I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 76: I Descend the Mountain, Yet No One Has Arrived

Meanwhile...

Based on the turn-order draw, Zhong Yufei plays White, while Xu Zijin takes Black.

However, Xu Zijin simply gazed quietly at the Go board in front of her, not making her first move right away.

“Does the first move… really require this much thought?”

Everyone exchanged puzzled glances, unable to understand why Xu Zijin was taking such a long time to consider her first move. While it’s true that players are free to manage their allotted time however they see fit, starting with a prolonged contemplation on the first move was downright baffling.

Even with the inclusion of overtime in the finals, an hour of main time really wasn’t that much.

Seconds ticked away.

Finally, after a full five minutes, Xu Zijin fixed her gaze on the board. Slowly, she picked a piece from the Go bowl and placed it on the board.

Tap!

“She finally moved… A Small Point?”

Su Yiming looked at the board and, seeing the position of the black stone, reached into his bowl and immediately placed a piece to respond.

Row 4, Column 3—Small Point!

Xu Zijin placed her second stone.

Row 16, Column 17—Diagonal Small Point!

“Another Diagonal Small Point?”

The audience was stunned.

No one had expected that Xu Zijin would opt for the Diagonal Small Point, the most complex opening structure, in the finals.

Yet, despite their surprise, the spectators couldn’t shake an odd feeling. It seemed that Xu Zijin’s reason for choosing this structure might be entirely different from why South China Third High’s main player had chosen it earlier.

Still, they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different.

Only Zheng Qin stared at the board, faintly guessing the reason.

“The South China Third High player chose the Diagonal Small Point out of defiance, wanting to prove their skill in a complex and entangled battle.”

“But she… She chose the Diagonal Small Point…”

“…to lead the board into the most complicated situation and seek victory amid chaos!”

At that moment, seeing Xu Zijin place another Small Point, Su Yiming instinctively placed his next stone without hesitation.

Tap!

Row 15, Column 3—Small Knight’s Approach!

“A Small Knight’s Approach?”

“Directly approaching the corner?!”

Zheng Qin stood frozen, stunned by the move, while the spectators widened their eyes in disbelief.

“So aggressive? Going for a corner approach on just the third move?!”

“While an approach isn’t impossible, securing a corner would have been a steadier choice. This rush into a corner approach makes the board overly intense—it’s almost unheard of these days!”

“With this, White builds influence, but Black already controls three corners in just three moves, gaining tangible territory. If White fails to capitalize on this, they’re done for!”

“Exactly. This is White burning the boats—totally unnecessary!”

Xu Zijin froze for a moment upon seeing this move.

Though the game had just begun, the sharpness of the board was already apparent.

Her dark eyes reflected the top-left corner, where White’s stone stood.

Memories of the second match between Yu Shao and Zheng Qin at the Mountain-Sea Chess Hall flashed through her mind.

In that game, Yu Shao had also foregone securing a corner and instead opted for an aggressive third-move corner approach, initiating a violent attack to slay a dragon!

While such an approach was feasible, it was overly forceful. A single mistake would lead to total defeat. It exerted enormous pressure on the opponent but left no retreat for oneself.

In the distant past, during the no-komi era, White would play this way because Black held the advantage of the first move, forcing White to play aggressively to fight for victory.

But in today’s era of large-komi games for Black, very few players would voluntarily adopt such a relentless style.

Thinking of Yu Shao, Xu Zijin’s expression shifted slightly.

She stared intently at the board, reached into her bowl, and placed another stone.

Tap!

Row 3, Column 16—Small Point!

Since White had chosen to forgo a corner and instead aggressively approached one, Black was naturally entitled to the compensatory corner.

As Xu Zijin placed the Small Point, Su Yiming immediately responded.

Row 17, Column 15—Small Knight’s Approach!

White was doubling down on their strategy, moving to the lower-right corner to enclose Black, guiding the game toward the most intense and complex board positions to build up strength for a decisive final battle.

Xu Zijin followed closely, placing a Black stone on the densely intertwined 19x19 grid.

Tap!

Row 12, Column 4—Clamp!

Su Yiming didn’t rush to make his next move like before.

“Not a peep…”

“A clamp, huh?”

He lowered his gaze, staring at the board. Seeing Black’s clamp move, an odd thought surfaced in his mind.

“Over a century ago, every player in this situation would have instinctively chosen a peep…”

In Su Yiming’s mind, he couldn’t help but recall the brilliant games from over a century ago—matches that still remained unforgettable even to this day.

“But now, over a hundred years later, such moves, though solid and compact, have become obsolete. They are simply too slow to withstand the 7.5-point komi system of today’s Go, and so, they’ve been abandoned by the era.”

“What replaced them are sharper, more aggressive clamp moves…”

For a moment, a sense of melancholy swept over Su Yiming, as though he were witnessing the end of an era—a time that had once belonged to him. At the same time, however, he felt a glimmer of joy.

Joy in the progress of Go over the past century. Joy in witnessing the arrival of this bold, new era!

After calming his emotions slightly, Su Yiming looked at the board once again.

“The era that was once mine has passed…”

Su Yiming’s hand slowly reached into the Go bowl. With the gentleness of plucking a flower, he lifted a white stone.

And in the next moment—

The white stone descended onto the board, streaking through the silent night like a meteor!

“But even as I descend from the mountain, I still see no worthy challengers!”

Tap!

The sound of the stone striking the board echoed like the birth of a radiant star within an endless galaxy.

Row 3, Column 6—Large Knight’s Enclosure!

Across from Yu Shao, his opponent bit his lip hard.

After a long time, the boy covered his face with his hands, bowed his head in defeat, and muttered weakly, “I… I’ve lost…”

This game had ended too quickly—faster than anyone had anticipated.

Due to his nerves during the finals, he had made a major blunder during the opening, and Black immediately seized the thin point with a Shoulder Hit, launching the sharpest attack to capitalize on the mistake.

That single misstep cost him nearly four points’ worth of territory in the opening, leaving White completely unable to catch up. He found himself swept along by Black’s momentum, helpless as Black rapidly widened the gap.

Though he tried to mount a counterattack, Black never gave him the slightest opportunity. In just a few moves, the gap had grown so large it was impossible to close.

Under the current circumstances, playing any further was utterly pointless. He could only concede defeat.

“Thank you for the game.”

Yu Shao nodded gently in acknowledgment and said, “Thank you for the game.”

The boy sitting across from Yu Shao looked at the board with regret and self-reproach written all over his face. “Thank you for the game.”

The surrounding spectators felt somewhat disappointed to see this match end so abruptly.

After all, following Yu Shao’s thrilling game against South China Third High’s main player, they had high expectations for his performance in the finals. Instead, his opponent had made a colossal mistake during the opening.

“I thought Guangzhou Affiliated High reaching the finals would surprise me, but I guess it was just luck after all.”

“Exactly. That blocking move from White was atrocious—practically unwatchable. Even I could’ve won easily in his position. I thought he was going for something clever, like sacrificing stones to build influence.”

“Ha! Sacrificing the dragon, more like!”

Amid the chatter of the crowd, Yu Shao stood up and glanced toward the third board where Xu Zijin was playing. After a moment of thought, he walked over in her direction.