I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 293: A Joseki That Surpasses Everything Before It

“Faced with Yu Shao’s Fourth-Line Cut, Black now has two options—Stand or Diagonal—and both are incredibly complex, with countless variations that are practically impossible to calculate!”

It was Black’s turn to move. Wu Zhixuan couldn’t help but instinctively step into Black’s shoes. Just from calculating briefly, cold sweat was already forming on her forehead.

‘It’s like drifting aimlessly in a vast ocean, no destination, total confusion. You don’t know whether this move is good or bad.’

‘Neither side knows where this tiny boat will drift. All they can do is let the waves toss them about.’

‘Both Black and White are bound to be overturned by the storm. The only goal is to make sure the opponent’s boat capsizes before yours does!’

‘At that moment, that’s when this game’s victory will be decided!’

Absurd.

It was all completely absurd.

Looking at the board, there were simply too many seemingly viable moves. And each one had countless branches, making it impossible to judge their pros and cons. Yet the board was so volatile that one wrong move could lose the whole game!

Amid the infinite transformations of this match, it felt like standing in the vastness of the universe—witnessing entropy rise and fall, the awe-inspiring power of nature. All one could feel was their own insignificance and helplessness.

No one could predict where Su Yiming would place his next move. No one could judge whether it would be good or bad.

At least not before this match was over—every move, from both players, would be impossible to evaluate.

No one could do it.

Finally, Su Yiming drew a stone from the bowl and placed it gently.

Tap!

Column 18, Row 5 — Diagonal!

“He chose the Diagonal—Black’s most aggressive response!”

Zheng Qin couldn’t help but take a deep breath. This game had already diverged from the one he’d played. In his game, the cut was on the Sixth Line, not the Fourth, so the resulting position was completely different.

The only thing they had in common was the ever-present killing intent lurking within the board!

Black’s Diagonal showed clear aggression.

If White simply ataried, they’d run to the right and counter-capture Black—but this Diagonal changed everything. Now, if White tried to escape right, this move would cut off their path!

That White stone was a vital shape stone. If it was captured, White’s position would collapse instantly!

Therefore, White had only one move: Extend.

And indeed, in the next second, Yu Shao drew a stone and placed it softly.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 6 — Extend!

Seeing Yu Shao’s move, Su Yiming immediately grabbed another stone and swiftly dropped it.

Tap!

Column 17, Row 8 — Press!

Right after, Lu Bo followed with his move.

Tap!

Column 15, Row 7 — Hane!

These three moves were all standard responses following Black’s Diagonal. But now, the position had arrived at a huge branching point, and the choice belonged to Black!

Su Yiming stared at the board. In his mind, it was as if a secondary board was materializing, calculating all the possible continuations. Within moments, stones began falling mentally in rapid succession.

“If I connect next, White will definitely Stand to take the key point. If I let White take it, they’ll lose all eyeshape—instant collapse.”

“Once White Stands, I’ll cut. White extends, I press again. If White continues extending, then I’ll sacrifice three Black stones to build outer influence. White takes territory, Black takes the outside.”

“But because of White’s cut point, while my outer influence would be vast, it wouldn’t be super thick. I atari, White extends… this fight will continue spreading—the board remains chaotic and unsolved!”

“Should I go that route?”

Su Yiming’s gaze turned serious, his eyes fixed tightly on the upper right.

He felt that path could work, but deep down, something was bothering him—a strong sense that although viable, it wouldn’t give him any real advantage.

“Then… is there another move?”

After a moment, Su Yiming’s eyes narrowed. He picked up another stone and placed it down.

Tap!

Column 14, Row 7 — Hane!

“He didn’t connect—he hane’d directly! Black is going for a hard fight with White!”

Everyone felt chills up their spines. This move shifted the game into another realm of unpredictable madness!

“If Black Stands now, the situation changes completely. After Black ataris, two White groups will be threatened. One heavy, one light. White can’t save both!”

Hong Leju stared at the board. The wind howled outside, but the intense complexity of this game had him sweating all over.

“So White will definitely save the heavier group. Then Black will ruthlessly abandon stones and launch a Peony Capture in the center—Black’s outer influence will be monstrous!”

“But White won’t go down without a fight—”

Clack!

As stones collided again, all eyes watched as White played their next move.

Column 17, Row 7 — Tiger’s Mouth!

This Tiger’s Mouth was a sharp, direct response!

White didn’t rush to kill Black. Instead, they stayed patient, biding their time, maintaining entanglement—ready to pounce on any instability in Black’s position!

“If White played Tiger’s Mouth, then Black must follow up with a Tiger’s Mouth as well.”

In the crowd, Wu Zhixuan subconsciously bit her thumb nail, eyes fixed on the board, calculating furiously in her mind.

“But Su Yiming didn’t connect on move 21—he hane’d to start a direct fight. That certainly challenged White, but—”

“Because Su Yiming didn’t connect, Yu Shao’s connection… has now become sente!”

“If Su Yiming had connected earlier, and White connected, Black could hane, White would cut, and Black could extend. But now, if White cuts, Black can’t extend—White will double atari instantly!”

“You lose on the east to gain in the west.”

“But then again, if you gain in the west, you must lose something in the east!”

Go is about adapting to change. Every different move leads to different influence. A player’s true skill lies in whether they can steer with the flow.

Su Yiming quickly placed another move.

Column 15, Row 8 — Atari!

As soon as Black played, White immediately followed.

Column 16, Row 7 — Connect!

Just as Wu Zhixuan predicted, Su Yiming quickly dropped his next stone.

Column 18, Row 3 — Tiger’s Mouth!

