One day flies by in a blink of an eye.
"Ichijo...he lost..."
June 8, 5:40 in the evening.
After Hiroaki Shindo defeated Huang Bonan in the first round, he came out and took a look at the results of each teammate, and then whispered something.
Although this time in the Tonge Cup, China kept its promise and gave Japan a wild card. However, when it comes to scheduling and rounds, China was no longer polite and did not hesitate to include all seven players from Japan in the first round, without any byes.
But... Hiroaki Shindo has nothing to say about this: because the bye candidates are basically ranked according to the third-party international comprehensive ranking list!
On that list, the Japanese chess player Takuya Ichijo, who is currently the highest ranked, is only ranked 19th, just outside the bye candidate range.
The people ranked in front of Ichijo Takuya are all Chinese and Korean chess players - 14 Chinese chess players and 4 South Korean chess players.
This ranking also fully reveals the weak situation of Japanese men's Go in the world today.
As one of the three best chess players in Japan today, if we had to rank the three of them in most international competitions, they would almost be comparable to China’s "weak 9th dan" level. .
——There is a certain possibility of overturning a strong opponent, but basically he is still beaten. It is easy to overturn when facing the backbone chess players in the Chinese Weijia League.
But... Although Hiroaki Shindo admits that the overall strength of Japanese chess players is definitely different from the top players from China and South Korea, objectively speaking, this gap is not actually as big as it seems.
After all, the Japanese chess players must be based on the seven major domestic chess tournaments, and the three most important chess tournaments in Japan...ah, now there are two major chess tournaments, [Chess Saint] and [Celebrity], Both are two-day long chess matches with a total retention time of up to eight hours, which is completely incompatible with the current maximum retention time of three hours commonly used in World Series finals. This has also affected the performance of Japanese chess players in the World Series to a certain extent.
So, in recent years, he has been hoping that the chess academy can make reforms to bring the domestic seven-time competition system into line with international competitions. However, due to sponsor requirements, there has been no progress at all.
Hiroaki Shindo is deeply worried about this.
Although Japan's last unrestricted world competition "Fuji Cup" was suspended in 2011, Japan's Go enclosure seems to be doing well in the past ten years.
Keshin Fujihiro Ming knows that there will be no future if we remain stubborn.
The Honinbo Tournament, the oldest in history, fell directly from the "three major chess tournaments" due to the loss of sponsorship. This is a very bad sign!
Therefore, he eagerly hopes that his country's chess players can achieve good results in the world competition and give Japan's declining Go game a shot in the arm.
But this time... the situation is still not optimistic.
Takuya Ichijo, the top player in the country who was full of confidence before the game, was eliminated in the first round. The other players except him and Toruichiro Ueno also lost. As for the wild card holder Uesaka, naturally...
... Eh?
Uesaka, she...
Won? ! ! !
When he saw the results of his thirteen-year-old rookie's game, he couldn't help but be shocked, and quickly clicked on the chess game to take a closer look.
In this game, facing the South Korean eight-dan chess player Lee Seung-gyu, Rei Uesaka successfully got up and performed well. However, Li Shengkui once again triggered the debuff of "Female Chess Player Fermented Bean Curd" and made many evil moves, finally successfully sending himself away.
Rei-chan...yes!
This is another improvement!
The Japanese chess player who was still frowning could not help but smile.
Sure enough...
It is right to let her go to China to study and train with Queen Zhaotian!
Thinking of this, Shindo couldn't help but look for Rui Zhao's first round match on the page.
...Well, as expected...
You don’t even need to watch Zhao Tianhou’s game...
...
...
"Well...it would be great if I could meet the top masters from South Korea and Japan..."
At the same time, in another corner of Tongge Tower.
After exchanging salutes with the white North American chess player Kerry Taco, Rui Zhao and the other player put away their chess equipment together, but their expressions were not exactly happy.
