Well...
It was obviously a closed selection, but so many media came...
There was none a few days ago...
At 2:50 pm on June 23, ten minutes before the start of the final round of the second phase of the Asian Games qualifiers.
Tongge Hotel, Gezhou City, outside Tongge Building.
Lei Qi, who was walking towards the building, looked at the media and some chess fans who were pointing guns and cannons at him outside the closed line, and couldn't help but say something to himself.
But what I am talking about in my heart is what I am talking about in my heart. In fact, it is not difficult to understand Xiaolei Jiuduan.
The selection for this Asian Games is a "closed selection" to the outside world. Once the selection officially begins, the media will not be allowed in for any interviews to show the seriousness of this type of event that brings glory to the country - the same is true for the Nongshim Cup qualifiers.
However, the media are naturally very interested in the fact that Rui Zhao, the popular national star, once again caused a "Zhao storm" in the second stage of preliminaries after his defeat in the King of Kings. The explosive interviews conducted before the stage preliminaries also added fuel to the flames, adding new fuel to the national enthusiasm for attention that had not cooled down much!
Under such circumstances, whether Rui Zhao can once again defeat himself, the number one player in the country of his age, in the second stage of preliminaries has quickly become the focus of attention - after all, the Dragon Star Battle and the King of Kings Competition just ended not long ago. On the Internet, the two of them shaved each other's heads once, which can be said to be a "deep grudge".
In addition, the domestic qualifiers for the Tongge Cup, the top world championship hosted by China, will be held tomorrow. Because of the fire in Ruizhao, this world competition organized by the Gezhou Municipal Government naturally attracted a lot of attention. Almost all media had relevant reporting plans. By the way, they squatted outside the closed control line to take photos and collect materials, waiting for the end of the preliminaries. It was completely reasonable to go to all the chess players for relevant interviews immediately.
In particular, everyone has clearly discovered that Rui Zhao's performance level is obviously related to the speed of chess.
In the ultra-fast chess format, Rui Zhao was able to defeat Lei Qi in three games in the Dragon Star finals, but in the standard slow chess format of the King of Kings, Lei Qi was still able to suppress Rui Zhao in three consecutive games - although in the end I almost overturned in one game, but I managed to save myself.
The faster the time is used, the greater advantage Shi Zhaojun will have in error control. This has been very obvious in these recent games.
There is also a lot to watch as to what the situation will be like in a mid-level fast chess competition like the Asian Games.
There has never been a clear definition of the dividing line between fast and slow Go, but the Nongshim Cup's "one hour, one minute, one delay" and the Weijia League's slow chess "two hours, one minute, five delays" are two A relatively classic reference.
The Nongshim Cup is generally recognized as the "slowest fast chess". Generally speaking, if the chess is slower than the Nongshim Cup, it can hardly be called a fast chess competition.
Including the Pinghu Quick Chess Tournament with a long history in China, the timing rules of the Nongshim Cup are also used.
However, this does not mean that anything slower than the Nongshim Cup is considered a slow chess match.
Because the Siege League requires at least "two hours and one minute" thinking time, if a game takes longer than the Siege League, it usually has to be supplemented by bonuses, otherwise it will be difficult to maintain the style of the event—— After all, in the Go game, it is generally recognized that the more time it takes, the more formal it is and the higher the quality of the game.
Just like although Rui and Lei both won and lost in the Dragon Star Battle and the King of Kings Tournament, compared to the Dragon Star Battle in the Blitz Chess Tournament, everyone definitely recognized the performance of both sides in the King of Kings Tournament. strength.
Therefore, the only two tournaments that dare to outlast the Siege in terms of time are the World's Strongest Chess Players Tournament and the Yingyi Cup with prize money that is significantly higher than other world tournaments.
Although these two games are still considered slow chess (it is a competition after all), they are generally given an attribution: slow chess with a strong character of fast chess.
But...this does not mean that all quick chess competition champions with low bonuses are not valuable. What is in front of you is the most typical counterexample:
Asian Games men's individual event gold medal.
Although this thing is not within the traditional honorary judgment range of the Go project, due to its scarcity and the special nature of bringing glory to the country, for top players, its importance is no less than a world championship!
The most direct manifestation of his public recognition is that Xu Lifan, a brother from Taiwan Province, has not won the world championship, but because he unexpectedly won the gold medal in the men's individual event at the 2022 Qiantang Asian Games, his ID on the Yiguo platform is It’s the gold color that represents the world championship!
