One day after the opening match of the ring match, the "Fujitsu Cup" top 8 match began.

The atmosphere was different from the opening of the ring match. By the time the top 8 of the "Fujitsu Cup" came, the atmosphere of the Chinese Chess Academy had obviously become more dignified.

It's actually normal to think about it, if you can talk about "friendship" in the ring, you can see the ring match as a bilateral exchange match that already has a certain tradition, from the inside of the Go world to ordinary chess fans, now they don't really take the victory or defeat of the ring match very seriously.

But the "Fujitsu Cup" is different. In other words, the "three major competitions" are different now. In the minds of chess fans, this is the main battlefield of the competition between the three Go powers. For two consecutive years, only one player from the Chinese team has entered the top 8 alone, which has put a lot of pressure on the Chinese Chess Academy.

And most of the pressure actually fell on Li Xiaoqiang!

"I finally understand now that Kobayashi Koji keeps saying "as a representative of Japanese Go", but he, the "representative of Japanese Go", has never been very willing to represent the country in competitions, although there are other arguments, but the pressure in this area is also the main reason, right? Coach Luo, do you think Xiaoqiang can resist such pressure? ”

The competition was held at the China Chess Academy. Before the start of the game, reporter Zhang Da and Coach Luo stood at the door of the game room and watched Li Xiaoqiang walk into the arena.

Zhang Da reporter compared Li Xiaoqiang and Kobayashi Koji, although this comparison may not be appropriate, but it should not be too outrageous. It's been 6,7 years, and Kobayashi Koji, who holds the "chess saint" and "celebrity", is of course a well-deserved "representative of Japanese Go", he is the first person in Japanese Go in everyone's minds, representing the highest level of Japanese Go. With this identity, Kobayashi Koji distinguishes himself from other super-top chess players. To put it bluntly, stand in his place. He can't afford to lose more than any other super-notch player.

Now Li Xiaoqiang, can he represent the highest level of Chinese Go? Maybe he can't represent all of them for the time being, but in any case, Li Xiaoqiang is already one of the representatives of Chinese Go. More importantly, for the current Chinese chess scene, everyone expects Li Xiaoqiang to be represented.

Therefore, both for the Chinese chess world. is still Li Xiaoqiang himself, this 8-in-4 game is full of the meaning of "can't afford to lose". This is the pressure of Chinese Go, and it is also the pressure of Li Xiaoqiang.

Coach Luo watched Li Xiaoqiang walk into the arena and watched the Go genius who had grown up under his nose. Li Xiaoqiang is still young, but he is already a veteran of the battlefield.

"If you can't resist it, you have to resist it, such a game is unavoidable, and there will be more in the future, if Xiaoqiang wants to become a real big chess player. This is the way he has to go......"

In such a situation, the 7th "Fujitsu Cup" round of 8, the match between Li Xiaoqiang, the only seedling of China, and Mr. Masao Kato, a veteran super first-class chess player, began.

After the game started, many people were worried about whether Li Xiaoqiang could withstand the pressure, but what was a bit unexpected was that after the game really started, the process of the whole chess game was unusually smooth. It seems to be surprisingly smooth, too.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the training room commonly used by the national youth team in the Chinese Chess Academy. A group of young chess players conducted research on the chess game centered on Chang Rensheng.

Although in another venue. The second game of the ring tournament was also underway, with Hua Xuemin taking on the young Japanese player Michihiro Morita. But Chang Rensheng, who was still nervous in the last game, couldn't take care of the ring match. All he cares about now is "a few top matchups here."

In fact, on the other floor of the chess courtyard, there is a larger viewing room, where members of the Japanese and South Korean delegations, as well as Nie Xuanfeng, Ma Xiaofei and others are mainly concentrated there. But today's situation is a bit special, I have been in the Chinese Chess Academy for more than half a year. Yukari Umezawa is also very familiar with these young chess players in China, and at her strong request, these young chess players, as well as reporter Zhang Da and others, simply opened up the second battlefield.

Actually, the real key is not Yukari Umezawa. The real problem is that there are three special amateur players from the Chess Academy today. These 3 amateur chess players. The highest level is the amateur strong 5 level, and the other two are simply amateur low K level. The one with the high level is Zhao Dabao, and the two with the low level are naturally Liao Qiong and Lin Mengyu.

The atmosphere in the viewing room was a little eerie.

Li Xiaoqiang's, most people in this room are naturally quite clear. Don't look at everyone's usual likes to joke about Li Xiaoqiang, but when Mei Ze and Lin Mengyu really bump into each other - it must be admitted that the vast majority of people who play Go are actually a bunch of simple children, so on such an occasion, let alone joke like usual, some people can't speak.

"Xiao Chang, let's talk about it, what do you think of the current situation?"

Reporter Zhang Da was the first to speak, he first looked at Lin Mengyu who was standing in the distance, and then at Mei Ze who was sitting on the edge of the chessboard, he felt funny in his heart, and then asked Chang Rensheng with a smile.

In fact, in the past six months, Lin Mengyu's number of visits to the chess academy has increased significantly. The gang of the national youth team and reporter Zhang Da are also familiar with her. Lin Mengyu is actually very affinity, and Li Xiaoqiang's friends generally have a good impression of her. But how do you say that? After all, Lin Mengyu is not a person in the Go circle, and her Go level is also the kind that everyone makes a lot of, so when everyone usually talks, they don't talk much, and they rarely talk about Go.

For example, just like today, after Lin Mengyu came to the chess academy. Most of the time, she stood there with a smile, quietly watching everyone dismantle the chess, and discussing the situation on the chessboard enthusiastically. She barely interjects except to listen carefully.

