In late December, in Hangzhou, the day before the first game of the 5th "Yingshi Cup" finals, Dean Wang, who had arrived at the venue, was looking for Li Xiangping everywhere:

"Xiangping, what about the people of Xiangping? Didn't he come here two days in advance, why hasn't there been anyone yet? ”

"I don't know, but I heard from reporter Zhang Da that Xiangping seems to have gone to Haining."

"Haining? What did he do when he suddenly went to Haining, oh yes, Haining's leather is still very famous, did he go there to buy clothes, this Xiangping, it's really inexplicable, how can he have the leisure to buy clothes at this juncture. ”

Li Xiangping rushed back at this time, just in time to hear Dean Wang's last sentence.

Li Xiangping almost didn't laugh out loud, of course he went to Haining not because of anything else, but because it was Fan and Shi's hometown, and the two of the three chess saints of ancient chess were all born there.

Now that the person Shi Daqi Sage is hanging out, he will take this opportunity to take Lao Shi to find his roots.

It's a pity that the experience of this root-seeking trip is very average. Hundreds of years have passed, and even Lao Shi doesn't know his hometown very well.

Well, it's okay, the house building and these things will change, the only thing that remains the same is the mountains and rivers, the two of them looked there for a long time, Shi Daqisheng finally found a small river, the small river of his familiar hometown.

It's just that when Lao Shi began to touch the scene there, Li Xiangping didn't feel anything------

You must know that it is already December, although the December of the Gregorian calendar in Jiangnan will not be too cold, but you have to run to the river in December one by one...... Needless to say, you can make up for it yourself.

After seeing Li Xiangping, Dean Wang immediately forgot about "buying clothes" and the like:

"Oh, Xiangping is back? Mr. Wu Qingyuan is here, you know. ”

"Oh."

Li Xiangping said "oh", but there was no follow-up, Mr. Wu has been the chief referee of the event since the first "Ying's Cup", as long as his body allows, he will definitely attend every final, which is something Li Xiangping has known for a long time.

But do you want to visit him today? Li Xiangping felt that it was not appropriate.

There are two reasons for the inappropriateness, first: he is going to play tomorrow, and second, Mr. Wu must have just come from Japan, and he is so old that it is not the most appropriate time to go.

Of course, Dean Wang also knew this, so after he mentioned it, he didn't say more, but just told Li Xiangping to rest well and prepare seriously for the upcoming game, anyway, this time he was going to play 2 games in Hangzhou, and he still had time to communicate with Mr. Wu Qingyuan.

Li Xiangping agreed, and then went back to his room to rest, seriously preparing for the next day's competition.

On December 26, 2004, the 5th "Ying's Cup" final five-way chess officially started on the beautiful West Lake, and the two sides of the final were China Li Xiangping VS South Korea's Choi Poison.

Although on paper, the current Cui Poison is not enough to see, but after all, this is the "Olympics of the Go world", isn't it? And Li Xiangping just lost to Li Canghao once, didn't he? And Cui Poison is known as the big Li Buxing, so why do you think that he and Li Xiangping have no power to fight?

It is these factors that come together to make this final attract much attention, in addition to Mr. Wu Qingyuan, China's Nie Ma is also here, and Cui Poison is personally led by Lao Cao and Liu Chonghe Jiuduan to the arena.

Lao Cao is the first champion, Da Liu is the third champion, and more importantly, the first finals were also held here.

At 8:55 a.m. Beijing time, under the auspices of Mr. Wu and the actual operation of Lao Jin, director of the referee department of the Chinese Chess Association, the two sides of the game began to guess first.

In the end, Li Xiangping guessed the choice, and after a few seconds of silence, he firmly stretched out his hand to the black chess.

Immediately after that, the two sides began to exchange seats----- before coming, Cui Poison Cui Laohan was still very polite, he took the initiative to sit in the "lower side" of the black, and now Li Xiangping decided to take the black, so he wanted to exchange seats.

