As soon as he took off his shoes, a familiar voice approached from afar.
“Xiao Yingzi, you’re back!”
“Why are you so late today?”
“I’ll Go warm up the dishes. You wash your hands first and get ready to eat.”
A sturdy elder appeared before his eyes, holding a plate of braised pork that smelled incredibly fragrant.
“I played two games of Go with a friend.” Ao Ying sniffed, “Grandpa, it smells so good, your cooking is top-notch!”
“Oh, playing Go! Do I need your praise for my cooking? Wait, what’s that in your hand?”
With a quick stride, Grandpa moved closer, snatching the potato chips with one hand and twisting Ao Ying’s ear with the other.
“Ow, Grandpa, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.”
Ao Ying grimaced and begged for mercy, putting on a weak appearance.
He knew his grandpa doted on him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have traveled across the ocean to accompany him.
“Alright, you dare to openly sneak food. Potato chips confiscated.”
“Grandpa…”
Ao Ying blinked, looking pitiful.
Perhaps his luck stat kicked in, or perhaps his grandpa couldn’t resist his grandson’s cuteness.
Grandpa softened his tone slightly and said, “You can have the potato chips back.”
“Let’s play a game of Go. If you win one game against me, you’ll be allowed to eat snacks in moderation from now on.”
Ao Ying weakly asked, “Will there be extra pocket money for snacks?”
“Hmph, figure that out yourself.”
Grandpa smiled smugly. You’re still green, kid. No money, no snacks.
Bah!
How could an amateur Rokudan like him lose to a mediocre amateur 5-dan?
He knew exactly what his grandson was capable of.
Children’s dan ranks were slightly weaker than adult ranks of the same level, and besides, Rokudan was a level higher than 5-dan.
Each level was a different world. An amateur Rokudan could already compete for a national championship, while an amateur 5-dan could only accompany others.
To put it in numbers, a mediocre amateur 5-dan against an amateur Rokudan had a win rate of less than five percent.
The two enjoyed a delicious dinner.
After clearing the dishes, the Go board was set up.
“Come on, let Grandpa see if you’ve made any progress.”
“I heard you’re participating in some middle school league?”
“Don’t you dare disgrace our Huaxia.”
Listening to his grandpa’s nagging, Ao Ying wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
If he told him about his 2-16 record, he’d probably be beaten to death, right?!
Grandpa didn’t press for his results, continuing to ramble, “Since Nie Qisheng and Ma Xiaofei, we haven’t had very remarkable results in international competitions.”
“If you can become a professional and win a championship for the country, Grandpa will even treat the village dogs to a feast.”
As he spoke, Grandpa grabbed a handful of black stone stones from the Go box.
Ao Ying took out two white stones. Grandpa counted the black stone stones; it was an even number.
Regular matches adopted the alternating move system, with black stone moving first and needing to compensate 5.5 points at the end of the game.
As for how to determine who played black stone or white?
That was decided by the player with lower Go skill or the younger player guessing odd or even. Guessing correctly meant playing black stone; guessing incorrectly meant playing white.
“Please enlighten me.”
“Please enlighten me.”
Both bowed in greeting.
Ao Ying held a black stone stone and placed it.
Row 4, column 16, Star Point.
white, without hesitation, placed a stone at row 4, column 4, Star Point.
Next, black stone occupied another Star Point, and white also occupied a Star Point.
Two-star vs. Two-star.
Ao Ying paused, deep in thought.
At the beginning of the game, various moves were thoroughly researched by professionals. Grandpa, having nothing else to do, started to ramble.
“Grandpa tells you this.”
“In the 1980s, Nie Xuanfeng achieved an astonishing eleven consecutive wins in the Three Nations Go Tournament, helping Huaxia win three team championships.”
“In the 1990s, Ma Xiaofei won Huaxia’s first individual World Championship.”
“Unfortunately, apart from these two, our results in other world competitions have been mediocre.”
“How about you work hard and aim for a professional dan rank first?”
