I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 328: Does the Large Diagonal Still Exist?

Yu Shao quietly stared at the upper-right corner of the board.

Black played the Small Point, White responded with a Small Knight’s Move, and then a Large Knight’s Diagonal Press.

For hundreds of years, countless players had sat before Go boards with a meditative focus, guarding this local formation. Around this area, countless complex and dazzling battles had unfolded—game after game of thunderous brilliance had been born!

The fearsome and infamous Large Diagonal joseki had finally appeared in this match!

“So he still played the Heavenly Diagonal…”

Yu Shao looked down at this familiar yet unfamiliar joseki, his eyes unreadable.

The three great unsolvable josekis in Go—the Great Avalanche, the Demon Blade, and the Large Diagonal—had all once stood tall in his past life, feared and admired by players everywhere.

But since the rise of AI in Go, the Great Avalanche had fallen. The Demon Blade was dead. Of the three great josekis, only the Large Diagonal still clung to life.

Yes, the Large Diagonal... was technically still alive.

Although it hadn’t completely vanished and retained some vitality, the emergence of AI had drastically simplified it. Its former glory was gone, and players rarely used it in professional matches anymore.

To put it simply, the Large Diagonal earned its name as one of the "three great unsolvables" because of its vast complexity—the so-called “thousand variations.” It was fierce, willing to sacrifice to kill!

But now, many of those aggressive variations had been refuted. Many of its once-violent lines had disappeared, replaced by far more streamlined modern moves. Naturally, the Large Diagonal had lost its "thousand changes."

So, in a sense... the Large Diagonal no longer existed.

“Next move, I could Attach directly. That would make the board more intense, but…”

Yu Shao stared at the board and finally made up his mind. He reached into the Go bowl.

Clack!

The crisp sound of stones colliding rang in everyone’s ears once again.

In the next moment, Yu Shao plucked a stone from the bowl and quickly placed it.

Tap!

Fifteenth Column, Fourth Row — Diagonal (Hane)!

“He didn’t choose to Attach—he went for the Diagonal!”

Everyone was slightly surprised by this move.

“He chose the relatively simpler variation with the Diagonal?”

The Diagonal and the Attach were both standard responses to the Large Diagonal, but the Attach was far more complex and aggressive. The Diagonal, by comparison, had more straightforward follow-ups.

Still, this was one of the three great unsolvable josekis. Even a Diagonal wouldn't allow one to completely sidestep the complexity of the Large Diagonal—avoiding it wasn’t so easy!

Soon, the sound of stone striking board echoed again.

Lai Yu, without hesitation, picked a stone and placed it on the board!

Fifteenth Column, Fifth Row — Hane!

“Hane.”

Yan Ming looked at the freshly placed white stone without the slightest surprise.

Facing Black’s Diagonal, this Hane was White’s only standard move. Any other option would cause White to fall behind quickly—possibly even collapse!

“Next move—Black could Tiger's Mouth. Then White must Press, Black Crawls, White continues to Press, Black continues to Crawl…”

“In that case, White plays four Presses on the fourth line, Black three Crawls on the third. Then Black can Tenuki and play elsewhere. The Large Diagonal joseki would be concluded.”

Yu Shao looked at the board in front of him, having already calculated over ten moves ahead.

Yes—this seemingly complex and dangerous pattern could, if he played Tiger’s Mouth next, lead to an exchange of territory and influence. A few simple moves later, at least in his view, the Large Diagonal would be resolved.

“If White refuses to yield and keeps tangling in the upper right, even if White gains locally, they'll be at a disadvantage overall.”

“Of course, this approach relies on the opponent having strong board vision, being willing to let go of local gains in favor of the whole board.”

“That’s one of the reasons the Large Diagonal has faded into obscurity.”

Yu Shao calculated the pros and cons.

This path was valid. If the opponent lacked global perspective, he could simplify and gain an advantage. Even if they had strong board vision, Black could still hold even.

Besides, he felt it was unlikely anyone here had such board awareness. This “win without fighting” approach matched his past life's style.

“But… there’s another way to play.”

Yu Shao lifted his head and glanced at Lai Yu, then at the surrounding crowd.

“If I simply Tiger’s Mouth here, I’m sure a lot of them would be a little disappointed, right?”

He looked back down at the board, his eyes subtly shifting.

“In that case…”

Clack!

The stone pinched between his fingers.

“Let’s do this!”

He placed the stone.

Tap!

Fourteenth Column, Fifth Row — Cut!

A black stone fell between White’s connecting points, instantly splitting the White group in two. The position turned sharp and explosive!

“Cut…”

Everyone froze for a second, then gasped, staring in disbelief at the freshly placed black stone!

“Cut here?!”

It stunned everyone. The move seemed outrageous.

But—

No one said a word. They all stared at the board, their hearts pounding in their chests.

Silence.

A deeper silence than before.

“Next move—White retreats, Black Atari, White Extends, Black Blocks. Then White’s Diagonal becomes terrifying!”

Sweat beaded on one person’s forehead, heart pounding in fear, excitement, and disbelief. “White’s Diagonal threatens to kill the corner Black stones!”

He didn’t understand this move at all, but he couldn’t stop a thought from surfacing—

“Is this the death cry… of the Large Diagonal?”

Not just him—everyone began thinking the same.

The move was absurd. Shocking. Almost laughable.

