I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 283: His Understanding of Territory Is Completely Different from Everyone Else’s!

When he saw that move, even Yin Yan’ang couldn’t help but furrow his brows. But he didn’t play immediately—he fell into a deep think.

Yu Shao looked at the formation of Black stones on the left side of the board, his expression somewhat complicated.

A Small Point, a Corner Approach, and a High Extension.

Ever since this setup appeared, it seemed as if it were divinely inspired—emphasizing quick edge expansion through side extensions to form influence. It sought to dictate others without being dictated, echoing the art of war.

In his past life, this was once one of his most favored openings.

But the rise of Go AI had upended everything pros once believed. This style of play disappeared from the scene with the emergence of AI. Amateur players might still use it occasionally, but in professional matches, it had all but vanished.

Go stones represent yin and yang, and Go itself is full of dialectics akin to yin-yang: light and heavy, big and small, first and last, offense and defense, gain and loss, life and death, thickness and thinness, orthodox and unorthodox, motion and stillness, territory and influence, reality and illusion...

Territory vs. Influence.

If the 3-3 invasion overturned traditional notions of thickness, then the AI’s critique of this formation overturned players’ understanding of territory vs. influence!

Traditional Go theory holds that thickness can be converted into center influence. But AI values immediate territorial gain more!

This formation built long-term strategy through thickness in the center—but AI saw it as inefficient, even a burden. That thickness, once set too early, could be exploited.

Against Weisheng-style play, not only is a One-Space High Approach viable—even the Small Knight’s Approach works. In the following variations, all the “bad moves” humans once believed in were vindicated by AI!

Still, in this game, he didn’t choose those moves. He simply opted for the most straightforward play—settling in the corner.

As for why...

Those moves were too jarring, too strange. Without a brand-new understanding of “territory and influence,” they would be nearly impossible to comprehend. Practically fairy tales.

Because even more than thickness, influence is difficult to quantify. He couldn’t explain the value of influence. Territory has a uniform value, but influence? That varies wildly—every player sees it differently.

Even different AIs evaluate influence in different ways. After all, even AI can lose games—Go’s complexity defies brute-force solutions.

His current strategy might still be hard to grasp, but compared to those mind-bending moves, this was already the most understandable option.

Not long after, Yin Yan’ang finally picked out a stone and gently placed it on the board.

Clack!

Column 7, Row 6 — Press!

“A press…”

Seeing Black’s move, Yu Shao didn’t immediately respond. He stared at the board, deep in thought.

“If I jump here, he’ll probably jump too. If I peep, he might block. I could try something there, but the entanglement would get annoying. Might as well go for a Large Knight’s Move to break through...”

After a moment, Yu Shao glanced at Su Yiming beside him, still staring intently at the board. Then he reached into his Go bowl and picked out a stone.

“If he came specifically to watch this game, let’s see just how much he can make of it.”

Clack!

Column 4, Row 4 — Large Knight’s Move!

Both sides entered blitz mode. Yu Shao’s White stones spread across the board like a floodgate opening, flowing fast and wide!

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Stone after stone hit the board.

Everyone stared at the game, totally absorbed—including Su Yiming.

Before long, when another White stone landed, Su Yiming’s eyes suddenly flashed with clarity.

But no one else noticed—they were still watching the board closely.

As more stones fell, expressions began to shift. Confusion crept into everyone’s eyes.

“This…”

Some had cold sweat on their foreheads, their faces filled with disbelief.

“I can’t make sense of it. Not only did Black fail to kill White, but…”

“Black had so much outer influence, yet... he couldn’t convert it into any real territory?!”

Yin Yan’ang realized this too. His formerly calm expression was now quite grim—his face was full of disbelief. After a long pause, he finally played another move.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

“What’s going on?!”

The shock in the crowd deepened. Their eyes brimmed with confusion.

Meanwhile, the player responsible for recording the moves passed each sequence back to the players in the Review Room—and they too fell silent.

They were breaking down every move in the game. And yet, even with hindsight, none of Black’s plays looked like bad moves!

“Was it a difference in fighting for life?”

Su Yiming studied the board carefully, reviewing each player’s move in his mind.

“No… it’s not just that. There was a difference, sure—but not a big one. At this level, that difference wouldn’t account for everything.”

