Infinity Starting with Hikaru no Go

Page 28

......

Akira Toya heard Yasutaka Uemura's murmur and was startled.

Akira Toya never expected that Yasutaka Uemura would have the same thoughts as him.

Does this mean that my suspicions might be true? And that this guy might actually be Chen Anxia?

Akira Touya, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his heart couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and trepidation.

At this moment, Akira Touya really wanted to replace Harumi Ichikawa and play a game of Go against GG online.

But Akira Touya did not do that.

Akira Toya knew that from the very beginning, this game of Go belonged to Harumi Ichikawa.

As a spectator, one should not interfere in the game, nor should one request a change of players midway through; this is the most basic etiquette for watching chess.

Therefore, Akira Touya could only suppress his desires, try to calm himself down, and try to see the game before him clearly.

Harumi Ichikawa, who was completely absorbed in the game, did not notice the unusual reactions of Yasutaka Uemura and Akira Toya.

Right now, Harumi Ichikawa only wants to win this game under Akira Touya's watchful eye.

Perhaps it was because of her focus, or perhaps it was because she wanted to show off in front of Akira Touya, that Harumi Ichikawa was in a state that surpassed her usual peak.

At that moment, in Harumi Ichikawa's eyes, the online chess game in front of her seemed to have turned into a real chess game.

I was sitting at one end of the chessboard with the guy whose appearance I couldn't see and who was behind the scenes.

Without the slightest hesitation, Harumi Ichikawa, holding the mouse, placed a piece on the chessboard with a 'snap', as if she were holding a real chess piece.

However, Harumi Ichikawa's hand did not leave the piece, because the place where the piece landed was not the end point.

The real destination is...

With her eyes fixed on a certain spot, Harumi Ichikawa, without hesitation, slowly and firmly pushed the piece towards GG.

During the process of pushing the pieces, Harumi Ichikawa poured all her beliefs and will into the pieces in her hand.

At the same time, a unique aura belonging to Harumi Ichikawa rose from the chess piece, transforming into a ethereal, unformable beast that roared at GG.

Unfortunately, Harumi Ichikawa's aura was too weak, preventing the beast from taking shape.

Naturally, this unformed beast could not exert any pressure on GG.

Ignoring Harumi Ichikawa's imposing manner, GG calmly placed a piece on the board in response to Harumi Ichikawa.

Snapped!

Snapped!

Snapped!

......

The two sides went back and forth, and before they knew it, the game had entered the middle stage.

Harumi Ichikawa's expression had long since become incredibly solemn without her realizing it.

Through their previous encounters, Harumi Ichikawa realized that GG's skill level was likely no weaker than her own.

However, Harumi Ichikawa's will did not waver.

Because, in Harumi Ichikawa's view, the mistake at the beginning was fatal.

Even though GG's skill level was higher than his own, he couldn't turn the tide and win this game.

Akira Toya and Yasutaka Uemura watched the game intently from beginning to end.

Gradually, Uemura Tairyu discovered that he could no longer fully understand the game.

More accurately, he couldn't understand some of the moves made by Harumi Ichikawa and Anxia Chen.

This made Uemura Tairyu, who was already immersed in the game, very uncomfortable.

It's like watching a movie; you're enjoying it when suddenly a lot of meaningless scenes are inserted, which annoys Yasutaka Uemura.

Uemura Tairyu understood that this was because his own skill level limited his perspective.

This was the first time that Uemura Yasutaka felt his skills were limited, and the first time he felt powerless and resentful in Go.

Unlike Uemura Yasutaka, Touya Akira was able to fully understand the game.

It was precisely because he could understand it that Akira Touya frowned deeply.

Based on the games already played, Akira Touya can roughly estimate GG's skill level.

This level of skill is far from what Chen Anxia displayed that day.

Even in Akira Toya's eyes, this skill level was far too weak, far below his own, let alone Chen Anxia's.

Therefore, Akira Touya has already rejected the idea that GG is Chen Anxia.

Instead, the idea arose that GG might have some kind of relationship with Chen Anxia.

Because GG's approach of trying to take the overall situation into account is very similar to Chen Anxia's approach.

However, due to GG's own limitations, this approach could not exert its full potential, resulting in flaws in several places and even some meaningless and poor moves, putting Black at a significant disadvantage overall.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Harumi Ichikawa will ultimately win this game.

But...

......

Chapter 41 The Principles of the Universe: The Way to Break the Game!

Looking at the chessboard before him, Chen Anxia knew that he was currently at a significant disadvantage.

However, Chen Anxia, ​​who was still in a state of chess enlightenment, did not feel anxious or flustered because of this.

Or rather, in a state of chess enlightenment, Chen Anxia simply doesn't understand anxiety or panic.

