At the end of May 1991, Beijing. Li Xiaoqiang stayed in the training room of the national Go team. However, he is not "training" now, and he is bragging and chatting with a group of teammates from the national junior team. I don't know what happy things they talked about, and they all looked like they were all frowning. Especially Luo Shenzhu and Liu Er, they were dancing there.

The Fujitsu Cup Top 8 is held on the first weekend of June every year. And the first weekend of this year seems to be Children's Day.

That is to say: in a few days, Li Xiaoqiang will soon be on the field of the "Fujitsu Cup"!

Just when a group of half-grown children were there to "talk about life". Coach Luo of the national team walked in with a black face. He didn't target others, he directly targeted Li Xiaoqiang, who was "taking the lead":

"Li Xiaoqiang, why are you still laughing here today? I think you're cocking your tail now, aren't you? Why don't you hurry up and train me seriously......"

Although the people in the room are all reserve elites in the Chinese Go world. But they're actually like a lot of half-grown kids in this age. In the face of the anger of the teacher or coach, there must be no one to scatter.

Of course, to say that they will be scared in their hearts is certainly not possible. For example, Luo Shen Pig, when Coach Luo's figure is no longer behind his sight. He soon lost his submissive appearance and returned to his usual agility.

"Boss, what the hell is going on during this time? , I feel like you're being disciplined very strictly. It's weird! Originally, among people like us, you generally have no one to care. Even when we were with you, we seemed to receive less discipline and less restraint. But what happened during this time? Why is it easier to be targeted when I'm with you? ”

"Okay, I kind of know about you little pig. When you used to mess with me, you used to use me as a face card to cover up your laziness, right? You remembered it for me. See how I clean you up in the future. ”

heard Li Xiaoqiang's words of "teaching" Luo Shenzhu. Most of the other members of the national junior team showed a hint of a smile. Because in essence, Li Xiaoqiang really said what was on their minds. In a sense, sometimes they really use Li Xiaoqiang as a face card.

This is actually quite normal. For example, when a parent asks what their child is going to do. Then the child is likely to tell the parent loudly: "I'm going to ...... with so-and-so".

And this "so-and-so" is often a good student in the eyes of parents. In this way, when parents hear their children, they may not restrain their children and pay no attention to what they are doing.

Like Luo Shenzhu and them, the group of people in the national youth team like to mess with Li Xiaoqiang, do they have the intention of escaping discipline? The answer, of course, is yes.

But when Li Xiaoqiang returned to the capital from Japan in April. The half-grown children of the national junior team found out. Just in the recent past. It seems that he is "not easy to mix" with Li Xiaoqiang. Not only can you not be lazy, but you are often more likely to be "caught". The Chinese Go management, represented by the "Four Elders of Go", has been particularly strict with Li Xiaoqiang during this time.

This made Luo Shen Pig and them unclear about the situation. They don't understand what this is all about? Why did Coach Luo and Li Xiaoqiang, the best student in their eyes, who has always been the most uncared for, become the most "free" during this time?

The other half-grown children couldn't figure out what was going on. But for Li Xiaoqiang, he can still figure out the reason.

In the final analysis, this is related to the upcoming "Fujitsu Cup" top 8 match.

Like many sports teams in the country. In fact, the national Go team also has "performance indicators". What kind of achievements can be achieved in this year. In fact, it has something to do with the treatment and status of the entire sports team. For example, in the sports world in China, in addition to the more special events such as the "three balls". The status of those "advantageous projects" in China is definitely different from that of "inferior projects".

For a long time, domestic chess and card games have been classified as competitive sports. are under the jurisdiction of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China. Then many of the rules of the Go team must be followed by that set.

At this time, the status of the ring is not so important. The "performance indicators" of the Go team, of course, mainly look at those world championships. For example, this year. The most important indicator of the national Go team's performance is, of course, the "Fujitsu Cup" a world competition.

In the first two rounds that just ended, due to Nie Whirlwind, he was unexpectedly unable to enter the top 8. This made the entire Chinese Go community feel down. According to what many people think. When Nie Whirlwind was eliminated, the hope of the Chinese team winning the championship seemed to be dashed.

Of course, not many people think about the championship, but the "performance indicators" still exist. If you think of the championship as the "highest indicator". Then "entering the top 4" should be regarded as the "minimum indicator" of the Chinese Go community.

According to the "Go 4 Elders", it may be difficult to compete for the championship in this tournament, but at least one player can make it to the top 3. According to the rules of the Fujitsu Cup, the top 3 are exempted from selection when participating in the next competition. This extra quota is actually very important to the Chinese team.

