves from both Black and White were incomprehensible at first glance. Only after the game progressed further would the logic behind each move become clear.

Yet, as the stones continued to land, the spectators’ brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

White had sacrificed stones to gain influence and should have taken the initiative on the left flank. But that jump — that insatiable attempt to take more — had allowed Black’s stones to grow stronger and stronger.

At first, they thought White might have some brilliant follow-up moves. But now, it seemed like White didn’t have any tricks left!

On the other hand, Black’s formation was becoming increasingly solid, as if fortified by impenetrable walls.

Click.

Just then, the crisp sound of another stone landing echoed.

White played at Row 8, Column 6.

“Here?”

“What’s the meaning of this?”

The room fell silent for a moment, with everyone looking puzzled, unable to understand why White had suddenly chosen to play there.

But as they furrowed their brows and reexamined the board, they abruptly discovered something that sent chills down their spines!

“This… What’s going on?!”

Someone’s eyes widened in disbelief, and they couldn’t help exclaiming, their voice uncontrollably loud as if they’d seen a ghost:

“Black’s formation… Why did it suddenly crack open like this?!”

“That’s impossible! How could this happen? Wasn’t Black just solid and secure—”

Halfway through the sentence, the speaker stopped abruptly. His eyes became fixed on another White stone on the board.

It was the move that everyone had previously dismissed as just a probing move.

Row 4, Column 11 — Press.

The others realized the same issue and all turned to look at the stone at Row 4, Column 11.

That stone now shone brilliantly, as dazzling as a star!

The press from Row 4, Column 11, together with the newly played stone at Row 8, Column 6, had created an unexpected synergy that cut off Black’s formation!

Even Xu Zijin, who had remained calm throughout, now looked visibly shaken as his gaze lingered on the stone at Row 4, Column 11.

“It started back then…”

A middle-aged man in a jacket stared blankly at the board, his mouth dry and his throat tight.

In that instant, he seemed to realize something profound.

“We were wrong, completely wrong!”

“That kid’s tenuki wasn’t meant to make the capturing stones sequence more favorable. Because even if White tenuki’d, as long as Black noticed and responded properly, White’s plan would have fallen apart!”

“The reason White chose to tenuki was simply… simply because he was certain Black didn’t have the severe measures needed to immediately inflict a fatal blow on White!”

“That’s why he tenuki’d. He tenuki’d because he was waiting for the game to evolve and for new developments to appear — then he’d make his decision!”

“And sure enough, the game changed. He chose to press with that move… because he had calculated, many moves ahead, that he could eventually play at Row 8, Column 6 to respond to Black’s clamp!”

“He avoided the complications of the capturing sequence. By tenuki’ing, he created an answer that should never have existed!”

“This is truly… a play straight out of the heavens!”

The room was enveloped in total silence.

In that moment, they finally understood why, after Black’s small knight’s move, White had chosen to jump.

Because…

If he had already foreseen that Black’s formation would inevitably crumble, then White absolutely had to rely on local initiative to claim territory!