This Tongge Cup is the same as other competitions with more than 32 players. In addition to the traditional three teams of China, Ying, and Korea, Europe and the Americas are also given two places each.
However, what is different from the Dream Lily Cup is that this time the first round draw ceremony is held in public, so there is no room for maneuver. But Zhao Tianhou still selected European and American chess players, and she was recommended to the top thirty-two with her own ability.
For other players, drawing European and American chess players is undoubtedly a "high-end lottery" - after all, the only three countries in East Asia where Go is currently the most popular.
But for Rui Zhao, who wanted to seek advice from a powerful enemy, it was really not a happy thing.
I can only hope that a powerful chess player will be drawn in the lottery later!
Empress Zhao couldn’t help but pray secretly in her heart.
But just as Rui Zhao was about to go to the chess players' lounge to wait for the second round of drawing to begin, he unexpectedly met an acquaintance at a corner.
"Lei, Lei Qi 9th Dan!"
Rui Zhao, who saw the person coming clearly, exclaimed:
"Don't you have a bye? Why are you coming here now? " "Rui Zhao? "
Lei Qi seemed a little surprised to meet Rui Zhao.
However, the current Xiaolei Jiuduan has calmed down a lot after experiencing many things. He quickly calmed down and replied appropriately:
"It looks like the draw is about to happen!
"Besides...I had some bad memories of being here in Tonggelou, so I came here to adapt and adjust in advance to avoid any temporary problems tomorrow..."
"Ah! ”
Rui Zhao reacted quickly and was about to express his apology again, but heard Lei Qi follow closely and said:
"...Don't say any more apologies!
"I was early As I said, it was my own problem that time, so don’t worry about it anymore! "
"Ah..."
Hearing this, the girl didn't know what to do for a while.
However, Lei Qi had already seen a lot of big winds and waves, and was well prepared for this, so he changed the topic first:
"Well...congratulations on entering the second round!
"I know you, it counts. It's been a year...this year, you've really made a lot of progress.
"Don't talk about giving in to the two sons now. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to give in to you first."
"Ah, thank you!"
Faced with Lei Qi's praise, Hanhan was a little overwhelmed and quickly responded with some embarrassment:
"Lei Qi 9th Dan, you are still so good! You have also achieved a lot of good results in the past year. !
“Seriously, I’m really looking forward to asking you for advice in the second round! "
But after hearing this, Lei Qi pursed his lips and did not answer immediately. Instead, his expression seemed a little complicated.
"Ah... ”
The girl suddenly remembered that she had not thought carefully about it:
"I forgot that a fellow countryman avoided..."
At this time, Lei Qi just said:
" ...That's not true.
"I just took a look, and the remaining Chinese players are probably more than half this time. In the second round... we also have a chance to meet.
"It's just..."
"It's just?"
"...Nothing."
Faced with Rui Zhao's questioning, Lei Qi did not answer directly:
“Even if we really encounter you...I won’t show mercy.”
"Yeah! I wish I could have it!"
Rui Zhao's bright eyes suddenly became brighter and more charming.
"Since I came here, my goal has always been to catch up with you, Lei Qi 9th Dan!"
So...
I don't want to meet you. You...
Looking at the bright smile of the girl in front of him, the young man didn't feel like appreciating it at all.
…
…
But… at the second round drawing ceremony held at 6:30 in the evening, what Rui Zhao was looking forward to meeting Lei Qi, It didn't happen.
Although after the first round, there were seventeen Chinese chess players among the top thirty-two, under the general principle of "avoidance from the same country", Rui Zhao unsurprisingly still drew one with a high probability. foreign players.
However, although it is normal to draw a foreign player. But as soon as the draw results came out, this upcoming game still sparked the most heated discussion on the Internet.
As for the reason...it's because the foreign player Rui Zhao drew is a little bit special...
This tournament of the first "Tongge Cup" World Go Championship In the second round, the thirty-two strong battles are against:
[Rui Zhao]
Facing
【Liu Shixian】(End of this chapter)