I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 316: This Is My Go!

"Small knight’s move?"

Seeing the black stone's placement on the board, Yu Shao paused slightly.

At that moment, inside the Chinese team’s discussion room, everyone who had seen that main player selection match couldn’t help but think back to the game between Su Yiming and Yu Shao.

In that match, facing Yu Shao’s 3-3 invasion, Su Yiming had responded first with this same small knight’s move.

From that move, the two had created an unprecedentedly complex large-scale joseki — a deadly battle far surpassing the “Great Avalanche,” the “Demon Blade,” and the “Large Diagonal.”

It had resulted in a suffocating, earth-shattering game!

That match hadn’t yet circulated widely; even among Chinese players, few knew of it.

As for Higashiyama Kaoru, it was impossible he would know.

Yet even so, Higashiyama Kaoru had played this small knight’s move!

If White chose to attach next, it would lead to a life-and-death fight!

Yu Shao lowered his gaze to the board.

After a moment of thought, he picked up a stone and placed it.

Da!

Five Columns, Three Rows — Push!

"He pushed!"

Inside the discussion room, seeing the move on the television screen, Zheng Qin’s heart jumped.

"Yu Shao didn’t choose to attach. Instead, he chose the simplest push, reverting to the classic 3-3 extension sequence!"

"Why?"

Wu Zhixuan’s eyes showed a hint of confusion.

"Push is fine too, but attaching would lead to a fierce fight... Didn’t Yu Shao handle it well last time? Why not attach again?"

"Maybe it’s precisely because he knows this variation so well, that he doesn’t want to choose the attachment,"

Xu Zi suddenly spoke.

Everyone instinctively turned to look at Xu Zi.

Because he understood the variation too well, he avoided it?

Xu Zi stared tightly at the television, as if she could see through the screen into Yu Shao’s thoughts. She muttered,

"He wants to see... what kind of game Higashiyama Kaoru can create."

Everyone froze for a moment.

"Is that a joke?"

One male player twitched at the corner of his mouth, feeling Xu Zi’s idea was absurd.

"Wanting to see what kind of game Higashiyama Kaoru can produce?"

Xu Zi remained standing silently, still gazing at the screen.

She wasn't Yu Shao, and she couldn’t know his exact thoughts —

but somehow, she felt sure: this was what he was thinking.

---

Meanwhile, in the competition venue.

"You pushed instead of attaching..."

Higashiyama Kaoru glanced briefly at Yu Shao, his eyes sharpening slightly.

Without hesitation, he reached into his bowl and placed another move.

Da!

Five Columns, Four Rows — Press!

Yu Shao quickly responded with his own move.

Da!

Six Columns, Two Rows — Hane!

Since White had pushed against Black’s small knight’s move, the subsequent variation became extremely straightforward —

they had reverted to the classic extension sequence after a 3-3 invasion!

"But it doesn't matter. This move can be avoided, but not this—"

Higashiyama Kaoru quickly grabbed another stone and placed it.

Da!

Four Columns, Ten Rows — High Extension!

Yu Shao followed closely behind, also placing a stone.

Da!

Fourteen Columns, Seventeen Rows — Small knight’s move to secure the corner!

Staring at the board, countless games Higashiyama Kaoru had pored over day and night flashed before his eyes —

those legendary matches that still haunted his dreams.

And then, he recalled again Yu Shao’s words at the opening ceremony.

Higashiyama Kaoru’s gaze suddenly turned razor sharp.

Clack!

The sound of stones colliding rang out!

The next moment, he seized a black stone and smashed it onto the board with fierce determination!

"This move... no matter what... absolutely cannot be avoided!"

Pak!

Across the crisscrossing board, a black stone fell like a blazing star!

The sound of the stone landing shook the air!

Thirteen Columns, Sixteen Rows — Shoulder Hit!

There it was — this black stone, shining as if lit with brilliance, stunning everyone!

"Sh... Shoulder hit?!"

The referee and recorder stared in shock, their minds buzzing.

Not just them — everyone watching via TV or computer froze when they saw Higashiyama Kaoru’s move.

In the tournament's live broadcast chatroom, which had been bustling moments ago, the moment Higashiyama Kaoru dropped that stone — silence fell.

