I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 271: A Kill Trap Born of Dead Stones

White placed another stone.

Zeng Jun stared hard at the board, calculating furiously in his mind, trying to see through every possible variation in this life-and-death scenario.

After a short moment, he finally pulled out a black stone and placed it.

Column 13, Row 7. Dig!

Almost immediately, Yu Shao picked up a white stone and placed it on the board.

At this point, Zeng Jun looked even calmer than before—his gaze had turned icy cold, sending chills down one's spine.

Snap! He grabbed another black stone and dropped it onto the board with speed.

White responded. Black followed closely behind.

Tap!

Tap!

Each move that landed seemed to make the atmosphere in the Handtalk Room even more suffocating.

Everyone watched the killing game unfold with bated breath. At this point, the board had become utterly unpredictable. White’s dragon looked like it might soar, while Black—who had exuded killing intent earlier—now played stones that felt increasingly heavy.

Tap. Tap. Tap!

Zeng Jun's eyes were locked solely on the board, as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist. His expression remained frigid as he continued grabbing and placing stones.

Finally, six more moves passed.

"Click!"

With a crisp sound, Zeng Jun picked out another black stone. The stone glinted slightly as it rested between his fingers.

And the next second—

Tap!

Column 3, Row 12. Dig!

In the Chinese team’s review room—

"He dug there?"

Everyone stared at the screen as Zeng Jun made his move.

“He’s trying to threaten those two white stones and stir up a fight in the lower-left corner at the same time.”

They surrounded the demo board, their expressions serious.

That black move was a high-level entangling tactic, clearly aimed at wrapping around White and not letting him escape so easily.

“If this turns into a full-on fight, it might be rough for White.”

Le Haoqiang played out the follow-up sequence and said in a low voice, “Yu Shao’s only next move is a tiger’s mouth. After that, if Black hane’s, White has no choice but to jump.”

“Even if Black doesn’t hane and just extends, it still puts White in a tough spot,” Qin Lang added, frowning.

“But it's okay. White can give up a bit of ground here.”

Beside them, Zhou Wei looked at the board and thought for a moment before speaking: “As long as White can make the dragon live, even if Black gets some territory, it won’t matter.”

Su Yiming stood silently among the crowd, eyes fixed on the board, deep in thought.

At that moment, a white stone appeared on the screen.

Column 5, Row 10. Tiger’s Mouth!

"White really had no choice but to play that. But Black’s next move..."

Nobody was surprised by White’s play. But just as they started to guess whether Black would hane or extend, Black’s response dropped almost instantly onto the board!

He’d clearly been waiting—his response came the very second White moved.

Column 2, Row 7. Crawl!

When they saw this sudden move, Qin Lang’s eyes widened with shock.

“Black just crawled on the second line?!”

Back in the official tournament live stream, the chat exploded like a powder keg.

“What is this? Crawling on the second line at this moment? White has to push down, but then what’s Black gonna do?”

“If Black hane’s, White will atari, and Black could get crushed on the right!”

“White’s liberties are still tight. Black looks heavy, but he’s got some supporting stones nearby—it’s not impossible for him to kill. But now he’s trying to make life for himself?”

Comments flew by non-stop.

Sure, crawling on the second line happens after a 3-3 invasion, but this wasn’t that kind of situation. White's group on the outside was already isolated—there was no need to worry about being attacked.

And Black’s crawl on the second line barely gained him any points.

Under the watchful eyes of the world, White responded.

Column 3, Row 7. Push!

Black’s crawl had forced White’s hand—this was the only move he could make!

“But after White pushes, what’s Black supposed to do now?”

The same question popped into everyone’s mind.

Soon after, Black answered.

Column 2, Row 8. Crawl again!

“Black crawled again on the second line? White still has to push—doesn’t that just tighten the noose even more?”

People were even more shocked. Faces filled with confusion.

White pushed again.

Then Black crawled again.

At last, after several relentless second-line crawls that left everyone dumbfounded, Black finally tenukied—returning to the fight in the lower-left corner.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

“…What the…”

As the stones kept falling, everyone’s expressions began to shift.

“This area… it’s become a ko fight!”

