A long-term professional Go game made Li Xiaoqiang extremely expensive. He went to bed early and had no dreams all night.

If you sleep well, you won't sleep too long. Before 7 o'clock in the morning on the second day, Li Xiaoqiang could be regarded as waking up naturally. Li Xiaoqiang did not alarm others and arranged his life in an orderly manner. Anyway, his precociousness, his ability to take care of himself in life, the people around him have long been commonplace.

According to the arrangement of the competition, there will be a draw ceremony today. But just after breakfast, Zhang Zhidong brought a news that there was a slight change in the schedule of the competition.

At this time, many Go competitions in China were still in the initial stage. So there isn't much "convention" to ask. The first Tianyuan Tournament was completely shrouded in the light of the "War of the Century", so the organizers also wanted to keep a low profile at first.

But now it's different, because Li Xiaoqiang went all the way to the top four. It has made the attention of the whole game much higher, and the news value has also increased a lot. Therefore, the organizers believe that the later competitions need to be more grand. And it was decided that the semi-finals and finals would be held in Shencheng.

Therefore, Li Xiaoqiang had to stay in the capital for one more day, and only after the arrangements were made on the Shencheng side would he go over with other relevant personnel. The draw ceremony was also cancelled and was held before the Shanghai City Tournament.

Li Xiaoqiang is also dispensable for such an arrangement. It's okay to stay for one more day, but I've been busy with the game this time. Even from the first game of chess, I was ready to go home at any time. Now it's good to have a buffer.

Li Xiaoqiang is now an "insider" of Go. Up to now, I still know the inside story of why I can come to the competition. Therefore, what should be thanked still needs to be thanked, and the national Go team still needs to move around. Of course, there is also a "little brother" in the capital, and this kid hasn't seen him come to visit his eldest brother for so long. Well, it needs to be well banged.

So at the end of the day, Zhang Zhidong accompanied Li Xiaoqiang for a whole day. Now the relationship between the two is a bit peculiar. How so? Zhang Zhidong has always tried to treat Li Xiaoqiang as an "adult". What he didn't know was that Li Xiaoqiang had been trying hard to treat Zhang Zhidong as an "adult".

Hehe, for a long time, whenever Li Xiaoqiang saw Zhang Zhidong. I remembered the young man who had just been assigned to my original unit every year. These college students who have just graduated in later generations are actually similar to Zhang Zhidong now. In terms of insight, it may be much stronger than the current reporter Zhang Da. However, when these young people saw our "Deputy Chief Engineer Li", in the face of the technical authority in the unit, their attitude was of course respectful. Li Xiaoqiang naturally treats these young people as juniors.

Therefore, as soon as reporter Zhang Da and Li Xiaoqiang were close, Li Xiaoqiang was always a little awkward at first. It always feels like the young man in the unit is calling himself a brother. Think about the company's chief engineer or his own apprentice. Li Xiaoqiang's heart ......

Fortunately, after many contacts, the two of them are now almost adjusted. The two have basically become good friends who seem strange to others.

Zhang Zhidong naturally also proposed an exclusive interview. After thinking about it very seriously, Li Xiaoqiang said some of his thoughts. It was a relatively effective exchange.

Li Xiaoqiang clearly told Zhang Zhidong that if he completed the newspaper's reporting task. Half an hour is enough. If it really wants to be "deep", it will take a long time, and in Li Xiaoqiang's view, it may take several years.

According to Li Xiaoqiang's idea. I have some things I want to do, but I really can't do it without Zhang Zhidong's help. What does Li Xiaoqiang want to do? At this stage, in addition to their own cultivation. There are two things that Li Xiaoqiang has been considering, one is the combing and excavation of ancient Chinese chess, and the other is the "chess soul", the Chinese version of the "chess soul".

Ancient chess, that's like a cultural relic. To excavate, to protect, of course, the sooner you start the better. Although Li Xiaoqiang is known as an ancient chess heir, he still has this self-knowledge. You can't do anything on your own.

To do such a thing, it is not enough to rely on the Go world alone, but also the cultural world. In Li Xiaoqiang's view, in this era, Shencheng was the center of China's Go culture. If you want to study ancient Chinese chess, you can't just understand Go, you must have a certain degree of Chinese cultural attainments. It is not enough to have Chinese academic attainments, you must know Go, and the level of Go cannot be too low. Preferably at a professional level.

This condition is actually very harsh, and there are not many such people in the country. However, Li Xiaoqiang knew that in this era, there were so many such experts in Shencheng. These people are still in the same unit or system as Zhang Zhidong. With this opportunity to go to Shencheng, it is natural for Li Xiaoqiang to want to visit.