Yukari Umezawa is different, she is also a professional chess player after all, and Umezawa today doesn't know why, when she and Chang Rensheng discussed technical issues, they were quite active, and they mingled with Li Xiaoqiang's friends.

"Hehe, one is a childhood sweetheart, and the other seems to have more of a common language. It's really embarrassing Xiaoqiang, I don't know how this guy will choose in the future......"

If it is not good, it should not be, and everyone who plays Go will do this trick. Zhang Da saw that the atmosphere in the room was a little awkward, so he quickly changed the topic and attracted everyone's attention to the chess game.

"The boss played a decent game today, and at first I thought it was a little strange, thinking that he might have chosen the safest under great pressure. It can also be the most conservative way to play. Because of today's chess, this is obviously not the boss's usual style. But so far, I can only express my deep admiration for the boss. The boss is still powerful, and his choice of today's way of playing may be his intentional......"

"Don't slap Xiaoqiang's sycophants, get to the point. For example...... Who do you think can win what. ”

Chang Rensheng is gushing. He was unfortunately interrupted by reporter Zhang Da. While glaring at Chang Rensheng, he also glanced in the direction where Lin Mengyu was standing.

To say that the meaning that reporter Zhang Da wants to express to Chang Rensheng is obvious: there are a few laymen here today, and you don't need to have an in-depth discussion on Go technology, you can just use the most straightforward words, what do you think the current situation is, or rather, you predict who will win.

"This ......"

Obviously, although Chang Rensheng and the others are not good at communicating, they are all smart people. Reporter Zhang Da understood what he meant in seconds. Chang Rensheng glanced at Mei Ze again, and then reorganized the language:

"I'll just say this, watching this game of chess, I have a feeling that Mr. Kato met Zhao Zhixun when he was young, and although Mr. Kato tried his best, he always gave people the feeling that he couldn't do it......"

"Oh, do you really think so? So your judgment...... Can Xiaoqiang win in the end? ”

"That's right! That's what I think! So far, Mr. Kato's power has been completely suppressed by the boss. Just like back then, when he met Mr. Zhao Zhixun, he was at a loss. By now, the boss has gained a certain advantage. Looking at this trend, I think the advantage of the boss will only grow stronger until he wins the game. ”

Speaking of Go, Chang Rensheng did not drag his feet in the slightest, and he resolutely expressed his optimism about Li Xiaoqiang. As for the example he gave of Zhao Zhixun, everyone here knows chess. Except for Lin Mengyu and Liao Qiong, everyone else understood what Chang Rensheng meant.

Mr. Kato is a well-known super-notch chess player, and yes. However, in the Japanese chess world, he has not actually established his own era. Mr. Kato's most promising time to establish his own era was in the late 70s and early 80s of the 20th century.

At that time, since Mr. Lin Haifeng pulled Mr. Sakata off the horse. The Japanese chess world is a scuffle, whether it is the "Bamboo Forest Era" or the short-lived "Ishida Era", plus Fujisawa Hideyuki's strange chess holy war 6 consecutive hegemony, all happened during that time. All in all, in that era, there was no absolute hegemon in the Japanese chess world.

By the end of the 70s, Mr. Kato gradually came to the fore, and he was already able to suppress Hayashi Haifeng and Yoshio Ishida. Just when everyone thought that the "Kato era" was coming, it was a pity that Mr. Kato met the younger Cho Ji-hoon. For a long time, Zhao Zhixun seemed to be Masao Kato's "bitter hand", and he strangled the possible "Kato era" in the cradle.

Why does Cho Ji-hoon always win Kato? There is actually an explanation in the Go world:

"Kato's biggest advantage is that he has great strength and deep calculation, but his specialty was completely suppressed by Zhao Zhixun, because compared with Kato, Zhao Zhixun's strength is greater and his calculation path is deeper, since his greatest advantage is suppressed by others, then when Kato meets Zhao Zhixun, he is always at a loss."

Admittedly, this explanation may not be entirely correct, but at least it seems to make some sense. Kato, nicknamed "Heavenly Evil Star", is good at attacking, while Zhao Zhixun is extremely good at treating orphans. In fact, whether it is attacking or curing orphans, it is actually a manifestation of strength and calculation, and it is a unified opposite. Mr. Kato is probably inferior to Zhao Zhixun in this regard, so he can't always practice Lao Zhao.

In fact, Mr. Kato later became "Hanmu Kato", which is actually related to Lao Zhao, it was their five-game chess, Kato won 3-2, Kato won 3 games, and won a total of 1 and a half meshes. Let's analyze why Kato won? At that time, most people in the Japanese chess world thought that Kato was more comprehensive, and he made a breakthrough in official matters, so he won.

"The so-called boxing is afraid of being less strong, in recent years, Xiaoqiang has calculated the horror of the road, which has also been recognized by the chess world. Not only that, even if he is an official, Mr. Kato may not be taller than Xiaoqiang. So you think that the two strongest places of Mr. Kato may be completely suppressed by Xiaoqiang, so when the chess game is played like this, Xiaoqiang has a great chance of winning. Is that so? ”

Reporter Zhang Da's eyes swept in front of Chang Rensheng and them, and he got an affirmative answer:

"That's right, that's the way it is, so we think that's where the boss is smart, when he deliberately steers the game like this. Then his victory is actually reasonable. ”

Can Chang Rensheng's prediction come true?

At about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, in the game room, just as the two sides were about to enter the countdown, Mr. Kato, who had been thinking about it for a while, smiled bitterly.

Then he put the two pieces on the board. (To be continued......)