“We thought Black’s crawling was just a desperate attempt to live, but now it seems like—though it thickened White’s shape—it also locked down White’s dragon. There’s no way for White to form eyes along the edge anymore!”

“And with this ko fight breaking out, White can’t escape outward. This dragon—it’s in real danger now!”

Everyone stared blankly at their screens, watching black and white stones fall in a tense rhythm.

Soon, Black struck again.

Tap!

Column 7, Row 7.

One move, and all the black stones radiated killing intent—forming a death trap aimed squarely at White’s dragon on the left.

White had tried to escape with a suspend move, but if he managed to get out alive, Black would immediately fall behind.

At this life-or-death moment, Black unleashed unbelievable aggression. He crawled along the second line again and again—risking it all to slay White’s dragon in a thunderous final strike!

In the Handtalk Room.

“So strong... even after all that, White’s dragon still died in the end...”

The female recorder and the two referees were dazed, staring at the board. Their minds were spinning.

"Click!"

In the quiet of the Handtalk Room, the sound of a stone being picked up rang out again.

Yu Shao placed a stone down gently.

Tap!

Column 13, Row 4. Small Knight’s Approach!

Seeing Yu Shao make another move, the female recorder finally snapped out of it. But when she saw where he played, her hand froze on the mouse.

“Small knight!”

Her heart gave a jolt. Sweat beaded in her palms as she suddenly understood the purpose of the move.

“This move… he’s using the dead stones to threaten Black. It’s a test—to see if Black dares to cut in and fight!”

She mentally ran the numbers and her heart skipped a beat.

“Black can’t cut!”

“If he does, those dead stones will block off all his liberties. If that happens and White captures that group, the dragon that was just killed—could come back to life!”

Zeng Jun clearly realized this too.

After a long pause, he picked up another stone and made his next move.

Tap!

Column 14, Row 10. Two-Space Jump!

Yu Shao’s expression was focused. After studying the board for a moment, he reached out again and placed his move.

Column 5, Row 13. Push!

When Yu Shao made this move, everyone froze for a second.

The large white dragon—already declared dead—was now openly trying to escape. Black had no choice but to block; it was the only move.

If Black allowed White to extend just one more move, that massive dragon would come back to life!

Black had poured immense effort into capturing that White dragon. There was no way he’d let it slip away again—if that happened, he might as well resign.

But…

If Black blocked, White would then leverage the shoulder hit and two-space jump to form a massive framework in the center.

"Click!"

Another sharp collision echoed.

Zeng Jun’s gaze turned cold. He picked up a black stone and placed it swiftly:

Column 6, Row 13. Block!

And with that, the stones began to fall again.

Tap, tap, tap...

“White does have a lot of dead stones to use,” Zeng Jun muttered, eyes scanning the board coldly as he continued calculating, “but at most, he can only scrape some small gains from it.”

“The White stones on the left are dead, no doubt. But the center still holds potential. The right side has open territory. There’s bound to be another battle—I need to fight for initiative and break his formation.”

After a pause, Zeng Jun placed another move.

Then Yu Shao responded with his white stone:

Column 15, Row 6. Clamp!

“A clamp here? It’s not wise to fight directly now... He’s treating that black stone lightly—as a sacrifice—and responding with a peep.”

Zeng Jun’s eyes sharpened. He picked out another black stone and swiftly played:

Column 15, Row 8. Peep!

“As soon as he extends, I’ll hane. If he cuts, I’ll maneuver to the lower right and sever White’s last hope of living!”

Tap!

Yu Shao responded without hesitation.

Column 13, Row 6. Extend!

“He extended!”

As expected, Yu Shao chose to extend. Zeng Jun didn’t even hesitate. He grabbed a black stone and slammed it down.

Column 14, Row 7. Hane!

Seeing this, Yu Shao instantly responded:

Column 7, Row 4. Hane!

Zeng Jun reflexively reached for another stone—but froze when he saw where Yu Shao had played.

White hadn’t cut as expected.

This cut was supposed to be the only move. Yet instead, White tenukied to the left.

“He’s reducing liberties there?”

Zeng Jun stared at that stone, then looked at the slaughtered White dragon—suddenly, something clicked.

For the first time, his usually calm face cracked, the realization unsettling his composure.