Li Xiaoqiang briefly told Zhang Zhidong about his thoughts. Reporter Zhang Da naturally slapped his chest with a crackling sound, indicating that everything was wrapped up in him.

Li Xiaoqiang also revealed a little about the Chinese version of "Chess Soul" and Zhang Zhidong. In Li Xiaoqiang's view, this matter has nothing to do with a few years later. In Li Xiaoqiang's view, the Japanese version of chess soul is a classic after all. Of course, I can't bear to let it not appear later. However, the things he made were a few grades lower than others, and Li Xiaoqiang couldn't afford to lose that person.

If you want to do anime, it is very demanding. Li Xiaoqiang can work the script at most, and if he wants to do it well, he needs to cooperate in many aspects. In recent years, the strongest domestic strength in this area seems to be in Shenying Studio. In fact, Li Xiaoqiang is not worried about art or something, what he is most worried about is that the domestic things in this year are too preachy. It's not fun at all if the preaching flavor is too strong. So the matter of chess soul would rather be slower.

What I didn't expect was that Li Xiaoqiang and Zhang Zhidong said the simple idea of "chess soul". Zhang Zhidong had a strange expression and a more positive attitude than anyone else. Many years later, the "Chinese version of the soul of chess" was finally released. At that time, Li Xiaoqiang only knew about it. It turned out that Mrs. Zhang later worked in Shenying Studio, and reporter Zhang Da ran to others every day for a period of time after that. In the end, the beauty returned. Of course, Li Xiaoqiang forced reporter Zhang Da to toast a glass of thank you wine.

These are all gossip. At present, the most important thing is my own Go practice, or the semi-finals of the upcoming Tianyuan Tournament.

The semi-finals of the first Tianyuan Tournament were trilogy, and the final was also trilogy. It's a little different from the later games. Although the first tournament is said to be a trilogy, if the first two games are tied at 1-1, then the third game will be played in rapid chess.

After the group arrived in Shencheng, at the draw ceremony before the game, Li Xiaoqiang was greatly sought after. According to the sponsor's assumption, if Li Xiaoqiang can enter the finals, the opponent in the finals is still Nie Whirlwind. Then it must have a sensational effect. It's definitely worth the money.

"Go down well and strive for the finals and Nie Whirlwind."

In this day, Li Xiaoqiang's words like this have been heard countless times.

Every time he heard such words, Li Xiaoqiang just smiled and didn't speak at all. Especially when the semi-final opponent came out, Li Xiaoqiang simply didn't even smile.

Li Xiaoqiang's opponent in the semifinals was Ma Xiaofei.

No matter how arrogant Li Xiaoqiang is, he doesn't think he has a chance to enter the finals.

This is not that Li Xiaoqiang is unambitious, this is Li Xiaoqiang's judgment after rational analysis.

In his previous life, Li Xiaoqiang was a senior chess fan. Of course, I have a certain understanding of Ma Xiaofei. But now that he has become an "opponent", Li Xiaoqiang thinks about it seriously, and it seems that he has found more things.

Chinese Go from Nie, Ma, and Chang has always been a single line. Interestingly, the three generations of leading figures are all dragons. Therefore, Ma Xiaofei is known as the "middle dragon" of Chinese Go.

What kind of person is Ma Xiaofei?

"China's first World Go champion was later suppressed by Li Shifo. The chess style is light and elegant. Be a maverick, proud of talents. ”

The above points seem to be the evaluation of the largest road goods. As long as you are a Go fan, you have such an initial impression. However, Li Xiaoqiang believes that this is not enough to correctly evaluate Ma Xiaofei. There's still a lot to discover.

Let's take our time first, let's talk about Ma Xiaofei's status in the domestic chess world. How does Ma Xiaofei compare with leading figures such as Nie, Chang, and Gu in the domestic chess world? The statistics of the domestic chess world have not been done well, which makes the evaluation a bit vague.

However, in later generations, there are also interested netizens who have made statistics. Ma Xiaofei has won a total of 42 championships. How many did the second place Gu Dali take? 30 pcs. Nie, often they are even less. It is also said that Gu Dali and their later competition was more intense. Well, that seems to make sense. But don't forget, in Ma Xiaofei's time, there were not as many Go games as in later generations.

So:

"Ma Xiaofei is the most dominant Go player in China."

This sentence should be considered objective.

Let's talk about the international chess world. Ma Xiaofei won two championships in 95 years, the "Toyo Securities Cup" and the "Fujitsu Cup". This year, there are only two world competitions. So this year is the year of "Ma Xiaofei", and there is no doubt that he can attribute this year to his name. Not only that, but these two championships are full of gold.

