I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 200: There’s No Undoing Moves in Professional Go!

“High extension…”

Zheng Qin stared blankly at the board in front of him, eyes fixed on that seemingly ordinary but actually brilliant black stone, lost in thought for a long while.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Still staring at the board, Zheng Qin suddenly closed his eyes.

No one spoke. Even though they couldn’t guess exactly what was going through his mind at this moment, just from that one high extension, they could sense the storm of emotions churning inside him.

Even as bystanders, they felt deeply shaken by that move. So how could Zheng Qin, the one sitting at the board, not feel it even more?

After what felt like an eternity, Zheng Qin finally opened his eyes again.

He glanced at Yu Shao, then looked back at the board, eyes filled with resolve. At last, he reached into the Go bowl again, picked up a stone, and placed it down quickly!

Pa!

The sound of that move hitting the board was louder than expected!

“He didn’t get crushed by that move at all — he’s still full of fighting spirit!”

Seeing Zheng Qin’s response, everyone could feel the unbreakable determination in it — a fierce, unyielding spirit that wouldn’t back down no matter what. He was practically impossible to knock down.

That high extension was definitely shocking, but the game was far from over.

Seeing that move, Sheng Ziyan’s expression turned more serious.

“This is Zheng Qin’s Go…”

What made Zheng Qin so tough to deal with wasn’t just his skill — it was his indomitable will. That’s also why he had improved so fast in less than two years.

Forget the fact that the outcome was still undecided — even if he was on the brink of defeat, as long as he wasn’t completely finished, Zheng Qin would always grit his teeth and go all-in until the very end.

Even though Sheng Ziyan considered himself significantly stronger than Zheng Qin now, he still wouldn’t dare take him lightly.

As soon as Zheng Qin placed his stone, Yu Shao followed up by reaching into his bowl and placing one of his own.

Tak!

Row 5, Column 4 — Clamp!

“Clamp…”

Zheng Qin didn’t look surprised — this move had been within his expectations. Still, he didn’t move right away. He stared at the board, deep in thought.

“If the next move is a diagonal approach to the upper side, it could lead to a complicated fight involving massive dragons.”

Zheng Qin slowly reached into the bowl again, fingers gripping a stone as he kept his eyes locked on the board. He didn’t bring his hand out right away.

“But once Black goes for a high approach, their central expansion will become overwhelmingly powerful!”

“If that’s the case, I’ll approach from the top and tangle along the side. Before I tenuki, even if my responses aren’t ideal, the upper side has never been thin!”

Finally, he pulled the stone from the bowl and —

Placed it!

“In a side battle, the shifts between influence and territory come fast and hard. It’s going to be brutal — but so what? If I can just find a crack in Black’s position, I can turn the game around!”

A hint of killing intent flashed in Zheng Qin’s eyes.

“Right here — I’ll fight Black to the finish!”

Tak!

Row 17, Column 6 — Small Knight’s Approach!

On the other side, the moment Zheng Qin made his move, Yu Shao immediately reached into his bowl and slapped down his response.

Row 17, Column 5 — Diagonal Push!

“Nice move!”

Even though this kind of move is usually bad, at this moment, Zheng Qin didn’t look surprised at all.

“Because of the earlier peep, my White stones on the right are already super solid. So even if this diagonal push reinforces me further, the cost is acceptable.”

He reached in again, grabbed a stone, and slammed it down.

“I have to find the weakness Black left behind when he tenukied earlier — and crack this game open!”

Tak!

Row 16, Column 6 — Extend!

Yu Shao followed immediately, reaching in and dropping a stone.

Tak!

Row 14, Column 4 — Jump!

“This is it!”

The moment Yu Shao made that move, flames practically lit up in Zheng Qin’s eyes. He stared hard at the board, yanked out a stone, clenched his teeth, and played without hesitation!

Tak!

Row 16, Column 9 — Two-Space Extension from the Second Line!

“What the…”

“Two-space extension from the second line?!”

Everyone around was visibly startled, and their expressions shifted the next second as they felt the genius behind that move.

“That’s a damn good move!”

Sheng Ziyan stared at the board so intently, he didn’t even blink.

“This two-space extension from the second line — it’s going to be a nightmare for Black to respond.”

“Any invasion by Black now will be extremely tough — and even if he forces one, the results won’t be great.”

“I’m already a 7-dan, and I didn’t see that move at all…”

With a slightly shocked expression, Sheng Ziyan turned to glance at Zhang Dongchen — and was stunned to see that even he looked serious now.

“Wait… even Teacher Zhang Dongchen didn’t see this move coming?”

A wild guess suddenly popped into Sheng Ziyan’s head, making him suck in a sharp breath.