If Black didn’t respond and instead played toward the right, then not only would White’s dragon come back to life…

Even Black’s own dragon could die a tragic death!

But if Black did respond, then the influence of the fight would spread upward, allowing White to seize initiative—twice.

“From that far away… there’s a dead stone use over there too?”

After a long silence, Zeng Jun finally relaxed his clenched fist, picked up a stone, and dropped it swiftly.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“This is…”

Everyone watched the moves fall and couldn’t hide the growing shock on their faces.

With each move, the stunned expression deepened.

They finally saw it—within this fierce kill fight, there had always been a hidden thread of cunning logic.

“White reducing liberties here helps the mutual kill below. Black can’t recklessly respond. White can now extend freely, and his center group gets even stronger!”

“That massive White Heavenly Dragon, which Black fought so hard to slay, is now… becoming a liability. Black is forced to tread carefully, almost as if—it’s a stone in his throat!”

“That dead White dragon stretches across the left side of the board. Though it died, it’s not truly gone—its threat still looms. It’s dead, but not crumbled!”

Stones continued to fall.

And that so-called “dead” dragon hadn’t rotted with time—instead, its lingering influence grew stronger, affecting the entire board.

Everyone stared at the game with their scalps tingling, their hearts trembling.

This kill fight now radiated an eerie brilliance.

It dazzled—and chilled.

Watching Go as if viewing the decay of time—witnessing the upheaval of heaven and earth.

Across the world, silence fell.

All eyes were drawn to the board, entranced by this strange, shimmering logic.

In the American team’s review room—

“We always thought his tenuki move was because he believed that dragon could live.”

Ma Jie looked at the TV, his face confused.

“But… what if he tenukied not because he was confident—but because he wasn’t?”

“What if he just tried his best to make the dragon live, and if it didn’t, then fine. As long as he could use the dead stones to their full potential, he was okay with that.”

That thought silenced the room.

Because it was almost unthinkable.

If you weren’t sure your dragon would live, who would dare tenuki and let it die?

Most of the time, once a group is dead, it’s just dead. You can’t do anything with it.

And when that White dragon died, Black had a massive lead on the board.

How insane must you be to think you could come back just by borrowing the power of dead stones?

Where did White get the confidence to believe he could squeeze maximum value out of the dead?

But looking at this board…

They had no way to argue.

Because somehow, White had done it.

“This board position…”

Ma Dong finally spoke, eyes locked on the TV screen.

“White is now in the lead.”

That stunned the rest into turning toward the screen.

The oppressive tension in the room was gone.

They weren’t nervous anymore.

They were simply watching now—as if admiring a masterpiece woven together by two genius minds on this 19x19 battlefield.

No matter who won…

This game was created by Zeng Jun and Yu Shao—a game filled with strange, dazzling logic.

On the other side, in the Chinese team’s review room—

Everyone stared silently at the screen.

“Zeng Jun tried to counter by sacrificing stones. He only needed to give up two, but instead, he gave up three—to strengthen the center.”

Qin Lang looked at the position and said slowly, “It’s a brilliant tactic.”

Still, no one spoke.

Even through a screen, they could feel Black’s stubbornness and unwillingness—his desperate final struggle.

“But Yu Shao didn’t give him any opportunity,” Le Haoqiang said.

“That White dragon is now truly dead. No more borrowing, no more revival.”

Then Su Yiming, who had been watching quietly all this time, finally said:

“This game… is almost over.”

No one was replaying variations anymore.

They just watched, quietly, as stones continued to fall.

Tap. Tap. Tap…

The sound of the stones echoed from the screen, ringing in everyone’s ears.

No one knew how long had passed.

But eventually, under everyone’s gaze, a hand reached toward the center of the screen.

When it lifted—

Two black stones fell onto the board.

Tap. Tap.

The game was over.

In the commentary studio—

This match was being analyzed by Lin Junzhe, 8-dan, and Cai Rou, 5-dan.

When Cai Rou saw those two black stones fall onto the board, she froze for a second.

“It’s over.”

Still lost in the game, she whispered, “This match… even though the fighting was fierce…”

“In the end, the dragon slayer lost. And the one whose dragon was slain… won.”

