blogombal Page 52
Page 52
"Not at all..." Gu Ran said modestly through the microphone, responding to the people around him.
Having won, he didn't want to stay any longer and was about to leave with Li Baoying.
Unexpectedly, Byun Sang-yeop refused to back down.
With a gloomy face and a look of resentment, he said to Gu Ran, "One more plate!"
"Does it count as a win or a loss?" Ha Ji-yeon said this through Gu Ran's megaphone, her purpose being to make Byun Sang-yeop back down.
It was a friendly match before, so there was no winner or loser.
If we're talking about winning and losing, a loss would affect Byun Sang-yeop's ranking at the Go Association.
A lower ranking will affect his chances of being ranked in the professional league, since there are only five spots available each year.
Of course, he is young, talented, and has plenty of opportunities, so he doesn't care.
Young men care more about their own face.
Especially in front of beautiful women.
"Let's settle the score!" Byun Sang-yeop said, clenching his fist.
"Alright then." Gu Ran nodded and agreed.
If we're talking about determining the winner, then the game becomes more formal.
The game of chess is timed, and there are people specifically assigned to record the game scores, as well as referees to maintain order.
The person in charge of the Go academy, upon hearing that there was a relatively formal game, turned on the projector to broadcast the game live.
Byun Sang-yeop achieved fame at a young age at this training center and was highly regarded by many Go masters from South Korea.
Many Go enthusiasts also put down their pieces to watch the match.
The game soon began.
This time, Gu Ran played white and went second. His first move was still at the Heavenly Origin position.
The spectators were stunned. This was a formal match, and the player was at the lower Heavenly Origin level. What did this mean?
Then, a few people explained that the two of them had played a game before, and Gu Ran had also reached the Heavenly Origin level and won.
After the onlookers learned the cause and effect, they continued watching the game.
Byun Sang-yeop was furious and felt nervous.
This is an official match.
If your opponent places their bet at the center position and you win, outsiders will say that your opponent let you win.
If you lose, you'll lose face even more. Outsiders will say, "The opponent gave you a head start, and you still lost."
So it's not a good look no matter who wins or loses.
Moreover, he had already lost the previous game.
But the previous game was a friendly match, so not many people paid attention to it.
Quite a few people were watching this game!
Moreover, the game record of this match was documented by someone, and Byun Sang-yeop's rank was higher than his.
If he loses, Byun Sang-yeop will be ridiculed by the other students in the Go Academy for a long time.
Therefore, Byun Sang-yeop is under immense psychological pressure, and he is playing his first few standard opening moves with extreme caution.
Gu Ran, however, remained calm and composed while playing chess.
After all, it is Norma who is in charge.
The game continued into the middle stages, with both sides locked in a fierce and evenly matched struggle.
Byun Sang-yeop truly lived up to his reputation as a very talented player; he didn't make any major mistakes all the way up to move 80.
However, he spent too much time thinking.
However, on the board, Gu Ran is still in the lead.
According to Norma's calculations, Gu Ran's current winning percentage is around 60%, which is not an overwhelming advantage.
Norma's AI model was created hastily and in a short period of time, and it was not as sophisticated as the first-generation AlphaGo.
Chapter 59 The Divine Finger
However, the model Norma hastily put together is more than enough to deal with a twelve-year-old amateur chess player.
Gu Ran and Bian Xiangye were locked in a fierce battle on the chessboard, exchanging pieces and fighting for every inch of ground.
Before long, there were more than twenty chess pieces on the lid of the chess box.
The chessboard cover used in the dojo is not big enough; it can't hold more than twenty of them.
Byun Sang-yeop then captured a piece and, as was customary, placed it on the chessboard cover, but the cover was already full.
So the chess piece fell out and landed outside.
Following Norma's instructions, Gu Ran immediately made a move and then pressed the timer.
Now it was Byun Sang-yeop's turn. He didn't have much time to think; he only had less than ten minutes left.
At this point, the game had become extremely tense, and Byun Sang-yeop needed to think for a long time before making his next move.