Zhang Dongchen wore a grave expression as he stared hard at the board, countless possible variations running through his mind. His brows slowly furrowed.

He had only come over because he was bored and curious to see Yu Shao’s game, but by this point, both players had completely blown away his expectations.

That two-space extension from the second line — he hadn’t seen it either.

Maybe, with a long think, he might’ve figured it out. But Zheng Qin had played it without hesitation — clearly, he had planned this several moves ago.

“For Black, this White move is like a thorn stuck in the throat — there’s just no obvious response…”

Zhang Dongchen stared at the board, lost in thought.

“Maybe a small knight’s move? Is that the only option? Or… tenuki?”

When there’s no ideal way to respond to the opponent’s last move, when you’re just not sure how to handle it, sometimes the best choice is simply to tenuki — ignore it and play elsewhere. It’s a common tactic.

It’s not an act of running away. It’s just avoiding the sharpest edge and playing with the whole board in mind. More often than not, it’s a smart move.

Everyone who saw that move fell into deep thought. For a moment, no one could come up with a good response. Quite a few people couldn’t help but glance over at Yu Shao.

But in the next moment, their expressions froze.

Even after seeing that White move, Yu Shao’s face remained perfectly calm. He just lowered his gaze and quietly studied the board, without a single ripple of emotion showing on his face.

After a few seconds, Yu Shao looked up at Zheng Qin sitting across from him.

Then he looked back at the board, slowly reaching into the Go bowl.

“Clack.”

With the sound of stones colliding, Yu Shao picked one out.

The next second—

With a stone pinched between his fingers—

He gently placed it down.

Tak!

The sound of the stone hitting the board rang out crisp and clear.

But the moment it landed, the crowd that had been stirred up by Zheng Qin’s two-space extension from the second line fell silent—instantly.

Dead. Silent.

The entire room froze.

“What the...”

“That’s...”

Sheng Ziyan saw the move and was instantly speechless. It was like something had caught in his throat — he tried to say something multiple times, but just couldn’t get it out.

In the end, all he could do was gape at the board, staring blankly at the black stone.

Even Zhang Dongchen lost his composure the moment he saw that move. It felt like his brain had just been hit with a sledgehammer — his eyes widened in disbelief. He was completely stunned.

Zheng Qin sat in his chair, head lowered, dumbly staring at the board, at that single black stone Yu Shao had just placed.

At this moment, in everyone's eyes, there was only one thing — that freshly placed black stone on the board.

Right now, on the board—

Column 15, Row 10!

One black stone — glowing with brilliance.

Fifth-Line Shoulder Hit!

That move had such intense visual impact, it was beyond anything a human Go player would ever imagine — completely outside the scope of conventional understanding.

“He… he played it there?!”

No one could believe what they were seeing. Their first reaction was to wonder if Yu Shao had misclicked or messed up the coordinates.

“This is a pro match — you can’t undo your moves!”

They all turned to look at Yu Shao — but his expression hadn’t changed. He was still calmly watching the board, like he had no regrets about making such an earth-shattering move.

He...

He really meant to play it there!

But why?!

Gulp.

Someone in the crowd swallowed hard — the sound echoed in the silence.

At this point, no words could describe what everyone was feeling.

Confusion. Bewilderment. Total disbelief.

Earlier, when they saw Black tenuki, they were already thinking, What the hell are you doing, trying to fly to the moon or something? But now, seeing this totally outrageous fifth-line shoulder hit...

Black really had flown to the moon!

Fifth-Line Shoulder Hit!

This was even more absurd than playing a 3-3 invasion during the opening — at least the 3-3 has existed for centuries, and even though it's bad early on, it's still a known concept. But this?

This fifth-line shoulder hit had no precedent in the history of Go.

You couldn’t even call this a bad move — it didn’t even qualify as a move in the traditional sense. It was like Black had just opened the game by dropping a stone at Row 19, Column 19 — that level of absurd.

White’s two-space extension from the second line really had been an excellent move. No matter how Black responded, it would be uncomfortable. Any invasion would be tough, and even if it succeeded, it wouldn’t be worth much.

And now, this fifth-line shoulder hit from Black...

Was basically saying:

“Forget it.”

Even beginners know the old saying: Gold in the corners, silver on the sides, and grass in the center.

In Go, corners are the most valuable, sides come next, and the center is the least important.

But Black was saying — forget the gold, forget the silver — I just want the grass.

After that fifth-line shoulder hit, the entire right side was basically a gift to White. All Black could gain from it was some outer influence toward the center.

This move...

This fifth-line shoulder hit...

Was nothing less than a direct challenge to a thousand years of Go opening theory!