Then, a second later — the chatroom exploded!

There were many ways Black could attack here,

but using a shoulder hit was among the least considered —

it appeared greedy, floating, reckless, and extremely risky!

Yet Higashiyama Kaoru played it boldly and without hesitation!

"Yu Shao!"

Higashiyama Kaoru raised his head, his long hair partly covering his face,

and in his narrow, shining eyes, a fierce light burned!

"This... is my Go! Higashiyama Kaoru’s Go!"

Facing the board, Yu Shao’s expression remained calm —

but his demeanor grew noticeably more serious.

Indeed, a shoulder hit was an overaggressive tactic.

However...

In his judgment, in this current board position —

although it went against intuition, the shoulder hit...

was the best possible move!

This was a move that didn’t belong to this era!

Yu Shao looked at Higashiyama Kaoru.

Kaoru’s expression was cold, his gaze firm — as if silently saying:

"Come at me!"

After a moment, Yu Shao lowered his eyes again, gazed at the board,

picked up a stone — and placed it!

Eight Columns, Fifteen Rows — Small knight’s move!

"Small knight’s move, attacking the lower left corner!"

Higashiyama Kaoru swept his gaze across the board and immediately sensed the sharpness of this move.

This small knight’s move not only aimed to attack the lower left corner,

but also placed pressure on the black stone from the earlier shoulder hit —

laying the groundwork for a fierce future assault!

"If I get entangled with White here directly, it might be unwise..."

"The board is too open — reinforcements can't arrive in time to sustain a full-scale war."

Higashiyama Kaoru quickly calculated the variations in his mind,

then shifted his gaze toward the white stone at the upper right star point.

Without hesitation, he reached into his bowl, grabbed a stone, and placed it!

"Better to leave the lower side for now — play calmly in the upper area and observe how things unfold!"

"Wait for a new change before making a decisive move!"

The black stone fell!

Seventeen Columns, Six Rows — Small knight’s approach!

As the black stone landed, Yu Shao immediately surveyed the board,

then swiftly dipped his hand into the bowl —

with a clack of colliding stones — and placed his white stone.

The moment the stone landed,

everyone watching this match — whether in person or online — froze!

And then, everyone's expression changed,

staring at the board in shock!

---

"He..."

Inside the Korea Team’s discussion room, Lee Junhyuk stared wide-eyed at the TV screen,

his throat feeling blocked.

It was only after a long while that he finally squeezed out a few words:

"He... he's letting Black form a 'Double Swallow'!"

Beside him, Park Zhiguo, Kim Chaoen, and the others were equally stunned, their eyes glued to the screen!

Honinbo Shinwa narrowed his eyes,

while opposite him, An Hongshi gazed thoughtfully at the board.

Indeed — White was allowing Black to form a Double Swallow!

The so-called "Double Swallow" meant that both wings of a star-point stone were approached by the opponent’s small knight’s moves,

giving the shape the appearance of a swallow spreading its wings.

Why, normally, is it critical to respond immediately when a star-point stone gets approached?

Because if you ignore it, and the opponent forms a Double Swallow,

the star-point stone will face intense pressure and could be surrounded from both sides!

"Black is launching a fierce attack on the upper right white stone,"

Lee Junhyuk said emotionally,

"If White doesn’t respond — and lets Black form a Double Swallow — White will be trapped immediately!"

"But..."

"But even knowing this — White still chose to ignore it, continuing to play aggressively on the lower side!"

Everyone's heart surged with waves of astonishment as they stared at the television!

---

On the screen!

On the board!

Seven Columns, Fifteen Rows — Small knight’s move!

---

Silence.

The entire competition venue fell utterly silent.

The female recorder’s hand hovered above her mouse, frozen.

The two referees stared blankly at the board, forgetting even to blink.

Earlier, Higashiyama Kaoru’s shoulder hit had already been considered a reckless, even unreasonable move —

forcing an attack on White.

But now, facing Black's small knight’s approach,

Yu Shao simply ignored it —

allowing Black to form a Double Swallow —

and boldly continued fighting on the lower side!

It was even more reckless, more astonishing than the earlier shoulder hit!