Plop, the sound of a stone being placed interrupted his rambling.
Row 3, column 3, 3-3 Point.
Seeing where black stone had placed the stone, Grandpa froze. “black stone plays the 3-3 Point on the fifth move? Do you take Grandpa for a rookie?”
“Grandpa, just try it, be careful!”
Ao Ying smiled mischievously.
The 3-3 Point was a hallmark of AI Go, completely subverting the understanding of professional Go players.
In his previous life, for this move, experts from the three countries researched it repeatedly, deriving dozens of new variations.
Grandpa thought he was playing a psychological game. After all, under normal circumstances, a mediocre amateur 5-dan would find it difficult to beat him.
Moreover, the Go principles he had learned repeatedly stated that playing the 3-3 Point at the opening was a bad move. One could attack this stone to build a vast influence on the outside, thereby radiating across the entire board.
Without much thought, white settled into the conventional 3-3 Point joseki.
white blocks, black stone attaches on the third line, white extends on the second line, black stone crawls on the second line, white extends on the third line, black stone crawls on the second line, white extends on the third line.
Grandpa raised his hand, preparing to place it on the second line on the other side.
The subsequent moves should be black stone extending on the second line, white blocking on the second line, black stone connecting, white making a tiger’s mouth, completing the joseki sequence.
Go joseki were similar to mathematical formulas, possessing a certain degree of relative correctness within a defined scope.
Ao Ying looked up, “Hehe, did you think I’d extend?”
Clack!
black stone continued to crawl on the second line, following the previous move.
“That’s it?” Grandpa was stunned.
white followed by extending one space on the third line.
In the exchange between the third and second lines, the third line always gained.
“This move is the key!”
black stone, row 10, column 4, a Star Point on the side.
“You dare to tenuki locally?”
Grandpa exclaimed, instinctively picking up a white stone, wanting to pursue the consequences of the tenuki.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he gently put the stone back.
With his amateur Rokudan Go skill, he quickly calculated the corner variations; pursuing it would only gain a few points and result in gote.
In the opening phase, moves worth less than fifteen points were not considered, and turning sente into gote was even worse.
Adding black stone’s Star Point on the side, it subtly threatened white’s outside influence.
The outside influence formed by the 3-3 Point joseki, why did it feel like a burden?
“This move… is interesting.”
“Where did you learn this, kid?”
“Impossible, absolutely impossible!”
“How could there be a flaw in the 3-3 Point joseki?!”
“Let me calculate carefully.”
Grandpa concentrated, falling into a long period of thought.
Ao Ying chuckled, not extending and connecting on the second line but extending one more move, causing a shocking change in the 3-3 Point joseki.
Humans in his previous life hadn’t calculated this move, let alone in the late 1990s.
As if entranced, Grandpa apologized, and the game stopped. He began to dissect the new variations of the 3-3 Point.
He turned it over and over…
After a long while.
Grandpa laid out several responses, saying with lingering interest, “Xiao Yingzi, what do you think?”
“This matter must have… ahem…”
Almost blurting out a classic quote, Ao Ying quickly said, “Grandpa, these variations are acceptable; white only suffers a slight loss.”
“Then what’s the correct response?” Grandpa pressed, “In the opening phase, there shouldn’t be a joseki where one side suffers a loss, not even a slight one.”
“Like this, and like that…”
Ao Ying demonstrated several common variations.
“Oh! You can play there too?”
“Ah! That works too?”
“I, this old man, have learned something new.”
Grandpa exclaimed repeatedly, like an eager student.
Unconsciously, time reached ten o’clock at night.
“Besides these combination moves, I think tenuki can also deal with the 3-3 Point. It’s a slight loss but clear, and you won’t be dragged into a complicated fight by your opponent.”
Looking at his eloquent grandson, Grandpa suddenly said, “Xiao Yingzi, prepare yourself in the next two years to take the professional qualification tournament.”
“As for now… it’s very late, you should wash up and Go to bed.”