"Stone Buddha, what do you think of the current situation?"

The top 8 of the 2nd "Ying's Cup" has been played at around 4 pm. As a professional competition with the highest prize money in this era, it naturally attracted a lot of attention. Since the afternoon, many chess players have rushed to the research room of the Korean Chess Academy one after another to study today's four games.

Liu Changhe came over, and Li Shifo also came. The world of professional Go is the most important about strength, Cao Yanzi and Xu Bongsu are participating in the competition today, so naturally, the center of today's research room is the two of them, and everyone spontaneously revolves around Liu Changhe and Li Shifo to discuss today's game.

Among the several world competitions that currently exist, the rules of the "Yingshi Cup" are relatively unique. In addition to the big stickers, the "Ying's Cup" is not counted, the "Ying's Cup" is 3 and a half hours per fixed time, if one side runs out of fixed time, the so-called "delay penalty" rule must be implemented.

Someone once explained this rule very vividly, the so-called "delay penalty point" is actually "buy time with mesh". When you run out of 3 and a half hours of fixed time, you can "buy" half an hour of game time for 2 games. Of course, this delay is not unlimited, it can be extended up to 3 times, and if you accumulate more than 5 hours, you will be directly judged as overtime.

When Mr. Ying designed this rule, he thought about it like this: even if there is an extreme situation where two people are "penalized" three times, the game can be completed within 10 hours, and there will be no situation where the day is not finished.

When this rule first came out, it actually attracted a lot of criticism, and many chess players were not used to it. There are many people who believe that Go is Go, and the "number of eyes for time" is really a bit inexplicable, and such rules may affect the connotation of the game. Imagine the most extreme case, for example. If one side is penalized for 6 meshes and the other side does not have penalty points, then even if you have 13 more meshes on the board, you will be sentenced to lose in the end.

Some people once joked that Mr. Ying was not a banker, and only capitalists would think that anything could be exchanged. That's why such strange rules were designed.

Although many people are not used to this rule of "delayed punishment", there is no way, and the local tyrants are capricious. Since people spend so much money to hold this competition, it can only be that you slowly adapt to other people's rules. Besides, such a rule is an "explicit rule", which may be a bit problematic in itself, but it will not affect the fairness of the game.

Each side plays for 3 and a half hours, and normally a game ends in about 7 hours. However, the game was a little different for a few days, and it was only about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but by this time the game had been played, it was unexpectedly clear that the situation of a few games had become very clear.

There were two games with Korean players: the first was Cao Yanzi vs. Wang Licheng. The two fighters have been fighting since the morning. However, in the middle game, Wang Licheng forgot to exchange an important order, and Cao Yanzi seized the opportunity to attack, and the current situation of Wang Licheng is no longer the same. According to the laboratory's research, Cao Yanzi's victory was only a matter of time.

In the other set, Seo Bong-so played against Nie Whirlwind. Nie Whirlwind played quite beautifully, and his excellent overall view and flexible chess style were vividly displayed. Up to now. He has achieved an overwhelming advantage. In Liu Changhe's words, unless Nie Whirlwind goes crazy, it is impossible to lose that game of chess.

There is also a game of chess. It's Dazhu Hero VS Rui Xiawei. Newly crowned World Champion Hero Otake continued his good form at the World Championship. Although this game is not as one-sided as the previous two games, Otake's advantage is already obvious.

Since these 3 games seem to have been decided. In the viewing room, most of the players' attention was focused on the game of Li Xiaoqiang vs. Zhao Zhixun. Because only this game of chess is not clear for a while. The situation is still relatively chaotic, showing a stalemate situation

In the viewing room, although Li Shifo was surrounded by everyone in the middle of the stars holding the moon, he still didn't say much, and he silently placed various reference drawings on the chessboard. After hearing Liu Changhe's inquiry, Li Shifo still didn't answer immediately, he thought silently about the chessboard in front of him for a while, and his fingers unconsciously dotted a few times on the chessboard, as if he was calculating some kind of change.

After a long while, Li Shifo sighed in a low voice:

"Alas, he is still powerful, this game of chess should be lost by senior Zhao......"

After listening to Li Shifo's words, Liu Changhe didn't feel anything. As a good chess player, he has been studying indoor playing. For the game of chess between Li Xiaoqiang and Zhao Zhixun, he actually has his own judgment. His judgment is the same as that of Li Shifo. I also think that the current situation is good for Li Xiaoqiang. It's just that the scene is still relatively chaotic, and there are still many changes on the chessboard that can't be seen clearly, and Liu Changhe needs Li Shifo to confirm it.

Of course, Yoo Chang-hyuk thinks so, but other Korean chess players may not. You must know that Cho Ji-hoon is Korean, and he returned to his hometown after winning the "celebrity" in the 80s, and he also caused a sensation in South Korea, and he has quite a lot of admirers in South Korea. Playing here, it is definitely half of Zhao Zhixun's home field.

