Chapter 592
Who gave you permission to use your phone?
Lin Ruo was also very clear about this.
Once White secures territory on the top, it can connect its scattered forces after cutting off Black's central dragon, creating an unstoppable attack.
If White defends the large dragon at the bottom, White can then connect with the troops at the top, easily carving out territory there. It seems like White can gain from both options.
Lin Ruo initially thought so too, but after thinking about it for a while, he realized that his opponent seemed to have overlooked something. Who told you that I could only make the two choices you set?
I think I can make a third option.
Lin Ruo's third option was to place the black stones next to the white stones above, directly cutting off the white stones' connection channel, while also protecting the large dragon below.
At this point, Tang Weixing finally began to feel somewhat powerless.
He found it was getting harder and harder.
And how could the traps you set, which seemed so deadly, be so easy to break?
Oh no.
As expected, people who are at a disadvantage are prone to making mistakes when they are too eager to regain the advantage. When Lin Ruo made this move, Tang Weixing realized that his trap was not foolproof. On the contrary, the loophole was nearby.
He made a mistake.
This is not a move that carries absolute pressure.
How could someone with Lin Ruo's keen judgment not notice?
Now that he realized it, Tang Weixing could only frown and ponder deeply after taking this step.
Unlike off the field.
Yang Dingxin put down the chess piece immediately: "That's it, there aren't many opportunities left."
In his view, Tang Weixing originally had a chance to contest the territory above, but after the move that forced Lin Ruo to make a choice had no effect, the situation was reversed.
Lin Ruo has now gained the upper hand.
So where can you go next? You still have to fight on the board. If you can't gain any advantage, then there's nowhere left to go on this huge chessboard.
Then we'll have to order it.
Tang Weixing clearly made a foolish move, and Yang Dingxin knew that as long as he thought about it patiently, it would be easy to see the problem with this move.
Making mistakes under pressure.
Now that the problem has been exposed, he has to desperately try to fix this obvious issue.
Therefore, Tang Weixing tried to remedy this problem in his subsequent moves, while also trying to gain ground at the top, but without much success.
Conversely, during this period, with each move Tang Weixing made, the AI's winning rate almost consistently decreased proportionally.
After all, the area above is the last territory that White can contest. If White fails to gain an advantage here, the chances of winning will naturally decrease.
"This move is useless. Lin Ru blocked it very well. Our chances are getting smaller and smaller."
In the Korean online live stream room.
The South Korean commentators also drew their conclusions early on.
Korean viewers seem to be about to witness that familiar ending again. After all, those who are still watching the match in the live stream at this point are mostly true Go enthusiasts who want to learn from a high-level match through the final.
Seeing this, they couldn't help but feel a sense of despair, because Lin Ruo's strength was almost invincible.
[That's it, we've been completely overwhelmed. No need to wait until the mid-game, we can finish now.]
Did he manage to do it? How is Lin Ruo from Xiba so terrifying? Doesn't he feel any pressure facing his opponent in the finals?
[He seems to be playing without any pressure, so I guess tomorrow's game will be the same. That little brat Lin Ruo is going to win 2-0.]
[Shiba is inhuman! How can he be so terrifying? Winning two world championships in half a year? Or just winning every major international tournament he enters...]
[I have a feeling that for the next five or six years, the Korean Go world will be living in his shadow.]
[Can you think of something even more ridiculous? I actually think he hasn't used his full strength yet. After all, Lin Ruo is indeed much more composed than that young man on Mengbaihe. Of course, this composure isn't a virtue in my opinion, because when he's not composed, he can easily break through...]
Maybe so, but I feel like there's nothing left to play.
...
Tang Weixing should be thankful at this moment, because with each failed attack from above, a large number of South Korean netizens share his despair.
Kid, this isn't funny.
The more powerful Lin Ruo became, the more desperate they became.
The Chinese chess scene is already struggling to keep up with the rising power of many strong players, and then suddenly this genius appears out of nowhere.
Is it really fate that the Korean Go world is doomed?
do not know.
However, at this point, Tang Weixing was truly finished.
Seeing that there was little hope left, Tang Weixing promptly resigned and ended the first round of the game as soon as the middle game began.
There was no hope; continuing would only be torture for him. Tang Weixing felt it was better to go back and prepare for tomorrow's match.
Lin Ruoqiang's approach is a bit outrageous. He feels it's really necessary to go back and study it in detail. The main reason is that the roles of white and black have already been decided for tomorrow. Knowing that he will definitely play black, there is still room for him to cram and develop targeted tactics.
But before that, he needs to review the situation.
Under the lens of the media on site, Tang Weixing resigned in the middle game. After the referee finished recording, the two turned their attention back to the chessboard.