While exchanging seats, Li Xiangping smiled at the two young chess players in the referee's seat------ it is no one else who is serving as a notator today, one is Li Xiangping's number one junior brother Chen Yaoyue, and the other is his new team member "Chu Lao" in the new season.

The two main players of the Weijia class served as scorekeepers, which heralded the high standard of the competition.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, Mr. Wu gave an order, and the game officially began.

There was nothing special to say at the beginning, and even the whole series didn't have much to watch, but now, the consensus of the entire Go community is this:

Li Xiangping is the number one master in today's chess world, he is talented, he is extremely talented, especially his mid-front game kung fu, which is already unique in the world.

And his opponent this time, Cui Poison, is a player with equally outstanding advantages and disadvantages, his comprehensive strength is definitely not as good as Li Xiangping, especially his overall view is slightly lacking, sometimes playing chess will seem to be a tendon, but his mid-game combat ability is quite strong, especially the one-handed grappling kung fu, which also reaches a very high level, which is another headache for Li Canghao.

Therefore, in the consensus of everyone, whether Cui Poison can play to his strengths and entangle Li Xiangping like Li Canghao is the key to the entire series.

On the other hand, from Li Xiangping's point of view, how he breaks this grappling and how to use to disintegrate his opponent's strongest point is a question he needs to consider.

And the above is naturally the biggest attraction of this series.

As expected, when the game was played at about 11:10 a.m., there were only more than 40 chess moves in the overall situation, and the highlights that everyone was looking forward to came as promised------ it was Cui Poison's hand of chess, which was the 46th hand of the whole world.

There is nothing special about this chess hand from the perspective of technique, it is just an ordinary "two-way stand", but as soon as this chess hand is played, the entire on-site viewing room is instantly active.

When the chessboard was passed to the viewing room, reporter Zhang Da smiled at the time:

"Huh, take off first? The old man grabbed a step to "stand" at this time, and he ...... at this time Want to threaten Black's big horn? Hehe, I don't know much about other places, but I still appreciate the old man's attitude, he is saying that you beat yours, I beat mine, yes, if you want to play his poisonous snake winding kung fu, this method is basically the first step, otherwise follow the back step by step, so what does he do to compete with Xiangping. ”

That's right, reporter Zhang Da said very correctly, if you want to lead the situation to a fierce battle, the most basic requirement is to make the situation unbalanced, this kind of "you fight yours, I hit mine" rush to attack the idea, often the easiest to make the situation unbalanced, but also the most conducive to give full play to Cui Poison's technical strengths.

Now there are only 50 chess moves in the overall situation, and Cui Laohan is coming like this------ and his chess style is basically like this in these years, and there is basically no advanced chess theory in the chess, which looks simple and rude (for example, today's two-way hand, amateur masters can understand the intention of this chess hand at a glance).

It's just Cui Poison's special talent: the chess he plays seems to have the function of weakening the chess theory.

How so? That is, when you play against him, you may know that his moves are unreasonable, but you can't reason with him------

This is a bit like a show talent meets a soldier, Cui Poison is an existence that even a "senior show talent" like Da Li can beat in tricks.

Although everyone knows that Li Xiangping is definitely not a "senior talent" like Da Li, but when Cui Poison sacrificed his magic weapon to watch the house, everyone in the viewing room still seemed interested, and everyone wanted to see how Li Xiangping would deal with this trick.

The "Ying's Cup" is a delayed penalty rule, because there is no countdown, so in this system, you are not suitable for a long test, let alone think about an hour or two hours with a single move.

It is precisely because of this that Li Xiangping's response came quickly.

When everyone saw his response clearly, the people who watched the excitement began to get excited, and the people who cared about Li Xiangping hoped that he could win the game "without bloodshed" began to look at each other-------

It's not because of anything else, because of his black 47, it seems that he has chosen the most drastic response, and his chess move is clearly saying: Since you want to "you hit yours, I will fight mine", then I will accompany you to the end.

Of course, people who watch the excitement have reason to be excited, because as soon as Li Xiangping's chess hand comes out, there is basically no room for turning around in this game of chess, not to mention winning or losing, today's battle will definitely be very fierce and beautiful.

