After a brief moment of discussion, the crowd quieted down again. One by one, they all fixed their eyes on the board, completely immersed in the fierce battle unfolding before them.
As the black and white pieces continued to fall, more and more people began to show expressions of astonishment.
Not just Xu Zijin—now even the crowd began to notice that White had somehow started slipping into a disadvantage.
At first, when faced with Black’s aggressive attacks, White had been caught off guard but still managed to respond calmly, even counterattacking in some areas.
However, White then found itself locked in a standoff. Soon, the tables turned, and Black took the offensive while White fell back on the defensive. Now, White was struggling just to hold its ground!
The tides of attack and defense had shifted.
Black was like a python, coiling tighter and tighter around White’s neck, ready to sink its teeth in for a fatal bite!
If White had made any blunders, it might have been understandable. But the thing was, to everyone watching, White had played perfectly from start to finish, without a single visible mistake.
A few moves later, it was Black’s turn again.
Yu Shao gently placed his piece.
Column 7, Row 9—crawl.
As the piece landed, the entire room fell into dead silence, so quiet it was almost unsettling.
Everyone knew what this move meant.
Zheng Qin stared at the board in a daze.
With this move, the white stones in the upper-left corner were completely cut off and forced to die. There was no hope for recovery.
In this brutal skirmish, he had been utterly defeated by this calm-faced high schooler, leaving not even a scrap of territory in that corner.
"I haven’t lost yet. There’s still a chance!"
Taking a deep breath, Zheng Qin tried to steady himself. Even though he was now at a disadvantage, he believed he could still turn the game around and find a way to win.
His gaze locked onto a single point on the board.
"Black may have secured the upper-left corner, but because of that 3-3 Point opening, his control over the center is weak. Meanwhile, I still hold dominance over the center!"
Reaching into the Go bowl, Zheng Qin pulled out a piece and placed it decisively.
Column 13, Row 5—attach!
The crowd was momentarily confused by this move. At first glance, it seemed like a strange, questioning play—after all, the white stones in the upper-left corner were clearly dead.
But as they thought more deeply about it, someone’s eyes lit up with understanding. His face flushed red with excitement.
"So that’s it… That’s the idea!"
He stammered, almost unable to form a coherent sentence:
"Although… although White lost the fight in the upper-left corner, White still controls the center! Even though those stones in the upper-left are dead, this attach makes it difficult for Black to expand comfortably into the center!"
"In this way, White can use the time gained to build influence and develop the center!"
"White is turning their loss into an advantage!"
More and more spectators began to grasp the brilliance of this move, and the atmosphere became electric with excitement.
"Looking at it this way, losing the upper-left corner isn’t even necessarily a bad thing. It might actually be a deliberate sacrifice!"
"A genius move—truly a genius move. This is absolute brilliance!"
"No wonder it’s Zheng Qin. Even in adversity, he can pull off such dazzling, eye-catching moves!"
"I’m even starting to wonder—did Zheng Qin deliberately sacrifice those stones in the upper-left just to lay a trap for Black?"
At this point, someone noticed that Yu Shao hadn’t yet made his move.
"That kid’s been playing super fast until now, but he hasn’t moved yet. He must be stumped by this, right?"
"Haha, if it were me, I’d be scared stiff seeing such a brilliant move all of a sudden."
The sheer excitement of witnessing such a genius move made it difficult for the crowd to keep their voices down.
Xu Zijin also lifted her gaze, looking toward Yu Shao, curious to see how he would react.
But when she saw his expression, she couldn’t help but pause for a moment.
Yu Shao’s face remained calm, his sharp profile outlined clearly as he lowered his eyes to study the board. His hand rested lightly in the Go bowl, yet he hadn’t picked up a piece.
A few moments later, the sound of stones softly clinking together came from the Go bowl.
Finally, Yu Shao picked up a piece and gently placed it.
Column 15, Row 10—bump.
In an instant, all the excited chatter abruptly stopped.
"What does that mean?"
"No idea… I can’t understand it!"
Even Zheng Qin was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at the board for a long time before he finally came back to his senses.
Zheng Qin hesitated for a moment before finally placing his piece.
Black’s bump move seemed utterly nonsensical to him, completely incomprehensible. Deciding to stick to his earlier strategy, Zheng Qin continued developing his influence in the center, aiming to accumulate enough strength to eventually encircle and suppress Black.
Yu Shao remained calm, placing another stone.
Column 15, Row 12—jump.
The two resumed their back-and-forth play, the sound of stones landing echoing continuously through the quiet chess room.