In the eyes of many chess players in the viewing room, isn't it just a lively fight at present? The mid-game battle is far from over, and there are still so many places on the board that are not finalized. Why did Li Shifo think that Zhao Zhixun had lost.

As if knowing what everyone was thinking, Li Shifo at this time took the chess pieces and put changes on the chessboard.

"This move! Senior Zhao should have ignored this move, so his entire battle plan was a failure. Of course, I can't be sure if I didn't count it, Senior Zhao may have calculated it, and he had to do it as a last resort. If you don't, you don't have a chance. Senior Zhao played a bit strange today's chess. I felt that he was too cautious in front of him and played too conservatively. When he realized that his situation was unfavorable, he was a little anxious later, and many of his moves were too reluctant. You must know that simply comparing the depth of the road, not many people will be his opponents. ”

"Oh? In the Japanese chess world, Zhao's predecessor is known for his profound arithmetic, which is also what he relies on the most to dominate the Japanese chess world. Do you think Li Xiaoqiang's arithmetic is stronger than Zhao's predecessors? ”

Regarding Liu Changhe's question, Li Shifo did not answer it directly, he just looked up at the other party:

"Some time ago, you also formally met with him, the oppressive force brought by his chess, what it was like to play chess with him, you yourself have experienced, so I don't need to say more."

In the last round of the "Ying's Cup", Li Xiaoqiang eliminated Liu Changhe and entered the top 8. Hearing Li Shifo pull the topic to himself. Liu Changhe smiled bitterly:

"That's right, his arithmetic is really strong, it's hard to play chess with him, he never flinchs when he should be tough, and he doesn't slip when he should be soft. It's hard to catch him. How so? I was thinking like he knew everything about what I was thinking in the game, and I didn't know what he was thinking. I'm not afraid of everyone's jokes, that's what I feel the most when I play with him. It's a real headache to meet such an opponent. ”

"yes, an opponent like him, once he gets into the track he is good at, it is very difficult to win a game against him......"

As if to confirm Li Shifo's words, the latest chess games were introduced into the research room. Li Xiaoqiang happened to make the "change that Zhao's predecessors may have ignored". As a result, the Korean players present looked at each other. The vast majority of these chess players already know that Li Xiaoqiang's victory is really only a matter of time.

And, of course, a handful of optimists:

"Hehe, Mr. Zhao is playing a big dragon now, considering Mr. Zhao's super ability to cure orphans, this game of chess is not completely impossible to turn the game, right?"

"It's useless, such a situation, not to mention that I can't see the eye position of the big dragon at all at present. Even if he doesn't slay dragons, just as simple as that, his meshes are quite far ahead. He had too many options. Now the initiative is completely in his hands......"

"Shi Buddha, let me ask you another question, deep down in your heart, do you really think that Li Xiaoqiang is the most difficult to deal with? Is there really no weakness in his Go? ”

Seeing that everyone was looking at themselves, Li Shifo did not avoid it this time. He thought about it carefully, and then said slowly:

Yes, he is currently one of the strongest chess players in the world. What's even more terrifying is that every time I look at his latest game, I can see something new. It seems that he is still playing chess. As for his weaknesses...... Maybe...... Maybe Mr. Otake, as well as Mr. Nie in China, have shown us something. It's just ......"

"Just what?"

"It's just that if you want to catch his weaknesses, it's not easy to do. That's still a lot of hard work......"

At about 6 o'clock in the afternoon, the top 8 matches of the "Yingshi Cup" were all over. The results did not surprise the laboratory. Finally, Li Xiaoqiang, Nie Whirlwind, Cao Yanzi and Dazhu Hero entered the semi-finals of this competition.

For this result, Mr. Ying, who came to Seoul, seemed very satisfied.

As the champions and runners-up of the last competition, Cao Yanzi and Nie Whirlwind seem to have a special relationship with the "Ying's Cup", and they once again entered the top 4.

Otake, a veteran Japanese super-top chess player who has just won the new Fujitsu Cup, is the best player in the international arena this year.

Li Xiaoqiang, a rising superstar in the international chess world, is a two-time world champion. He represents the future of world chess.

With these 4 making up the top 4 of this competition, what could be a better result?

"Of course, of course I'd rather meet Mr. Otake in the later matches. As you know, not long ago, Mr. Otake gave me an unforgettable moment, and he is now in hot form. To be honest with everyone, I am very grateful to Mr. Otake, that game of chess allowed me to learn a lot and also gave me a clearer understanding of myself. That's why I can't wait to fight Mr. Otake again. ”

After the round of 8, the draw for the next round of matches will be held immediately. At the lottery ceremony, Li Xiaoqiang swore the above paragraph.

It's just that it backfired, when Li Xiaoqiang unfolded the lottery results in his hand. He smiled.

He set his sights on Cao Yanzi.

Li Xiaoqiang's opponent in the semifinals was Cao Yanzi. (To be continued......)