I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 91: The Invisible, Distant Future

Column 4, Row 12, push!

“He chose to push down!”

“White has gone on the offensive!”

Everyone held their breath, realizing that the opening stage between white and black had officially come to an end. The game had entered the midgame phase—it was heating up!

During the opening, black’s moves were nothing short of breathtaking. Whether it was the Star-Point Attachment, a move they had never seen before, or the squeeze on the right flank that turned a crude move into brilliance, black had taken a shocking lead in the opening!

But white wasn’t about to back down. This push was proof of white’s resolve.

This was the most ferocious move possible at this stage, aiming to attack black’s thin position and lead the board into chaos—white was determined to tangle with black to the bitter end!

But... could white really turn the tide, saving a collapsing fortress?

Yu Shao stared at the board and quickly placed his stone.

Column 5, Row 11, block!

Su Yiming’s expression grew solemn. He immediately followed, reaching into the Go bowl and picking out a white stone.

“I have to strike now, before black consolidates its influence!”

“With the board tilted so much in black’s favor, if black solidifies shape, white’s territory will suffer. But if black insists on forming shape, then I’ll make black pay a price it can’t afford!”

“Otherwise, white won’t survive the terminal defeat!”

The stone landed.

Tap!

Column 12, Row 15, peep!

“He didn’t go for a cut, nor a hane, but chose to peep directly?”

Seeing this white stone, Yu Shao’s eyes flickered slightly.

Cut and hane are both strong attacking moves, fierce and direct. But if you think it through, white doesn’t have enough strength—both options could easily lose momentum.

A direct clash between white and black could leave both sides worse off, locking them in a standoff.

Black wouldn’t mind, having already gained a major advantage during the opening. The further the game progressed, the better it would be for black. But for white—it was a different story.

White... couldn’t wait!

This peep landed deep in black’s territory. It wasn’t a pure attacking move, but it targeted black’s thin position, exerting pressure and building up for a future assault!

Once you understand that, this peep starts to look even more vicious!

It was an attack from the future—cutting through time and revealing its sharp edge!

After thinking for two seconds, Yu Shao picked up a stone and swiftly played.

Tap!

Column 12, Row 9, jump!

“Faced with white’s peep, black chose to jump away?”

The crowd stared at the board, racking their brains, and finally grasped the meaning behind the move. A collective shiver ran through them.

This move wouldn’t take effect right away. It was a targeted response to white’s peep.

If white continued with follow-up attacks like extending or a flying press, black’s jump would shine with brilliance!

The clash between black and white appeared to be happening now, but in truth, it was unfolding in a distant future—

A future they couldn’t yet see.

Stones continued to fall one after another. The sound of their landing made the spectators’ blood boil with excitement!

Su Yiming played again.

Tap!

Column 17, Row 13, extend!

Clack!

The stones clashed inside the Go bowl. A second later, Yu Shao picked up a black stone and dropped it on the board.

Tap!

Column 18, Row 13, atari!

“Atari!”

Su Yiming stared intensely at the board. In his mind, black and white stones fell again and again, simulating countless variations of what might come next.

“He wants to force white to extend. If white doesn’t, black will kill those three stones. But if white does extend, black might take the opportunity to build influence!”

Su Yiming pressed his lips together, calmly analyzing the game.

He could feel the cold killing intent threading through the board, as intricate as a spider’s web.

This net of schemes and thorn-like pressure also carried a kind of blood-pumping tension.

“He’s not leaving me a single opening... his calculative depth runs so deep. I tried to find weak points to strike, but his responses were airtight. These moves might work against others, but not him!”

“So…”

Su Yiming took a deep breath and finally picked up another stone. As he gazed at the board, it was as if countless stars sparkled in his eyes.

In that moment, he was transported back a hundred years. No matter how the world changed, some things remained eternal.

The next moment—

White’s stone fell like a meteor from the heavens, streaking across the boundless black night!

Tap!

Column 14, Row 8, shoulder hit!

“A shoulder hit!”

Seeing this move, Zheng Qin’s pupils shrank. His face filled with shock as he exclaimed, “That whole group of white stones... white is giving them up! He’s going for a large-scale enclosure, aiming to control the center!”

“White has sacrificed stones again!”

“That’s a brutal tactic. White didn’t want black to form a simple local shape, so he gave up those stones. That white group could’ve lived, but... white let it go!”

“Even if black gains a slight advantage after white extends, white could’ve accepted that. But white refused to take even the smallest loss—choosing instead to hardline and sacrifice!”

Everyone was stunned by the move, staring wide-eyed at the board.

Until now, the clashes between black and white—though set in the near future—still played out within a localized context.

But with this sacrifice, white was playing not for a short-term future...

White was fighting for the distant future of the entire board!

That future was so far off that almost no one could see it clearly—no one could say if this sacrifice was good or bad.

This move wasn’t even overtly aggressive, yet it carried an inexplicable ferocity.

The earlier skirmishes in local areas were intense, but just like hand-to-hand combat—even if someone fell behind, it wouldn’t be fatal.

But with this sacrifice—

White was gambling with his life!

“This kind of play…”

He Yu stared in disbelief at the board, frozen in place. His chest rose and fell, and a thin bead of cold sweat rolled down his face.

White’s bold and fierce large-scale formation play reminded him of one person.

Someone who had passed away over a hundred years ago, yet whose name still stirred the hearts of Go players even today.

Shen Yi!

“He really sacrificed…”

Yu Shao had seen the possibility of a white sacrifice, but when it actually happened, even he was momentarily stunned.

“In that case… a flying press?”

Yu Shao reached into the Go bowl again and picked up a black stone. Just as he was about to play it, he hesitated.

Even though white had sacrificed, leading to chaotic variations, Yu Shao still believed he could neutralize white’s aggression, winning without a fight.

Especially after gaining such a huge advantage in the opening, his strategy of securing territory and controlling the board until the endgame was unbeatable.

Even the fiercest attack-oriented players could only watch themselves be slowly strangled!

However…

Yu Shao also saw other options for black besides the flying press—moves just as fierce and bloodthirsty as white’s sacrifice.

If white dared to go all in, then black would strike back with even greater ferocity—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!

Yu Shao stayed silent for a moment.

Finally, he raised his hand once more.

The next moment, the stone hit the board.

Tap!

Column 13, Row 17, hane!