Just then, Yin Yan’ang locked onto the board, grabbed a Black stone, and played again!

Clack!

Column 12, Row 13 — Turn!

“A turn?”

Su Yiming’s eyes reflected the board as he quickly understood the intention behind that move.

“A direct bite on White’s cutting point—threatening this unstable White group. Reinforcing looks like a must for White, but—”

Clack!

Yu Shao had already reached into his bowl.

“If it were anyone else, they’d reinforce. But Yu Shao? He dissolves the kill pressure with a sharp counter!”

Clack!

Column 13, Row 10 — Dig!

“A dig?!”

Everyone was stunned. When they realized the implications of that move, their mouths suddenly felt dry.

“He actually went for a dig!”

After Black’s turn, White’s life-and-death situation had become precarious. Normally, everyone would reinforce here—secure life first.

But White dug instead—ignoring his own life-and-death issues. He was aiming for a massive 50-point sacrifice and reversal. If Black dared kill the lower White group, White would dare to slay the dragon in the upper area!

Yin Yan’ang’s face flushed red when he saw it.

Clack!

The next moment, he quickly picked a stone and played it fast!

Column 14, Row 13 — Clamp!

“A clamp—tenacious play.”

Su Yiming’s eyes drifted to a spot on the board everyone else seemed to overlook.

“But... wouldn’t a move there be better?”

“If White rams in, Black can hane, then White extends, Black sacrifices three stones, and creates a giant ko! Even if behind, Black would have more room to maneuver!”

Even as he analyzed the situation, Su Yiming kept rewinding the game in his head—from White’s initial invasion to now, examining Yu Shao’s methods of breaking influence.

“If I were the one playing, I could probably break the influence and survive, even if Black had the stronger formation... but this board...”

“This game holds layers of insight I’ve yet to comprehend.”

Su Yiming stared at the board, watching every move, pondering deeper truths.

A moment later, Yin Yan’ang’s face had turned completely grim. At last, he reached for another stone and played!

“A strong move!”

The crowd’s hearts trembled—this was a completely unexpected counter. Black threw his isolated group into the thick of White’s formation, locking into a fight.

This group might get killed. But during the exchange, White’s liberties would tighten too—and if the battle went on long enough, White might end up out of liberties instead!

“Yu Shao’s next move will be a throw-in.”

Yin Yan’ang stared quietly at that White stone. Though the board wasn’t yet mind-numbing in complexity, he could already see Yu Shao’s tesuji to resolve the position.

The next moment, Yu Shao calmly picked out a stone—

Clack!

Column 10, Row 12 — Throw-in!

Everyone jolted. They started calculating variations... and then—fell utterly silent.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Stones continued to fall.

Everyone had seen it now: Black had thrown in everything he had, fighting White tooth and nail—but the momentum was still swinging irreversibly in White’s favor, like a flood surging forward!

“If the answer isn’t in the midgame... then it must lie in the opening.”

Su Yiming’s mind retraced every move, as if the board reset to an empty state, and he watched the game from the start.

Small Point, Star, Small Point, Star, Small Knight’s Approach, Small Knight’s...

He looked at the board’s chaotic complexity and suddenly recalled his first match with Yu Shao at the High School Go League—he remembered that 3-3 corner invasion.

And in that instant, realization dawned.

“He only settled in the corners, allowing his opponent to take outer influence. He barely contested the sides. His focus was only on corner attack and defense. Or rather... though he excels at using influence, he seems to disregard it?”

“There’s only one possible explanation—”

Just then, Yu Shao reached into the Go bowl again and gently placed a stone.

“Even if I don’t fully understand it... his concept of territory seems entirely different from the rest of us!”

Clack!

The stone landed!

With that, the entire room fell silent.

Even with everything Black had thrown at him, he couldn’t stop White’s sweeping invasion. The margin wasn’t huge, but Black had no way to close the gap. He could only gamble on a kill.

And in the end...

The murderous Black formation on the board—one White move later—seemed to weep in silence.

“It’s over.”

Everyone stared at the board—they could already see who had won.

“That one placement shattered Black’s formation completely!”

Yin Yan’ang stared at the board for a long time. Finally, he lowered his head and spoke.

“I... lost.”