Infinity Starting with Hikaru no Go

Page 42

In this situation, if it is White's turn to make a move, White can capture a Black stone, and vice versa.

Therefore, if the struggle for power is not restricted, it will continue indefinitely, forming an unsolvable cycle.

Therefore, the rules of Go prohibit the repetition of identical shapes.

That is, after one side captures one of the opponent's pieces through a ko fight, the opponent cannot immediately capture it back even if they can. They must first make a move elsewhere and wait for the opponent to respond before capturing it back.

In the current game, Fujiwara Sai's move just now can be described as initiating a ko fight.

Next, it was Tengen Dozai's turn to make his move.

At this point, Tengen Dozai can choose to capture a white piece, which is called a ko.

In the event of Tengen Dosai capturing a ko, according to the rules of Go, Fujiwara no Sai cannot immediately follow suit and must place his stone elsewhere. Only after Tengen Dosai has placed his stone can he capture the ko back.

This step is also about finding and responding to tribulations in the midst of conflict.

"Seeking robbery" means searching for robbery materials.

The "robbery piece" refers to the point where a piece is placed.

Of course, the placement of the piece is not arbitrary; it requires judgment of the situation and the determination that the opponent will respond to the ko. Only a piece placed where the opponent will respond to the ko is a qualified ko threat.

If, based on their assessment of the situation, the other party determines that this calamity will not have a significant impact on the overall situation, then they may choose not to accept the calamity and instead resolve the conflict by eliminating it.

Only after the calamity is resolved will the conflict cease.

Otherwise, a single ko fight could potentially extend throughout the entire game.

Therefore, in matches between top players, ko fights can often be the deciding factor in the outcome of the game.

......

In everyone's eyes, after pondering for more than ten minutes, Chen Anxia finally picked up a piece again.

Snapped!

As a crisp, clear sound rang out, everyone except Kaga Tetsuo and Kurozuki Ryoko showed expressions of astonishment.

Because Chen Anxia did not choose to capture the ko, but instead chose to place his stones elsewhere.

Only Kaga Tetsuo and Kurozuki Ryoko knew that Chen Anxia (Tengen Doya)'s decision not to choose to trigger the calamity must have contained a deeper meaning that they had not considered.

The reason why Kaga Tetsuo and Kurozuki Ryoko were so certain was because they knew all too well the terrifying skill of Chen Anxia (Tengen Michiya).

After Chen Anxia made his move, Fujiwara Sai first took a deep look at Chen Anxia, ​​who was still deep in thought about the game, before looking at the board.

Upon seeing this, Fujiwara no Sai unconsciously frowned.

Fujiwara Sai had already prepared the materials for the robbery before he started this robbery, just waiting for Chen Anxia to bring it up.

Fujiwara no Sai hadn't expected that Chen Anxia wouldn't choose to capture the ko, but instead placed his pieces elsewhere, seemingly handing over the ko battle to Chen Anxia.

Now, if Fujiwara no Sai were willing, he could easily initiate a ko fight and capture a white stone that was caught in the middle of the ko.

Based on this, according to the Go rule that prohibits repetition of identical shapes, Chen Anxia cannot immediately recapture the piece; he needs to find ko threats before he can recapture it.

However, I could completely ignore the ko and directly capture the other white pieces that are in the midst of the ko fight.

Fujiwara Sai knew that if he captured the remaining white stones in the ko fight, he could not only regain the remaining three points with a 5.5 komi, but also overtake white by at least five points.

Under normal circumstances, a difference of five points is enough to secure victory in the game.

However, this game was different. Although Chen Anxia seemed to have given up the ko fight, he was able to place at least two stones elsewhere while Fujiwara Sai was resolving the ko.

These two stones could very well be the key to White's comeback.

Through the previous battle with the demon sword, Fujiwara Sai was able to roughly judge Chen Anxia's chess strength and knew that Chen Anxia's chess strength was about the same as his own.

Therefore, Fujiwara no Sai was neither arrogant nor did he underestimate Chen Anxia.

Now, Fujiwara Sai also needs to assess the situation and analyze what secrets are hidden behind Chen Anxia's move.

Afterwards, Fujiwara Sai stared at Chen Anxia's move and fell into deep thought.

On the other side, Hikaru Shindo waited a long time for Fujiwara no Sai's instructions, and when he called out to Fujiwara no Sai in his mind, he received no reply. He couldn't help but turn his head curiously to see what Fujiwara no Sai was doing.

Upon looking at him, Hikaru Shindo saw that Fujiwara no Sai was deep in thought.

Unconsciously, Hikaru Shindo's gaze fell on Sai Fujiwara's eyes.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Hikaru Shindo seemed to see black and white chess pieces appearing and disappearing, constantly evolving the moves and principles of the game, reflected in Fujiwara Sai's blue eyes on the chessboard.

In a moment of profound understanding, Hikaru Shindo realized that Fujiwara no Sai was deducing Chen Anxia's move and the future course of the game.

This sudden realization jolted Hikaru Shindo awake, leaving him somewhat dazed.

In a daze, Hikaru Shindo felt as if the world had become nothingness, leaving only himself, the chessboard in front of him, and the pair of towering eyes floating in the sky.

In those towering eyes, Hikaru Shindo saw the birth of countless futures, and also the withering of countless futures.

Hikaru Shindo knew that these futures were the future of the game.

Those two towering eyes are the divine eyes that control the future of these chess games, deciding the birth and decay of the game with just one glance.

This immense power made Hikaru Shindo tremble, while also stirring an indescribable longing within him.

Hikaru Shindo longed for the day when he could also master this power, to be able to see the birth and death of countless chess games with just a glance.