Tang Weixing's doubts were not about Lin Ruo seeing through his scheme, but rather about the initial setup of this match.
"How did you manage to suddenly seize control of three of my external forces?"
This is the point that Tang Weixing finds most perplexing.
Within fifty moves of the opening, Lin Ruo had influence in the upper left corner, Black also had more stones in the lower left, and Black had pushed White to the side in the lower right.
If the game hadn't started like this, Tang Weixing wouldn't have felt like he hadn't had a chance to play for so long after failing to slay the dragon in the bottom right corner.
It can be said that Lin Ruobu's excellent start has already secured half the victory.
So Tang Weixing sensed something was wrong at that time, otherwise he wouldn't have taken the initiative so actively later on. If it weren't for the huge gap in external forces, why would I actively look for opportunities? Wouldn't it be better to take it slow?
Therefore, Tang Weixing always felt that his biggest failure was in the early planning stages.
It was such a failure.
"Because you went for the Worry-Free Corner from the beginning, you wanted to stabilize the corner, and at that time I knew that it would be very easy for me to take the outside position."
Lin Ruo felt there was nothing to say; at least the outer shape in the upper left corner was definitely a gift from Tang Weixing himself, as for the lower left corner...
Actually, Black didn't have much of an advantage; it was just that Lin Ruo's pieces were placed at crucial points.
The bottom right is the only exception, where Tang Weixing was indeed forcefully knocked to the side by Lin Ruo.
After the two reviewed the most important points, Yang Dingxin and Liao Yuanhe came up together.
They didn't seem surprised by the result; as expected, buffs are no match for absolute strength.
"Tang Zi, don't be discouraged. There will be a second game tomorrow. Keep going. Making it to the final game is a success."
harm.
If Tang Weixing had heard this yesterday, he would have thought Liao Yuanhe was being sarcastic, but it happened right after the first game today.
Tang Weixing would only feel that this was the most sincere blessing, after all, winning a game is indeed a success.
I'm afraid I won't win even one game.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Tang Weixing got up and packed his things, choosing to stand behind and wait for Lin Ruo to leave first, so that he could avoid becoming the focus of attention for the media.
Fortunately, Lin Ruo was able to draw attention away from the crowd. By the time Tang Weixing came out of the restroom, most of the people had been drawn away, and only two or three media outlets were still asking questions.
There are only two questions you can ask.
"You fought Lin Ruo today. What's your assessment of him?"
"It's a pity you didn't win the first game. What are your thoughts on this loss? Do you think you can come back?"
How could he possibly evaluate it? Tang Weixing, being such a straightforward person, had to honestly admit that his opponent was very strong, ridiculously strong, but at the same time, he didn't feel any frustration.
And what do you mean by thinking we can come back later? Just because he's strong doesn't mean I'm not. Do you know there are many examples of teams coming back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 in the finals? Just because you won the first round doesn't mean you've really won.
Damn it, where's my coach?
Tang Weixing decided to go to the debriefing room at the training institute to review the events until 10 p.m. before going back to sleep.
He needs to study it carefully; he needs to figure out how Black should start the game tomorrow at noon.
So any interviews are just something to get through.
Unlike Lin Ruo, who was still figuring out how to achieve the perfect interview at this point.
"As expected, Lin Ruo won the first game today. What do you think of your opponent's performance?"
When asked about his opponent's performance, Lin Ruo could only give a vague answer: "No different from other opponents I've encountered before, everyone's the same."
That's absolutely true. After all, they're both the losers, so they're no different from their previous opponents. That's absolutely right.
However, this attempt at showing off was clearly too subtle.
The media audience didn't want to hear that; they just wanted Lin Ruo to say something sensational, like that everyone here was trash.
So the media naturally followed suit, asking whatever questions were asked: "Does Lin Ruo think she will win tomorrow, defeating her opponent 2-0?"
Regarding this, Lin Ruo can only say that the audience has asked the right question. He usually can't and doesn't want to deny things like this, after all, his strength speaks for itself.
How much more low-key do you want me to be? If I'm any more low-key, it'll just make me feel inferior.
How could I, Lin Ruo, be an insecure man? That's absolutely impossible.
So Lin Ruo chose to casually admit: "Yes, I will definitely win tomorrow. I've already prepared my acceptance speech."
The media were thrilled, praising Lin Ruo as the chess player who truly cares about the media, never being sloppy or half-hearted.
Without a doubt, if there were an award for the media's favorite contestant, Lin Ruo would definitely win it.
And it's highly likely he'll be elected unanimously. See, as soon as this interview was released, all the major mainstream media outlets had suitable topics for it that evening.
Claims that Lin Ruo will definitely win the championship tomorrow, or that Lin Ruo is confident that he will defeat Tang Weixing again tomorrow, are all child's play.
