I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 337: The Misfortune and Fortune of All Go Players

Yes. With that move placed, White’s next move to neutralize the ko was inevitable. Once that happened, Black’s entire group on the upper side would be wiped out—completely surrounded and slaughtered!

Black allowed White to resolve the ko—this was basically suicide!

But this kind of suicide was terrifying to the extreme. It sent chills down the spine.

If the Black dragon could live, of course it should fight to live. But White had truly forced Black into a corner. It was almost impossible to save the massive dragon in the upper-left.

And yet, at this critical life-or-death moment, Black unexpectedly pulled off a terrifying tesuji—sacrificing the large dragon in exchange for seizing the initiative in the center!

Li You clenched his teeth. After a long pause, he once again picked up a stone and placed it swiftly, unwilling to let go.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 2—Atari!

Seeing this, Yu Shao also quickly responded.

White—Column 17, Row 1—Capture!

Black—Column 10, Row 7—High Knight’s Jump!

White—Column 6, Row 2—Stand!

...

Stones fell in rapid succession. Both players were playing at lightning speed!

Tap, tap, tap!

Li You’s expression showed not so much unwillingness as disbelief—or rather, he refused to believe it.

Precisely because of that fierce refusal to accept the reality—even as he saw the position grow worse—he continued placing every stone with fierce determination and defiance!

The stones surged across the board. Although the upper black stones were dead, Black had seized the initiative in the center and began carving out territory there!

“There’s still hope!”

Li You stared intensely at the board, eyes locked on the lower-left corner. He reached into the bowl and picked up a stone.

“The black stones down there are still thin, still isolated!”

“If I can kill that group, I can still turn this around!”

The stone hit the board!

Tap!

Column 9, Row 12—Super High Knight’s Move!

Everyone silently watched the board. They saw Li You’s super large jump and understood his intent.

The black stones in the lower-left corner were indeed isolated, but White couldn’t even play the strongest cut.

Because if White tried to cut, Black wouldn’t simply respond with a capture—instead, Black might just extend. That would be a brilliant move. White would be forced to connect, and then Black could extend again.

In that case, the corner black group would live, and even connect with the surrounding black stones and the center. White would be completely helpless!

Thus, White had no choice but to make a super large jump—trying to use influence to suppress the corner black group.

But... would that really work?

In other words, while the black group in the lower-left did have a weakness, trying to capitalize on it and crush Black was almost impossible.

“Li You, 8-dan... shouldn’t be unaware of this logic.”

Black played another move.

Column 11, Row 15—Small Knight’s Move!

Li You’s eyelid twitched, and he immediately responded.

Column 11, Row 12—Jump!

Yu Shao paused briefly, then placed another stone.

Column 12, Row 11—Diagonal!

Clack!

The stones clashed. Li You gritted his teeth and stared hard at the board, then quickly picked up and placed another move!

Column 10, Row 3—Point!

“Point!”

Everyone’s expressions changed slightly upon seeing this move. They were visibly shaken. Even Yu Shao’s face tightened as he stared at the board.

“That’s... White’s all-in, do-or-die move!”

“To destroy Black’s potential territory, White has gone all-in, betting everything.”

“Could Li You, 8-dan, really pull off another earth-shattering reversal like before?!”

Tap, tap, tap!

Everyone watching the battle between black and white felt stunned.

Every stone—drenched in blood.

Every move—soaked in tears.

Watching the clash unfold, it was as if they could all feel the suffocating despair on the board—and they were deeply moved by it.

In such a dire position, White still unleashed staggering strength—launching dazzling attacks against Black’s weaknesses!

Indeed, logically, while Black had weaknesses, they were minor and hard to exploit. But Li You’s moves were so sharp and precise that they made one’s hair stand on end—he was turning the impossible into possible!

Even more shocking—Black’s responses to White’s storm-like assault were flawless.

Every one of White’s killer moves—Black handled with precision. Every attack—Black neutralized!

