Quarterfinals Morning
He woke up on the hotel bed.
The ceiling was the same as yesterday, yet his vision felt brighter somehow.
His body was light, his mind clear.
The hotel bed fit well, but the real reason was that his body had improved more than that.
‘...... My stamina has increased.’
Last night, after eating dinner, he had jogged on the hotel's jogging track.
The wind blowing as he ran out of breath, the subtle flows he could read within it.
And the core, muscles, and sense of balance he caught.
From some point on, all of that had become familiar.
It was the change he had experienced after obtaining the talent 'Archery'.
Thanks to that talent, he had started using his body, and even more, building his body.
Ultimately, his stamina had raised his condition, and his condition had maximized his concentration on the Go board.
‘Interesting.’
Each time a talent accumulated, he felt as if he was becoming more precisely designed himself.
A better me.
A better life.
Beyond the utility of the talents, they were growing him in their own right.
“Perfect.”
He lightly rotated his wrist to adjust his attire.
He took the elevator down to the lobby.
Reporters crowded around, requesting interviews, but he politely waved them off.
For him now, an interview was an extension of the game.
A psychological battle outside the board.
But.
‘Today, there's no need to provoke my opponent.’
He headed straight to the studio.
The lights embedded in the ceiling.
The photo wall set up on the walls.
The Go board placed below it.
It was too familiar.
Before long, he had naturally melted into this scenery.
Now, playing a game elsewhere would feel more awkward than in the studio.
‘Today's viewership will be high too.’
The game with the most viewers.
Live chat reactions, Shorts views, SNS and community reprocessing.
My story was always on people's lips.
Sitting in front of the Go board, slowly calming his breath, Chai Ran 8-dan entered the studio.
She sat quietly across the board.
Up close, her features were sharp.
Her face was clear and steady despite the glasses.
No emotions were visible in her eyes.
‘Exciting.’
It was her first official match against a female player.
And it was against a player ranked high in China.
Click.
We separated the stones.
‘White.’
Chai Ran 8-dan picked up the black stones.
First move.
Upper right star point.
I placed it diagonally.
And the following move.
Lower right three-three.
A spot not played much these days.
But still effective for securing territory.
Tap.
I calmly responded with upper left star point and began the opening.
Familiar rhythm.
One by one, expanding the board.
Chai Ran 8-dan is a player who actively uses AI style.
Precise and calculated moves like a machine.
She also resembles in utilizing the territorial advantage based on the three-three.
‘...... It's the opposite of my mother's Go.’
After the bracket was set, I looked up the game records of Gui Ling 9-dan, who had been invited to the National Go Tournament in the past.
The first impression was......
‘This Go is good.’
It was very impressive.
Not reckless, but not yielding either.
Maintaining the balance of forces and territory, she was the strongest in battles.
The style became more intense the more complex and disordered the board became.
This Go had a clear ‘color’.
‘Really, it might resemble mine.’
The Go in the records was clearly different from mine.
But the instinctive rhythm of gripping and shaking the board was similar to mine somewhere.
However.
Even if similar, in the end, different.
Tap.
Chai Ran 8-dan was similar to AI.
Every single Go stone carried the effort she had put in.
However.
‘...... I won't be able to play like that forever.’
AI's moves might be perfect, but human thought can't follow AI.
After all, the circuits are different.
I thought that.
‘Because it's similar to my mother's Go. That's why, I want to surpass it.’
The resolve Chai Ran 8-dan had revealed in the opening ceremony.
It's unfortunate, but that determination won't be fulfilled.
Why?
Because.
Compared to the mother's Go she said she resembled......
I am stronger.
* * *
Chai Ran 8-dan.
She had learned Go when she was very young.
Before she had iron, she played with Go stones, and it was just fun.
One day, trying to become a pro player following her mom.
AI appeared, and the mechanism of Go itself changed.
The young girl adapted faster than anyone.
She memorized the AI joseki and openings, repeated precise move reading like a machine.
Standardized, calculated, followed.
Then, she finally beat her mother Gui Ling 9-dan.
‘...... I thought I would be praised.’
How long she had waited for that moment.
When she won, she imagined what harsh words her mother would say.
But.
‘I didn't want her to play this kind of Go......’
Just that one word.
At first, she was surprised, then angry upon reflection, and later regretful.