This desire suddenly gave Hikaru Shindo the idea of ​​catching up with Fujiwara no Sai in the world of Go.

Hikaru Shindo knew that if he could catch up with Fujiwara no Sa, he could possess the same power as Fujiwara no Sa.

At the same time, Hikaru Shindo also knew that the power Fujiwara Sai possessed was called... Go power!

Fujiwara Sai was unaware of Hikaru Shindo's thoughts; at that moment, Fujiwara Sai was fully focused on analyzing the future of Chen Anxia's move.

Furthermore, among these foreseeable futures, Fujiwara Sai, based on Chen Anxia's chess principles and style displayed in the Demon Blade Battle, searched for the most likely future to emerge.

In the end, Fujiwara no Sai found it, and saw that future...

......

Chapter 62 This is the Go that truly belongs to me, to Tengen Dosai!

"Given his style and principles, if I allow him to make two consecutive moves here, it will temporarily put me at a disadvantage on this piece of the board."

"However, as long as I revert to my previous playing style, focusing on defense and balance in my moves, I will still have the advantage in the overall situation..."

While muttering to himself, Fujiwara Sai couldn't help but look at Chen Anxia.

At this moment, Chen Anxia was still in the midst of chess enlightenment. The chess principles belonging to Tengen Dozai would occasionally flash in his mind, leaving Chen Anxia completely absorbed.

Chen Anxia's posture caused Fujiwara Sai to frown slightly.

Although Fujiwara Sai saw the future of the game with the greatest potential.

However, the game itself is as unpredictable as the wind and clouds, and Fujiwara Sai doesn't know if the chess principles Chen Anxia demonstrated in the Demon Blade Battle are the whole picture.

Therefore, Fujiwara no Sai could not guarantee that the future of the game he predicted would actually come to pass.

This applies not only to Fujiwara no Sai, but to any top Go player.

In this world, perhaps only a true chess master can guarantee the accuracy of their predictions...

No, it's that the foreseen chess game will definitely come to pass in the future.

Thinking back on this, Fujiwara Sai recalled the brilliant move Chen Anxia had made in his game against Kaga Tetsuo.

The principles revealed in that brilliant move were unprecedented in Fujiwara no Sai's time, nor in the game just now.

Fujiwara Sai was unaware that the underlying principles revealed in that brilliant move were either fleeting or a hidden trump card of Chen Anxia.

If it's just a fleeting phenomenon, that's fine.

But if this is Chen Anxia's hidden trump card, then this trump card will become the biggest variable in this game.

This variable could very well turn into a fatal blow at a crucial moment, striking at one's vitals and delivering a fatal strike.

Thinking about it, Fujiwara Sai took a deep breath.

Then, a resolute look appeared on Fujiwara Sai's face, and he murmured to himself, "Isn't this exactly what I've been longing for?"

"Only in the clash of the pinnacle of chess, when one is in adversity or even in a desperate situation, is it most likely to glimpse the true divine move."

"Young man named Chen Anxia, ​​I hope you can place me in adversity, even in dire straits, so that I may glimpse the true divine hand, even if it is only in its rudimentary form..."

Without further hesitation, Fujiwara no Sai pointed his five-bone bat fan at a certain point on the Go board and said in a deep voice, "Hikaru, row 14, column 16, capture the ko!"

Hikaru Shindo, who was still in a hallucination and in a daze, was immediately awakened after hearing Sai Fujiwara's voice.

Subconsciously, Hikaru Shindo picked up a black stone and placed it at the point in row 14, column 16.

Afterwards, amidst the puzzled and confused expressions of the onlookers, Hikaru Shindo withdrew his hand.

Hikaru Shindo noticed the strange looks he was getting from the people watching the game, and he felt nervous, restrained, and uncomfortable.

Hikaru Shindo was unaware of what was happening and wondered to himself, "Sai, why is everyone looking at me so strangely? Is there something wrong with me?"

Fujiwara Sai, somewhat exasperated and amused, didn't answer Hikaru's question but instead asked, "Hikaru, take a closer look at the board and see if you've missed anything?"

Upon hearing this, Hikaru Shindo immediately turned his inquiring gaze toward the chessboard.

Upon seeing this, Hikaru Shindo realized what he had overlooked, and his face flushed with embarrassment. He hurriedly retrieved the white stones he had captured from the ko fight, thinking to himself with dissatisfaction, "Sai, why didn't you remind me!"

Seeing this, Fujiwara Sai replied innocently, "Hikaru, you've played quite a few games, you should know to capture the pieces you've captured, right? How could I have thought of that..."

Hikaru Shindo knew that Fujiwara Sai was telling the truth, so he stopped talking. He felt incredibly embarrassed and wanted to minimize his presence.

Indeed, in his previous games against Akira Touya, Hikaru Shindo always remembered to capture the pieces that were captured.

As for what happened just now, it was because Hikaru Shindo was in a state of shock and his reaction was not timely.

Furthermore, Hikaru Shindo was a complete novice and hadn't developed any physical instincts for grapes, which led to this blunder.

Seeing this, Kaga Tetsuo frowned and muttered to himself strangely, "This kid, his expression and movements, the more I look at him, the more he seems like a novice?"

"If it was acting, then his acting skills are amazing..."

"And the skill he displayed in the battle against the demon sword..."

"Could it be that he really has some kind of unusual fetish?"

Ryoko Kurozuki was also puzzled by Hikaru Shindo's actions.

Forgetting to capture a piece is such a basic mistake that it would be impossible for a top player like Hikaru Shindo to make such a mistake.