The Second Cheating
The aura of Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, had vanished from his seat.
Originally, he should have been chasing him to prevent cheating.
But I remained seated firmly in front of the Go board.
"Don't worry."
I whispered to myself, but there was no wavering.
I was calmer than I expected.
Rather, this Go board, this universe, had heightened my concentration to an almost tangible level.
The midgame was ending.
I had secured a clear advantage with the large-scale variation.
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, had used a lot of time responding to changes and minimizing losses.
In the end, he had reached a compromise, but he had gained a clear benefit in the process.
It was as if my trap had hit perfectly.
Despite threatening that he wouldn't allow a seat to be vacated for an interview.
The fact that Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, had gone to the bathroom under duress was proof that the situation was not favorable for him.
"The remaining komi is six and a half."
The Ciel Bank Cup komi was six and a half.
It wasn't a position I could be optimistic about, but I was clearly holding the lead.
"...At most two. Three would be pushing it."
Cheating once allows catching up by about two stones.
Maximum two times allowed.
But three would be dangerous.
I had no intention of taking such a risk just for the system achievement.
I quickly played the next move.
Clack.
No reason to waste time.
After all, Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, had placed me as the first player to vacate the seat.
"..."
I glanced at the clock.
Around 50 moves had been played.
Lu Quanyi's remaining time was about 30 minutes.
Compared to that, I had over 1 hour and 10 minutes left.
"40 minutes difference."
It was quite a gap.
But it wouldn't be felt on the skin yet.
Time wasn't just flowing.
It was tightening like a noose.
Squeezing, pressing, constricting until it finally broke.
Calculated abandonment.
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, returned to his seat 4 minutes later.
Remaining time 26 minutes.
He picked up the stone without hesitation.
From the large-scale variation, the white's influence on the wide side.
He placed a black stone there.
Clack.
The standard of reduction.
Not too deep, not too far.
It could be cut or taken at any time, touched and left, or taken from afar again.
The optimal move calculated with precise and tenacious calculation.
"...Cheating is confirmed."
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, originally had a temperament close to AI.
But this move had changed the completeness of the calculation.
The feeling of reading the value of the large space in advance and moving.
While precisely digging into the thin areas.
"Expected flow."
I didn't waver.
I didn't deny that it was an unquestionably best move.
But.
Just because a high-expectation move was played didn't guarantee that the subsequent moves would be perfect.
"I'll give you the stones."
With this one move, I had clearly lost two stones.
If the counterattack failed, there was a risk of even greater loss.
But.
Clack.
I sacrificed the integer.
What I had to create was a crack that the AI didn't expect.
A deviation.
A move that twists the sequence.
A move that disrupts the rhythm.
Creating change within the non-standard.
I kept forcing Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, into a phase he hadn't prepared for.
A battlefield where calculation didn't reach.
There, he, who had been tamed by AI, would respond with human Go that he could handle.
"That's my Go."
I reversed the one point of black that had penetrated without allowing compromise in the phase's compromise.
The space was too wide.
There was a risk that my territory would be invaded.
A desperate move.
But it didn't matter.
My Go was like that.
Go that maximizes risk.
Shaking.
Intuition.
Sense.
The extreme Go that had placed me in this seat.
For that.
"..."
Lu Quanyi's upper body leaned slightly forward.
Still expressionless, but he looked troubled by the completely unexpected move.
It couldn't be a move the AI had predicted.
He knew he had to resist with his head and momentum, but he couldn't respond actively and hesitated.
Risk.
If he played wrong here, he would invite a danger that even cheating couldn't handle.
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, who had been pondering, his gaze turned to the clock.
"...He's aware."
He started to worry about time.
The phase had just entered the middle game.
Considering the late game, he would want to avoid being pushed into time pressure somehow.
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, picked up the stone.
Clack.
Instead of jumping into my territory to play a move, he chose to jump one space and escape widely.
"This isn't the AI's recommended move."
I picked up the black stone without hesitation.
Clack.
I placed the stone on the board and took my hand off.
Lu Quanyi's face stiffened slightly.
Quick response.
Obvious block.
Black had cut the escape route for the invading black.
If he counterattacked, it was uneasy, and if he retreated, the shape was disadvantageous.
He had been pondering, and chose to escape again.
And I followed that black's escape route.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
Cutting, connecting, turning.
Without rest, not giving him a chance to breathe.
Pushing black back, sealing him in tightly.
Shaking the board, driving him into confusion, disrupting the phase.
"..."
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, who hadn't moved, continued to adjust his posture.
Arms stiff, touching his neck, blinking frequently.
While glancing at the clock.
Pressure.
Restlessness.
Anxiety.
I didn't lean back in the chair, leaning slightly forward, reading the moves.
If I lost here or made a mistake, I couldn't reverse it.
The gap I had opened earlier was meaningless in this situation.
I focused on reading at least one move... no, preferably two clear moves.
At that moment.
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, who had broken his long thinking, played the next move.
Clack.
"Expected move."
I quickly responded.
A response that didn't allow recovery.
A move that forced the only path of counterattack and collision.
Once again, Lu Quanyi's hand stopped.