The real headlines were all about how Lin Ruo easily defeated his opponent in the first round of the Samsung Cup finals, securing match point and confidently claiming the championship.
See, this is what professional media looks like.
Netizens are already used to this kind of news. Isn't it normal for Lin Ruo to win the game? It's as simple as eating and drinking. It's even more normal for Lin Ruo to talk trash, just like farting every day.
Wait a minute, isn't there something very ordinary that Lin Ruo hasn't done yet?
Yes, if they don't do it together, the audience won't be able to accept it.
Well, as expected, less than two and a half hours after the match ended, Lin Ruo logged back into Weibo and posted her victory speech.
Only after seeing this did the audience truly feel satisfied.
After all, this is their normal daily routine: they take a look at Lin Ruo's match every morning, then take another look at the trash talk Lin Ruo makes after the match in the afternoon, and then take another look at Lin Ruo's Weibo posts after making those trash talk in the evening.
Finally, I turned off the lights and went to sleep, and just like that, a wonderful day came to an end.
By the way, what was Lin Ruo's Weibo post just now? Oh, it turns out it was an early celebration of his second championship.
Holy crap, that's way too arrogant! That's a complete disregard for their opponents!
How could this be? The audience suddenly felt a strange emotion.
Yes, we seem to like it even more now.
[Kids, I'll say it again: there's nothing wrong with being a little arrogant, as long as we don't get proven wrong, we'll always be Lin Ruo's true fans.]
Yes, unless they are proven wrong, no one will fail to praise Lin Ruoyi.
In reality, one night is hardly enough to allow for any rest, since other Go matches at least have a day to rest after a best-of-three series.
One night is too short.
After truly feeling the pressure of the second game, Tang Weixing, who had meticulously reviewed today's match in the debriefing room, felt that time seemed to be running out.
Forget about studying how to play as the black player tomorrow.
Tang Weixing felt that adjusting his mindset was more important now.
Instead of calming down, they dwell on how they lost the game, or they prepare too many tactics to imitate, without giving themselves enough time to relax and unwind.
In a best-of-three match with only one night between games, the probability of being defeated 2-0 the next day is not small.
So after reviewing the game with his coach, Tang Weixing simply thought about the opening moves for Black and didn't do anything else. He returned to his dormitory around 8 p.m.
Then he saw two people pulling hair, and one who was grinning from ear to ear.
Clearly, it was Lin Ruo who was grinning from ear to ear.
Tang Weixing immediately understood why Lin Ruo was grinning from ear to ear: he was playing a fast chess game with Liao Yuanhe.
Go is also divided into fast and slow games. Normal games are basically slow games. Fast games, as the name suggests, must be played very quickly. The core of this type of rule is to use an extremely short time limit, usually 30 seconds of byo-yomi per move, and allow a limited number of delays. If the time limit is exceeded, the player loses.
Compared to the usual at least one minute of thinking time, suddenly the thinking time is only thirty seconds, and exceeding the time limit results in a loss.
Needless to say, it's incredibly difficult, requiring exceptional judgment and strategic thinking from the player. A single move made without careful consideration could easily lead to a fatal mistake.
Clearly, Liao Yuanhe had come out of this predicament. He had little chance of winning against Lin Ruo in a slow game, but he actually thought of playing a fast game. As a result, he was still beaten quite badly by Lin Ruo.
The worst part isn't the unfavorable situation at crucial moments; the worst part is that as the game progresses, Liao Yuanhe starts using the thinking time typical of slow chess.
Simply put, it timed out.
The tolerant Lin Ruo chose to turn a blind eye and watch Liao Yuanhe slowly think, then laughed out loud beside him.
Unconvinced, Liao Yuanhe called Yang Dingxin over to analyze the situation. However, Yang Dingxin, who had also been thinking for a long time, couldn't figure out what to do next.
"What kind of crap did he play? He got beaten like this in just a few moves. No matter who played, it wouldn't have mattered."
Unable to come up with a solution, Yang Dingxin opted to criticize the move, and the rapid chess game ended amidst Lin Ruo's even louder laughter.
Later, Yang Dingxin also wanted to play a quick game with Lin Ruo. As the new game began, the audience became Liao Yuanhe and Tang Weixing, who had just returned. The two of them quietly watched the battle from the sidelines.
Yang Dingxin was a seasoned veteran with considerable experience in rapid chess, and he held his own against Lin Ruoru, though only until the mid-game.
After the middle game, Yang Dingxin also began to think for a long time, just like Liao Yuanhe.
It wasn't that he wanted to renege on his promise, but rather that he genuinely had no room for further consideration.
As time went on and there were more and more things to think about, and as the time for thinking became increasingly insufficient, Lin Ruo became more and more determined to refine her methods.
This resulted in Yang Dingxin taking even longer to think.