Yu Shao, seeing Black’s move, instantly replied:

Column 15, Row 2 — Connect!

Since Black hadn’t connected earlier and hane’d instead, now in response to White’s connection, Black couldn’t hane and extend—White’s connection had become sente!

Everyone was locked in on the board, constantly calculating the next branches.

Since Black couldn’t hane, they might go Tiger’s Mouth or Hane again to prevent White from cutting. But White would surely go all in for a mutual kill!

Lu Bo quickly spotted a potential sequence.

“Black plays Tiger, White hane, Black hane, White connects, Black attaches. Then White has a Peep tesuji, Black captures, White ataris, Black takes…”

As he continued, Lu Bo shook his head and rejected the sequence.

“No good! Once White starts a Ko fight, Black has zero Ko threats on the board. White will crush him!”

Lu Bo then noticed another variation—White’s Tiger’s Mouth opened up even more branches. And besides the Tiger’s Mouth, White also had a Hane!

That Hane opened a whole other can of worms—sacrifices, conversions, capturing races, life and death problems… it made his skin crawl!

One line of calculation spanned over thirty moves. For an ordinary person, that would be unthinkable. But for a professional, that wasn’t even difficult.

But now—even one variation had countless sub-branches. And this game had already skipped multiple major branches before this!

Su Yiming stared intently at the board, still calculating the evolving shapes.

Time ticked away.

The entire Go Room was dead silent. No one seemed to notice the passing minutes. Only the howling wind outside could be heard.

Yet the killing intent on the board was colder than that winter wind.

“Black Tiger, White hane, Black hane, White connects, Black attaches… even if White has the Peep tesuji, I also have a sacrifice sequence!”

In his mind, stones fell one after another, playing out life and death, motion and stillness.

“But if he calculates that too, when I attach, White won’t peep. He’ll Hane from the outside instead. And the board will head in a totally different direction!”

“In those branches, Black won’t gain much either—at most, it’s a draw. Maybe dual life, maybe a conversion.”

“If it’s just even—it’s not enough!”

“No room for complacency. No space for carelessness.”

“I have to come down hard and kill White—cut off any possibility of survival!”

Su Yiming finally reached into the Go Bowl. The stones clattered like ancient bells ringing through time.

“In that case… this is it.”

A sudden glint flashed in Su Yiming’s eyes.

The cold stone rested between his fingers.

The next moment—

Tap!

Column 17, Row 9 — Small Knight’s Move!

Black’s move was placed.

But it wasn’t a Tiger’s Mouth, nor a Hane—it was a Small Knight’s Move!

Everyone froze at this unexpected move.

“A Small...?!”

Some stared at the board in utter disbelief, even gasping out loud!

Even Zheng Qin, who had remained calm until now, was visibly shaken by Black’s choice.

After this Small Knight’s Move, Black had so many cutting points—it didn’t even look like a playable shape. It looked completely broken—on the verge of collapse!

But…

Once they took a closer look at the follow-up sequences, everyone’s eyes began to widen. A horrified realization crept over their faces.

“Brilliant… absolutely brilliant!”

The crowd gawked at the board, stunned.

“At first glance, it looks ridiculous—completely insane. But when you think deeper: if White cuts, Black connects, then if White attaches, Black might even bend and kill White!”

Among the crowd, Zheng Qin had cold sweat sliding down his forehead. “But if White doesn’t go that way…”

“Then this already-complex board—”

“—has now reached a level of complexity never seen before!”

Zheng Qin trembled internally. A terrifying thought popped into his mind:

“This… this might be more complex than any joseki ever created! Even the Great Avalanche, Demon Blade, or Large Diagonal!”

At that moment, even Zhuang Weisheng couldn’t help but tear his gaze from the board and look up at Su Yiming!

That move… it was like divine inspiration!

Yu Shao stared at the board. Though he had seen this Small Knight’s Move countless times in his past life, this was the first time he saw it in this life. His eyes sharpened.

The usual 3-3 variation with a follow-up Small Knight’s Move was already extremely complex. But this particular Small Knight’s Move pushed the local joseki to its absolute limit.

Just like the Fifth-Line Shoulder Hit he’d once played in his previous life—this move wasn’t supposed to exist before AI was born.

Yet here it was.

It had crossed time itself.

Clack!

Yu Shao once again drew a stone from the bowl. A sharp light flickered in his eyes as he dropped his move.

Tap!

Column 13, Row 3 — Cut!

Su Yiming’s gaze also sharpened. He pressed his lips together and calmly dropped his stone.

Tap!

Column 14, Row 6 — Connect!

Almost the moment the black stone landed, Yu Shao struck again.

Tap!

Column 18, Row 8 — Diagonal!

“He’s playing that fast?!”

Seeing Yu Shao respond so quickly in such a wildly complex position, everyone was shocked!

After all, this position was unprecedented. Anyone else would be hesitant, calculating over and over—but Yu Shao was moving faster than anyone expected!

Su Yiming’s expression twitched slightly. After a brief pause, he placed his next stone.

Tap!

Column 6, Row 18 — Extend!

As Black’s move landed, White responded immediately!

Tap!

Column 16, Row 9 — Bump!

This breathless pace—blow for blow—left the spectators feeling smothered.

Seeing Yu Shao continue with such speed, Su Yiming’s forehead was now covered in cold sweat.

“He bumped forward?”

Su Yiming clenched his fists unconsciously. The position was just too complex. Even though all of this stemmed from his own moves, even he had never experienced a local fight this convoluted!

Boom!

A thunderclap split the sky, illuminating the Go Room for an instant, followed by a deafening roar.

And amid the thunder—

Su Yiming placed his next move.

Column 16, Row 8 — Push!