I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 41: White Stones with a 70% Win Rate

At this moment, it was Black’s turn again.

Wang Rui stared intently at the board, picked up a stone, and swiftly placed it.

Click!

Row 4, Column 15—one-space high approach!

“A one-space high approach?”

Seeing this move, Chen Jiaming was slightly surprised. “He didn’t choose the usual small knight’s approach or large knight’s approach but instead went for a high approach? Could it be that Wang Rui intends to…”

Yu Shao also paused briefly upon seeing the jump, but quickly picked up a stone and made his move.

Row 3, Column 15—attach!

Wang Rui reached into the Go bowl again and placed a black stone.

Row 4, Column 16—Star Point!

The two alternated moves rapidly, following the standard opening moves until they completed the first three moves of the sequence. Once again, it was Black’s turn.

At this juncture, Black had many choices. He could jump, play a small knight in the bottom-right or top-right corner, or even approach diagonally in the top-right—any of these were common strategies.

However, faced with the current board state, Wang Rui didn’t hesitate for a second.

Staring at the board, he reached into the bowl, gripped a stone, clenched his teeth, and almost impatiently slapped it down.

Click!

The sound echoed as the stone landed: Row 4, Column 14—press!

The black stone shone brilliantly on the board, like a star lighting up the scene.

“This is…”

Yu Shao blinked in surprise at Wang Rui’s move. “Is he going for the Great Avalanche?”

Even Chen Jiaming, who had been observing the game closely, instinctively adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses upon seeing the move.

“As expected… it’s the Great Avalanche! Wang Rui’s choice of the one-space high approach was aimed at setting up the Great Avalanche sequence, steering the game into its most complex and perilous path!”

“Black is trying to use the chaos of the Great Avalanche—a sequence known for its ferocious and intricate fighting—to carve out a slim chance of victory through attack!”

The Great Avalanche, when executed on the board, triggers a chain reaction. Starting from a single stone, it expands rapidly, with stones cascading like an avalanche to occupy large swathes of the board.

This explosive expansion, coupled with its overwhelming coverage, is why it’s named the Great Avalanche. Its complexity and ferocity are unparalleled among opening strategies.

Precisely because of its difficulty to control, even professional Go players rarely employ this sequence.

However, when successfully executed, the Great Avalanche has devastating and dramatic power—akin to a real avalanche.

“Great Avalanche…”

Yu Shao gazed at the board, his eyes tinged with a complicated emotion.

It had been ages since he last encountered someone playing the Great Avalanche sequence.

In his previous life, this strategy had once been all the rage. With its complexity and intense combat, it fascinated players and was hailed as one of the “Three Most Challenging Sequences.”

But with the advent of the AI era, this sequence had been analyzed as flawed and subsequently rendered obsolete. It had all but disappeared from professional tournaments.

So, seeing Wang Rui adopt the Great Avalanche evoked a mix of nostalgia and melancholy in Yu Shao—a faint yearning for the past.

After a moment of silent reflection, Yu Shao finally reached out, picked up a white stone, and placed it lightly on the board.

Click.

Row 4, Column 13—hane!

Wang Rui took a deep breath, picked up a stone, and placed it.

Row 3, Column 17—extend!

The two exchanged four more moves in quick succession, following established patterns. These were unavoidable moves in the Great Avalanche sequence, as deviating at this point would result in losses for either side.

Finally, it was White’s turn again.

Yu Shao lowered his gaze to the board, gripped a stone, and placed it.

Click.

Row 5, Column 18—outside turn!

This move instantly widened the eyes of both Wang Rui and Chen Jiaming.

“He went for the outside turn?”

Chen Jiaming adjusted his glasses instinctively. “The outside turn is an extremely old variation. After the inside turn was developed, the outside turn has been nearly abandoned and practically invalidated!”

“Does this mean the kid hasn’t studied the Great Avalanche in-depth?”

Wang Rui’s initial shock was quickly replaced by excitement, his eyes lighting up as if he could already see the dawn of victory.

His thoughts mirrored Chen Jiaming’s precisely.

“He’s not familiar with the Great Avalanche sequence!”

“The inside turn offers far more complex variations. Because he doesn’t know the Great Avalanche well, he chose the oldest outside turn!”

“If his Go strength surpasses mine, as long as I can gain an early advantage, I’ll have a fighting chance in the midgame!”

“I can win this game!”

With renewed determination, Wang Rui immediately picked up a stone and placed it.

Row 3, Column 13—cut!

“As expected, he cut…”

Yu Shao wasn’t surprised at all. After White’s outside turn, Black’s cut was inevitable. Even if it were him playing as Black, this would still be the move—there was no alternative.

Yu Shao reached into the bowl, and the clinking of stones could be heard as he selected one. With a light motion, he placed it.

Click.

Row 2, Column 13—atari!

Wang Rui had already impatiently picked up a stone, ready to place it.

But as soon as he saw Yu Shao’s move, his hand froze mid-air.

“Atari…? Atari!?”

Wang Rui stared at the board. This move from White was entirely beyond his expectations, leaving him dumbfounded.

After White’s outside turn, the subsequent variations were well-documented in Go records, having been verified by countless experts. Straying from these sequences typically resulted in blunders.

In this situation, White’s expected move was an extension—the most logical and widely accepted choice.

However, White instead chose atari, completely breaking from convention. Not only did it deviate from established play, but it was also placed in a seemingly nonsensical spot, so baffling that Wang Rui struggled to understand its purpose.

“Could it be… that he has no understanding of the Great Avalanche sequence at all?”

This thought suddenly popped into Wang Rui’s mind.

Part of him found it hard to believe. How could someone capable of playing such strong games in simultaneous matches be entirely ignorant of the Great Avalanche sequence?

But after seeing this atari, the possibility seemed very real.

Chen Jiaming, watching the match, furrowed his brows as well.

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Rui finally placed his next stone.

Row 3, Column 12—extend.

Yu Shao remained calm, placing another stone without hesitation.

Click.

Row 4, Column 14—hane!

Wang Rui’s pupils contracted as confusion filled his eyes.

“Hane?”

This was another move he hadn’t anticipated at all. White’s last two moves were entirely outside his expectations, bordering on the inexplicable.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Wang Rui tried to regain his composure. After a moment’s thought, he placed his next move.

Row 5, Column 16—connect.

The two began exchanging moves continuously, reaching into the bowl, picking up stones, and placing them in turn.

The chess room was silent except for the alternating clicks of Black and White stones landing on the board.

Click.Click.

Chen Jiaming quietly observed the match.

Before long, another ten or so moves were played, and Chen Jiaming’s expression began to shift. He found himself unable to fully grasp the board’s current state.

“How can this be?”

“Wang Rui is clearly playing very well, without a single discernible mistake. When White played that series of hane moves earlier, Black even cleverly prioritized an atari on the upper side, knowing that opportunity might not arise later. These subtle details were handled beautifully.”

“After White’s two unconventional moves, they should have quickly fallen into a disadvantage. So why… is the game so deadlocked?”

“A deadlock… at two points?”

At this moment, Black played another move.

Row 4, Column 10—block.

Yu Shao raised an eyebrow slightly—not because the move was especially brilliant, but because every move from Black in the opening had been solid. Even he couldn’t find major faults.

“This opening variation… I’ve analyzed it with AI before. But once Black plays this block, I didn’t analyze further…”

“Because, at this stage, most humans would see the game as evenly matched, with Black trailing White by just two points. Both sides appear to have equal chances, making it a winnable battle for either.”

“But according to the computer’s evaluation—”

“White’s win rate is 70%.”

That 20% gap represents a difference called the era.