But after the Avalanche and the Demon Blade had fallen, no one was laughing.

This looked like suicide—but somehow, everyone felt the Large Diagonal might truly be dying.

Even without fully understanding it yet.

Among the crowd, Jiang Changdong's face turned deadly serious as he began calculating.

“White retreats, Black Atari, White Extends, Black Blocks—all forced.”

“Then White plays a sharp Diagonal!”

“If Black Blocks, White plays Tiger’s Mouth. Black has no way to Hane and kill. If Black tries to Hane anyway, White Cuts, attacking Black’s weak point!”

“If Black connects, White eats the vital stones. If Black extends, White double Atari—no way for Black to cover both. Black collapses!”

Jiang Changdong watched the board, stones falling in his mind, quickly analyzing another path.

“If Black doesn’t Block and instead Atari’s directly—it’s no good.”

“White connects. If Black Blocks from inside, White Crawls—similar outcome.”

“If Black Blocks from outside, White Crawls toward the corner. Black Extends, White Crawls again. In the capturing race, White wins!”

His brows furrowed deeper.

“If Black Stands, White Crawls directly into the corner. If Black Hane’s… still doesn’t work. Even with overwhelming strength, Black can’t win that fight.”

Jiang Changdong slowly raised his head and narrowed his eyes at Yu Shao.

“No matter how I look at it… this isn’t a slack move. It’s not even a crude move. It’s a blunder.”

Nearby, Chu Jingfeng seemed to read his mind.

He murmured, “But then… why did he play it?”

Jiang Changdong stayed silent, eyes fixed on the board—waiting for Lai Yu’s next move, or perhaps… for Yu Shao’s answer.

Lai Yu stared at the board and glanced at Yu Shao, then back again, falling into a long contemplation.

Time passed. The longer he thought, the tighter his brows knit, until they were twisted into a knot. He still couldn’t understand Yu Shao’s intent.

Clack!

Finally, Lai Yu reached into the bowl, took out a stone, and slowly placed it.

Tap!

Fifteenth Column, Sixth Row — Retreat!

People had expected Yu Shao’s next move to be equally shocking, responding to his insane Cut—but instead, his move surprised everyone.

As soon as White played, Yu Shao immediately responded!

Tap!

Thirteenth Column, Fourth Row — Atari!

Lai Yu followed quickly:

White, Fourteenth Column, Third Row — Extend!

Black, Thirteenth Column, Third Row — Block!

So far, everything followed local best responses, exactly as expected.

But then White had the strongest local killing move!

Clack!

With the sound of colliding stones, Lai Yu dropped his move almost without hesitation:

Tap!

Fifteenth Column, Second Row — Diagonal!

Everyone held their breath.

The killing intent in the match was no longer hidden—it erupted fully.

This was it.

White’s full-on assault to kill the upper-right black stones. A deathmatch.

At that moment, Yu Shao picked up a stone.

Amid everyone’s gaze, he placed it.

Tap!

Fourteenth Column, Second Row — Atari!

It felt like a hammer slammed into the back of everyone’s heads—pure shock.

That move…

Atari?!

Even Jiang Changdong was stunned, staring at that black stone.

“Atari… on the second line?!”

He had considered many options for Black in response to the Diagonal—blocking, Atari on the third, Standing…

But not this.

No one would.

Even though this variation wasn’t complicated.

Because this second-line Atari… didn’t look like a move at all.

At a glance, it was clearly refutable—White just connects and can reverse Atari Black.

That stone was vital—a keystone.

Black would be forced to connect, and after that, White could Bend or Atari—Black collapses instantly!

This move didn’t answer the earlier Cut—it made things even more confusing!

Lai Yu stared at that Atari, dumbfounded.

Then—

Tap!

Fifteenth Column, Third Row — Connect!

This move did both: escape and attack.

White not only connected, but also threatened Black’s vital stone—forcing a response.

But when Yu Shao placed his next stone, the entire crowd was floored.

He didn’t connect.

He played—

Sixteenth Column, Second Row — Atari!

Black abandoned the vital stone.

Gulp!

Someone in the crowd swallowed hard.

Everyone stared in disbelief, eyes going blurry.

You can’t abandon a vital stone.

This one stone split White in two. Once captured, the White groups would connect and form a massive, invincible structure.

But Yu Shao… abandoned it!

“Is there something deeper?!”

“Is there some hidden variation?!”

“There’s none! White can only capture it. If White Stands, Black connects. White Atari’s, Black Blocks outside—White dies!”

“But if White captures, what does Black do then?!”

A tidal wave of shock surged through every heart.

Yu Shao slowly raised his head, calm-eyed, and looked at Lai Yu.

This… was another variation born from the Cut within the Large Diagonal joseki.

In this variation, Black gives up the keystone and allows White to connect.

It used to be believed—if White captures it, they’d be overwhelmingly strong, nearly unshakable, with huge development potential.

Black, on the other hand, could only enclose on the first or second lines—inefficient, no match for White.

But Go AI redefined everything—

In this local situation, Black doesn't lose out at all. In fact, White falls behind.

White may be thick—but thickness is hard to use.

Trying to break it is nearly impossible.

So, the best way to deal with thickness isn’t to search for a weak spot and attack—

It’s to make it even thicker.

Yes, even thicker!

The thicker it gets, the less room it has to grow. The shape becomes repetitive, the stones inefficient.

This…

This is what we call a gap between eras.