At the end of 1992, the last heavyweight Go tournament of the year began.

How heavy is the semi-finals of the "Yingshi Cup"? This is a professional Go competition, the so-called professional competition, of course, the level of the game should be measured by the number of prize money. In this way, we weigh the weight of the game.

The prize money for the champion of the "Ying's Cup" is 400,000 US dollars, the runner-up is 100,000 yuan, and the top 4 is 25,000 yuan. Then the most direct gap in this set is $75,000. In addition, there is a possibility of winning the championship after entering the final. So it's a $200,000 game, isn't that an exaggeration?

So what is the concept of $200,000 in professional Go circles? The prize money for the Fujitsu Cup is about $100,000. The prize money for the winner of the "Toyo Securities Cup" is about $70,000. Japan's "Triple Crown" prize money is a little higher, but in this year, when converted into US dollars, it is actually between 200,000 and 300,000 US dollars.

Since the establishment of the "Ying's Cup" in 88, it has been the professional Go tournament with the highest championship prize money for a long time. However, as the yen continued to appreciate, the exchange rate with the US dollar rose from more than 1:300 in the 80s to less than 1:100 in the New World. Only then did the prize money of the "Ying's Cup" be surpassed by the Japanese "Chess Holy War" and "Celebrity Battle". Ranked 3rd in the money list ahead of Japan's "Honinbo Battle" and all other world competitions.

From this point of view, the project of Go has been professionalized for decades, but in fact, there has not been much progress. The number of bonuses does not go up, but goes down. What was the concept of $400,000 in the late 80s and early 90s? What is the concept in 30 years?

In the current era, $400,000 can easily buy more than 10 houses in the capital. After 30 years, it may be very difficult to buy a house within the 3rd Ring Road.

Therefore, the weight of the semi-finals of the "Yingshi Cup" may be equivalent to the finals of the other two world series. It is equivalent to all the title battles in Japan except for the "Big Triple Crown". That's the equivalent of 3 to 5 Korean title fights. Equivalent to 8 to 10 Chinese title fights......

Now, Li Xiaoqiang and Cao Yanzi are about to have such a game. And that's not all. In addition to the prize money, this tournament also represents honor, representing different identities and statuses...... In the words of later generations, whoever can win this game represents a different "coffee position" in the Go world.

Therefore, when Li Xiaoqiang and Cao Yanzi walked into the game room, they sat down face to face. The tension that is characteristic of a major game is in the air.

Not only was the atmosphere in the game room tense, but the atmosphere in the research room was also tense. What is even more unexpected is that such a tense atmosphere actually continued from the beginning of the game to the end of the game.

At the beginning of the game, by re-guessing first. Cao Yanzi was given the right to choose. This time, Cao Yanzi did not hesitate, he chose black chess very resolutely. In fact, from this moment on, it determines the style of the game.

In the viewing room, reporter Zhang Da asked Nie Xuanfeng, who was paying attention to the game together: "It's strange, Cao Yanzi actually chose black chess, why didn't he choose white chess that everyone thought was relatively good?" ”

"Amazing! Cao Yanzi. Choosing black chess, although it is a burden to have a big sticker, is always a little more active in combat. You can't have it both ways. Cao Yanzi chose black chess, and he clearly told Xiaoqiang unmistakably: this game of chess. I'm here to fight you! It's a reflection of his confidence and a reflection of his momentum. ”

After the start of the game, it was still a fierce competition, and the chessboard still showed the distinct personal styles of the two players. A suffocating war spreads across the globe. At this time. No one expected that the key to the outcome of this game would appear very late.

When the plate was closed at noon, the game went on for 2 hours.

"What's the situation like now?"

"It's hard to say. The current situation is difficult to distinguish between good and bad. Through the first two games, the two sides of the game also know the roots. The only thing that is certain now is that a fierce battle has just begun......"

Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The game has been going on for 4 hours. At this time, the battle is still fierce and the situation is still stalemate.

"What about the situation now?"

"I can't see clearly! It's completely inaudible now. Alas, now the tricks of the two are completely tightrope walking, as long as one is not careful, they will fall into the abyss. It's not just a contest of technology. This is a contest of nerves and wills on both sides. Of course, this is also a contest of patience between the two sides......"

Time moves forward bit by bit, and the game continues step by step. It was 5 p.m., and at this time, the game had been played for six hours, and nearly 160 moves had been played on the board.

"And now? You can always judge the situation now, right? What is the current situation? Who's good and who's bad? ”

"Very fine, the situation is very fine now! It's a classic game of big kills and small wins. It's too chaotic, it's so chaotic right now! To be honest, because there are still a lot of places that have not been finalized. Now I can't tell who is good and who is bad. I think it's possible for anyone to win or lose in this situation......"