“If he just jumps away next, and Black simply slides over, it’s useless. He has to start another ko!”

Li You’s eyes were razor sharp. Sweat slid down his cheek, but he didn’t seem to notice. He stared at the board and moved like lightning.

Tap!

Column 15, Row 1—Hane!

Once again, the board entered a twisted, dangerous shape. Either side could land a fatal blow!

The third ko fight of this game had begun!

On the other side, Yu Shao’s eyes flickered as he saw the move, then calmly placed a black stone.

Tap!

Column 14, Row 1—Atari!

“He forced the atari!”

Li You’s eyes sharpened. He took a deep breath and swiftly placed his white stone.

Column 14, Row 2—Cut and Capture!

Seeing White choose this, Yu Shao didn’t hesitate.

Column 16, Row 1—Capture!

Li You was visibly startled, his body involuntarily leaning forward again.

Time ticked by.

One minute...

Two minutes...

Three minutes...

After three full minutes, Li You seemed to suddenly realize something. His expression changed dramatically—his face twisted in fierce intensity.

“I got it all wrong!”

Li You immediately played again, fast as ever!

“That previous ko—I surprised him and drove him into a corner. But this one... it won’t work!”

Tap!

“He saw it instantly!”

Column 12, Row 10—Cut!

It looked like another vital ko threat. But Yu Shao simply picked up a stone and calmly played:

Column 15, Row 1—Connect!

The third ko fight—just as it began—was instantly resolved!

Everyone was stunned, but as they thought it through, they gradually grasped the brilliance of it—and were horrified.

Looking at this board, they were reminded of that famous game between Yu Shao and Su Yiming in the Hero’s Pride Cup!

Indeed, this white move was a massive ko threat. If Black resolved the ko, White would Peony Capture in the center!

Thirty points in the center!

No one ever wants to see their opponent bloom a flower in the center—it’s just too big. It changes the whole game. Every player avoids it if they can.

And yet—

Yu Shao allowed it! With unstoppable momentum, he let White capture the center—as if he’d already foreseen the endgame.

Looking closer, the situation in the center was eerily similar to Yu Shao’s game with Su Yiming in the Hero’s Pride Cup.

The stones on the grid continued to script a black-and-white work of art.

At this point, some had already seen through to the endgame. The whole board—complex beyond belief.

Time passed slowly.

Finally—

“White... has no chance of winning.”

Li You stared at the board, falling into silence.

A moment later, he slowly lifted his head and looked across at Yu Shao.

“This is it.”

Jiangling — a certain apartment complex.

On the TV screen, Li You’s right hand slowly let go. Two white stones dropped onto the board.

Li You resigned.

Seeing this, Su Yiming finally looked away from the screen.

“It’s over...”

There was a trace of emotion in Su Yiming’s eyes. “He won the first match of the National Master Tournament main event.”

Using three ko fights to ignite the entire board—this game had finally reached its end.

Ko fights exhausted, the game concludes. Curtain falls.

“What a brilliant game...”

Su Yiming seemed to still see every move from beginning to end. The match left him in awe.

In this game, both players seemed like miracle workers, weaving miracle after miracle across the board—revealing the profound mysteries of Go.

The Go board is small, yet the variations it holds are so vast that even the universe can’t contain them.

And so, the sound of stones landing, the breathtaking battles, the clash of black and white, the meditative rhythm of Go—

Even after hundreds of years, it still left him utterly enchanted.

“Thank heaven.”

“I was already dead—yet I’ve come a century forward in time. To witness a match like this... to once again feel the warmth of the stones...”

“With players like this alive—I have no regrets about coming here.”

“I will keep playing. Always.”

“Until I find the answer to Go.”

“You feel the same, don’t you?”

“Yu Shao.”

Southern Go Association — Press Room.

“It’s over...”

