Yang Zheng won two games in a row and only one game away from competing for the final championship.

Today's match was also an eye-opener for him, and there were more than just a few masters in the small town. There are also a lot of interesting chess players like Big Brother.

He seems to have returned to the days when he first learned to play chess, and in that beautiful and short time, the adults who met in his childhood memories were as interesting and distinct as the amateur chess players in this amateur game.

Thinking of this, Yang Zheng also had to sigh that time is ruthless, now he has long passed the age of standing, and most of the adults who have deep memories when they were young have disappeared into Yang Zheng's life.

He vaguely remembers that when he was a child, there was an uncle surnamed Gong, who played chess very well, and many people thought that he already had a professional level. But the modest Uncle Gong always said that he was still far behind, and his strength was an amateur level.

Although he said so, he also participated in many amateur competitions in private, but the results seemed to be unsatisfactory.

He was about the same age as his father, but he was unmarried all his life, and at that time, like the skinny monkey he knew now, he felt that marriage was a shackle that would restrict his otherwise chic life.

But he likes children very much, and every time he sees Yang Zheng, he will buy him a bottle of sweet soda. Although Uncle Gong's life seems chic, in the dead of night, he seems to feel lonely again.

Maybe it's because he spends so much time playing chess to relieve his loneliness. But now it seems that Uncle Gong probably does not have too much talent, until now he is over sixty years old, he still plays chess on the street, and his chess ability is as bad as his life.

Perhaps because he thought of his old friend, Yang Zheng's mood gradually became a little lost.

Looking back on the past two years, he has also seen many chess players like Uncle Gong, and the most profound influence belongs to the terminally ill old man he met in the Muzi Cup.

They also seem to have been chasing chess all their lives, but they have no talent, and their hard work can only be lost in those amateur competitions, is their life meaningful? So hard, but the result is nothing?

He couldn't help but think of himself again, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a bitter smile.

After all, although he has a lot of highlights in his life, he is now like them, mixed in the game. Your own life is also a failure, right!?

"You're Yang Zheng, right?" When Yang Zheng left the arena to find a place to eat at noon, someone finally recognized him.

He was recognized by an old man, in his seventies, wearing a referee's uniform, presumably a volunteer for today's game.

Yang Zheng looked at the old man, he nodded, admitting his identity, what he didn't expect was that this old man was still his die-hard fan.

This old man may be because of his age, he is very enthusiastic and cheerful, after watching Yang Zheng admit his identity, he excitedly took Yang Zheng's hand and talked about Yang Zheng's previous two games with the chess robot.

Yang Zheng felt the roughness in his hands, and also felt the excitement in the old man's tone, and his gradually lost heart seemed to float again.

Instead of interrupting the chattering old man, he listened carefully to what he had to say about himself.

In the old man's mouth, he doesn't seem to be a failure, because as an amateur chess player, he has left two videos with tens of millions of views on the Internet.

Although both videos have "moisture", they are also better than chess robots by chance.

But these two victories have inspired many chess players, and even many professional chess players, about artificial intelligence.

"It is said that chess is not as good as Go, but the first one to defeat artificial intelligence is our chess!" When the old man said this, his tone was impassioned again.

And Yang Zheng listened to the old man's emotion, and he had to attribute it to the words "coincidence". Because the day after he defeated the chess robot, a Go player from a nearby country also defeated the "Alpha Cat Generation" at the same time, compared to the world's top artificial intelligence, although it was the top artificial intelligence a few years ago, but the computing power is also much higher than the domestic one.

Yang Zheng wanted to be modest and wanted to explain that he was just "tricky", but when his words reached his throat, he couldn't say anything.

Is it because of the enthusiasm in the eyes of the old man? Or is it because when he says the words "chess", his tone trembles?

Yang Zheng couldn't tell for a while which one made him swallow his words. But what he knows is that this old man's love for chess is far greater than his own. I shouldn't have broken his illusions about himself and chess.

Yang Zheng's mood after eating this meal was very complicated and tormenting, so complicated that he wanted to pay the bill after eating, but the old man took the lead in paying in cash.

He wanted to transfer money to the old man's mobile phone, but the old man took out his old man's machine, as if he had been on guard, and smiled at Yang Zheng.

He patted Yang Zheng on the shoulder, like an elder who had not been seen for a long time, and asked him to cheer for the afternoon competition.

He saw Yang Zheng's restraint, and he didn't seem to want to put too much pressure on Yang Zheng, so he hurriedly said goodbye to Yang Zheng after saying this.

Yang Zheng looked at the back of the old man, he sighed, this old man was probably the most emotionally intelligent person he had ever met, he didn't ask why he withdrew from the Muzi Cup competition, nor did he ask why he appeared here. He has always taken care of his emotions and carefully maintained his dignity.

He suddenly felt as if he was not a failure, and in the same way, he also felt that Uncle Gong and the terminally ill old man were not failures in their lives.

Because people like them, although they have not left too many traces in the professional chess world, they have left indelible marks in the lives of many people.

Compared with professional chess players, ordinary people like them are also the inheritors of chess and the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage.

These seemingly failed people have also left their mark on the long history of chess with their own lives, wisdom and experience.

Yang Zheng, who has figured it out, regained his confidence, and he is fully prepared for the afternoon game, no matter who the opponent is, he intends to go all out.

At this time, the opposite of Yang Zheng's current mood is Uncle Wang.

As a seeded player in a small town, he also found out that his opponent in the next game was Yang Zheng, who had disappeared for a long time.

He likes Yang Zheng very much, and he clearly knows that in terms of chess strength, it is difficult for him to defeat Yang Zheng.

But he also wants to win, because this fight, for him, is probably his last fight in the city.

After this game, he will most likely choose to go abroad to retire, although he loves the city very much, but as he grows older, his children and relatives have emigrated abroad, and he also feels lonely for a long time.