The "Oriental Securities Cup" won Cao Yanzi in the semifinals and Nie Whirlwind in the finals. "Fujitsu Cup", all the way to win Kato Masao, Lin Haifeng, Zhao Zhixun, Kobayashi Koji four Japanese super first-class.

It can be said that in this year, Japan's "six supers" era officially ended. Although it is said that Liuchao is slowly aging, Ma Xiaofei is the "party", and his status in the rivers and lakes does not need to be said.

Let's talk about the highest level he has ever achieved in Go. This seems to be difficult to say, but it is generally recognized that he is a little worse than Li Shifo. This is for sure, and it is because of the reference of Li Shifo that there are some comparisons.

For example, Ma Xiaofei at his peak met Li Shi at his peak. What will it be?

Of course, most people think that Li Shishi is a little stronger. Because in later generations, Go skills have improved. That seems to make sense. Well, let's assume what it would have been like if they had been born in the same era.

Li Xiaoqiang believes that Ma Xiaofei is a little stronger.

Use Li Shifo as a reference, if Li Shifo has 100 points. Li Shishi has 98 points, so only Ma Xiaofei is qualified to say 99 points!

Of course, some people will jump out and say, you Li Xiaoqiang is a "horse fan", you can say whatever you like, and you have no evidence.

Yes, there is no evidence, but we can still look for evidence through some specific games.

In 96, Ma Xiaofei met the mature Li Shifo. Lost in the final of the Toyo Securities Cup, but the content of the chess was ......

"I know that Li Shifo's official is very strong, and I just want to defeat him among the officials."

These are Ma Xiaofei's exact words. He did the same, and alas, he lost. Especially the 3rd set of the final. The official battle between him and Li Shifo is known as a "textbook-like" official battle. This was recognized by the chess world at that time.

As we all know, Go is ever-changing, and it can be called a "textbook" game. There have been two sets in 100 years, this is one of them, and the other is a famous game between Japan's Sakata Eio and Minoru Kitani decades ago. That Banda killed a great dragon in Kitani. Sakata's attack is also known as a "textbook" technique.

Is 96 the pinnacle of Ma Xiaofei's skills? No. The pinnacle of his craft should have been 98 years. Ma Xiaofei is 11 years older than Li Shifo. In that era, apart from Li Shifo, Ma Xiaofei had no other opponents. Two years later, he once again accumulated all his strength and had a peak duel with Li Shifo.

Unfortunately, they lost 2-3 in the Samsung Cup. Despite the loss, the Korean chess community also believes that no one can compare with the two of them. also admits that Ma Xiaofei is the second in the world.

"Both of them showed amazing skills in the game."

"The hot battle in Lima melted the cold ice and snow of Seoul."

This was reported on Go in Korea at the time.

After this competition, Ma Xiaofei was really disheartened, after all, he was 11 years older than others. Zhilu said that he had no chance. According to his character, he can't stand at the top of the world. There is no interest in being a prince. However, it must be said that he has been educated by the party and the people for many years. There is still a sense of responsibility. He knew that at this time, Chang Rensheng and they had not yet matured. So he resisted for a few more years. By 03, although he did not say retirement. In fact, that year, in his own heart, he withdrew from the rivers and lakes. This point is clear when compared with his 02 years. He gave up his career on his own.

Speaking of which, the chess world of the world is very interesting. 2013 was a turning point. This year, young Chinese chess players dominated the rivers and lakes. In fact, 2003 is also a big year for Go, and 1993 is also a big year for Go. In addition, 1988 and 1998 can also be regarded as a small year of Go. I don't know if it's a coincidence or a rule.

Many people say that Ma Xiaofei's chess style is "light and elegant". Is that so? That's what the chess world says anyway. However, our Li Xiaoqiang is different, and they are now Ma Xiaofei's opponents. He found a problem that not many people paid attention to. That is:

"Throughout Ma Xiaofei's career, especially in the world competition 90 years later, when has he ever been upset?"

It seems hard to find. The only game was that after 2000, he was upset by the young Zhang Xu.

That's pretty rare. Li Shifo is often upset. Gu Dali, Chang Rensheng needless to say.

When you meet such an opponent, it's still a three-way move. Li Xiaoqiang knew that he had few chances to win chess. Almost zero.

"How can you give him more trouble in the game?"

Putting aside the victory or defeat, Li Xiaoqiang smiled at the corner of his mouth. There are some tricks in my heart.