Insufficient balance

  Fu Zuoyi stood up and announced, "In the first round, Huaxu Poetry Society will win".

  Fu Zuoyi smiled and said, "The performance of the Wind Elegant Poetry Society is also good, I hope you will continue to work hard." The crowd on the scene cheered loudly when they heard Fu Zuoyi mention the Wind Elegant Poetry Society.

  Fu Zuoyi waved his hand, letting the present quiet down, and continued: "This second round is a chess match. As for how to compare, that's up to Master Jingming." Fu Zuoyi made a please gesture.

  Master Jingming stepped forward, replacing Fu Zuo's original position, and said calmly: "As a monk, I shouldn't have interfered with these competitive matters. Since I'm here, let's entertain the crowd and bring blessings to all. Please have both sides send one representative each for a match, and the winner will be the winner of the second round."

  In the middle of the venue, a canvas tent had been set up, with a chess table, a set of black and white pieces, and two cushions. The audience in the field looked on enviously, so many people, they absolutely had no chance to see the game between the two sides, but after a moment, they cheered again, only to see several strong men carrying a smooth surface, with nineteen lines crisscrossing on it, this was an iron plate chessboard, just to let the people present see the duel between the two sides.

  The Huā Xiū Poetry Society has sent a representative, Mǎ Guópíng. For those who like Go, Mǎ Guópíng is the first place winner of this year's Jīnlíng Yuánxiāo Chess Conference youth group. Jīnlíng is prosperous and playing chess is originally an after-dinner entertainment for the people of Jīnlíng, so the chess skills in the Jīnlíng area are generally higher than other places. This Mǎ Guópíng was able to win the championship in the youth group, which can be said to be not weak nationwide.

  "Ma Guoping", Yu Jie's face was serious, "I expected that he would definitely appear in the second game".

  Yi Han also understood Go, but he had only played with his grandfather and had never played against others, so he didn't know what level his chess skills were at.

  Ming Xiandao said: "Ma Guoping, the champion of the Yuanxiao Chess Conference Youth Group, has very strong chess skills, exquisite opening, stable middle game, and precise calculation in the endgame. However, due to his relatively short chess career, he is slightly less mature compared to some well-known masters."

  Ma Hua Teng Lang said: "Ming brother, what does this mean?"

  Ming Xiu shook his head slightly and sighed: "Among the young generation in Jinling, almost no one is his opponent. This second game, we are likely to lose again."

  Ma Hua Teng's face was filled with disbelief, and he said: "Ming Xiu, how can you boost someone else's morale while undermining your own prestige? When I played against you, not only did you let me win three times, but you also killed me to the point where I didn't even have a single piece left."

  Ming Xi laughed loudly and looked at Ma Hua, who was crying with laughter. "Playing chess with you is no fun, even if I let you win ten times. What you're doing can't be called playing chess! It's just nonsense. Do you know why I stopped playing with you after that? Playing with a master is one kind of suffering, but playing with you is another kind of torture."

  Ma Hua Teng still refused to give up and said: "Yu Jie, Yu Jie is also very strong".

  Yu Jie said faintly: "I played Weiqi with Ma Hua Teng during the Yuanxiao Chess Meeting, but before it reached the final stage, I was forced to concede defeat and surrender, what a shame! In my life of playing chess, I have never been so humiliated." Suddenly he looked at Yi Han, "By the way, Brother Yi, do you know how to play Go?"

  Yi Han smiled and said, "I roughly understand a bit, but in my life, I've only played Go with one person. I don't know much about my own chess skills. My hands are itching, but you all say Ma Guo Ping is so formidable, I'm afraid I'll disappoint everyone."

  Yu Jie and several others looked at each other, seeking opinions, saying: "Anyway, this game was originally lost, it's not like letting Yi brother try to see, maybe Yi Han is a master, who knows? What do you think?"

  Ming Xiandao said: "I have no opinion, Brother Yi has given me too many surprises already. I hope Brother Yi can give me another surprise."

  Lin Mu Sen said: "Not for anything else, just that one song you played earlier, I will support you no matter what".

  "As long as I'm not asked to go on stage, I have no opinion on who goes up."

  Yi Han burst out laughing and said, "In that case, I'll just make a fool of myself. Losing doesn't matter anyway, since no one recognizes me." Yi Han was calm and composed, as if winning or losing had nothing to do with him at all.

  Ming Xiu laughed and said: "Yi brother, this statement is wrong. Just now, your song made all the tens of thousands of girls in the audience remember you."

  Jian Yi Han took the stage, and Yun Gu Tian had a bad premonition, muttering to himself: "Why is it him again?"

  Zhang Ziwen exclaimed, "His chess skills are so superb, I absolutely don't believe this person is also a master of Go. I reckon Feng Yaxong conceded the game on purpose and sent him to play instead."

  Yun Gu Tian shook his head and said, "The Wind Elegance Sect can send someone else to take the stage, I'm not worried at all. After all, we have some understanding of other people, but this person is the only one we know nothing about, that's what I'm really worried about."

  There were only three people in the hut, apart from the two players, the other was Master Ming Jing himself, who acted as the supervisor.

