Seoul, South Korea, the venue of the 3rd Toyo Securities Cup finals. After a day's rest, Li Xiaoqiang re-entered the game room with a different mood. Here, he is about to start the second set of the battle with Li Shifo.

Since entering the professional chess world, since Li Xiaoqiang has encountered players older than him most of the time, it seems to be a natural habit, Li Xiaoqiang usually enters the game room a little earlier. Today's situation is no exception, Li Xiaoqiang came to the game room about 5 minutes early. However, when he came in, he found that Li Shifo had already sat in his place. Judging by the way he looks, he should have prepared for the game. Therefore, Li Xiaoqiang didn't say a word, he sat down in his seat silently. In the minutes leading up to the start of the match, the scene in the game room was interesting. At this time, the staff, including the match referee, had not yet come in. Only Li Xiaoqiang and Li Shifo sat facing each other. However, during this period, the two did not communicate at all, let alone say hello, when Li Xiaoqiang first came in, Li Shifo didn't even look at Li Xiaoqiang, he didn't even raise his eyelids, and just sat there like an old monk in a fixed place.

"What are you thinking? Are you trying to figure out how to deal with me? ”

Seeing Li Shifo's appearance, Li Xiaoqiang naturally would not disturb other people's "settlement". But when Li Xiaoqiang really sat in his place, he looked at Li Shifo sitting opposite him, and Li Xiaoqiang once again remembered the glory that this opponent had created. Albeit at this time. All the glory of Li Shifo only exists in Li Xiaoqiang's memory.

In real history, Li Shifo has set a lot of records. But at this time, Li Xiaoqiang didn't think about anything else. He just remembered one of Li Shifo's unique features: the entire history of modern Go. It seems that there is only Li Shifo, this one-of-a-kind Li Shifo, who has not suffered a truly unforgettable setback when he walked towards the throne, he started from victory, from victory to victory, and finally became invincible in the world. Li Xiaoqiang even thought of it, even if it was Mr. Wu Qingyuan. He didn't personally pull the Xiuya celebrity off the altar, so it seems that he is a little inferior to Li Shifo at this point.

"Until now. You have conquered the entire Korean chess world, and you have started to move towards the world chess scene. What a coincidence, it was at this time that I actually met you, is this the beginning of your victory? Or did you suffer your first setback......"

Just when Li Xiaoqiang was thinking about it. It's finally time for the game. As the referee announced the start of the game, Li Shifo, who took the lead in black in this game, dropped the first chess piece. Li Xiaoqiang took a deep breath, he gathered his mind, and he began to compete with Li Shifo in the second game.

"Sometimes it's strange to think that when almost all young chess players make their debut, they always have to rely on the courage of youth to open up and close, betting on whether the calculation and energy of young people can tear through the defense of old guys. Only today sitting in the final seat are not the same as these two young men. Alas, it's funny to think about, they really seem to be completely different......"

"Oh. So what do you think is the difference between them? ”

When the reporter's photo time was over, South Korea's reporter Park shook his head and said this to reporter Zhang Da next to him. To say that reporter Zhang Da is still very familiar with the Japanese Go world. However, at this time, he had relatively little contact with the Korean Go community, and there were few acquaintances. Therefore, he naturally chatted with reporter Park.

In the morning, since the game had just begun, there were not many people in the research room, so the chess game was naturally impossible to study. Coach Luo went to Zhang Luo's lunch again. Only reporter Zhang Da seemed more idle. After he took the first few photos before the start of the competition, the morning's work was over. So he simply stayed in the lab and chatted with his Korean counterpart.

It may be because of Li Shifo's winning move in the first game. Therefore, today's reporter Park seems to be in a good mood. He began to talk eloquently in front of reporter Zhang Da:

"On the surface, these two people look very different. Especially from the perspective of their chess style characteristics, it is like two extremes, both are two chess players with very distinct personal styles. But if you look closely, you will find that these two people actually have a lot in common. Mr. Zhang, do you think that's the case? ”

"What do they have in common?"

