"It's over."
Zhang Dongchen stared at the large screen in front of him. Although the game had ended, he still hadn't come back to his senses. His entire body remained frozen in place.
"It's over."
After a moment, Zhang Dongchen finally murmured, "Black wins by dragon slaying!"
In the end, it was the final stage.
In this game, neither side entered the endgame phase; the outcome was decided in the midgame.
Even now, he was still immersed in the breathtaking battle led by Black’s deceptive strategy, which caused a world-shaking turn of the entire game, leaving him deeply shocked and even... bewildered.
This game was nothing but pure essence, from the initial probing moves by both sides, to White’s bold sacrifice of large corner territory in the midgame to decisively take control of the central region, then finally Black’s counterattack along the edge, triggering a deadly trap to capture White’s great dragon!
Every battle was soul-stirring, every confrontation was magnificent!
But...The most brilliant moment of the entire game was when White gained the upper hand, yet Black single-handedly, using a cunning deceptive technique, resisted White’s overwhelming position and ultimately defied fate with a heroic turnaround!
It was nothing short of a miracle!
Looking back now, every move by Black was almost like divine action, like a solitary crane flying south, leaving no trace of coming or going.
How Black achieved this was something he had failed to understand before, but after all this time... as the game concluded, he seemed to vaguely grasp the answer.
However, this answer was so shocking and so revolutionary that even he, having realized it, could hardly believe it!
"The game has ended."
In the broadcast studio, the staff also stared at the big screen, unable to look away, witnessing a match that would be unforgettable for their entire lives.
"Why..."
The director, a middle-aged man with a thick beard, fixed his gaze on the board displayed on the screen, recalling every move played by both sides.
Black had used a world-shaking killing move to sever the vital tendons of White’s great dragon, ultimately binding it. In the past, this final confrontation alone would have been enough to immortalize a player as a legend!
But reviewing the entire game, what shocked and confused him most was Black’s incredible method of “stealing the heavens and changing the sun”!
Even after the game ended, the immense shock and bewilderment pounded his mind like a heavy hammer!
"Because of thickness and thinness."
At that moment, Zhu Huai’an fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke inexplicably.
Hearing Zhu Huai’an’s words, the director was stunned and immediately turned to look at him.
Beside Zhu Huai’an, Zhang Dongchen said nothing, seeming to silently agree with him.
"Teacher Zhu Huai’an, because of thickness and thinness..."
The bearded director could no longer hold back his inner doubts and asked, his voice dry for some unknown reason, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Dongchen looked at the camera, opened his mouth intending to explain, but the words stopped at his lips and he fell silent.
Because he knew that right now he was facing the entire global audience, and once he spoke the next words, it would stir a storm across the entire world.
This statement carried immense weight!
Whether or not he said it made Zhu Huai’an feel as if he stood at a crossroads of history, burdened with overwhelming pressure!
A long silence followed.
Seeing Zhu Huai’an suddenly quiet, the director, puzzled, couldn’t help but press further: "Teacher Zhu Huai’an—"
At that moment, Zhang Dongchen suddenly interrupted, "Go has developed for a total of four thousand years."
The director's voice abruptly stopped, and he looked at Zhang Dongchen with some confusion, wondering why he mentioned Go’s history.
Indeed, Go has a history of no less than four thousand years, a staggering number that, under the weight of such a long timeline, could change oceans into mulberry fields.
"For four thousand years, all players’ understanding of thickness and thinness has been filled with emotional color. In other words, external positions are used for attack, and thickness is expected to radiate influence."
Zhang Dongchen suddenly shifted his tone and said softly, "Moves like the 3-3 invasion deepened everyone’s understanding of thickness and thinness."
"We discovered that what we previously considered thick positions might not be as thick as we imagined, and thin positions might not be as thin as we thought."
"However, perhaps... our understanding of thickness and thinness is still wrong."
The entire broadcast room fell into silence.
Not just there, but all eyes worldwide were now fixed on Zhang Dongchen!
The bearded director held his breath, afraid to even breathe. He didn’t know what Zhang Dongchen was about to say next, but he had a faint premonition that Zhang’s words might stir a global upheaval!
Out of professional instinct, he almost reflexively adjusted the camera for a close-up on Zhang Dongchen.
"......"
At this point, Zhang Dongchen, like Zhu Huai’an before him, fell into silence.
No one urged him, no one grew impatient; everyone just stared intently, waiting for him to continue!
Finally, Zhang Dongchen took a deep breath as if steeling himself and spoke again, "But..."
"Perhaps what we call thick is not thick at all, it might even be..."
"Thin!"
Silence!
Complete dead silence!
As Zhang Dongchen’s words fell, the whole world plunged into a dead silence!
The cameramen, director, staff in the broadcast room, viewers watching on TV, Go fans at their computers—all were stunned, their minds blank and buzzing!
His words were so revolutionary, the shock they brought to the world was immense—so great that it even robbed people of their ability to think!
And after saying this, Zhang Dongchen seemed relieved. He looked at the camera, facing all the world’s viewers, his tone suddenly resolute: "Yes!"
"Thick is not thick!"
"Thin is not thin!"
The world grew even quieter.
Everyone’s minds seemed to freeze, staring blankly at Zhang Dongchen, waiting for his explanation!
Zhang Dongchen spoke with powerful conviction, continuing, "Traditionally, thickness equals safety plus potential. It’s capital for future attacks, territory enclosure, or influence. Its value is potential and strategic!"
