I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 327: The Final Large Diagonal

The Ten-Dan Title Match ended with Zhu Huai’an crowned as the new Ten-Dan titleholder, stirring a massive uproar across the internet.

The Great Avalanche and Demon Blade were both refuted, the Great Storm, a brand-new, ultra-complex joseki, swept through the Go world, and Zhuang Weisheng lost his Ten-Dan title…

Everything that had unfolded recently left everyone with the overwhelming feeling that a storm was looming—an unprecedented upheaval was arriving in the Go world, a shift not seen in a thousand years!

That feeling left people both stunned and excited, tinged with a strange, indescribable sense of fear.

Initially, all discussions online had been centered around the Great Avalanche, the Demon Blade, the Great Storm, and the Ten-Dan Match—but as time went on, the internet seemed to be swallowed by a suffocating tension.

Gradually, more and more eyes turned toward the upcoming National Master Tournament preliminaries.

Normally, prelim matches didn’t garner much attention. Only the main tournament matches drew public interest—after all, prelims didn’t even have assigned recorders.

But this one… was different.

Especially now—at this sensitive time, and with this particular player involved…

Yu Shao took a cab to the Go Academy. After paying, he closed his umbrella, stepped into the main hall, passed through the corridor, and headed toward the room hosting the National Master prelim.

Before he even reached the game room, he could already hear a noisy buzz inside.

But the moment Yu Shao appeared at the entrance, the room fell completely silent.

It was packed. Many people clearly had no matches today, yet had still shown up. And as soon as Yu Shao arrived, all eyes turned to him.

He scanned the room and quickly locked eyes on Table Four.

Seated on one side was a short, stocky, thick-browed middle-aged man. Though heavyset, he radiated calm authority and a piercing intensity.

Yu Shao recognized him instantly.

Lai Yu, 9-dan—his opponent today.

If Yu Shao won this match, he’d break into the main bracket of the title tournament. If he lost, he’d have to keep playing through the prelims.

Lai Yu looked at Yu Shao as he entered. His expression was calm, his gaze unreadably steady.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Yu Shao walked up to Table Four, pulled out his chair, and sat down across from Lai Yu.

The game room grew even quieter—only the steady drizzle outside could be heard, tapping softly like white noise.

No one said a word. One by one, they all gathered around Table Four, surrounding it completely. They waited silently for the match to begin.

“Almost time…”

As the clock ticked down to the start, everyone felt their heartbeat speeding up, their chests tightening with a strange sense of pressure and anticipation.

This game was the threshold to the hall of Go. Crossing this gate meant stepping into the title tournament main bracket—a place reserved for undisputed top-tier players, regardless of their current rank.

Moments later, two referees finally arrived.

They entered the room and immediately glanced toward Table Four, surrounded tightly by the crowd. Their faces showed no surprise—they had clearly expected this.

Minute by minute, the moment approached.

Then, from the doorway, two more figures entered, drawing everyone’s attention.

Jiang Changdong, National Master.

And Chu Jingfeng, 9-dan!

They looked toward Table Four and then quietly walked in, blending into the crowd without a word—waiting for the match to start.

Seeing this, everyone could only take deep breaths, suppressing the tremor in their hearts.

A little while later, a referee raised his wrist to check the time, cleared his throat, and looked toward Table Four.

“The match begins now,” he announced solemnly.

Clack!

Lai Yu reached into the Go bowl, and the sound of white stones clinking echoed. Yu Shao retrieved his black stones and placed them on the board.

Lai Yu: Seven stones—odd.

Yu Shao: One stone—odd.

Yu Shao would play Black, Lai Yu would play White.

Both players quickly prepared their stones, then bowed their heads politely.

The match… began.

The moment the game started, everyone instinctively held their breath. That unshakable sense of premonition grew stronger.

"This match… will it reveal the Large Diagonal?"

"Could it really turn out that the Large Diagonal is invalid too?"

"If all three of the great, unsolvable josekis turn out to be refuted…?"

Such thoughts floated in everyone’s minds—thoughts so outrageous that they startled even themselves. But they couldn’t help it. Their thoughts kept spiraling in that direction.

Everyone was conflicted. They didn’t even know what outcome they wanted.

On one hand, they hoped the Large Diagonal still held. If even it was disproven, everything they’d studied for years in Go… would feel like a joke.

On the other hand, they wanted to see it proven false—so they could witness the ultimate truth of Go, even if that truth completely invalidated all they'd once believed.

Their thoughts tangled and twisted.

Some speculated this game might not feature the Large Diagonal at all.

Some figured, even if the Large Diagonal really was flawed, Yu Shao might not be able to disprove it—just because he had cracked the Avalanche and Demon Blade didn’t mean he could crack this one.

“And more importantly—Lai Yu hardly plays the Large Diagonal. For him, this is his final shot. If he loses this game, he’s out of the title tournament entirely.”

Someone looked toward Lai Yu.

“The last time he made the main bracket was five years ago. This is his first chance in five years, and he fought hard to get it!”

Clack!

Suddenly, the sound of stones being drawn broke everyone’s thoughts. All eyes turned to Yu Shao.

Under their watchful gazes, Yu Shao finally picked a stone and made the first move.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 3 – Small Point!