  The two guessed who would go first, Ma Guoping took the black and went first. Quickly, they played ten or so moves, both of them playing extremely fast. Ma Guoping was fast, but Yi Han was even faster. As soon as Ma Guoping finished his move, Yi Han would immediately follow with his own move, without needing to think at all. This was how Yi Han and his grandfather had always played chess together. At first, they both played very quickly, but later on, their moves became slower and slower.

  Ma Guoping thought to himself, "Could it be that this person doesn't know how to play chess at all? How can this be, I'm clearly taking the initiative by occupying the central position first, and yet he's not stopping me. He's allowing me to expand my territory freely. Since he's given up the central position to me, shouldn't he be solidifying his four corners? But instead, each of his four corners is balanced with just a few pieces, without any threat at all. Doesn't he know that as long as I stabilize the center, whether it's connecting the four corners or attacking one of them, it would be an easy task?"

  Is this what Mingxiu meant by "exquisite layout"? Yi Han smiled slightly, he didn't understand layouts, when playing chess with his grandfather, he only knew how to adapt to the situation.

  Jing Ming glanced at Ma Guo Ping, nodded slightly, then looked at Yi Han's move, but couldn't figure it out. If this continued, by the middle game, Yi Han would probably admit defeat.

  Ma Guoping's chess is quite stable, on the surface it seems that Yi Han doesn't have any strategy, his moves are unpredictable, but before he can secure a win, he dares not to be careless.

  The two men have already made dozens of moves, Ma Guoping's layout is complete, advancing and retreating at will, completely according to his own wishes. Yi Han has hardly caused him any trouble, on the contrary, Yi Han's moves are disorderly and unpredictable, it seems that he has already won, this person really can't play chess.

  Entering the middle game, both sides are like two armies, starting to fight each other. Ma Guoping's chess is like a well-equipped and well-trained army occupying a favorable position, while Yi Han's chess pieces are like an untrained and undisciplined army. The outcome of this battle is obvious.

  Looking at the pieces on the iron chessboard, Yu Jie sighed and said: "It seems that Brother Yi really doesn't know how to play chess. If it were me, I would have admitted defeat long ago."

  Two people are still one move behind, but the speed is much slower than at the beginning. The chess game that should have been defeated in one move, when Ma Guoping launched an attack, Yi Han dropped a piece, and unexpectedly turned the scattered pieces into a rope, forming a defensive position. That piece was like a general, appearing with great momentum, fearless of the opponent's thousands of troops.

  Yi Han's casual move of ten or so pieces had already made Ma Guo Ping's army, which had formed a siege, unable to advance. When he thought about making a deep foray with the intention of attacking from both inside and out, it was as if there was no way back. Yi Han's pieces were like brave warriors, one by one, while the piece that made the deep foray was like a lamb entering a pack of wolves, instantly torn to shreds. Ma Guo Ping had never encountered such a situation in his matches with others - clearly having the upper hand, yet unable to do anything to his opponent, let alone pose a threat. At this point in the game, he was completely bewildered.

  Since we can't overwhelm each other, let's occupy the territory. I wonder how long you'll keep defending. Ma Guo Ping stopped invading the four corners and switched to occupying the territory. First, cut off Yi Han's connection with the four corners, occupy the middle position, and extend it up, down, left, and right. However, when he tried to cut off the connection between the four corners, he was stunned. Yi Han's four corners seemed unrelated, but those scattered pieces were actually connected in a few moves, forming a surrounding formation with just one piece. One piece had multiple uses, and what seemed like a breakable connection couldn't be broken. If this continues, it will inevitably lead to defeat.

  Helpless, knowing that it can't be done but having to do it anyway, Ma Guoping forcibly occupied the land, for a long time, playing chess with others has never been so frustrating. Yi Han's every move was connected to several other moves, like a spider web, waiting for the mosquito to come in, one ring after another, into countless webs. If you don't come, it's fine, but once you do, you'll get stuck. In the end, Ma Guoping lost by a whole piece and a half, and this was when he had the initiative. He was really confused about how he lost under such good circumstances, and how he lost so badly.

  When Jing Ming announced that Yi Han had won, Yu Jie and others almost couldn't believe it. In their hearts, Yi Han was already invincible, a true prodigy.

  Jingming, on the other hand, was inwardly astonished. No signs could be detected, and he moved as he pleased. Even this chess master himself only caught a glimpse of the mystery at the end. How well one plays chess depends first on innate talent and second on the sharpening of experience. Just like you can't know what your mindset will be when you're sixty until you reach that age, this person seemed to have been through many battles and had a clear understanding of the situation.

  Jing Ming said to Yi Han: "Young master, this old monk's hands are itchy, I wonder if he can have a game of hand talk with you."

  Others were extremely respectful to Jingming, but Yi Han didn't put him in his eyes, and smiled: "Master, you are a monk, why do you also have a competitive heart? Playing chess is originally for entertainment, if it's too much, it loses its original flavor."

  Jing Ming smiled and said: "Young master is absolutely right, young master has time to come to Wuxiang Temple for a visit."

  Yi Han said: "Okay, let's see if there is any vacancy."