She laughed quietly at the absurdity of her own words.

“This was a… kill fight of dead stones.”

Saying that, she finally snapped out of it.

The game had ended.

Not just this game—the first battle of the tournament was over.

“This game is over!”

Cai Rou took a deep breath and turned to the camera. She opened her mouth—then paused, at a loss for how to express what she felt.

From the first moves, the game had been eye-opening.

Both sides played to their strengths, showing their incredible judgment.

And then, around White’s tenuki, the game exploded into a vicious kill fight. Every move was a life-or-death struggle.

White’s dragon came close to surviving.

But in the end, Black’s relentless crawling on the second line triggered a ko, and he finally slayed the dragon.

That should’ve sealed it.

But what happened next was beyond her wildest expectations.

White used his dead stones to unleash a wave of eerie, unmatched aggression—turning the board upside down.

He forged a sword out of the dead—and won.

“The winner of this match… is Yu Shao!”

Cai Rou finally spoke. “But this game made me forget about winning or losing. I was just… completely mesmerized by the board.”

“In a truly great game, victory doesn’t matter that much.”

“Both players displayed incredible skill. Together, they created a game that I think everyone will remember.”

“Yes, Go is a battle to win—but what made me fall in love with this game isn’t the outcome. It’s the sparks of brilliance that appear on the board.”

“Let’s thank both players… for this masterpiece.”

Cai Rou took a deep breath and declared with strength:

“The first match of the tournament ends here!”

At the Southern Go Association, in the reporters’ office—

The sound of furious typing echoed nonstop.

Ding Huan sat at her computer, fingers flying so fast across the keyboard they were nearly a blur.

“Never seen you type this fast,”

Ma Zhengyu chuckled from beside her. “Usually takes you a full week to force out a single article.”

“Inspiration, man!”

Ding Huan typed away, eyes shining. “A game like this—how can you not be inspired? A kill fight with dead stones?! Unbelievable! A dead group turned the game around?! And this is only the first match of the tournament!”

She was practically glowing.

“Not only that—if you look back, we had 3-3s, small point bumps, shoulder hits, unassailable corners… and more importantly—the Demon Blade!”

Ding Huan took a breath.

“And now the Demon Blade is gone. That’s crazier than any dream!”

“Yeah…”

Ma Zhengyu fell silent for a second. Then he shook his head and sighed.

“What’s with the sigh, Chairman Ma?”

Ding Huan looked confused. Her hands paused over the keyboard.

“Ten wins in a row!” she said. “Yu Shao is way beyond anything I expected.”

Ma Zhengyu looked a little down.

“But it’s also true that we’re short on young talent these days.”

“You saw Zeng Jun’s skill. He lost, sure, but that was one hell of a game. If not for Yu Shao, who knows what the result might’ve been.”

He smiled bitterly. “Maybe I’m just greedy.”

“Short on talent? No way!”

Ding Huan shook her head and cut him off.

Ma Zhengyu blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I heard Zhuang Fei’s been grinding like crazy since losing in the promotion tournament. When he qualifies, he’ll surprise us all!”

“And don’t forget Su Yiming!”

“And before the Hero’s Pride Cup, lots of people were saying Ma Zhengyu’s style didn’t have Shen Yi’s touch.”

“So naturally, attention shifted to Fang Wuxin—descendant of Fang Xin.”

“And now Fang Haoxin’s been killing it too—rumor has it he even beat Yi Kun, 5-dan, recently!”

Ding Huan grinned.

“I think the future’s looking bright. We are not out of talent.”

Ma Zhengyu smiled too, gazing out the window.

“You might be right. The future really might be something special.”

“But… we’ll talk about that after.”

He took a drag of his cigarette, then snuffed it out.

“The second match is about to begin. And after what we just saw… the rest of them must be feeling the pressure.”

At that, Ding Huan couldn’t help but laugh.

The match was over.

The first battle of the tournament had ended.

Everyone glued to their TVs or computer screens finally started to return to their senses as the screen went black.

They looked out the window—and realized it was already dusk.

And in that moment… everyone felt the same strange emotion:

Like they had just stepped out of a dream.

The tournament had ended.

But their first thought wasn’t about winning.

It was—

“What an incredible game…”