I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 264: One Move to Seal the Game

“This…”

At this moment, everyone staring at the board felt as though their vision blurred for a second.

After White's massive sacrifice, every move had been a relentless assault on Black’s large dragon. Black fought tooth and nail to survive. The whole world had been holding its breath through this brutal exchange. But—

The dragon was never killed.

Yet when White suddenly played that subtle peep, a move seemingly devoid of killing intent—it sent a chill down every spine. In that instant, the board position underwent a seismic shift.

No one… had seen it coming.

One stone fell—and the landscape changed. The walls closed in. Songs of sorrow echoed from all sides.

A surge of indescribable awe filled everyone’s hearts.

Moments later, the livestream comment section exploded like a flood—bullet comments filled the entire screen, dense enough that it nearly obscured the board itself.

Meanwhile, back in the American team's review room, it was still dead silent.

“He reversed it…”

Everyone sat, stunned, gazing blankly at the TV screen.

“Master Ma Dong,” Zeng Jun suddenly turned, his voice low, “...Did you see it?”

Ma Dong was silent. After a moment, he slowly shook his head. “No.”

No one was surprised by that answer. Even though Ma Dong was one of the top players, it was impossible for anyone to predict every move, or else he’d never lose a game.

Even when they played against Ma Dong, there were always moments where he couldn’t foresee a certain move.

But still—they had hoped. They had hoped Ma Dong might have seen through White’s hidden plan.

Now, seeing even Ma Dong didn’t notice, everyone fell further into silence.

“…But everything began with the attach to the small point.”

Ma Dong stared at the board, his voice calm. “Locally, that attach clearly lost territory. But in this game, White used the rest of the board to make up for the loss.”

Everyone turned to look at Ma Dong in unison, confused.

“If you set aside the fight between the two dragons and look at the board again,” Ma Dong said, picking up stones and replaying the sequence, “you’ll see what I mean.”

“The attach lost territory—that’s undeniable. But White immediately initiated a complicated fight and used the outer influence created by the attach. Black gained solid ground, yes, but his position wasn’t as good as it seemed.”

Everyone furrowed their brows and tried to reassess the game from that broader perspective.

As they replayed the game, a look of realization slowly crept onto their faces.

“He wasn’t aiming for local optimality—he was aiming for global balance.”

“If you view it from that angle,” Ma Dong said in a steady voice, “then even if attaching to the small point isn’t the best local move, as long as you have confidence in handling the ensuing complexity—it’s absolutely playable.”

The room went silent.

A direct attach on the small point—previously considered a joke of a move—could now be called playable?

No one dared to refute Ma Dong.

Yes, the attach lost territory—but the resulting fight created massive complications and board-wide exchanges. Who could say that loss couldn’t be repaid later?

“You’re all focusing on each individual move,” Ma Dong said. “But what’s most frightening isn’t his tactics—it’s his understanding of Go.”

His voice dropped slightly.

“His sense of the overall board—the grand picture—is beyond what normal players possess.”

“If you only look at individual moves, they’re full of flaws. But if you zoom out to the entire board—”

“It’s the complete opposite.”

Zeng Jun stared at Ma Dong, eyes widening slightly.

Ma Dong’s face was incredibly calm, his gaze deep. It seemed like nothing could shake him—but Zeng Jun knew better.

He had once played against Ma Dong in a championship. He’d pushed him into a corner with everything he had. At that time—Ma Dong’s expression had been exactly the same.

Zeng Jun turned back to the screen, clenching his fists.

“…Yu Shao.”

---

In the Playing Room.

Time ticked away relentlessly.

Majie stared at the board, unable to calm his heart. He was deep in thought.

Ever since White’s small peep, the board had completely flipped. The black stones in the center were now trapped beneath an iron wall of White stones. There was almost no escape.

“There’s still a path.”

Finally, Majie reached into the bowl. The smooth edges of the stones cooled his fingertips.

“Even if the center stones die, my dragon survived. And I still hold the bottom—if he tries to reduce it, I can fight him to the bitter end.”

Majie steadied his breath and placed his move.

Tap!

Column 3, Row 15—Jump!

Yu Shao responded immediately.

Majie followed with another move, his gaze sharp and full of resolve.

“His style is aggressive—he probably won’t go for reduction. He’ll likely invade directly. In that case, I’ll lure him in—trap him inside my formation.”

Another move.

Tap. Tap. Tap…

“I can’t make it too obvious, or he’ll catch on. I’ll feint an attack on the lower left, and force a Ko fight there!”

Majie’s eyes locked onto the board as he gritted his teeth and played again.

“When I’m about to kill your upper side, that’s when your weakness will finally appear.”

The current board position was so complex, so tangled—everyone watching was stunned.

Viewers who had just gotten hyped from the stunning reversal were now frozen again.

The game was still undecided.

As the black and white stones continued to fall, tension gripped everyone once more.

Majie’s resilience—was awe-inspiring.

His center stones were dead, but somehow, he’d forced a Ko fight on the lower left. A full-board battle was erupting to resist White’s growing momentum!

“This guy’s crazy…”

“He’s too strong. How is he keeping this game alive?!”

“White can’t seem to break through the lower left either!”

Bullet comments flooded the livestream again.

But soon, someone noticed something.

“Black has a weakness on the lower side!”

“If White invades there, it could threaten Black’s shape, maybe even his framework!”

Yet, unexpectedly, White didn’t seem to notice the flaw. He kept fighting on the lower left!

The audience got anxious.

Not just them—even Majie looked concerned.

“He’s not doing what I expected…”

Yu Shao placed another move. Majie gritted his teeth and followed, continuing the brutal fight on the lower left.

“With his aggressive style, he should’ve invaded by now. No attack specialist would ignore a chance like that!”

Stones kept falling.

Majie’s expression grew uglier with each move.

“If he doesn’t invade, he’ll definitely try to reduce it. If I manage to seal off this area, then the board will split again—Black will regain the balance.”

By now, Majie was almost certain—Yu Shao wasn’t planning to invade. If he went for reduction, then Majie would have to fight him off one last time.

“This is my final stand.”

“If I don’t gain something from this fight—I won’t be able to catch up in the endgame.”

And then—after a few more moves—

White finally invaded.

Tap!

Column 12, Row 14—Point!

The room froze.

Majie stared at the point of entry. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

“He chose to invade at… my waist point?”

It wasn’t just Majie—the two referees and recorder were also stunned.

So were the thousands watching via livestream.

There were countless standard ways to reduce territory. Each one had pros and cons, depending on how the fight developed.

But no one—absolutely no one—would consider invading at the opponent’s waist point. That’s where the shape was most solid. Invading there? Too risky.

But—

As everyone reevaluated the position, their shock deepened.

“If White invades here, and Black jumps, White can extend. Then if Black hane’s… White actually has a sacrificial tesuji!”

Black’s shape would be split. His vital points exposed. Even the territory he worked so hard to build—could be completely erased.

No one could find the right words to describe this move.

It was simply—

One move to seal the game.

Majie stared at the board, unable to respond. His thoughts looped, replaying sequences over and over again—each time ending with the same result.

Time passed.

Clack!

Eventually, Majie reached into the bowl again. The stones clicked as they collided.

Under the gaze of the world, Majie squeezed two stones in his fist, reached toward the board… and slowly let go.

Tap. Tap.

Two black stones landed on the board.

Majie lowered his head, voice barely audible.

“…I resign.”