"Congratulations, Xiao Chu! I guess you are not far away from being promoted to eighth grade!
"I can see that you are well prepared for today's game. I'm so weak that I couldn't make you enjoy yourself... I'm really sorry!"
At four o'clock in the afternoon on May 2, Dajing City Huaxia Chess Academy.
The 2025 Dragon Star War qualifiers have just ended here.
The Chinese celebrity who had just been defeated started joking with another outstanding "post-2005" chess player in front of him without any grudge.
"...To be honest, I really hope that I can send this soft persimmon in front of my little junior sister!
"But now it seems that not many people have withdrawn, and she still failed to enter..."
The rules of the Dragon Star Battle are that a total of eight contestants will directly enter this competition. Then 28 chess players are sorted according to their levels and arranged in a snake-like arrangement for a round of pre-selection, and then 14 players are selected to enter the competition.
But this time Lin Ruixin was suspended and Lei Qi and Sun Yi did not sign up. Therefore, the seeds were determined to be Kuai Liang, who was the runner-up last year, and Xiong Siyi, Zhu Yuanjun, Dai Ran, Ji Qiufui, Lang Haishen, Tang Guansheng, and Shangguan Sheng, who were ranked 4 to 10 in level.
Next, Ni Jue, ranked 11th, met Chu Jun, ranked 39th, in the first round, while Rui Zhao, ranked 42nd, did not make the round.
And this is also the first time in Chu Jun's career that he has participated in the Dragon Star War preliminaries.
In the end, the smoke cleared, and the young 2023 Rookie King Champion had the last laugh, entering the Dragon Star Tournament for the first time - although with his level, he would definitely have to start from the bottom of the Bubble Tournament.
In fact, logically, there is a huge gap in level ranking between the two. No matter how you look at it, Ni Jue should have the upper hand, but in reality this is not the case.
Ni Jue went on medical leave after suddenly fainting in last year's LIG Cup qualifiers. He did not return to play until the third round of the Celebrity Tournament this year. The intermediate grades were basically frozen, and the grade rankings did not retreat much compared to last year. But in terms of strength, anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is probably not as good as before.
On the other hand, Chu Jun's strength and level ranking have been steadily improving recently.
Although it is not like Lei Qi's meteoric rise, it can be regarded as a complete recovery from last year's failure in the Rookie King's Championship, and he is down-to-earth and orderly. In terms of strength alone, I'm afraid he can already reach the eighth level. He is just waiting for the right opportunity to come and officially complete the tribulation.
Under the circumstances, Ni Jue may still have a slight advantage in strength, but it can basically be ignored. The outcome depends entirely on on-the-spot performance. The final result is not surprising at all.
——Of course, Chu Jun also knows this.
Although he was still happy to be able to enter the Dragon Stars competition, there was not much joy on his face:
"Thank you for the compliment, Ni Jiuduan! But I don't really care about the rank.
"Just like Rui Zhao, although she is nominally seventh-dan like me, I understand that her strength is much higher than mine!
"For me, the most important thing is to catch up with her and Lei Qi as soon as possible, so I have to seize every opportunity to play more games and improve myself!
"To be honest, sometimes I really envy Rui Zhao and Yang Manjing.
"In addition to the league, they also have a lot of women's competitions to play...like the little witch is going to play the Lakeside Cup again soon!
"Now it is easy to have the opportunity to play against top players, so I naturally have to seize it."
"Envy Rui Zhao and Yang Manjing?"
Hearing this, Ni Jue raised his eyebrows and deliberately tested:
"But they are female chess players! There is an upper limit. They will definitely be weak in the follow-up, and there is nothing to envy, right?"
Chu Jun was a little surprised when he heard this, but after thinking for a while, he carefully answered:
"Uh, Ni Jiuduan...
"Maybe I didn't work hard enough, so I couldn't suppress female chess players of the same age...
"But...
"After dealing with Rui Zhao and the little witch in the past year or so, I do feel a little bit:
"In the world of Go...
"Is there really a so-called 'upper limit for female chess players'?"
…
…
"...Huh?!
"Rei-chan, you said you want to go to war early?!"
At five o'clock in the evening on May 10th, Dongdu City Japanese Chess Academy.
Natsukawa Aoi, who was planning to buy a plane ticket and prepare to go to South Korea to play in the Lakeside Cup tomorrow, was a little surprised when she heard the news from her old friend Hiroaki Shindo:
"Didn't we agree that Yuri-chan would be the commander this time? Why did it change again?!"
There is a reason why Xia Chuankui was surprised.
In the fifth game of the first stage that just ended today, Chinese pioneer Yang Manjing once again defeated the Japanese female chess master Haruna Shokura. While winning five consecutive games in one fell swoop, the Japanese team had to face the challenge in the first stage. It was an embarrassing situation where the deputy general had to be dispatched.
