I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 252: Victory by Sheer Power

In the anxious wait of countless people, the night passed quickly, and it was now the next day.

By 8 a.m., many people were already stationed in front of their TVs or computers, nervously and eagerly awaiting the second match of the Challenge.

Yu Shao got up, freshened up, and ate the hotel breakfast before leaving for the Go Academy.

Before long, Yu Shao arrived at the entrance of the Handtalk Room where the Challenge was being held. He gently pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside the Handtalk Room, at the referee’s and recorder’s tables, two referees and the recorder were already sitting upright, looking solemn.

And at one side of the Go table in the center of the room, Duncan had already been waiting for a long time. When he saw Yu Shao arrive at last, his gaze turned sharp, but he said nothing, quickly looking back at the board in front of him.

Yu Shao also said nothing, walked to the seat across from Duncan, pulled out the chair, and sat down face-to-face across the table, quietly waiting for the match to begin.

A faint sandalwood aroma lingered in the quiet Go room. On the wall hung the characters “Discussing the Way While Seated.” The two players sat silently, facing each other—it already felt like a standoff!

Meanwhile, in the Review Room where the U.S. team was gathered, the players sat around a Go table, staring at the TV screen with uniformly grave expressions.

On the other side, in the Review Room of the Chinese team, everyone was also staring at the screen with restless hearts. Though the room was full of people, not a sound could be heard—it was dead silent.

In the commentary studio, today’s Main Commentary Room was hosted by 9-dan Jiang Yihong and 5-dan Xia Wen. After exchanging a few words, the two fell silent and looked up at the big screen, waiting for the match to begin.

Similar scenes were unfolding across the world.

Everyone’s attention was tied to this game!

.......

......

Finally, nearly ten minutes later—

“Time’s up!”

Inside the Handtalk Room, one of the referees took a breath, slowly stood up, and announced loudly, “Each side has five hours of main time, followed by one-minute overtime. Duncan 6-dan will play Black, Yu Shao 2-dan will play White!”

In the first Challenge match, Yu Shao had played Black and Wan Jing had played White, so now there was no need to guess for color again. China and the U.S. would simply switch colors.

“Please take care of me.”

Upon hearing that, Yu Shao lowered his head and said.

Across from him, Duncan also quickly bowed his head and replied in English, “Please take care of me.”

The match had begun!

Duncan stared at the board, took two deep breaths to calm himself a bit, then finally reached into the Go bowl, picked up a stone, and placed the first move.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 4—Star Point!

Yu Shao lowered his gaze to the board. Seeing Duncan’s first move on the star point, he quickly reached into the Go bowl and picked up a white stone.

The white stone nestled between his fingers seemed to emit a faint glow.

The next moment, the white stone landed!

The stone struck the board with a crisp sound!

Tap!

Column 17, Row 3—3-3 Point!

“A direct 3-3?”

Seeing that move, Duncan’s expression shifted drastically. He couldn’t help but look up at Yu Shao, while the recorder and two referees beside them stared wide-eyed at the board!

Though everyone was mentally prepared for a 3-3 invasion nowadays, to play it immediately after a single star point—was there really no other move to make?

Yu Shao calmly stared at the board, expression unchanging, silently waiting for Duncan to respond.

Of course, it wasn’t that he had no other moves. The reason for choosing the 3-3 point was simple—to immediately settle the local area and conserve energy.

Although people already knew the correct responses after a 3-3 invasion, their understanding was still shallow—they knew the what, but not the why.

So in midgame skirmishes, most couldn’t fully utilize the follow-ups to the 3-3. Just like in yesterday’s game.

As for playing a small knight’s approach or a large knight’s approach, Yu Shao might use those in casual games, but those variations were more complex—not as straightforward as invading the 3-3 corner.

After all, the Challenge is a series of continuous, intense battles. He had to conserve energy for as long as possible, until his stamina was completely spent!

Moments later, Duncan finally took a deep breath, reached into the Go bowl again, picked up a stone, and placed it down.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 3—Block!

Clack!

With the clack of stones colliding, Yu Shao again picked out a white stone and quickly placed it just to the right of the star point black stone!

Column 17, Row 4—Extend!

The two began alternating moves rapidly. The crisp sound of stones echoed continuously throughout the quiet room.

Under everyone’s gaze, black and white stones alternated, spreading across the board.