"First of all, it's incredible that the two of them started out. Their performances along the way have even upended the way those of us think about Go. At the same time, they are very persistent and have a very strong sense of winning and losing. Especially our Li Shifo, he is qualitatively different from those geniuses who had a lively and casual childhood. Tsk, whenever I see the stone Buddha sitting calmly like a middle-aged master with countless life experiences, breathing in the dark and rough breath of victory and defeat......"

Originally, at the very beginning, reporter Zhang Da was still very interested in discussing "the similarities between Li Xiaoqiang and Li Shifo" with the other party. However, as soon as I heard reporter Park use such gorgeous rhetoric, reporter Zhang Da's mood was completely ruined. At this moment, he complained in his heart. The heart said Didn't you just talk about the first point, why did you immediately turn into a praising of Li Shifo?

That's right, you mean nothing more than to say that Li Shifo doesn't look like a child, it's just "like an adult". And what about our Xiaoqiang? You don't know much about him. If you have a deep conversation with him, you will feel like a child. So which one do you say is great?

Of course, reporter Zhang Da can only complain in his heart, so he can't say it at all. At this time, even when it comes to the topic of "winners and losers", reporter Zhang Da seems to have no way to refute it.

Although when Li Xiaoqiang was very young, he was praised by Fujisawa Hideyuki, an old god, as "having the potential to be a first-class winner". When he won the "Fujitsu Cup", he was considered by the chess world to be a peerless winner. However, in the game of chess the day before yesterday, Li Xiaoqiang's performance must not have looked like a "winner and loser". Therefore, when reporter Park took out the advantage of Li Shifo to show off. Reporter Zhang Da felt very aggrieved.

"Xiaoqiang, you guy. You're going to have to fight for me today. ”

Since the morning, reporter Zhang Da has been watching the battle with such a mood. But fortunately, today's reporter Zhang Da did not suffer much. Because in today's game. Although there were more than 200 hands on the board, it ended later than the first game. But the whole process was surprisingly simple, and there were not even any big twists and turns.

It was also around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and at this time the game had been going on for more than 3 hours. Similar to the first game, there were more than 60 moves on the board. Reporter Zhang Da grabbed Coach Luo, the only professional chess player who could ask, and asked:

"How? What is the situation now? ”

"I asked the opinions of domestic chess players when I went to pass the chess score just now, and everyone agreed that Xiaoqiang's layout was successful, and the current situation is Xiaoqiang's advantage."

"Then how do I think the Korean chess players also have a calm expression? Well. Coach Luo, pay attention to Cao Yanzi's expression. He must not seem to be worried about Li Shifo. I even think...... He looked very satisfied with Li Shifo's performance, what the hell was going on? ”

"When Xiaoqiang first got out of the ring. He faced Japanese players who were more skilled than him, and he often fell behind in the first half of the game. You can think about it, would you be very worried about Xiaoqiang at that time? ”

"That's ...... That's because Xiaoqiang often has great ideas, and he is usually able to come up with unexpected means. So when everyone gets used to this feature of his. Naturally, there is nothing to worry about. ”

"Yes, Cao Yanzi's mood now is actually the same as you were back then. Because they have become accustomed to Li Shifo's backward layout. They may even think that this situation has entered the tune of Lee Seok-fo, and I have heard that there is such an argument in the Korean chess world: as long as you can get through the dangerous shoals of the middle game. Then Li Shifo has no chance to take advantage of it. As long as it is not the end of the battle in the middle game, then the second half of the game is Li Shifo's one-way transparent world. ”

"Huh!? Luo Lao, do you believe this statement? ”

"It doesn't matter if I believe it or not, the most important thing now is to see what Xiaoqiang thinks. What he thinks is what matters. Let's continue to see how the game goes......"

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, more than 80 chess games had been played at this time.