No matter how complicated the war on the chessboard is, there will always be a time for it to end. No matter how long a game of chess is played, there will always be a moment when you can see it. It was 5:40 p.m., and by this time, the whole game had been played for 6 hours and 40 minutes. Now that the chess game has been carried out, the large-scale battle on the chessboard has ended, and the big officials have been robbed. Now it seems that we can judge the situation.

In the research room, Nie Whirlwind stared nervously at the chessboard, counting the memes over and over again. And reporter Zhang Da stared nervously at Nie Whirlwind's face, as if he wanted to see the advantages and disadvantages of the situation from Nie Whirlwind's expression.

"The black chessboard looks like 8 to 9 mesh...... Well, at least 8 meshes. Now it seems that Xiaoqiang is always a little worse. Alas, I wish I had been wrong......"

Nie Whirlwind's judgment was not wrong, because there were other masters in the research room. After careful and meticulous research, everyone unanimously judged that the black chessboard was about 8 to 9 mesh.

After hearing this conclusion, reporter Zhang Da's expression was gloomy. In the Ying Cup, black is to be attached to 7 and a half meshes. If everyone's judgment is correct, it also means that Li Xiaoqiang will lose the game by a half-eye or one-and-a-half eyes.

"What's wrong with Xiaoqiang?"

"Here, I think it's probably ...... here," Nie Whirlwind said, pointing to a place on the chessboard:

"In this place, Xiaoqiang's moves don't seem to be fine enough, so he suffered a small loss. I think it is probably the mistakes of this place that have caused the current situation to fall behind. ”

"Alas, isn't this Xiaoqiang usually a very cautious person? Hasn't the precision of his moves always been his forte? How could he drop the chain at such a critical time......"

Seeing that reporter Zhang Da was lamenting there, Nie Whirlwind comforted him and said:

"Don't complain about Xiaoqiang, in the game of Go, no one can make no mistakes at all. And I think that Xiaoqiang's mistake is likely to be related to the format of the "Ying's Cup". You must know that Xiaoqiang's second reading is quite powerful. But the "Ying's Cup" did not count the seconds. Therefore, Xiaoqiang may not be very accustomed to how to reasonably allocate time in this system. At the very least, he is not as experienced as Cao Yanzi, so it is normal for him to make a small mistake......"

Indeed, Cao Yanzi is the champion of the last "Ying's Cup", and he is of course much more experienced than Li Xiaoqiang in this kind of competition. Therefore, the reason that Nie Whirlwind used to comfort reporter Zhang Da seems to be in the past.

However, after reporter Zhang Da listened to Nie Whirlwind's words, his expression was shocked. At this time, he seemed to think of another important question:

"Lao Nie, do you think this game of chess will ...... Will there be a penalty point to determine the winner......"

After listening to reporter Zhang Da's words, Nie Whirlwind was also shocked:

"Ahh Really, why didn't I even think about it. Fast...... Go and check what the time is on both sides now......"

The "Ying's Cup" is a 3 and a half hour competition system for each side, and if it exceeds the fixed time, it will be "penalty points", and 2 penalties will be imposed every half hour. So far, the game has been played for 6 hours and 40 minutes. Theoretically, as long as the game exceeds 7 hours, then at least one side needs to "penalty". Even "penalty points" on both sides are possible.

In today's game, less than 180 moves have been played so far. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the game should be finished within 20 minutes. So what about it...... So:

This game is likely to have a "penalty point" phenomenon!

Who will be the player who will be "penalized"?

The results of the investigation came out quickly, and reporter Zhang Da was even so excited that his voice trembled:

"I've already asked clearly, Cao Yanzi has entered the last minute, and the remaining 20 minutes are Xiaoqiang's ......"

Reporter Zhang Da's words are actually very clear: so far, Li Xiaoqiang has taken 3 hours and 10 minutes, and Cao Yanzi has taken 3 hours and 29 minutes!

As long as Cao Yanzi can't finish the game within 1 minute, then he faces a "penalty point". Can he do this? This is obviously impossible. On the contrary, Li Xiaoqiang wants to finish the game in 20 minutes, which is entirely possible!

Now the gap on the chessboard is only between half and one and a half meshes. Now with the variable "penalty point", it is enough to change the outcome of the whole game!

Not only Zhang Da, but the reporter was so excited that his voice trembled. In the game room, Cao Yanzi was also trembling, his hands were shaking.

That's right, Cao Yanzi was the last champion, and he is very familiar with the format of the "Ying's Cup". So he is now very aware of the facts:

The outcome of this game of chess is no longer something he can control. He can only wait for the verdict now, from Li Xiaoqiang's verdict!

In the game room, Li Xiaoqiang sat quietly in his position, he was making the most important one of the game (to be continued......