I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 251: Blood on the Board

Under everyone’s gaze, black and white stones continued to fall alternately across the board.

Black moved quickly every time. In contrast, White played slower and slower, as if every move became a struggle.

Click!
Click!
Click!

Even through the screen, viewers could feel the fierce unwillingness and determination in each of White’s moves—a desperate effort to turn the tide and pull back from the brink.

But it was also clear to all: even though White was racking his brain to prevent the conversion, the truth was—

No matter how hard White fought, he could only watch helplessly as Black sealed off massive territory on the right.

The lower-right had become a battlefield, where a fierce fight broke out. In that complex battle, Black seized the upper hand by sacrificing stones for influence—a brutal and powerful move that played out like blades clashing in plain sight.

But then came the breathtaking conversion. There were no flashy attacks, no dramatic cuts. Instead, it unfolded invisibly, expanding Black’s advantage until it became an overwhelming lead.

Finally, when the right-side conversion was complete, Kong Zi said solemnly:

“Black is now clearly ahead.”

With the conversion locked in, Black’s lead was unshakable. The territory gained on the right was so large that even if White managed to kill all of Black’s influence on the left, it still wouldn’t be enough to close the gap.

At this point, the disparity was enormous. Under normal circumstances, White could have already resigned.

If victory had once been ten percent possible, that chance had now dropped below one percent.

But... this was the Contested Game.

On the board, White was still playing, trying to fight back, to struggle to the end. But calling it a “struggle” would be generous—it was more like a desperate last stand.

In the Review Room, Che Wenyu stared at the TV screen and said, “It should be won now. As long as Yu Shao doesn’t make a huge mistake and keeps control through the endgame, he should have this in the bag.”

“No.”

Su Yiming shook his head as he stared at the screen. “He won’t.”

Everyone blinked, then turned their heads to look at Su Yiming.

Su Yiming continued to stare at the screen, his eyes reflecting the game position, and said without turning around, “Since White has chosen to hang on, he won’t just settle the board quietly.”

“He’ll keep attacking—until White resigns or gets killed...”

Su Yiming’s eyes gleamed. “Or—until he himself dies!”

Just as Su Yiming finished speaking, the screen showed Yu Shao placing another black stone:

Column 7, Row 13 — Press!

Gu Chuan was stunned. His expression shifted as he exclaimed, “He... saw a chance to slay the dragon! He’s ignoring the risk of being invaded at the edges—he’s going for the kill!”

...

Handtalk Room

Yu Shao continued placing black stones swiftly and steadily. Across from him, Gene did the same—only now, his back was soaked with sweat, and his face grew paler with every move.

Click!
Click!
Click!

At last, Yu Shao reached into the bowl again and dropped a black stone.

Column 14, Row 8 — Throw-in!

Seeing that move, Gene froze. He couldn’t pick up another stone. Staring at the board, his face turned even whiter.

“White’s Large Dragon... has reached the end.”

The female recorder and both referees had the same thought at that moment. Shock filled their expressions.

They never imagined that even after gaining a massive lead, Black would still have the audacity to risk an edge invasion—just to slay White’s Large Dragon!

What followed was a relentless assault. Like a storm, Black struck White’s weak points, ripped apart eye shapes, and left White gasping for breath!

Under this unyielding pressure, White’s dragon was ultimately destroyed—slain in a violent, crushing collapse.

After a long pause, Gene picked up two white stones and placed them on the board. Then he bowed his head, clenched his fists, and spoke in halting Mandarin:

“I lost...”

The game—was over.

Across televisions and computers everywhere, viewers sat in stunned silence for a moment before erupting into thunderous cheers!

The first match of the Contested Game—China wins!

...

...

By the time the first match concluded, dusk had fallen.

After leaving the Handtalk Room, Gene went straight to the U.S. Team’s Review Room. He stood outside the door for a long time before finally pushing it open.

As the door creaked open, the players gathered around the Go board turned to look.

Under their stares, Gene walked in without saying a word. He sat down in an empty chair and slowly lowered his head.

The others instinctively turned their eyes toward the board still set up in the center—the final position from the game.

Looking at the board, silence spread across the room.

“You played really well.”

A moment later, Ma Dong stood up, walked over, and patted Gene’s shoulder. “No need to blame yourself.”

“Yeah, Gene, you really showed your strength. That jumping move you played was impressive.”

Someone smiled and said, “We didn’t expect you to win. You were sent out first because we didn’t have much data on Su Yiming and Yu Shao—we needed to test their style.”

“You saw what he did in the Hero’s Pride Cup...”

Everyone forced smiles and tried to comfort him.

But hearing all this, Gene only grew quieter.