Ding Huan still stared blankly at the computer screen. He had looked forward to Yu Shao’s debut in the main tournament, expecting it to be brilliant—but he never imagined this.

A legendary game.

Undeniably so.

Anyone who saw this game would be deeply shaken.

After a long pause, Ding Huan suddenly grabbed the pen on the desk and began furiously scribbling.

He didn’t want to use his computer. Even shutting off the livestream and opening his writing software felt like wasted time.

At this moment, he couldn’t bear to lose even a second. He wanted to pour out his entire emotional response to this match—right away!

“This game—from the start—Yu Shao once again revealed his unique understanding of Go!”

“Though Li You, 8-dan, was equally dazzling, Yu Shao, with his terrifying clarity and breathtaking tesuji, gained the upper hand!”

“At first, it seemed the game would end there.”

“But unexpectedly, in this shaky position, Li You, 8-dan, rooted himself with the Elephant Root tesuji and found the strongest possible move—leading to the most brutal clash with Yu Shao!”

“Yes!”

“Watching this game, only one word echoes in my mind: brutality!”

“That Elephant Root move was already an incredible move. I thought Li You, 8-dan, intended to break into Yu Shao’s territory!”

“But I never imagined... he had designs on the entire Black dragon!!”

“White forced the Black dragon into a dead end—but Black, in a stunning act of suicide, turned death into life and carved out a masterpiece of territory—killing White instead!”

“Yes, in the end, White lost.”

“But White still captured the Black dragon—crippling it in its final struggle!”

“Though White was ultimately executed piece by piece—being able to inflict that kind of wound on Black, ending in mutual destruction—”

“It was worth it.”

“And Black?”

“Facing White’s divine-level tesuji, trapped from all sides, Black too was at death’s door—but chose a violent, terrifying suicide to break through the siege!”

“Though he had the lead, it wasn’t an easy, stable win—but without being pushed to the brink, this game would never have been born!”

“Because White forced a ko fight that backed Black into a corner, we got one of the most stunning suicide masterpieces in history!”

“For Black—”

“It was worth it too!”

“On the board, all that remained—was brutal struggle.”

“I don’t know what the players thought in that final moment.”

“But I’d guess—joy.”

“In a match like this—win or lose—both players must feel immense pride. Grateful to the opponent who pushed them to the limit.”

“One match—waves of highs and lows. It moved me.”

“This is Yu Shao—2-dan... no, now 3-dan.”

“This was Yu Shao’s first game after making it to the National Master Tournament main event—standing among the top.”

“All I want to say is—”

“To see a game by Yu Shao, 3-dan, in my lifetime... that’s my fortune!”

“But for a Go player... perhaps that’s also a misfortune.”

“Or maybe... also a blessing?”

Elsewhere — Korea Go Association.

A young reporter’s face was flushed red, fingers flying over the keyboard like a blur!

“From the opening Large Diagonal to the later variations, Yu Shao, 3-dan, once again revealed his world-shaking new understanding—completely suppressing Li You, 8-dan!”

“But at the brink of death, Li You devised a grand strategy that stunned me. Every move White made under desperation... moved me!”

“I thought that was already the climax!”

“But in Black’s life-or-death moment, Black forced White to resolve the ko, sacrificing the giant dragon to play one of the most shocking suicide moves ever!”

“In the end, White fought back with three ko threats, and Black allowed White to Peony Capture the center—it blew my mind!”

“My heart still hasn’t calmed down.”

“Players have nationalities—but Go has none!”

“Even if our languages align, even if our skin and environment are the same—it doesn’t matter.”

“Because we all fall in love with the same board. We all fight for Go.”

“Even though Yu Shao, 3-dan, is a Chinese player—seeing a match like this—I’m utterly in awe.”

“Black and white have clashed for four thousand years. I don’t know how many years remain. If it ever ends.”

“But if games like this continue—I believe we all feel the same:”

“Let it continue. Always.”

“Four thousand years. Five thousand. Ten thousand!”