The first match of the Twin Stars Cup finally came to an end.
However, the waves stirred by this match have not subsided for a long time.
The overwhelming reaction after the match was even more sensational than during the Twin Stars Cup itself.
Describing it as a shock to the Go world is not an exaggeration at all.
Countless people repeatedly analyzed this game, carefully savoring every move from both sides, and no matter how many words were spoken, they could hardly express the shock and astonishment in their hearts!
Everyone accepted that what they previously thought was thickness might not be so thick after all; thickness can have flaws. Everyone also accepted that thinness isn't necessarily bad; thinness has its merits.
But, it was not just that simple.
What overturned everyone's understanding was the idea that traditional thickness might actually be bad, and thinness could be superior to thickness—thickness and thinness had actually been reversed!
How big an impact was this on all Go players’ entire concept of Go and Go tactics?
It was unimaginably huge!The Go they had learned since childhood, the strategies once taught by their teachers, were all overturned at this moment!
Some had studied Go for ten years, others for twenty years, some even for thirty or forty years, yet all of it was overturned!
"How could this be..."
In a small northern town, a young man repeatedly studied the game record of today’s first Twin Stars Cup match. Without moving the mouse much, he clicked to the next move and replayed the game from the start again.
Replay, start over, replay, start over... over and over.
I don’t even know how many times I have replayed it today, but every time the result was still this unbelievable outcome.
Not long ago, I suddenly took a deep breath, opened the Go game record website, searched for classic past games, and then finished replaying those famous old games.
One, two, eight...
As the number of classic games I reviewed grew fewer, the disbelief on my face grew deeper, and sweat started to bead at my temples.
Finally, I stared blankly at the computer screen in front of me.
Below the screen was a Go board densely filled with stones, white and black stones crisscrossing in a complicated pattern.
Although it was the final position, judging from the situation, that game had been an extremely fierce battle. Both sides almost fought across the entire board, with dead stones and foolish shapes everywhere.
Anyone who follows Go would surely be familiar with that game.
That was the legendary match between An Hongshi and the Japanese player Kimura Go seven years later. Before the match, no one made predictions about it. Both players played divinely, creating a perfect game.
Many players had tried to find mistakes in that game, and although no one was certain they found them, everyone could find some flaws or at least convincing ones.
Therefore, that game was known as "The Heavenly Game," because every move was flawless yet imperfect, naturally perfect.
And now, even I, when looking at that game, can accurately judge the thickness and thinness of the stones in it!
A middle-aged man stared at the computer screen, lost in thought, murmuring: "All those famous games... were completely rejected overnight..."
Not only me, but no one around the world is not diving into Go forums, reviewing past game records one by one, trying to find flaws in those classic games.
Too few, too few remain flawless.
Everyone was shocked to discover that when they looked back at those games that once made them exclaim in admiration, more or less they had flaws, and those flaws were obvious from today's perspective!
This is destined to be a sleepless night!
The Go world has already been completely overwhelmed by this new wave!
"This is... the first game of the Twin Stars Cup."
Everyone involuntarily felt unprecedented complex emotions about the upcoming final match of the Twin Stars Cup.
Excitement mixed with fear, fear mixed with confusion, and confusion mixed with a hint of nervousness.
"So, what about the second game?"
"Yu Shao is too strong..."
Before the Twin Stars Cup, most people thought that Yu Shao and Su Yiming had about a fifty-fifty chance, but now, after the first match ended, countless people quietly changed their opinions.
"What kind of game will Yu Shao play next?"
There are only two games in the Twin Stars Cup, and these two games will decide the title’s ownership. In other words, Su Yiming already has no way out!
The interval between the two Twin Stars Cup games is short—only three days.
That means the final battle is in three days!
......
Elsewhere, in a quiet Go room.
Zhuang Weisheng and Zhuang Fei sat opposite each other, constantly placing stones, the sound of stones hitting the board echoing repeatedly.
Zhuang Weisheng's expression remained calm from start to finish, but Zhuang Fei, on the other hand, looked distracted and unsettled.
Soon, Zhuang Fei placed a stone diagonally on the board again.
Seeing this move, Zhuang Weisheng was silent for a moment, then he did not respond with a diagonal move but slowly stood up and said, "Let's stop for today. Your mind is too restless."
Zhuang Fei was slightly stunned, opening his mouth to argue but ultimately said nothing.
Indeed, he couldn’t calm down to play Go today. The Twin Stars Cup today left him with lingering unrest in his heart. Facing the reversal of thickness and thinness, he was completely unsettled.
He was actually puzzled by his father’s calmness.
"Le Haoqiang!"
Suddenly, Zhuang Weisheng’s phone rang inside the Go room.
Zhuang Weisheng picked up the phone, glanced at the caller’s name, and quickly answered, "Hello?"
On the other end was Ma Zhengyu’s voice: "Hello, Teacher Zhuang Weisheng, did you watch today’s Twin Stars Cup?"
"I have."
Zhuang Weisheng said while looking at the Go board in front of him.
"Great. Here’s the thing: our Go academy wants me to ask you for a brief phone interview to talk about your thoughts on this game."
Ma Zhengyu was straightforward.
Hearing this, Zhuang Fei immediately perked up; he also wanted to hear his father’s opinion on this game.
Zhuang Weisheng glanced at his son and then joked to Ma Zhengyu on the phone, "Speaking of which, I think the interview should be paid for, right?"
"Hahaha."
On the other end, Ma Zhengyu gave an embarrassed but polite laugh. "Teacher Zhuang, no need to be so formal. Let's just talk about the game as friends."
"This game, huh..."
Zhuang Weisheng didn’t really intend to charge Ma Zhengyu. After a pause, he said slowly, "It’s very wonderful."