After a long silence, still with his head down, he finally spoke:

“I know I was sent out first to test his playstyle. I was mentally prepared to lose.”

“Well, then don’t feel down,” said a chubby blond teammate with a grin. “We got what we needed. The early games don’t need to be won—what matters is winning the whole match.”

“But, Eddie...”

Gene still kept his head low. After another pause, he said quietly:

“I was prepared to lose—but I wasn’t prepared to lose without being able to fight back...”

The room fell silent.

No one knew what to say. All the words of comfort dried up.

Because it was true—Gene had been on the back foot the entire game.

Everyone thought Black had sacrificed stones for influence, that White’s jump move had turned the tables.

But then Black tenuki’d and converted. White could only watch himself walk toward defeat—powerless to stop it.

“It’s fine. We still have Zeng Jun and the others!”

A moment later, the blond Eddie laughed. “And honestly? He might not even last long enough to face Zeng Jun. In a high-intensity tournament like this, he’ll burn out fast.”

That lightened the mood a bit. When Zeng Jun and the others were mentioned, everyone seemed to relax—as if they’d just taken a deep breath.

“Still, we can’t be careless.”

Ma Dong looked at the board with a serious expression. “You could clearly see from this game—his understanding of the 3-3 Point is deep, while ours is still in the early stages.”

“That tenuki conversion? The way those two 3-3 Points led to the two beautiful frameworks—that made all the difference.”

Everyone’s expression turned serious again. They soon gathered around the board and started breaking the game down in detail.

“This small knight’s approach looked good, but it was actually a mistake. Black had already planned the sacrifice-for-influence strategy—better to have used a tiger’s mouth.”

“And over here—this extension was too slow...”

Ma Dong, Zeng Jun, Lu Yihong, and the others all gathered, placing stones and analyzing the entire match.

Everyone felt a quiet heaviness in their hearts. Yu Shao’s sacrifice-to-kill, his use of the two 3-3 Points to the fullest—it had completely caught them off guard.

Although the 3-3 Point strategy was becoming more understood, it still hadn’t been fully proven—until now.

Not long after, Ma Dong suddenly looked up and said to a young man in the crowd:

“Duncan, you’re up for the second match tomorrow.”

“I understand.”

The young man named Duncan clearly felt the pressure. He took a deep breath, his expression solemn. “I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

...

...

Elsewhere—

After the game ended, Yu Shao had dinner in the Go Academy cafeteria, then went straight to the nearby hotel arranged by the Academy—he didn’t go to the Review Room.

Losers were allowed to join post-game reviews, since they wouldn’t be competing the next day. But for winners, it was different.

Winning the first match meant he’d be playing again the next day. Though today’s game ended relatively early, it had still lasted until 4:00 p.m., burning through a tremendous amount of energy.

Now that the Contested Game had begun, all players stayed at the hotel arranged by the Academy—to avoid the fatigue of commuting.

Because everyone knew this, no one dared to call or message Yu Shao that night. They didn’t want to disturb his rest or affect his performance in the next match.

At 8:00 p.m., Yu Shao washed up and went to bed early.

While Yu Shao slept, the internet was in an uproar. Discussion of the match was absolutely exploding—and netizens were ecstatic about Yu Shao’s first victory!

Before the Hero’s Pride Cup, most people were pessimistic about the first round of the Contested Game. Their hopes rested on match two.

After all, among the younger generation, there weren’t even ten players with high-dan strength. At best, there were Che Wenyu, Qin Lang, Gu Chuan, Zhou Wei, and Le Haoqiang who could match high-level opponents.

But then Yu Shao and Su Yiming appeared out of nowhere in the Hero’s Pride Cup, stunning the world with their fierce battle in the finals.

That reignited hope for the first match of the Contested Game!

True, one or two players alone can’t determine the whole match.

But what if Yu Shao went on a streak, beating four or five in a row?

Even if he ran out of stamina and eventually lost, the players coming after would still have the numbers advantage. Even if they were slightly weaker, they’d still have a fighting chance.

And now—Yu Shao hadn’t disappointed anyone.

In fact, he won with a divine conversion, followed by a ferocious dragon slay—forcing Gene to bleed all over the board!

How could the netizens not go wild?!

“First Victory in the Contested Game: Yu Shao 2-dan’s Divine Conversion and Dragon-Slaying Brilliance!”
“Relentless Sacrificial Attacks—One Move Seals the Kill!”
“Watch Now! Full Breakdown of Yu Shao vs. Gene in Match One!”

Online, discussions of the game were everywhere. Many people didn’t even go to sleep—they stayed up, eagerly waiting for tomorrow’s second match.