“Su Yiming has finally turned the tide here!”
Inside the broadcast room of the Southern Go Academy, watching the television screen where Su Yiming placed his stone at the last critical moment, a player in front of the TV widened his eyes in disbelief.
“This move isn’t hard to understand. Su Yiming’s intention is clear. He’s not only trying to rescue his isolated stones and make them live, but he’s also attempting an invasion, preserving more complicated variations!”
Beside him, another player wearing glasses fixed his gaze on the screen, the reflection of the board shimmering on his lenses.
“But by doing so, the retreat path for White’s stones becomes even narrower. It’s truly seeking life in death, beyond my expectations!”
Nearby, Zheng Qin’s expression darkened slightly as he spoke, “But indeed, if you want to win, this risky approach is the only way!”
“As expected of Su Yiming…”
Upon hearing this, Le Haoqiang took a deep breath of cold air, sensing the vast gap between them.
“Under such circumstances, he still... keeps the board complex, waiting for the chance to counterattack...”
“Maybe...”Le Haoqiang’s words stopped abruptly as he noticed Su Yiming’s remaining time. The words he was about to say were swallowed back down.
Maybe White still has a way out.
However, Su Yiming’s time is running out; he only has sixty seconds per move left!
The board is too intricate and delicate. With sufficient time, Su Yiming might really find a path to survive, but under this intense byo-yomi pressure, it’s unimaginably difficult!
...
Yu Shao stared at the white stone that had just been placed on the board, his eyes flickering.
Su Yiming’s time has already entered byo-yomi.
Meanwhile, Yu Shao still has a full hour of available time.
Not to mention, his black stones currently hold overwhelming advantage. In such a fiercely complex and intense game, this is a battle destined to be one-sided.
“From here on, as long as every move is made with calm, repeated careful consideration, and no mistakes are made, the path ahead will be smooth sailing,”
“And White must place every move within sixty seconds.”
“But...”
Yushao raised his head and looked at Su Yiming across from him.
Although White has fallen behind, even trapped in a dead position, at this moment, Su Yiming’s eyes still burn with unwavering determination, showing a fighting spirit that moved Yu Shao himself!
“To play like this, more or less... he’s relying on experience from his past life. I can’t change this, because this style has completely fused with him, making it hard to let go.”
“I want to know, if it were me who had never experienced the AI era, facing you, who would win or lose? But that’s destined to never happen.”
“All you can do is wait...”
“But no matter what, you yearn for a fair fight with him.”
Fei Shi once again shifted his gaze to the board, quietly making up his mind.
“Thirty seconds!”
“You have one minute, then I’ll compress my time to thirty seconds per move!”
Yushao finally picked up a stone again, placing it on the board.
Click!
“Then, let’s go!”
Row 3, Column 12, atari!
Seeing Yushao place his stone, Su Yiming’s face grew serious. “He’s really pressing!”
Immediately, Su Yiming grabbed a stone and placed it on the board!
Row 14, Column 15, cut!
Click, click, click!
Both sides placed stones rapidly. Under time pressure, White had to place each move within sixty seconds, but almost every time a white stone was placed, the black stone would immediately follow.
Click!
Click!
Click!
The stones were dropping like a torrential downpour!
Gradually, some noticed something amiss, expressions turning puzzled.
“What’s going on?”
“Yushao is placing stones way too fast!”
“Yushao has plenty of time, so why is he playing so fast? One might think Black has entered byo-yomi!”
“If the idea is to place stones at an impenetrable speed to pressure the opponent, that’s usually a tactic for the weaker side, but now Black is in the lead!”
Just as everyone was baffled, a white stone was placed, pulling everyone’s attention back to the board.
“Su Yiming has sacrificed a stone again!”
Looking at the continuously falling stones, someone suddenly exclaimed in shock!
“Moreover, he’s directly sacrificing a vital stone here?”
Everyone’s faces showed shock!
A vital stone cannot be sacrificed!
A vital stone is a stone or group of stones crucial to the life and death of a shape and the outcome of the game.
There is a Go proverb: “If the vital stone is captured, the whole board is lost; if the vital stone is held, the whole board lives!”
Yet Su Yiming directly sacrificed a vital stone.
Already trapped in a losing position, White has now actively taken another step toward the brink of death!
“Though trapped in a losing position, I still have chances to turn the tables.”
“To be placed in a desperate situation is the chance to be reborn.”
Sweat drenched Su Yiming’s face. With such a complex position, he only had sixty seconds left. Even he felt the immense pressure of the time slipping away!
Su Yiming lifted his head and looked at Yushao.
“This is the lesson you taught me!”
Less than twenty seconds after this move, Yushao placed another stone.
Seeing Yushao respond so quickly to his move, Su Yiming was stunned.
Yushao placed moves so fast before without thinking much, but facing this move, anyone would have taken a long think—yet Yushao still played like lightning!
Su Yiming was puzzled but had no time to ponder. After a brief moment, he quickly picked up a stone and placed it again.
The two continued placing stones rapidly, leaving no time to breathe!
As their moves flew, online discussions exploded!
“Incredible, they play so fast yet every move is precise!”
“Watching through the screen, you can almost feel the pressure of each stone being placed!”
“White sacrificed a vital stone, rescuing isolated stones in the center, but the sacrifice was huge—after all, it was a vital stone!”
“Even if White’s center stones live, the pressure is huge, because another isolated group is also in danger with little chance!”
“Not necessarily. Though it looks more dangerous than before, the situation is unimaginably complex. A 300-point fight is so interconnected; Su Yiming forcibly muddled the board!”
“White is fighting a do-or-die battle!”