"Thinness equals danger plus burden. Thin shapes mean instability, vulnerability, possible burden, requiring moves to reinforce or risk to utilize!"
"So, we all pursue the power of thickness—how to convert its strength into territory or attack results—and are very wary of its repetition and inefficiency if it doesn’t manifest!"
"Therefore!"
"We generally believe directly using thickness to enclose territory is inefficient or wrong; thickness should be used for fighting, pressing, expanding; enclosing territory is for thin or territory-focused play!"
"But after this game, I found that this is not true!"
Zhang Dongchen’s words thundered through the room:
"Thickness equals high win rate plus high efficiency. Yu Shao quantified thickness as contribution to the whole board. The value of thickness does not lie in how strong or safe it looks, but in how efficiently it increases the current position’s chances of winning!"
"Thickness enclosing territory with empty belly, as long as the value is big enough and certain enough, that is good play!"
Pausing amid stunned silence, Zhang Dongchen continued, "Thinness is a potential risk point, but never a burden!"
"If you examine this game carefully, you’ll find Black’s thinness is an elastic thinness, even deliberately created by Black!"
"This thin shape seems unstable, but White’s immediate attack is not cheap, and Black has enough means like borrowing, transforming, or sacrificing stones to respond to possible attacks!"
"So, thinness is sometimes an even more efficient choice!"
"Or rather, the value of thinness sometimes even exceeds that of thickness!"
"This game is like calculus redefining shape!"
Zhang Dongchen took another deep breath and said:
"Thickness and thinness have been reversed!"
Everyone’s minds went completely blank, almost dumbfounded, frozen in place, unable to move!
Thickness can be used to enclose territory? Not necessarily to attack?
Thinness can be played actively, not something to avoid?
Thinness surpasses thickness?
Thickness and thinness reversed?
Every sentence Zhang Dongchen spoke was unfathomable, every sentence absurd, every sentence shattered all previous understanding of Go!
It was like someone claiming Black moving first has no advantage, but White’s second move has advantage; thus, not Black should get komi, but White should have komi instead!
If not for Zhang Dongchen saying it, everyone would think he was insane!
No one could utter a word; everyone felt as if the world flipped upside down, red turned to green!
The four-thousand-year-old edifice of Go collapsed with a thunderous crash, shaking the world!
Silence!
Stillness!
At this moment, only silence could express the profound confusion and shock everyone felt, words unable to describe it!
"Twin Stars Cup, first match, Yu Shao’s midgame dragon slaying victory!"
Zhang Dongchen turned to the large screen in front of him and said, "Let us thank the two players for presenting us with this masterpiece!"
"Witnessing this game, even I am only a student!"
"From this game, I have learned so much, even surpassing my ten years... no, a hundred years of hard training!"
All the emotions in Zhang Dongchen’s heart poured out as he continued, "It is precisely because of players like Yu Shao and Su Yiming and witnessing such a game that I feel... I was right to embark on the path of a professional Go player!"
"I offer my highest respect to these two players who played this game!"
"The first match of the Twin Stars battle is over!"
Zhang Dongchen clenched his fist and shouted, "Yu Shao will play the next game first! I am waiting to see their next match!"
"I believe not only I, but all of you watching this game right now will also be waiting for the next game!"
"On the long and endless road of Go, we are seekers of the Dao, not just opponents!"
...
...
In the northern capital city, inside a rented room.
A boy about six or seven years old stared at the TV screen, his eyes seemingly glowing with light.
"Too awesome! Too awesome!"
Finally, the boy could no longer contain himself. He jumped up from the sofa, his face flushed with excitement, pumping his fists and making a vow: "I want to be a professional Go player in the future! I want to be a professional player like Yu Shao!"
...
Inside the Southern Go Academy, in the reporter’s room.
Ding Huan stared at his laptop, furiously typing away, the clacking sound continuous!
"The question that troubled me throughout the entire game has finally been answered!"
"Although I expected this answer to be extraordinary, the moment it surfaced, I realized it surpassed my imagination!"
"This answer is too shocking, too unbelievable!"
"Thickness can enclose territory, thin shapes don’t necessarily have to attack, thickness and thinness reversed!!!"
"I even feel a sense of heresy—could it be that the Go before this was all false Go?!"
"I once said that the 3-3 invasion would advance human Go, now I say this game will completely overturn Go’s playing style!"
"My previous article said Black fell into a dead end; looking back now, that was wrong. Black held the advantage from start to finish!"
"But I won’t revise my article!"
"Because this way, perhaps you can feel the deep shock in my heart more!"
"From the opening, Black played brilliantly and boldly, occupying the center sky grandly; then White sacrificed decisively to take the central plain, both sides forming a battle for dominance!"
"Later, Black finally revealed their true plan, using moves beyond the era to overturn the board, changing the overall momentum!"
"White fought back desperately from the brink, but Black with a masterful atari seized White’s throat, ultimately capturing White’s great dragon!"
"Watching this game is like witnessing a miracle!"
"This game..."
"Is enough to make mere mortals bow on the ground!"
"I am a believer in Go, and today I was fortunate to witness a miracle, but the miracle is so grand and magnificent, shining brightly yet so terrifying that one dare not look directly, feeling fear from the soul!"
"Now, I am more certain that what I once said is correct—"
"Yes!"
"Some players are born to crush the times!"
The game ended!
The Twin Stars Cup started with Yu Shao winning the first game, marking a comma.
But even long after the game ended, the world remained silent, only the gentle rain that began falling at some unknown time continued to pat the silent world!
Completion, and the heavenly rain of millet!