"Luo Lao, are you sure that Li Shifo's 81st hand just now is a "slow hand"? Is that really what the domestic side says? I don't think I'm happy in Korea. That's right. It was Seo Bong-so just now, and he seemed to have said something about a joke that made those people so happy. Translated by Liu. Did you hear what he was just saying? ”

"Crocodile, I just vaguely heard Seo Bong-so talking about crocodiles. As for what it means, then I don't know. ”

"Oh? Since Mr. Seo Bong-so talked about crocodiles, then I probably know what they mean. Xiao Zhang, you see, it is true that China thinks that the 81st move of black chess is a "slow move", but at the same time, it is also very forbearing. It has the intention of luring white to make mistakes. If Xiaoqiang attacks blindly, then he really won't be able to take advantage of it here. Seo Bong-so just talked about crocodiles. In fact, it is used to describe Li Shifo's chess style. ”

"Crocodile waiting! Is that what it means? So is Xiaoqiang responding correctly now? ”

"Xiaoqiang's response is incorrect, and it is not clear from the current situation. But judging by the last few moves. Xiaoqiang's performance is still relatively calm. Although his response can only be described as decent, at least he did not attack blindly. Let's move on to the rest of the process......"

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, more than 120 chess moves had been played by this time.

"Luo Lao, how is the situation now? I guess Xiaoqiang's current situation should be good. I see Cao Yanzi, they don't have a smile anymore. They are all nervously dismantling chess now, looking like they are looking for a way for Li Shifo. Is that so? ”

"It should be, according to domestic opinions, the current Xiaoqiang should have a little advantage. In fact, Xiaoqiang's state today is not good, and he has a move in front of him that is not fine enough. He was able to gain an advantage, and that was because his opponents played worse. In addition to the slow move in front of him, black may have made a problem move behind him, probably due to nervousness. I don't know what he was worried about just now, he didn't choose to fight back. In fact, the counterattack method is not particularly complicated. ”

"Haha, playing chess with Xiaoqiang, then you will always be afraid of his name as a "chessboard wizard". Even in the face of his problematic hand, it is in a field that he is not good at, so according to Li Shifo's cautious character. It's entirely possible that he's overdone it and will be suspicious there. Do you think it's possible? ”

"Hehe, I don't know about this. Let's move on to the rest of the process......"

Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, both sides entered the countdown, and the entire chess game had already played more than 160 moves.

"Luo Lao, Xiaoqiang's advantage should be more obvious now, right? You see, black seems to have forced a robbery. Does this devastation have an impact on the overall situation? ”

"You're right, Xiaoqiang's advantage now should be more obvious. At present, it is a handicap win/lose, and in a game of this level, this gap is still relatively large. Black is actually reluctant to play that robbery, because it is clear that white is advantageous, and black should not be able to win. And the value of this robbery is actually not big, it belongs to the kind of boring robbery, even if Xiaoqiang retreats a little, it should not affect the final victory. ”

"Listen to what you mean, Xiaoqiang should have won now, right? So where do you think Xiaoqiang won today? ”

"Maybe it's because of the nameless game of chess since ancient times, Xiaoqiang's performance today is not good. The quality of the game was also average, with a lot of mistakes on both sides. Xiaoqiang was able to win because his opponent today performed even worse. Perhaps, as you said, in the face of a more patient Li Xiaoqiang, Li Shifo wavered. Therefore, it can be said that the reason why Xiaoqiang won chess today was because of his patience. Compared with the game of chess the day before yesterday, this is Xiaoqiang's biggest change. His change also caught his opponent off guard, which may be the real reason why Xiaoqiang won today. ”

"Hehe, the key to Xiaoqiang's game of chess is not to win in technology, but in psychology. Can you think so? ”

"I think so. Okay, let's move on to the rest of the process. I guess this game should be over soon......"

A little after 5:30 p.m., at this time, more than 200 moves were played in the chess game.

In the game room, Li Shifo slowly put the two sunspots on the chessboard.

With his move, the score of the final of the 3rd "Toyo Securities Cup" World Professional Go Championship has become 1-1. (To be continued)