I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 30: Sweating Buckets Already

After a long period of thought, Yu Shao finally made his decision. He reached into the Go bowl, picked out a stone, and gently placed it on the board.

Following that, Yu Shao settled in patiently to wait.

Meanwhile, Wu Shuheng arrived at Xu Zijin’s table.

When he looked down at the board, he froze for a moment.

“A diagonal move?”

Wu Shuheng’s expression grew slightly more serious. After pondering for a moment, he finally placed his move.

Once Wu Shuheng played, Xu Zijin followed immediately, placing her own stone without hesitation.

Click.

Click.

…

The two continued to play, completing another dozen or so moves.

Unlike the game between Yu Shao and Wu Shuheng, this match wasn’t being played at a rapid pace. Both Xu Zijin and Wu Shuheng took their time to think before each move.

Even so, this didn’t make things any easier for Wu Shuheng.

He couldn’t help but notice how precise his elegant junior’s moves were. In particular, the diagonal move she had played earlier after a lengthy consideration had completely caught him off guard.

It was an exceptionally subtle play, one that would only reveal its full effectiveness as the game progressed. Most players wouldn’t even think to make such a move.

Still, Wu Shuheng would much rather play against Xu Zijin than Yu Shao. At least here, he had time to think, rather than relying on instinct to keep up with Yu Shao’s blistering pace.

Finally, after a few more moves, Xu Zijin paused, frowning slightly as she began to deliberate.

"Her skill isn’t low. I need to take this match more seriously," Wu Shuheng thought to himself as he glanced at Xu Zijin. Then he moved on to the next table.

At the other tables, things felt much easier. Even with the two-stone handicap, Wu Shuheng breezed through most of the matches, cutting through his opponents like a hot knife through butter. Although two students were playing decently, Wu Shuheng quickly found their weaknesses and launched attacks to exploit them.

Before long, he found himself back at Yu Shao’s table.

When Wu Shuheng glanced down at the board, his eye twitched, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

“He… dove in?!”

The cameraman following Wu Shuheng quickly zoomed in on the board, and the game was projected onto the large screen at the front of the classroom.

Sitting in the front row, Wu Zhixuan instantly recognized Black’s intent as she stared at the move, her beautiful eyes widening.

“A dive? Is he starting a ko?”

A ko is one of the most unique and complex situations in Go. It occurs when Black captures a White stone, and White can then immediately recapture the Black stone in the next move, creating an endless loop.

To prevent such an infinite cycle, Go rules require that after one side captures a stone in a ko, the other side must play elsewhere before recapturing. This "elsewhere" move is called a ko threat.

Here’s where things get tricky:

The value of a ko threat must be carefully weighed. If your opponent decides that the ko is more important than responding to your ko threat, they can simply "neutralize" the ko by playing elsewhere and taking the upper hand.

From the start of the ko to its eventual resolution, the process is called a ko fight!

A ko fight is often intense and complicated, demanding exceptional judgment of local situations, global positioning, and strategic priorities.

Any misstep could lead to catastrophic consequences, plunging a player into irrecoverable defeat.

“Black chose to start a ko at this point in the game?”

Wu Zhixuan stared intently at the board, her delicate brows furrowing as she carefully considered the situation.

Meanwhile, in another part of the classroom, Zhou De’s entire body stiffened as he stared at the board in shock.

Although Zhou De’s understanding of Go was limited, he had studied enough in recent days to recognize the significance of a ko. Even he could tell that Yu Shao had started a ko fight.

“He went straight into a ko fight? Seriously?!”

Zhou De was dumbfounded.

In any game of Go, there are often many opportunities to initiate a ko fight. However, not every ko should be started immediately; some are better avoided altogether!

Whether to start a ko depends on a complex evaluation of factors: the overall board situation, the number of ko threats available, and the importance of this specific ko to both sides.

If a ko is started recklessly, without careful consideration, it can quickly lead to a disadvantage or even a complete collapse of the game.

To Zhou De, it seemed obvious that Black’s available ko threats were insufficient. Meanwhile, this local ko fight was critical—if White resolved the ko, Black’s position might crumble entirely!

Onstage, Wu Shuheng stared intently at the board. After a long deliberation, he finally reached into the Go bowl, picked out a stone, and placed it.

Click!

Row 10, Column 17—Capture!

With that move, Wu Shuheng removed a Black stone surrounded by White stones and placed it in the lid of the Go bowl.

Yu Shao, unfazed, calmly picked out another stone and placed it gently on the board.

Click!

Row 14, Column 10—Push!

Yu Shao placed his stone calmly, his expression unreadable.

Wu Shuheng, on the other hand, wore a grave expression as he stared at the board for a long time before finally making his next move.

Row 14, Column 9—Cut!

He had chosen not to neutralize the ko, but instead to respond to Black’s push directly. This decision meant that he had judged the importance and value of the local battle to outweigh the significance of neutralizing the ko.

The two players resumed placing stones, each move more critical than the last.

In the audience, those who understood the current board situation unconsciously held their breath, their eyes glued to the large screen displaying the match.

Even those who couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening instinctively lowered their voices, drawn in by the tense atmosphere.

This time, Yu Shao’s moves were clearly slower than before. The situation on the board had become far more complex, requiring him to think more deeply before making each move.

But compared to Yu Shao, Wu Shuheng took even longer to make his moves. The ko that Yu Shao had initiated had completely caught him off guard, forcing him into a reactive position.

After another dozen moves, Yu Shao finally paused. For the first time in a while, he appeared to be genuinely thinking through his next steps.

Seeing this, Wu Shuheng exhaled a quiet sigh of relief and moved on to the next table. Yet even as he walked away, his mind continued to replay the variations of the game he had just left behind, analyzing Yu Shao’s potential strategies.

Before long, Wu Shuheng arrived at Xu Zijin’s table once again.

Xu Zijin had already made her move.

When Wu Shuheng looked at where she had placed her stone, his eyelid began twitching uncontrollably.

Row 14, Column 8—Shoulder Hit!

Black had sacrificed a stone!

It was as if a hungry wolf had spotted an opening and sunk its teeth into White’s position, refusing to let go despite any potential counterattack.

In fact, Wu Shuheng had previously considered the possibility of Black playing a shoulder hit to sacrifice a stone. However, he hadn’t expected Xu Zijin to see this move. Even if she had seen it, he doubted she would have the courage to play it.

Sacrificing a stone would escalate the game into a fierce battle, opening Black up to potential counterattacks. As a professional player, Wu Shuheng was confident in his ability to turn the tables in such a scenario.

But Xu Zijin had seen the move.

And she had played it.

This was exactly the kind of scenario Wu Shuheng had wanted to avoid. Even as a professional player, confident in his skill, he was reminded that this was a handicap game—and Black’s advantage was significant.

Regret started creeping into Wu Shuheng’s heart.

Why did I agree to play a handicap game?!

First, Yu Shao initiated a ko fight. Now Xu Zijin was using a sacrificial attack to launch an aggressive assault.

Both of them are pulling out these advanced tactics, and here I am trying to manage this chaos?!