In no time, they played another dozen moves. It was Yu Shao’s turn again. He reached into the Go bowl, pulled out a piece, and placed it with precision.
Column 12, Row 10—press.
This move left Zheng Qin stunned.
In the next moment, his pupils shrank to the size of pinholes, and he involuntarily stood up from his seat.
He leaned forward slightly, staring intently at the Black stone, as if unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Press… this is a press?"
The spectators exchanged puzzled looks, unable to understand why Zheng Qin was reacting so strongly.
"Isn’t it just a press?"
"What’s so special about this move?"
Confused, they furrowed their brows and lowered their heads to reevaluate the game.
As they studied the board more closely, the expressions on many faces began to change—confusion turned to astonishment, astonishment to shock, and shock to pure disbelief. They opened their mouths, but no words came out.
Some, however, still couldn’t grasp the significance of the press and asked, "Hey, what’s the deal with this move? I don’t get it."
The person being asked swallowed hard, his throat dry.
"If you only look at the current board position, of course… you won’t see anything."
His voice trembled as he explained, "But think ahead. Put yourself in White’s position and think a few moves into the future…"
The confused spectator, full of questions, forced himself to study the board again. Moments later, his expression also changed, disbelief written all over his face. "Wait… this is?"
"Yes. White… is completely under siege! It all started from that seemingly meaningless bump move… No, even earlier!"
The one explaining nodded, still struggling to believe what he was seeing. "That kid didn’t miss the purpose of White’s attach move—not at all. On the contrary, he calculated it all in advance!"
"That’s why, after White’s attach, he immediately chose to bump—because that was the critical point for moves ten or more turns down the line!"
"And by taking control of that point, White’s attach becomes a direct path to defeat!"
"In such a complicated position, with countless viable options, he calculated every single one of White’s responses, along with their outcomes, many moves ahead…"
"But this… is that even possible?"
A heavy silence fell over the crowd.
Zheng Qin opened his mouth, but no words came out. His throat was parched, and he could barely make a sound.
After a long pause, Zheng Qin finally managed to speak those words and conceded the game by placing his stones back in the Go bowl.
In theory, the game could have continued. But Zheng Qin, being skilled enough to foresee the endgame, knew exactly how it would play out. There was no point dragging out a match he couldn’t win.
As the game concluded, Yu Shao let out a small sigh of relief. He nodded politely at Zheng Qin, then began gathering the stones to put them away.
"No need, just leave them there," Zheng Qin said, stopping him. His voice was weak, as if the match had drained all his energy. Then he asked, "How long have you been playing Go?"
"For a while," Yu Shao replied casually.
"Have you really never participated in amateur tournaments or trained at a dojo?" Zheng Qin pressed.
"No," Yu Shao answered truthfully.
"Do you have a Go teacher? Who is it?"
Yu Shao shook his head, indicating he didn’t have a teacher.
Hearing this, Zheng Qin fell into a deep silence.
"Well, I’ll be going then. I’ve got a lot of homework to do today," Yu Shao said, grabbing his school bag and standing up, ready to leave.
"Can you come back tomorrow for another game?"
Just as Yu Shao was about to leave, Zheng Qin suddenly looked up and asked, "I’ll cover your entrance fee."
"Tomorrow…" Yu Shao hesitated for a moment before replying, "I’ll see if I have time."
To most adults, "I’ll see if I have time" is just a polite way of saying no.
But Zheng Qin, seemingly oblivious, replied seriously, "I’ll be waiting for you."
Yu Shao felt slightly exasperated. Forcing a smile, he turned and prepared to leave.
It was then that Yu Shao noticed Xu Zijin standing among the crowd. He froze briefly.
Xu Zijin had been staring at the board this entire time, but she finally looked up. Her clear, amber-like eyes met Yu Shao’s gaze for a moment.
Out of courtesy, Yu Shao nodded to Xu Zijin. Though curious, he had no intention of striking up a conversation. He adjusted his bag and left.
Only after Yu Shao was gone did the news of Zheng Qin’s loss begin to spread.
"What? Zheng Qin lost?"
"No way! Zheng Qin won the university Go championship. He’s strong enough to go pro!"
"How much did he lose by? Did he give a handicap?"
"I left right after that high schooler opened with a 3-3 Point. You’re telling me he won? Impossible!"
"He lost in the midgame? You’ve gotta be kidding me!"
As more people flocked to the table to confirm the result, even those who had been in the middle of their own matches abandoned their games, quickly surrounding the board and forming a tight crowd around it.