Lai Yu calmly looked toward the upper right corner, eyeing that Small Point Black stone. After a pause, he reached into the bowl and placed his move.

Tap!

Column 4, Row 16 – Star!

Yu Shao followed up quickly.

Tap!

Column 4, Row 4 – Star!

Lai Yu didn’t hesitate.

Column 16, Row 16 – Star!

Now the opening shape was set: Black had Star–Small Point, White had Double Star Point. The board was already a battlefield waiting to erupt.

Yu Shao scanned the board and played again.

Tap!

Column 3, Row 14 – Small Knight’s Approach to the Corner!

A Black stone landed diagonally above the White stone on the Star Point, poised to launch an aggressive Double Flying Swallow attack at any moment.

Across from him, Lai Yu didn’t immediately respond.

Technically, this move didn’t require deep thought. A simple response would suffice.

The strongest reply would be to pincer from above, threatening a counterattack. But with Black bearing the burden of the 7.5-point komi, White had every reason to respond patiently, defending calmly.

Yet Lai Yu… was thinking.

Finally, after a long pause, he reached in and made his move.

Tap!

Column 17, Row 5 – Small Knight’s Approach to the Corner!

Everyone held their breath.

White had ignored the approach and boldly launched a counterattack on the top right corner—the most aggressive, uncompromising move possible.

Given the komi pressure on Black, White rarely chooses such an all-out confrontation unless absolutely necessary.

But Lai Yu did.

"Jumping directly to approach the top corner?"

Yu Shao stared at the board, thinking.

"In this position, the ideal move is the diagonal."

"In today’s Go world, that diagonal is considered outdated and slow—a relic from the no-komi era."

"Because of the komi, that move was replaced with the pincer."

He looked at the bold White approach and his expression grew complicated.

"But in truth, no matter how Go evolves—even if that diagonal was born in ancient times—it still holds eternal value."

"In a no-komi world, the diagonal was undoubtedly the best move."

"If the komi were 5.5, Black’s advantage would still make the diagonal acceptable—maybe not the top choice, but close."

"But with a 7.5-point komi, the diagonal is no longer slow—it becomes the solid, whole-board choice. This is the mystery of Go."

“So... do I play the diagonal?”

Yu Shao looked across the board at Lai Yu—and noticed Lai Yu’s gaze fixed on the lower-left corner.

In that instant, Yu Shao understood what Lai Yu was waiting for.

"He's waiting for the Double Flying Swallow..."

Yu Shao shifted his eyes to the lower left.

It wasn’t a bad move—not at all. Just slightly inferior to the diagonal.

If the diagonal was a 100-point move, the Swallow was 95.

"If I go for the Swallow, then afterward… will he leap high and play the Large Diagonal?"

Yu Shao reached into the bowl. His fingers touched the cold, polished stone.

If he chose the diagonal, there’d be no Large Diagonal this game. To enable it, Black had to tenuki.

Yu Shao picked up the stone.

“Then—”

He dropped it.

"Let’s do it."

Tap!

Column 6, Row 17 – Small Knight’s Approach to the Corner!

Lai Yu’s eyes flickered. He picked up a stone and played fast.

Tap!

Column 6, Row 16 – Attach!

Yu Shao followed swiftly.

Column 7, Row 16 – Hane!

White: Column 6, Row 17 – Extend!

Black: Column 5, Row 18 – Diagonal!

The crisp sounds of stone against board echoed as the two players moved with blinding speed. Spectators leaned in.

Before long, the Double Flying Swallow joseki had been played out on the lower left.

Yu Shao picked up another stone.

Tap!

Column 8, Row 17 – Tiger’s Mouth!

Lai Yu responded instantly.

The sequence on the lower left had reached its conclusion. White had seized the initiative.

And then—

Tap!

Column 14, Row 4 – Large Knight’s Diagonal Press!

Silence.

The room fell deathly still.

Everyone stared, hearts pounding, eyes locked on that single White stone.

With that move, one of the Three Great Unsolvable Josekis—the Large Diagonal—had appeared!

This was the same move that once made opponents cough blood on the board, that gave birth to the most tragic words in Go history.

Across centuries, it had returned—on this very board.

Black and White would fight to the death here.

“With this move, there’s no turning back. A peaceful outcome is off the table—this will be a battle to the bitter end!”

Someone clenched their teeth, fists tight. “Neither side can escape unscathed. The complicated variations could flip the entire board… if things go how they normally do!”

“Will this end in bloodshed… or in a way none of us can predict?”

Another person broke into a sweat. He couldn’t stop thinking about whether the Large Diagonal would survive this game. Three major josekis invalidated in three days? The thought was suffocating!

Everyone was torn between excitement and terror.

“Lai Yu, 9-dan... after five years, this was his chance to return to the title tournament. And still, he chose the Large Diagonal!”

Throughout history, no one had ever unraveled the full depths of the Three Great Josekis.

But now—two had already fallen. The sound of their collapse shook the heavens.

Only one remained: the Large Diagonal.

Feared and famous, it had buried countless players. It was the crowning jewel of human Go theory.

Only the Avalanche and the Demon Blade had ever come close. And now they were gone.

Would the Large Diagonal survive?

Would the answer… emerge from this game?

Nearby, Jiang Changdong narrowed his eyes, watching the board.

Waiting for Yu Shao’s response.