Because of this, China's current number one player pays special attention to today's game.
If we say that the Dragon Stars lost the third round, we can say that this was just a small game that was oriented toward entertainment and live TV broadcasts, and was not serious enough. But the Asian Games is definitely not an "inconsequential small competition". It can even be said to be one of the most important competitions this year!
In the final round of qualifiers for such an important event, both of them had already qualified. The reigning chess master who was eager to prove himself still showed a strong desire to win. He expressed his determination in front of the teacher without hesitation at noon. Will go all out!
Since...you want me to become stronger...
Then of course I can't let you down!
After glancing at the media who were constantly shooting at him, Lei Qi took a brief glance and then withdrew his gaze, striding into the Tongge Building.
Including, "flow"...
It just happened once during the game with her in the Masters Game...
Later, whether it was the Dragon Star Battle or the King of Kings, I could not enter that state again...
Is it necessary to fight her fiercely enough to regain the feeling...
……Oh!
Then this game of chess... is indeed the best opportunity to test it! Thinking of this, Lei Qi, who walked up to the second floor of the Tongge Tower, stared at his eyes. At the same time, he quickly found his chess table and the dazzling figure who was already waiting for him at the edge of the chess table. "Old Enemy":
"...Ah! Lei Qi 9th Dan!"
Although he had been told that his performance in this game would be an important reference for whether he would be included in the men's individual event, when Rui Zhao saw Lei Qi coming over, he still acted very enthusiastic and natural, using an extremely excited tone. Say hello.
"Good afternoon, Rui Zhao."
Lei Qi greeted the other party calmly and sat down in front of him:
"Um...you can play this game without any worries.
"No matter what the outcome of this game is, I will fully recommend you to Teacher Shang as another chess player in the men's individual event.
"I know very well how energetic you are.
"The so-called tight schedule is not a problem for you at all. There is no reason not to choose you because of this concern."
"...Eh?"
Rui Zhao was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then showed a shy smile and said:
"Ah... thank you. Actually, I don't understand why Chairman Shang and the others are worried about this...
Check out the 16-9 book bar to see the correct version!
“It’s not like I don’t sleep every day, my rest time at night is guaranteed!
“It’s just two games of fast chess every day, how can one get tired!
"If you can't play chess every day... then you'll be in a bad mood, right?!"
"..."
Hearing the strange speech of this chess fool, Lei Qi didn't know what expression to show.
Fortunately, he had a lot of contact with the other party, so he controlled his desire to complain about such a weird statement, and continued to talk about his main topic:
"...Don't thank me for the time being.
"I will do my best to recommend you, but...
"I will do my best in this game, and you can't hold anything back!
"Is this... no problem?"
"Huh? Of course!"
Rui Zhao said without thinking, even seeming a little confused as to why Lei Qi asked:
"Every chance you have to compete with Liu 9th Dan and Lei Qi 9th Dan in a competition is precious. How can you not go all out?
"...How many times have I told you, be careful of Liu Shixian!"
For some reason, Lei Qi felt a little uncomfortable when he saw his "old enemy" mentioning the number one person in the world who was at his peak.
At this moment, the chief referee saw that the time was approaching and announced that he would start guessing first.
Under the Ying-Korean rules, the winning rates of black and white are basically the same, and there is no argument about who has the upper hand.
But just like the ceremony before the official battle, Lei Qi still meticulously took Zichai first with Rui Zhao, and also used this to once again give himself a psychological hint and concentrate the last energy in his body.
Finally, Rui Zhao guessed the black piece. And as the time came to the hour, the referee gave the order, and the famous Zhaojun landed on the upper right eye without hesitation.
Black's first move at the beginning is on the upper right. This is the inherent Go etiquette.
In most cases, White's second move should be on the left side of the board, with both sides occupying one side of the board and the game unfolding in a gentler manner.
However, there was a small change in the second hand of this round, Lei Qi.
He placed the stone on the upper left star of the chessboard and directly gave up the opponent's lower left star! The intention of inviting the opponent to arrange diagonally was clearly revealed.
Moreover, he was very sure...
If it were the celebrity Zhaojun in front of him, facing his invitation, he would definitely place this move in the opposite corner!
No matter in terms of chess style or character, that Queen Zhao is such a person!
Sure enough, there was almost no thought...
The new dragon star war champion knocked her third move on the opposite corner's small eye! (End of chapter)