Now, Xia Chuankui is already thirty-three years old. Although she has been working hard to maintain her condition, her strength has declined compared to the last Lakeside Cup. Overall, it is roughly equivalent to Sanada Asa and Shokura Haruna.
If anything, Kogusaka, who is only fourteen years old but has made rapid progress in the past year, seems to be the strongest player in the country. Therefore, in the pre-match strategy meeting, Kobayashi Yahiko and Sato Tadao finally decided that Rei Uesaka would be the main player. , and Xia Chuankui is also happy to see its success.
But unexpectedly, when the Chinese Witches defeated Mari Fujisawa, Lin Suying, Asa Sanada, Xu Nanying, and Haruna Shokura all the way in the Lakeside Cup, and were unmatched for a while, Rei Uesaka, who was supposed to be the leader, suddenly came out. The news that they were going to fight in advance naturally surprised Honinbo, who was already ready to fight.
"Well, I just listened to the conversation between Uesaka and the chairman... There are many reasons." Hiroaki Shindo said in a small way:
"You have to listen to what is apparent or what is true."
"...Huh?
"Then, let's explain it on the surface first."
Shindo Hiroaki nodded slightly, and then said:
"To put it bluntly, she doesn't think Zheng Caixi, who will play in South Korea tomorrow, can beat Yang Manjing.
"Right now Yang Manjing has played five games in a row, and tomorrow he will play six games. Although he looks very energetic, he will inevitably feel tired.
"At this time, it is time to end its winning streak in one fell swoop to boost morale and avoid letting the tiger go back to the mountain and making a comeback in the second stage."
"Well...this is also a consideration."
Xia Chuankui nodded.
"...But, I hear you tell me, Rei-chan, there are other reasons?
"There are indeed two more!"
Hiroaki Shindo, who has always been elegant and calm, couldn't help but smile:
"At first, she thought this was a great opportunity to win the position of the Chinese Women's Siege Commander, and even...
“Maybe it’s an opportunity to enter the Chinese Men’s League next season!”
"Man... wearing armor?!
"Is she serious?!!!"
Hearing this, Xia Chuankui's eyes widened, and it took him a long time to react.
Yes...
Yang Manjing, who is currently in the Lakeside Cup ring, is the scheduled captain of the China Pohu Women's Team and the main player of the Pohu Men's Team!
If Lijiang can defeat her opponent, it will indeed prove to a large extent that she may also be fully capable of playing in the Chinese Men's Siege League!
"Of course I'm serious!"
Shindo Hiroaki smiled and replied:
"If she's not serious, then why does she have to go to war early."
"Well..."
Xia Chuankui couldn't help frowning and thinking.
Although she could understand the logic behind this intellectually, she was deeply shocked emotionally!
This... is recognized as the most competitive Chinese Men's League A!
Even though Xia Chuan was very motivated when he was young, he thought about "lofty goals" such as "becoming the world's number one female Go player", "taking the title to gain a soft hand", "finding opportunities to defeat male masters", etc.
But in the final analysis, those are closer to big words, and Xia Chuankui has really not thought about the specific goals of the man - including the fact that no one would have such expectations and requirements from her.
But right now, Rei-chan has just turned fourteen!
Are you actually thinking about how you can squeeze into the world's top league? !
You know, Nie Yunyi, China’s star of hope as a “post-10 generation” who has emerged recently, is three months older than Rei Uesaka! It was also this year that he was spotted by the Chinese siege team and brought into the team for training.
Comparing the two, if Rei Uesaka can really enter the Chinese League next season, it will be a big deal!
Really...
Is the next generation of Chinese men taking the lead? ! ! !
Sister Xia Chuan was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a while.
Although her own chess academy has always been very optimistic about Rei Uesaka, including herself, she has always taken care of and supported her.
But when she discovered that Lijiang seemed to be able to keep up with China's next generation of top male rookies, she still had an unreal feeling.
This feeling...how can I put it?
If I have to use a metaphor, this is like training a yellow basketball player who is over 1.7 meters tall.
Although he can always be encouraged to say politically correct things like "height is not a problem" and "race is not a problem", but when he becomes the leader of the national team and even officially enters the NBA, it will still be jaw-dropping!
Seeing that his usually lively and talkative friend was so shocked that he was speechless for a moment, Shindo Hiroaki couldn't help but smile and said:
"Kui, now it seems that the power of role models is indeed beyond imagination!
"Well, do you know the second practical reason why Uesaka wants to go out early?"
"What is it?"
Natsukawa Aoi couldn't help but ask, while Shindo Hiroaki smiled more and more playfully:
"She felt that with Yang Manjing's seventh-dan level...
"You are not worthy of winning seven consecutive victories like Rui Zhao!"
(End of chapter)