The style of play had already diverged completely from the world's conventional understanding of Go!

It was almost incomprehensible!

Higashiyama Kaoru stared at the board.

After a moment of daze, he snapped back to attention —

then sharply lifted his head, looking at Yu Shao with disbelief!

At that moment —

time itself seemed to freeze.

Yu Shao also slowly looked up,

his gaze calm, but now tinged faintly with cold sharpness.

"If you want to come at me —"

"Then come!"

---

Time passed, second by second.

After a deep thought of three or four minutes,

Higashiyama Kaoru finally clenched his fist lightly,

reached into his bowl, and quickly placed a move!

Da!

Seven Columns, Sixteen Rows — Push!

Yu Shao immediately followed up.

Eight Columns, Sixteen Rows — Block!

Clack!

The sound of stones clashing echoed again —

Higashiyama Kaoru, his face full of tenacity and fierce determination, slammed down another move!

Eight Columns, Fifteen Rows — Cut!

---

"Black refuses to back down either —

instead of focusing on the Double Swallow —

he directly cuts on the lower side!"

Inside the Chinese team's discussion room, everyone stared tightly at the screen,

all realizing what Higashiyama Kaoru was doing:

"He’s forcefully initiating a complex fight, aiming for a life-and-death battle with White!"

It was shocking —

Higashiyama Kaoru was willing to scatter the entire board,

triggering a full-on brawl even at the opening stages!

"If Yu Shao extends next,

Higashiyama Kaoru will extend too —

both sides forming a cross-fight,

which would allow Black's earlier shoulder-hit stone to serve as reinforcement!"

Zheng Qin said while placing stones on a practice board,

"But thinking another way,

White also surrounds the black group,

laying hidden threats for fierce counterattacks —

this will become a brutal mutual kill!"

Just then, on the television screen, White placed another move.

Seeing it, Zheng Qin’s voice abruptly stopped!

Da!

Four Columns, Sixteen Rows — Attach!

---

"He... attached onto the star point?!"

Zheng Qin froze instantly —

he had assumed extending was the only move —

but Yu Shao didn’t extend — he attached!

This move was completely unexpected — utterly bizarre!

The next moment, Fang Haoxin suddenly realized something —

and his heart jumped.

Not just him —

more and more people realized the hidden genius of that attach move,

their hearts trembling!

At first glance, the attach seemed nonsensical.

But thinking deeper —

if Black tried to settle peacefully and extended,

then White would stretch out naturally, taking control!

If Black refused peace and stretched upward,

then White had strong squeezing tactics available!

If Black hane'd, White could hane back, and the local fights in the corner would heavily favor White.

Ultimately, though Black might grab the corner territory,

White would trap three black stones and massively strengthen his outside position —

seizing the advantage!

The terrifying part was —

this move was simply beyond normal thinking!

No one would normally consider this option!

"It’s completely unimaginable how to respond..."

"This move is just..."

Wu Shuheng stammered for a long time before finally finding four words:

"Divine calculation!"

---

At that moment, on the TV screen, Black placed a move:

Four Columns, Fifteen Rows — Hane!

---

"Hane here?"

Everyone was stunned.

Black hane'ing upward seemed no better —

if Black tried to forcibly cut White,

White could live easily and counterattack,

while if Black hesitated,

White’s strength would grow overwhelming!

On the television screen, the stones alternated in a rapid exchange:

White: Nine Columns, Fifteen Rows — Atari!

Black: Eight Columns, Fourteen Rows — Extend!

White: Five Columns, Fourteen Rows — Hane!

And then——

Before everyone’s eyes, Black placed another move!

Six Columns, Fifteen Rows — Atari!

---

Seeing this move, Zheng Qin’s pupils contracted sharply —

he finally understood —

and his expression changed dramatically!

"If Black hane’d upward,"

"then Yu Shao would atari from the right."

"Higashiyama Kaoru would extend, and Yu Shao would hane out —"

"At first glance, it seemed Higashiyama Kaoru had no move left —

he couldn't cleanly cut or escape!"

Zheng Qin stared at the television screen tightly,

focusing on the black stone that had just landed, and said,

"But——"

"But there was a hidden tesuji —

a brilliant atari to break through!