When the "Go 4 Veterans" continued to analyze the specific matchups, they found that in this competition, the most likely to help the Chinese team achieve the "performance indicators" was actually Li Xiaoqiang, who was under the age of 16.

So far, there are still two chess players left in the Chinese team: Li Xiaoqiang and Ma Xiaofei. It's not that everyone thinks that Li Xiaoqiang is stronger than Ma Xiaofei. It's just that everyone objectively analyzes the situation and still thinks that Li Xiaoqiang's signing is better. It is believed that he has no advantage in his age against Mr. McClymon. Strong in every other way. Therefore, his certainty of entering the top 4 should still be relatively large.

And Ma Xiaofei is playing against Zhao Zhixun. Although everyone also has high hopes for Ma Xiaofei, thinking that he is not without opportunities. But judging objectively, it is still considered that it is more difficult for him to complete the task.

Most people are like that. When he asks of a person differently, he often has a different attitude. And what about after the attitude is different? It will show that many of his practices are different.

Take Coach Law, for example. He is the deputy head coach of the Go team in charge of the national junior team. Because Li Xiaoqiang participated in international competitions in the past, everyone would not have too many requirements for him in terms of performance. In most of the international competitions that Li Xiaoqiang has participated in, everyone has the idea that "winning a game is a game". to treat his game. And Li Xiaoqiang is also very competitive, as long as he runs to the international arena, he can often "exceed the task". So in this situation, of course, Coach Luo will let him go.

But this time it's different. Because everyone has performance requirements for Li Xiaoqiang. In everyone's opinion, Li Xiaoqiang's game is not to be lost. So Coach Luo, they can easily become both gains and losses.

What annoyed Li Xiaoqiang even more was that when Coach Luo saw a prediction article (it was a prediction article published by reporter Zhang Da in Go magazine). Coach Luo's whole heart, that has become even more up.

Reporter Zhang Da's article is actually nothing. As long as things related to Li Xiaoqiang are mentioned, he has not changed at all over the years. The article written is also not new, and it can't be touted in that flesh. After listing Li Xiaoqiang's "advantages", he then "predicted" how many chances Li Xiaoqiang had to win. I don't know what's going on, but his lame articles have actually been mixed up by him as a "forecasting expert". Those things he wrote. It is also often reprinted by other media outlets.

And all this also made reporter Zhang Da more energetic. In front of other people, especially when facing your own peers. He also often refers to himself as a "god stick".

Maybe it's because Li Xiaoqiang's opponent this time is relatively weak. This made his predictions boring. Therefore, in his latest article, he actually played "data analysis".

In his article, he listed all the international competitions that Li Xiaoqiang has participated in since his debut. Then he made a summary in the article:

“…… We know that Li Xiaoqiang is good at creating miracles, and what he is best at is defeating the strong with the weak. The more we compare the strength of "self-righteous objectivity", the more he can surprise us. And the "Fujitsu" Cup Top 8 will be played soon. It may be the only game that Li Xiaoqiang has participated in in all international competitions that can appear in front of the chessboard with a "hands-on" attitude. All we have reason to believe is that he will be able to win. Only he is not blindly complacent, as long as he is not arrogant. As long as he can guard against arrogance and rashness. So ......"

I must admit that Coach Luo, who was already a bit of a sufferer, when he saw that series of "as long". He must have felt a little cold on his back.

Because of these problems, he certainly hadn't thought about it before. He didn't have to think about it before. Because in Li Xiaoqiang's previous games. Just think about how to impact other people's situations. There is no need to think about how others impact Li Xiaoqiang. Therefore, the "as long" that reporter Zhang Da said has become what Coach Luo is worried about.

And all this has become Li Xiaoqiang in the recent period. Reasons for the loss of a lot of freedom.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. Because at this time, the top 8 of the 4th "Fujitsu Cup" will start soon.

On May 30, the Japanese delegation arrived in Beijing, China. On May 31, the day before the competition, the Korean delegation also arrived at the destination of the competition.

In this way, all 8 participating players have arrived.

On the morning of June 1st, International Children's Day. Li Xiaoqiang stepped onto the stage of the top 8 of the World Series.

Today's Go tournament may be broadcast live on TV because it is being held in China. Not only that, but the Beijing Go team will also explain the hanging plate.

Soon after the start of the game, the long-lost "martial arts uncle" rushed to the game site. When he came to the place where the game was explained, he saw a lot of long-lost chess fans and friends.

Not far from them, the "Chinese Chess Academy", which has been under construction since 88, is almost put into use. At present, it has entered the final stage of renovation.

On this day, what awaits Li Xiaoqiang? (To be continued......)