The tense and anticipatory expressions on people’s faces slowly shifted into focus and intensity.

Silence.

Everyone was fully engrossed in the match, becoming more and more absorbed, entirely immersed in the game.

As time ticked on, the situation on the board grew more and more complex. Finally, the two sides entered close combat, entangling with each other.

The stones kept falling.

On this 19x19 grid, the clash between black and white stones grew more and more ferocious!

At some point, people’s expressions began to change.

Some subconsciously widened their eyes, mouths slightly agape, shock etched across their faces.

One person, two people, three...

More and more people watched the match in stunned silence, the look of awe in their eyes deepening.

Under everyone’s gaze, Yu Shao quietly kept pulling out stones and placing them on the board.

Each stone struck the board with a crisp tap.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

The sound of stones falling seemed to echo across the globe, ringing in everyone’s ears!

Amid this continuous rhythm of moves, time passed steadily.

But everyone seemed to forget the passage of time. They simply stared at the board, lost to the world.

They watched black and white stones fall in turn, as if hearing the ringing clash of metal with every placement.

“This is just… unbelievable!”

In the Handtalk Room, the female recorder and two referees stared at the board without blinking, hearts filled with shock.

“White fully capitalized on the influence formed by the 3-3 invasion and peony capture, launching into a fierce battle against Black. Each of Black’s moves was precise, but somehow the position began tilting in White’s favor!”

Duncan stared fixedly at the board, clearly realizing that the situation was turning against him, his face extremely grim.

After a long thought, Duncan again reached into the Go bowl.

“There’s still a chance—if I hane and cut here, I can split his formation!”

He took a deep breath, picked out a stone, and placed it quickly.

Tap!

Column 13, Row 10—Hane and Cut!

Yu Shao looked at that move, thought for a moment, then reached into the Go bowl and placed another stone swiftly.

Tap!

Column 7, Row 13—Jump!

“He jumped out?!”

Seeing that move, the female recorder and the two referees were startled and puzzled, but this time, none of them doubted the move—they chose to watch on patiently.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

Black and white stones continued to fall.

Soon after, the recorder and referees seemed to realize something. Their expressions changed slightly, and for a moment, they even felt a chill.

Duncan’s face grew paler. He bit his lip and thought for a long time before placing another stone.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

Finally—

No one knew how much time had passed when a hand, holding two black stones, slowly placed them on the board.

Everyone seemed to hear the tap tap of stones bouncing on the board.

“I lost…”

Duncan bowed his head deeply, his expression hidden.

Beside him, the female recorder and two referees were already sweating.

They stared at the game in front of them, stunned, unable to react for a moment—still filled with awe.

“He won!”

......

In the commentary studio—

“It’s over…”

Seeing the two black stones placed on the board on the big screen, Xia Wen, who was commentating today’s game, seemed momentarily dazed.

Watching Yu Shao win this match, she felt excited—but even more so, she felt shocked and chilled!

Yes, chilled.

Because this game was a pure violent kill!

Once the middle game began, White seemed to bulldoze over Black with unstoppable force. The killing power on display was so terrifying, it even made someone rooting for Yu Shao feel fear!

This kind of killing strategy was sheer brute force—victory by overwhelming strength!

After a long pause, Xia Wen finally moved her gaze from the screen to the board.

She took a breath and said, “Black’s earlier hane and cut was a strong move meant to threaten White’s vital stones, but after White’s light jump—”

“Black’s move not only became heavy, but even risked being surrounded!”

“Yu Shao 2-dan leveraged the peony shape from the 3-3 invasion to launch a border fight against Black, turning the entire board into a sweeping battlefield of tangled dragons!”

“In the kill fight, Yu Shao’s moves were uncharacteristically straightforward. In such a complex board, he usually relies on precise calculations and clever attacks.”

“But this match was different!”

“In this game, Yu Shao first built up a thick shape, and relying on that thickness, he unleashed brute force like a blunt sword—crushing through Black’s formation!”

“Though Duncan 6-dan fought back valiantly and beautifully, hoping for a bloody duel, Yu Shao still charged through with overwhelming strength, crushing Black in the end!”

At that moment, Xia Wen’s emotions finally surged. She shouted to the viewers in front of their TVs: “This match—was victory by sheer power!”

“Yu Shao 2-dan, wins!”