"....."
After hearing this, Ma Zhengyu was momentarily speechless. After a long while, he said in an incredulous tone, "Teacher Zhuang, everyone knows it’s wonderful, but seeing such a game, you must have many other things to say, right?"
"No."
Zhuang Weisheng smiled wryly and shook his head. "Really, no."
This answer left Ma Zhengyu utterly at a loss, and he couldn’t say a word for a long time.
Zhuang Weisheng lowered his eyes to the board before him. In his dark eyes, it seemed like he was not staring at the game in front of him but the Twin Stars Cup game, and he said quietly, "I only saw... two players far beyond me."
Hearing this, Zhuang Fei felt as if he had been struck by a sudden blow, frozen in place, then slowly widened his eyes.
Silence.
Silence.
On the other end of the line, Ma Zhengyu remained silent, but unlike before, he was now deeply shocked by Zhuang Weisheng’s words, unable to respond.
"Seeing this game with my own eyes excites me deeply."
Zhuang Weisheng said slowly, "The two of them are indeed above me."
"Because I have never played such a wonderful game."
"I, who have never played such a game, can only say that since they are above me, naturally I have no grounds to discuss this game."
Finally, Ma Zhengyu reacted, suppressing the emotions stirring inside him, and asked, "Teacher Zhuang, do you mean... this game surpasses all the games you have played before?"
"Surpasses all the games I have played before?"
Zhuang Weisheng was stunned for a moment, then chuckled silently, "Not just me."
Hearing this, both Zhuang Fei and Ma Zhengyu obviously held their breath, waiting for Zhuang Weisheng to finish.
"This game surpasses all the games played by all players before... every move in this game points to the answer of Go."
"Players devote their lives to the world of Go, and what all players pursue for a lifetime appears in this game. How can one not be moved?"
Hong Boxian said with a faint smile, "Perhaps from now on, every player you see will have to take playing a game like that as their goal."
"Seeing such a game, you only want to play one game with Zhuang Fei."
Zhuang Weisheng paused, then continued, "Even if I lose—"
"As a Go player, seeing such a game, my heart has no other thought but to play another game with him!"
"Even if I lose, I want to know how he defeated me!"
When Zhuang Weisheng’s voice fell, the entire Go room fell silent.
Zhuang Fei stared blankly at his father, seeing only seriousness on his face—a seriousness born of accepting defeat but still daring to face the challenge.
"Speaking of which, there is something I want to trouble you with."
Finally, Zhuang Weisheng spoke again.
Hearing this, Ma Zhengyu finally regained his senses. Feeling parched, he swallowed hard and immediately said, "Teacher Zhuang, please go ahead."
"Has the commentator for the second Twin Stars Cup match been decided yet?"
Zhuang Weisheng asked, "If not, let me be the commentator."
"I have a strong premonition that the next game may exceed this one far beyond our imagination."
"Anyway, I want to be involved in this game, even if... only as a commentator!"
......
......
Time quietly slipped forward.
The turmoil caused by the first Twin Stars Cup match did not stop but intensified, so the upcoming final battle attracted everyone’s attention even more.
Everyone’s mood was extremely complex. As the days passed and the second Twin Stars Cup match drew closer, they all felt an inexplicable pressure!
The final battle—
is coming!
In the first Twin Stars Cup match, Yu Shao’s performance was simply too stunning. He completely overturned the Go concept of thickness and thinness, overturning four thousand years of Go, reaching an astounding level.
Now, everyone’s discussion was no longer about who won or lost that match, but whether Su Yiming could possibly win.
Too strong...
This was the thought in everyone’s hearts.
Looking back at Yu Shao’s past game records, although he often played amazing moves, flaws still existed, but since the National Hand Championship, Yu Shao seemed like a different person.
Where exactly he changed, no one could say, but it just felt different from before. Before, he might have been a bit immature, but now, he was mature!
Everyone found it hard to believe that they would worship a seventeen-year-old boy so completely!
Although Yu Shao has yet to participate in the world tournament, and the world tournament’s results are the true proof of strength, just from Yu Shao’s domestic tournament games alone, he already silenced all voices!
In silent anticipation, time finally reached seven days before the first Twin Stars Cup match began!
Early that morning, although it was still bright, and there were still seven or eight days left before the match ended, thousands of netizens had already flooded into the official Twin Stars Cup live broadcast room, with the online number climbing continuously!
By four o’clock in the early morning, the small hall of the Southern Go Academy was already packed. Everyone looked burdened, with expressions far from relaxed.
"Wang Ming, you’re here too."
"Hmm... as a Go player, you have to come and take a look."
"Li Songming, have you eaten breakfast?"
"Not yet... The Twin Stars Cup is about to start, how can I eat?"
Although there were many people in the Go academy’s hall, for some reason, everyone was whispering to each other, not a single person was loud. It was as if a mysterious pressure had enveloped the place.
Zheng Qin, Wu Zhixuan, Xu Zijin, Le Haoqiang... were all among them.
Though the Go academy hall was large, it was now packed with people. Everyone wanted to witness the final outcome of the Twin Stars Cup at the scene!
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the whispers in the Go academy hall suddenly stopped all at once. Everyone turned their gaze sharply toward the entrance of the hall.
A boy with messy hair, wearing a white shirt, slowly walked into the hall.
Su Yiming had arrived.
Everyone watched Su Yiming. Without exception, their expressions became more solemn, and their eyes showed complicated feelings.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Su Yiming walked into the hall, then calmly passed through the crowd and headed toward the corridor, his figure soon disappearing at the far end of everyone’s sight.
Not long after, another boy appeared at the entrance of the Go academy’s main hall.
Yu Shao had also arrived!