If he doesn't stop to think at this point, then the next move he makes will only lead to his own defeat.
Therefore, Yang Dingxin had no choice.
However, thinking this way is tantamount to admitting defeat; no matter what moves are made later, the game is over.
Since it's all gone.
The two people next to them also readily joined in. Tang Weixing pointed and gestured on this side, while Liao Yuanhe pointed and gestured on the other side. Although it is said that three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang.
In reality, none of the three of them fared much better, as none of them would concede to the others and each believed their own ideas were correct.
The three who finished playing last looked at Lin Ruo as if she were a complete pervert.
It's a very simple principle: Lin Ruo's performance in fast chess is almost unchanged from his previous performance in slow chess. In other words, even though the thinking time is shortened, he still plays at the same level as in slow chess, without any decline whatsoever.
But it's different for others.
Yang Dingxin and his teammates definitely show a significant change in skill level when playing rapid chess; their thinking isn't as deep, and they can't reach the same level as in slow chess.
At this point, fighting Lin Ruo would undoubtedly carry the risk of being slaughtered.
So it's not an exaggeration to look at him like he's crazy.
After watching, Liao Yuanhe patted Tang Weixing on the back as usual: "You're in trouble tomorrow, your opponent is no human."
"She really doesn't look human, it's terrifying." Yang Dingxin shook his head, seemingly not wanting to see Lin Ruo again.
After all, he saw Lin Ruo fall into a trap in the first game today, and he thought he would have a chance to defeat Lin Ruo in the future. But when he came back, he played this fast game.
Yang Dingxin felt his worldview collapsing. How could he possibly win against this? Did they cut off his hand or his foot?
After finishing the rapid chess game, Tang Weixing surprisingly agreed with what the two men had said.
Indeed, he suddenly felt that Lin Ruo was not a normal person.
Who plays at the same level in both fast and slow chess? If you play like this, do I even have a chance in the second round tomorrow?
Under the sudden increase in pressure, Tang Weixing suddenly felt relieved about the outcome of tomorrow's match. Losing is losing, and it seems normal not to be able to win. Why should I care?
Hey, the opponents are all monsters, if I could still beat them, then I wouldn't be human.
Okay, that's settled then.
It would be good if we could win tomorrow, but if we can't, then so be it.
...
Under such circumstances, the second round of the finals officially began on the second day.
This time, Lin Ruo arrived early at the request of many media friends, even earlier than his counterpart, Tang Weixing.
In the familiar reception hall, Lin Ruo sat quietly and early for the first time, like a model posing for photos.
But this doesn't affect Lin Ruo's state. Do you think I would sit stiffly in my seat with my eyes closed to rest or contemplate life at this time?
how is this possible.
Lin Ruo chose to take out her phone to look at it in front of all the media reporters and staff.
I'm bored. The game doesn't start for another twenty minutes. I'll check my phone, is that okay?
There's really no problem with that, but historically, there's never been a Go player who would take out their phone to watch a game.
Now the media at the scene have captured some good shots.
The staff at the scene were really surprised by Lin Ruo's boldness, and quickly confiscated all the electronic products under the pretext that the competition was about to start.
Well, now Lin Ruo can only sit in her seat, chin in hand, contemplating life.
However, this did not dampen the excitement of the people having fun in the Wild Fox live stream.
[Haha, Lin Shen has once again set a precedent by playing on his phone during the finals. Isn't that cool?]
[Isn't it normal to play on your phone when you're bored? I completely understand Lin Shen. Who doesn't play on their phone when they're bored? Don't you think so?]
[Yeah, yeah, I think that's actually quite low-key. With so many cameras around, it's already good enough that Lin Shen didn't get up and strike any poses.]
[Sigh, this isn't as impressive as playing on a phone. Our Lin Shen is truly born to be in the public eye and a star. Don't believe me? Just look at him, what can't he pull off? He's got both skill and a love for fun.]
[We suggest we give Lin Shen his phone back. In case the opposing team gets lost in thought during a match, Lin Shen can watch some videos if he gets bored.]
...
Ah Qiu.
Tang Weixing felt that someone was talking badly about him again, but it was okay. It was probably because the weather outside was a bit cold. It would be much more comfortable to go into the reception hall, sit down, and enjoy the air conditioning.
Tang Weixing had heard about Lin Ruo playing on her phone when he came out, so when he sat down, he was puzzled for a moment and then smiled, and said his last words before the competition started.
"Wow, you even use a mobile phone."
"Never mind," Tang Weixing thought, and after saying that, he didn't want to say anything more. He was afraid that Lin Ruo would mess with him on the field.
Indeed, what's so strange about playing on your phone?
It's a miracle this madman isn't messing with him in the game. (End of Chapter)