Because countless inspirations were bursting forth in Chen Anxia's mind.

These inspirations were somewhat vague and hazy, allowing Chen Anxia to only vaguely perceive them but not clearly see them.

Some inspirations are like fleeting shooting stars; though they possess the dazzling brilliance of a shooting star, they vanish in an instant, leaving Chen Anxia unable to grasp them.

Some inspirations lingered in Chen Anxia's mind, persistent yet readily available.

However, although these inspirations were readily available, Chen Anxia's analysis revealed that these moves derived from inspiration could only narrow the gap temporarily.

This means that these inspired moves alone cannot change the overall situation, let alone help Chen Anxia reverse the situation and win.

This was also the first time since the start of the game that Chen Anxia had entered a period of deep thought.

Although he could continue to place his pieces as he pleased, Chen Anxia's intuition told him that if the disadvantage in the game continued to widen, then there would truly be no hope of victory.

Honestly, Chen Anxia still wanted to win the game.

Therefore, Chen Anxia entered into a long period of contemplation, beginning to think of a way to break the deadlock.

During his long period of contemplation, amidst the constant bursts of inspiration in his mind, Chen Anxia's brows furrowed tightly without him even realizing it.

Chen Anxia realized that no matter how hard he thought and deduced, he could not break the deadlock or reverse the situation based on the current chess principles.

Of course, this does not mean that the current chess theory is too weak, but rather that Chen Anxia's own chess strength limits the upper limit of the current chess theory.

Chen Anxia is still too weak. He has only scratched the surface of the current chess theory and is unable to unleash its full power.

Should we just give up?

No, there is still a chance. Since the current chess theory is not working, let's try a different one.

It should be noted that the earliest chess principles that remained in Chen Anxia's mind were not the chess principles that came from Uemura Tairyu.

Instead, it was a set of chess principles from an unknown player that he encountered while playing against Shinsuke Ichiyanagi at the private Kaio Elementary School Go club.

For some reason, this theory of Go is even more obscure and difficult to understand than the theory of Go from Yasutaka Uemura.

Even Chen Anxia, ​​who now has a certain foundation, finds it extremely difficult to comprehend the principles of chess.

The reason for this is that a path of chess principles has been opened up based on the chess principles of Uemura Tairyu, and what Chen Anxia has to do is to keep moving forward along this path of chess principles.

The chess theory from that unknown player didn't open up any path, which meant that Chen Anxia himself had to open up a path on this chess theory.

In comparison, the latter is definitely more arduous and difficult.

However, the current situation is very similar to the game against Shinsuke Ichiyanagi, where Chen Anxia, ​​playing black, is at a great disadvantage.

Of course, Chen Anxia's current disadvantage is incomparable to that of the game he played against Shinsuke Ichiyanagi.

Since that unknown player was able to turn the tide and win despite being at a disadvantage.

So, can I, in my current disadvantageous position, use my chess principles to reverse the situation and ultimately achieve victory?

Thinking about it, Chen Anxia used his mind and will to actively approach and touch the chess principles from the unknown player.

Gradually, Chen Anxia became immersed in the principles of chess, and he himself entered a state of chess enlightenment.

At this moment, in Chen Anxia's eyes, the chessboard before him seemed to have transformed into a cosmic galaxy, with the black and white pieces on it turning into stars, some bright and some dim.

Chen Anxia knew that this universe and these stars were the strange and wondrous phenomena manifesting the principles of chess.

At the same time, Chen Anxia murmured softly, "Perhaps this principle of chess can be called the principle of cosmic chess..."

As he spoke, Chen Anxia looked at the strange phenomenon before him and began to search for a way to break the deadlock.

Because in the extraordinary spectacle of chess principles manifesting, the chessboard becomes like a cosmic galaxy, boundless and vast.

Therefore, it is not an easy task for Chen Anxia to find a way out of this predicament.

However, Chen Anxia did not give up. Instead, she remained steadfast in her belief and continued to search for a possible way to break the deadlock.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Anxia's eyes suddenly lit up slightly, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

On the other side, for Harumi Ichikawa, Yasutaka Uemura, and Akira Toya, Chen Anxia had been deep in thought for almost half an hour.

During this half hour, apart from the calm and collected Akira Toya, both Yasutaka Uemura and Harumi Ichikawa became increasingly anxious due to the long wait.

Harumi Ichikawa kept muttering to herself and guessing, not understanding why this guy was taking so long to think.

If Akira Touya hadn't been there, Harumi Ichikawa would have wanted to quit the game and the website immediately.

Finally, before Uemura Yasutaka and Ichikawa Harumi could become completely agitated, Black made their move.