The feeling that he was being forced to read moves repeatedly.
He glanced at the clock again.
17 minutes.
His breathing, which had been steady, became irregular.
"Just a little more."
I slowly but surely blocked the escape routes one by one.
Now, it was really a moment of choice.
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, placed the stone on the first player's seat.
Clack.
Finally, he pushed the chair back and stood up.
"..."
I didn't move.
Didn't lift my head, picked up the stone and quickly took it.
Clack.
Meanwhile, his footsteps were receding.
He went out of the studio, and the producer followed.
Second seat vacancy.
Even in this midst, Lu Quanyi's time flowed indifferently.
When he returned to his seat, 4 minutes had passed.
Remaining time 13 minutes.
Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, quickly picked up the stone.
Clack.
No hesitation in his hand placing the stone.
"After all."
Unwavering play.
A move that tears my thinness.
It was only one move, but the depth of reading was different.
It contained the intention in one move and perfect calculation and confidence.
A feeling comes.
Now, my shaking isn't effective.
My Go's strength is using non-standard moves with low expected win rate against AI to shake the opponent.
But against Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan who brought out a clear countermeasure with cheating, it was likely no longer effective.
"Then..."
The choice was one.
And that choice would be a planned choice.
"I'll give up the Go I play best."
I leaned back in the chair and took a short breath.
Now, it was time to control rather than shake.
Not shaking, but accuracy.
And precision.
There.
"My Go."
Intersection of AI and sense.
Fusion of data and intuition.
I subtly mixed the two.
Clack.
Unwavering play.
New flow.
The calm tension that completes the calculated abandonment spreads across the board.
"This Go, I'll win."
YouTube channel 'Park Ji-man's Baduk in'.
The chat window was already in chaos.
"Calm down, everyone. You don't know yet. If you look at the expected win rate, it's still 51.1% for white. In-ha is leading by half a stone."
Park Ji-man sensei tried not to give up and understand In-ha.
But inwardly, it was the same.
'Why is it going so hard?'
Until the first time Lu Quanyi, the 9-dan, vacated the seat, the atmosphere wasn't bad.
Lead with large-scale variation.
Shaking that nullifies cheating.
I couldn't stop admiring while watching.
The viewer chat was flooded with praise for Kim In-ha.
But.
From the second cheating allowance, the situation changed.
White's expected win rate dropped to 50%.
A tense phase where I couldn't see even one step ahead.
The regret of missing a chance to capture clearly raised the dissatisfaction of the viewers.
"Senseis, calm down. Now, Lu Quanyi's remaining time is almost up. If this happens, he'll be reluctant to go to the bathroom. The moment he comes back, he'll really be pushed into time pressure."
Park Ji-man sensei was still analyzing the situation calmly.
Especially time pressure, which has an absolute impact on the outcome.
He didn't miss that.
"Is this really speculation?"
Park Ji-man sensei cautiously opened his mouth.
"I think this situation might be exactly what In-ha intended. From the large-scale variation, the middle game shaking... It was all part of a big picture to allow cheating and break it. To properly scratch."
"That's right? It seems like a stretch."
When Park Ji-man sensei awkwardly smiled at the angry viewer sentiment.
Clack.
After Lu Quanyi's second cheating, the first response of white was placed on the board.
"What, what is this?"
Park Ji-man sensei reflexively bounced up.
The net that was barely held.
The trap.
Black coming out from between them.
Naturally, it should be blocked, but white generously opened the path.
For the black horse to find a way.
"Wait a minute. Look at this? The center is clearly pierced, but the win rate graph doesn't move at all. It's still that high. Ah, is this even making sense? It's pierced here?"
Park Ji-man sensei also looked like he couldn't easily accept it.
A position that human sense shouldn't lose.
However, the graph didn't change.
White's win rate was 50.4%.
Not shaken at all.
Kim In-ha's consistent half-stone lead.
"..."
Park Ji-man sensei's voice lowered.
"Even if pierced here, it's only two moves."
The situation had reversed.
Half a stone.
A gap that could be reversed at any time.
However.
5 moves.
10 moves.
As time passed, black's options decreased.
Trying to force a reversal with momentum, but white was not easy.
"Ah, ah? Lu Quanyi is pushed into time pressure! This is too much pressure, I can't go to the bathroom!"
Park Ji-man sensei's voice rose.
On the Go board, black and white stones were alternately placed.
Intense exchanges.
15 moves.
20 moves.
Black tried to cut, white didn't give.
Still, white's win rate was 51.5%.
An invisible number.
But an unshakable lead.
25 moves.
White's shape gradually hardened.
Like an frozen lake, without even a ripple.
Half a stone.
The difference remained unchanged.
An unbelievable game content.
The number that couldn't be seen with the eyes didn't decrease.
White's chillingly accurate shape judgment and endgame.
30 moves.
By now, Park Ji-man sensei's face was filled with shock.
He forgot to swallow, couldn't take his eyes off the screen.
"In-ha, you... didn't you..."
He belatedly realized In-ha's intention, muttered with a trembling voice.
"...From the beginning, you thought you would win like this?"