“Yushao has many attacking options, but ironically, too many choices make it hard to pick!”
“How will Yushao attack?”
“Amazing! Such a legendary game still undecided at this point!”
“Can Su Yiming reverse the situation? Can he recreate the legend Yushao just made?”
Amid the worldwide hot debate, stones kept falling rapidly.
Sweat beaded on Yushao’s forehead. Though holding advantage, having only thirty seconds per move was an extreme test!
Moreover, this game had become so complex!
An invisible immense pressure weighed down on him.
Nearby, the recorder and referees stared intently at the game, both shocked and amazed.
“The situation is already this complicated, why not think carefully? Has Yushao already calculated everything, so he doesn’t need to spend time thinking?”
Opposite Yushao, Su Yiming had no time for much thought. Every second was spent calculating all possible variations to try to cover as many changes as possible!
“Pushing forward might get entangled and lead to a bitter fight!”
“But now, there’s no turning back!”
“We must face the difficulty head-on!”
Su Yiming quickly picked up a stone and placed it.
Yushao’s expression turned heavy, as if his heartbeat could be heard, but inwardly he was colder and calmer than ever.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Twenty-five seconds!
Finally, before the thirty-second mark, Yushao again grabbed a stone and hurriedly placed it on the board!
Row 3, Column 14, tiger’s mouth!
Soon after, Su Yiming also quickly picked up a stone from the bowl and placed it on the board.
Click!
Row 12, Column 6, diagonal move!
The female recorder and two referees beside them all felt their hearts pounding as they stared at this white stone on the board.
“Such... such a strong move!”
This diagonal move by White not only patched the shape but also broke Black’s eye shape, seizing Black’s base and lurking to capture Black’s large group!
“My large group might be captured!”
Seeing this, Yushao immediately sensed danger but became even calmer. He looked at the whole board without calculating every variation.
With only thirty seconds, it’s almost impossible to calculate all variations, so deciding each move relied more on intuition and board sense!
Suddenly, Yushao’s gaze fixed on one spot on the board.
This was a place he could never have seen in his previous life.
This was...
After arriving in this world, every attack and kill, every fierce fight, every killing move, had honed this sense at the edge of life and death, forging this inspiration!
Click!
In this quiet Go room, the sound of stones colliding rang out again!
Yushao reached into the bowl, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes!
The next moment, his right hand quickly grabbed a stone and placed it on the board under everyone’s watchful eyes!
Click!
Row 19, Column 8, atari!
Seeing Black’s move, Su Yiming was stunned.
Then his expression changed drastically as he suddenly looked up at Yushao!
Yushao also stared back with eyes like swords, not hiding his sharpness at all!
...
“Atari... atari got through!”
In the replay room in Korea, a group of young professional players could no longer control their emotions, staring at the black stone placed in a mysterious position on the screen, shouting out in disbelief!
“What kind of move is this?”
“What is he trying to do?!”
Everyone suddenly felt parched and dazed, staring blankly at the TV screen, shocked in their hearts.
The first line is the lowest and least valuable on the board; only in very specific situations, like the endgame, would players consider playing there.
Moreover, the focus of this game is in the center; the edge seems irrelevant to the overall situation!
But...
Soon, the professional players gradually realized something, their pupils shrinking rapidly, and the entire replay room fell into a deep silence!
...
The online forums exploded into chaos!
“Oh my god! What does this mean?”
“Here atari?”
“If you don’t patch here, then the large black group in the center becomes even more dangerous?!”
Everyone’s minds buzzed, some confused, staring intently at the demonstration board with puzzled faces.
This move was simply baffling, even unbelievable. Both sides were fighting fiercely in the center like raging fire, so how could there suddenly be a turn to play a stone in an unimportant place?
Click!
Click!
Click!
Black and white stones alternated rapidly on the board, so fast there was barely time to blink.
Suddenly, when another black stone was placed, someone nodded slightly in realization.
Then, belatedly, he understood something, a deep look of disbelief creeping over his face!
The stones continued to be placed.
One, two, three, four...
More and more people began to notice the clues. Sweat appeared on their brows, shock showed on their faces, and they were completely speechless!
As stones kept falling on the big screen, more people discovered the mysterious depth of the position.
After another five or six moves.
At this moment, everyone around the world watching the game began to show shock on their faces, and the shock grew deeper!
“This...”
Everyone fixed their gaze on the board, holding their breath, not daring to blink, sweat continuously trickling down their faces!
They stared blankly at black and white stones crossing each other on the board, endlessly falling!
Time passed with each move.
The air grew quieter and quieter, as if the whole world had fallen into silence!
Finally!
Under the watchful eyes of all, another black stone fell.
“Black has killed into White’s territory!”
Someone couldn’t hold back and shouted!
Looking back, that edge atari, forcing White’s stones to tighten their breathing, had triggered all the black stones across the board to reveal their long-hidden killing intent!
Deathly silence!
No words!
At this moment, the entire world was enveloped in a long silence, everyone silently and shockedly watching this game, seemingly paying homage to it!
Stones kept falling. Even though White’s vital lines were cut, White still fiercely exploded with astonishing tenacity, desperately resisting Black’s overwhelming assault!
Watching this world-shaking killing battle, everyone was completely absorbed by every move from both sides!
Click!
Click!
Click!
“I will never forget this game in my life.”
In Japan, inside the replay room, someone whispered softly.
No one answered.
The battle between Black and White is the manifestation of two players’ souls.
The intricate maneuvers between their fingers connect to the eternal pursuit of the Way!
Finally!
After an unknown length of time, when it was White’s turn to move again, White hesitated and did not place a stone!
In the complete silence, under the gaze of the entire world.
This game...