Gu Ran looked at the chess piece that had fallen outside and smiled.
He raised his hand, looked at the referee, and then pointed to the chess piece that Byun Sang-yeop had dropped outside.
The referee paused for a moment, then immediately understood what Gu Ran meant.
According to the rules, the pieces should indeed be placed in the cover.
However, there were no penalty rules at this time, nor was there any explanation of what would happen if a piece was not placed on its cover.
But after thinking about it, he realized that a warning should still be given for violating the rules.
The referee then interrupted Byun Sang-yeop's thoughts.
He told Byun Sang-yeop, "You must place the pieces on the board; that's the rule!"
"Oh, oh! I'm sorry, my dear." Byun Sang-yeop had been staring at the chessboard, calculating the gains and losses of the game, when his train of thought was suddenly interrupted.
He glared at Gu Ran angrily, thinking to himself, "You have the upper hand, yet you still dare to interrupt my thinking in this way. How despicable!"
But rules are rules, so Byun Sang-yeop could only follow the rules and put the fallen pieces back on the board.
But the chess pieces were already completely filled, and there was no room to put any more.
Byun Sang-yeop was stacking the pieces like building blocks; it took him a long time to finally manage to balance them on the board.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he looked at the timer and found that there were less than two minutes left.
He spent a full five minutes piling the pieces that had fallen out back onto the chessboard!
At this moment, Byun Sang-yeop was anxious, and in a moment of confusion, he made a move.
He regretted it after making that move, because he knew he had made a mistake.
Norma immediately gave Gu Ran a location, and Gu Ran made this move.
“After this move, your winning percentage is as high as 98%, he has no chance.” Norma’s lifeless voice rang in his ears.
This move directly severed Byun Sang-yeop's dragon formation.
Once the large dragon was cut off, Byun Sang-yeop's well-established black stones were divided by Gu Ran's white stones, which then slowly eroded the black stones, leaving the black stones with no chance at all.
"I lost..." Byun Sang-yeop conceded defeat.
Gu Ran stood up with a smile and greeted everyone, who applauded.
Thank you for giving everyone present a wonderful match.
Li Baoying smiled and stepped forward, taking Gu Ran's hand, her soft breasts pressed tightly against Gu Ran's arm.
"Shi Yu, you're amazing! You actually managed to beat a student from the Go Academy, that's incredible!"
Li Baoying praised him loudly, and disregarding the fact that they were in public, she actually kissed Gu Ran on the cheek.
The jeers from the crowd grew even louder!
Byun Sang-yeop stared blankly, his heart breaking.
"Oh, Gu Ran, I finally have something on you." Raymond's voice suddenly came through Gu Ran's earpiece. "I won't tell your girlfriend."
Raymond hadn't appeared for a long time, and his voice suddenly came out, proving that he had been secretly protecting her all this time.
Because Li Baoying was standing close by, Gu Ran couldn't say anything, so he could only use Morse code: "If you dare to tell anyone, I'll tell your wife that you're having an affair, and we'll both suffer!"
"Gu Ran, you're so mean! You actually slandered me!" Raymond said angrily.
Gu Ran was too lazy to argue with him; her current task was to go on a date with Li Baoying.
So he said goodbye to the people at the Go academy and left with Li Baoying.
Inside the Go academy, Byun Sang-yeop was still sitting in the same spot.
He looked at the chessboard and suddenly, as if he had gone mad, began slapping himself repeatedly!
Those nearby quickly intervened, saying, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Losing is losing, what's the big deal?"
Byun Sang-yeop buried his face in the table and cried loudly.
He, a student of the South Korean Go Academy and an amateur 6-dan, actually lost to an amateur 1-dan!
Too shameful!
Moreover, his opponent gave him a handicap of Tengen, and he still lost!
Such a loss would not only lower his ranking in the chess academy, but also make him a laughingstock among his competitors!
At that moment, he couldn't help but wonder if he was really suited to playing Go.
Does he really have a talent for Go?
Will he really be able to become a professional Go player in the future?