I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 202: Perhaps, I Need to Reevaluate Yu Shao

"This is completely different from what I expected..."

Zheng Qin stared at the board, his face pale as he watched the black stone clamp down on a weak white position. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he unconsciously clenched his fist. "The situation... has reversed!"

Just moments ago, he had been launching a ferocious assault against the black stones. But now, with this single clamp, the tides had turned—white was about to be on the receiving end of an onslaught just as fierce.

Seconds ticked by. Zheng Qin didn't make a move. He was deep in thought.

The surrounding spectators were silent, still reeling from the shocking reversal that had just unfolded before their eyes.

Black had been in a dire position throughout the game, with multiple weaknesses in its formation. Yet somehow, despite white not making any clear blunders, black had seized a commanding advantage by the end.

Why?

Among the high-dan players watching, none could pinpoint a decisive mistake from Zheng Qin. At most, some moves were debatable, a few might have been slightly passive, but there was no outright blunder.

If there was a mistake, which move was it?

If there was no mistake, then this reversal shouldn't have happened.

Unless...

The reversal never actually happened in the first place.

In the crowd, Zhang Dongchen silently studied the board.

"Locally, black didn't seem to gain much, while white captured two stones at the bottom. The black group in the center isn’t even settled yet, so by all logic, white should be in a favorable position."

Zhang Dongchen’s expression was no longer relaxed. In fact, there was a sharp intensity in his gaze—a look he had only shown before when facing Jiang Changdong in a title match.

"But looking at the whole board, black eliminated white’s left-side potential with sente. Not only did he maintain the initiative, but he also gained an efficient exchange."

"And then, black shifted to the upper side and secured the last major area. From a strategic perspective... black has succeeded."

Snap.

After a long silence, Zheng Qin finally reached into his Go bowl. The clinking of stones echoed crisply.

"I haven’t lost yet!"

His eyes locked onto the board, reflecting the black and white pieces in a chaotic battle.

"The path ahead is difficult, but the stones on the left still have potential, and there are counterattacks across multiple areas!"

"As long as I hold on and keep pressuring black, there’s still a chance for a comeback!"

"If I exploit these weaknesses and invade black’s territory, that’s when white’s opportunity for survival will appear!"

Zheng Qin gritted his teeth and placed his stone.

Snap!

Row 9, Column 14—Extend!

Yu Shao immediately reached into his Go bowl and played without hesitation.

Row 8, Column 12—Double!

The extension was expected, and the double was almost a natural response. Zheng Qin remained unfazed. Without missing a beat, he picked up another stone and played.

Snap!

Row 11, Column 15—Shoulder Hit!

Seeing this move, the crowd stiffened.

From this one move alone, they could feel Zheng Qin’s unyielding spirit and determination never to give up!

White’s shoulder hit was a direct challenge to black’s influence. It sought to disrupt the entire board, to fight to the bitter end—to carve out a path for survival!

Yu Shao gazed at the board for a moment before swiftly placing his next move.

Snap!

Row 11, Column 16—Crawl!

The sound of the stone hitting the board sent a shockwave through the audience.

"After the shoulder hit, he sealed off white’s central potential. But instead of responding aggressively, he simply crawled to solidify his territory?"

"Then I’ll just force my way into black’s territory and fight to the death!"

Seeing black’s crawl, Zheng Qin immediately grabbed a white stone and played in the upper-left corner.

Snap!

Row 7, Column 13—Invasion!

The moment the move landed, everyone instinctively held their breath.

Their hearts pounded.

Even Zhang Dongchen narrowed his eyes slightly, a rare sharpness flashing in his gaze.

This was white’s most vicious strike—its final, desperate attempt.

This was the move that would decide the entire game!

How black responded to this invasion would determine the outcome of the match.

And yet—

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, faced with this game-deciding invasion, while anyone else would have fallen into deep thought, Yu Shao only took two or three seconds before reaching into his Go bowl.

Click.

The sound of stones colliding rang out.

A moment later, Yu Shao’s fingers delicately placed a stone onto the board.

Snap!

Row 4, Column 6—Jump!

"Jump?!"

For a moment, the entire crowd was in utter silence.

"No way..."

Zhang Dongchen subconsciously swallowed, his voice filled with disbelief. "Did he really just play a small knight’s jump?"

"This..."

Zheng Qin, upon seeing this move, unconsciously rose slightly from his seat, staring at the board in shock. His gaze locked onto the black stone at Row 4, Column 6.

Ordinarily, this move should allow white to live with an 80-90% chance.