Of course, people who care about Li Xiangping have reason to worry about him, after all, this kind of play is what today's opponent is best at.

Besides, even if you take 10,000 steps back, you Li Xiangping is also a good chessman, and your combat effectiveness in this area is also very strong, but after all, you have other advantages and strengths, don't you?

For example, can you use your flexibility? Then why do you still choose this kind of play, like a little hooligan fight?

What about your mastery style? Are you having a bit of a problem with your strategic choices today?

Of course, the people who can come to the live viewing room today are experts, and there is no shortage of famous people in the Go world, so of course such doubts are normal.

It's not even just the viewing room, when Li Xiangping walked out of the game room at noon----- the whole world was 73 moves, and the wrestling between the two sides had just begun, and even Shi Da Qisheng had something to say:

"Hey Xiangping Xiaoyou, your choice today is beyond my expectations, when the opponent's provocative hand moves, you should have many choices, why do you choose this method? Do you want to knock out your opponent in the strongest place? ”

"Of course," Li Xiangping said to himself with a smile: "I am dissatisfied with Brother Ding'an, I really think so today." ”

"Well, it's only the first game of Wuban today, so you have to try."

"Brother Ding'an made a mistake this time," Li Xiangping continued to smile and said to Lao Shi: "Our own people, I'll tell you clearly, even if today is the third game, even if I fell behind 0-2 in the first two games, if I didn't still encounter that "Erluli" general provocation method, I would still return to today's law." ”

Lao Shi didn't nag, after thinking for half a minute, he simply asked, "Why?" ”

"Hehe, because after losing to Na Da Li last time, I figured out a problem."

"What's the problem?"

Li Xiangping didn't answer immediately this time, he said after organizing the language a little in his heart:

"Brother Ding'an, have you ever heard of the triple realm of professional chess players?"

"Triple realm? Do you mean that you see a mountain as a mountain, and a mountain as a mountain, and then ......?"

"Neither is it", Li Xiangping interrupted himself with a black line on his face and said:

"Brother Ding'an, what you said is too mysterious, it's okay to pretend to be used when facing outsiders, but it's useless for the cultivation of chess, and it's even more useless to want to fight dogs with this, the triple realm I said is much easier to understand."

"Oh, then you can hear it."

"Brother Ding'an, let me ask you, when two professional chess players meet, the most normal and basic idea is to make use of their strengths and avoid weaknesses in the game, and put the chess game into the track they are best at."

"Of course, this method is of course the safest, only by introducing the chess game into the field that you are most familiar with, so that you have the best chance of winning, I believe that more than ninety percent of the players in the game, the first thing is this kind of thinking."

After Lao Shi finished speaking, Li Xiangping paused for 3 seconds before he said softly:

"That's what I think is the first realm."

Of course, Shi Daqisheng is not an ordinary person, he heard Li Xiangping say this, and he also paused for a few seconds:

"Then crushing the opponent in the opponent's strongest area, this is what you think is the second realm?"

Li Xiangping said without hesitation: "Yes! ”

"This ......"

As soon as Lao Shi's word "this" came out, the two fell silent again.

After a long time, Li Xiangping sighed and said:

"Brother Ding'an, do you remember that I told you about the past in the chess world seven or eight years ago?"

It's 04 now, seven or eight years ago was 96 to 97, and that was the era when Ma Xiaofei and Da Li competed for hegemony, so Li Xiangping said this, and Lao Shi, who was a little familiar with the history of modern Go, immediately said:

"Xiangping Xiaoyou said that Ma Xiaofei wanted to defeat Da Li in the official realm back then?"

Li Xiangping sighed again: "That's right, I'm talking about this past." ”

Li Xiangping fell into a short memory at this time, and he recalled Ma Xiaofei's own statement back then:

“....... I won two world championships in a row in '95, and in '96 I immediately met Da Lee in the "Toyo Securities Cup". I knew that my fight with him was going to be a long one, so I made up my mind before that fight that I had to fight him well in the official realm, and it was best to break him down in this area......."