Or in other words—as long as white didn’t make a mistake, it should survive locally.

This was the decisive moment of the game.

If white couldn't survive this invasion, black would almost certainly win!

At a time like this, black should be launching a relentless assault, tearing into white without mercy—even if it meant sacrificing everything in an all-or-nothing battle!

This was white’s desperate last stand.

This was also white’s only path to survival.

"But instead of attacking my stones directly, he simply... surrounded them, building an impenetrable wall!"

Zheng Qin stared blankly at the board, his ears turning red, a bead of cold sweat sliding down his face.

"He’s certain my white stones won’t live. In his eyes... they’re already dead."

Yes.

After black’s jump, the scattered black stones in the center were now fully connected with the ones above, forming an incredibly thick, impenetrable wall.

It wasn’t an outright attack on white’s invasion, but the sheer pressure from this structure made it feel as though white had no escape.

The meaning behind this move was crystal clear—white might have an 80-90% chance to live under normal circumstances, but Yu Shao played this move with absolute certainty that white couldn’t live.

If you think you can survive, then prove it.

The room was deathly silent.

After what felt like an eternity, Zheng Qin clenched his fists and reached into his Go bowl once more.

Snap!

Row 9, Column 4—Attach!

Yu Shao instantly responded.

Snap, snap, snap!

The sound of stones hitting the board continued to ring out.

"White has no choice but to jump out... but black immediately presses down with force!"

All eyes remained locked on the board, watching as the pieces filled the intersections.

Snap, snap, snap!

"After these exchanges, black not only compressed white’s territory on the left but also strengthened its connections in the corner and center."

Zheng Qin gritted his teeth, swiftly placing another move.

Snap!

Row 8, Column 5—Block!

Yu Shao responded without hesitation.

Snap!

Row 7, Column 4—Push!

"White... it’s almost impossible to save that upper stone now."

The endless rhythm of stones falling echoed through the silent room.

Even as white fought with everything it had, resisting with astonishing resilience—

Even as it managed to destroy part of black’s lower-left corner—

The point gap between black and white only continued to widen.

After another dozen moves, Yu Shao picked up a stone and lightly placed it down.

Snap!

Row 12, Column 7—Point!

"A brilliant tesuji..."

Seeing this move, everyone fell into silent awe.

But strangely, even after witnessing such a brilliant move, no one reacted with excitement.

Because at this point, tesuji or not, white was already beyond salvation.

"If he plays this point..."

"White’s entire center will collapse..."

Zheng Qin clenched his jaw, still placing moves, entangling himself in the final skirmishes.

Snap, snap, snap...

Until—

Snap!

A final crisp sound rang out.

And then, silence.

After a brief pause, Zheng Qin lowered his head.

He made no further moves.

"...I lost."

A moment later, he finally spoke.

He had conceded.

The game was over.

The entire room remained eerily silent.

The spectators wore expressions of both confusion and shock.

It was simply unimaginable.

This was just a preliminary match, yet the game had unfolded with such intensity.

From that audacious tenuki at move 17—

To that shocking fifth-line shoulder hit—

And finally, to that towering wall built with a single jump—

Every move from black had felt divine.

Even though white had lost, the brilliance of its moves, the unyielding spirit in each placement—it left an undeniable impact on everyone watching.

Among the crowd, Zhang Dongchen silently observed Zheng Qin, whose head was bowed deeply.

"You... played more than well enough."

"Well enough to even catch me off guard. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have witnessed such a game."

"To have played a match like this... as one of the players, you should be proud."

After a moment, Zhang Dongchen turned his gaze toward Yu Shao.

His expression grew solemn.

He wanted to say something but hesitated.

In the end, he simply shut his mouth, turned around, and walked away without looking back.

"3-3 invasion... fifth-line shoulder hit..."

As he walked down the hallway outside the playing room, Zhang Dongchen’s thoughts raced.

"Perhaps... I need to reevaluate my understanding of Go. And I definitely need to reevaluate Yu Shao."

"A game like this—only someone self-taught like him could play it."

"No need to rush into a match against him... at this rate, he’ll be sitting across from me soon enough."

Just as he reached the corridor outside, Zhang Dongchen suddenly stopped.

"No... not 'perhaps'—definitely!"

"My priority now is to thoroughly analyze this game, break down his strategy, and find his weaknesses. Otherwise, I might just end up on the list of 9-dan players who were defeated by a first-dan."

"When he breaks into the National Master Tournament, Jiang Changdong is in for a shock."