Of course, the result of that competition is needless to say, in the end, it was Li Canghao who defeated Ma Xiaofei, and then created the 10-year-long "Li Canghao era".

Now let's go back and interpret Ma Xiaofei's words.

The most banal and simple and crude interpretation: of course, he thinks that Ma Xiaofei is a little stupid, he is unwise to do this, how can he think like this? He should find a way to play to his strengths.

This happens to be the first level of professional chess players!

A more advanced interpretation, or a more empathetic interpretation, is that Ma Xiaofei has an arrogance, the kind of arrogance that the top human chess players basically have, so he will do whatever he thinks.

It's a pity that in this example, Ma Xiaofei has become a negative teaching material for pretending to be a fool.

To tell the truth, in his previous life, Li Xiangping thought like this, he understood Ma Xiaofei's psychology, and he also felt that he was a bit of a fool who couldn't pretend to be stupid.

Even a month ago, Li Xiangping still thought so.

It's just that after losing to Li Canghao last time, Li Xiangping's mind changed slightly.

Because he remembered another sentence, a sentence that was likely to be a key word: "I know full well that my rivalry with him may be long-term".

If this keyword is added, then Ma Xiaofei's approach can be interpreted in another way:

In doing this, he actually wanted to overcome the fear in his heart and suppress his inner demons.

Because since it is a long-term competition, then he must do it.

Otherwise, as soon as he encounters the opponent's strengths, he will go around, considering that Da Li is so much younger than himself, Ma Xiaofei knows very well in his heart: if he keeps walking around, it is impossible for him to defeat Da Li.

This is Li Xiangping's interpretation, and this is what he thinks is the second realm of professional chess players.

That's why he's doing it today!

Because although the dog has not yet been born, Li Xiangping knows very well that in the next nearly 10 years, this will of course be a long-term competition process, if he can't even break through this second realm, he will have to go around the strengths of human chess players.

Then it is likely that it will be hopeless to challenge the dog for life.

After all, Lao Shi is Li Xiangping's plug-in, so he doesn't need to say too much, he immediately understands what Li Xiangping means.

"Hehe, it's interesting, it's a little interesting, then Xiangping Xiaoyou, what do you think is the third realm?"

Li Xiangping stopped talking again, he thought quietly there for a while, and then said with a smile:

"Hehe, I can't say anything about this third realm, so let's do it, didn't we just arrived in your hometown, but just now I thought of a junior surnamed Jin in your hometown...... No, check the surname, it should be a sentence that the younger generation of the surname Cha once said, Brother Ding'an, I will repeat that sentence now, this should probably be the third realm of professional chess players. ”

"Oh, what did that junior with the surname Cha say?"

"He is strong by him, the breeze blows the hills, he is horizontal by him, and the bright moon shines on the river. Hehe, Brother Ding'an, how's that? ”

"This ...... Such a rough and shallow text like a cut in the rivers and lakes, I don't seem to have much culture in the younger generation, but the meaning is easy to understand, Xiangping Xiaoyou wants to say that professional chess players should not be afraid of any opponent's strengths, and even if the opponent gives full play to his strengths, all his strategic goals have been achieved, but he can still win him, this is the third realm of professional chess players, right? ”

"Hahahaha......."

At this moment, Li Xiangping smiled very happily, of course, why he laughed, as long as anyone who has read Jin Yong's martial arts, understands. Lao Shi actually said that the old man Jin Yong was uneducated?

He even said that his fellow villagers were uneducated?

"Okay, Brother Ding'an, now that the time has come, I won't say more to you, from today onwards, let's break through the second realm of this human chess player first, I think if we can't even break through this layer, then I don't think we should be embarrassed in front of the dog." ，

"Okay, okay, Ding'an hereby wishes Xiangping Xiaoyou success."

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Li Xiangping re-entered the game room, what will be the trend of this game of chess, the excitement has just begun.