So, she became more thorough.
She excluded emotions, pursued efficiency, and molded herself to play like AI.
As a result, she reached China's third female ranking.
One day.
Her mother was happy looking at Korean amateur Go.
‘...... Good Go.’
Kim In-ha 9-dan.
A style strangely similar to her mother's Go from the AI era.
The surprising part was that she won the Ciel Bank Cup with such a Go.
‘...... I can't accept it.’
Chai Ran 8-dan quietly picked up the stones.
Tap.
The move recommended by AI.
The one with the highest expected win rate, where the next move's development was predictable.
The Go that had guided her so far.
Precise and cold move reading.
And the way she had surpassed her mother.
But Kim In-ha didn't waver at all.
He calmly responded quietly.
Tap.
Chai Ran 8-dan frowned slightly.
A strange move.
A spot placed somewhere between formal and informal.
It looked like a move AI wouldn't recommend.
But.
‘The shape...... keeps twisting.’
From that move, the flow began to subtly bend.
Not a simple exchange, but context to disrupt move reading.
Kim In-ha's Go was not structure but momentum.
There was intuition within the precision, and chaos within the rhythm.
‘This is what my mother said......’
Stones collided, flowed, overlapped.
The flow that had run straight curved like a curve.
Beautiful, fierce, Go with meaning and emotion in every move.
It might be inefficient to AI's eyes, but Go that moves people's hearts.
And Go that ultimately wins.
‘It's not over yet.’
Chai Ran 8-dan resisted fiercely.
To prove that her mother's words were wrong.
She believed only AI's Go was perfect.
But.
As the midgame passed, it crumbled.
No, the expression that it had slowly melted was more accurate.
Of course, her move accuracy might be higher.
But the momentum of intuition that machines can't create.
The Go of momentum that breaks formal shapes.
And the human Go that even carries the next AI's piercing move.
In front of such moves, all the prepared move readings were blocked.
All the things she had excluded to win, became the losing factor on this board.
Chai Ran 8-dan stared blankly at the Go board.
It wasn't a reversal, nor a mistake.
Yet, she was losing.
‘Ah.’
Only then did she vaguely understand.
The Go my mother said.
The work Kim In-ha said.
A picture with a process where black and white draw together.
In that process, 'people' exist.
Not perfect, but a Go that can be acknowledged.
Chai Ran 8-dan quietly placed the stones.
Resignation.
A moment as if the clock and breathing had stopped.
“...... I lost.”
Her voice was calm, but emotions stacked within it.
Pride.
Recognition.
Confusion.
And perhaps a refreshing sense of liberation.
I raised my head and met her eyes.
She accepted my gaze and said quietly.
“I think I understand a little why my mother liked your Go......”
I was at a loss for what to answer.
I carefully chose words.
And slowly opened my mouth.
“Your Go is also attractive. It was a Go that suited the era.”
Fluent Chinese.
And my sincere belief that her Go wasn't wrong, just the direction was different.
Whether that was conveyed, Chai Ran 8-dan smiled faintly.
“...... Thank you. And as I heard, you speak Chinese well.”
I smiled without saying anything.
My Chinese skill was no longer a secret among Chinese players.
Chai Ran 8-dan stared blankly at that day, then quietly took off her glasses.
And lightly touched her eye area.
One of those actions changed her impression.
‘That expression "glasses as a suppressor" — is that what it's used for?’
The hidden features were revealed, and the gaze was sufficient to be stolen.
“...... If the Golden Cup is held in spring, will there be a chance to cross to China?”
She asked quietly.
“Then, will you contact me?”
“...... Contact?”
She nodded her head and looked straight into my eyes.
“Yes. I'll treat you to a meal. With my mother...... too.”
I blinked.
An unexpected proposal.
Perhaps a nuance that could cause misunderstanding.
‘Could it mean something like that?’
For a moment, a dramatic imagination crossed my mind.
But soon I brushed it off.
No need to assign meaning.
Good intentions are just good intentions.
“I'll wait.”
She smiled mysteriously and stood up from her seat.
After slightly bowing her head, her back as she turned.
I was alone for a moment, looking at the Go board.
Unsorted black and white stones.
Not perfect, but a beautiful flow.
A Go that can remain in someone's heart, beyond win or loss.
Even if it might not be a masterpiece.
‘...... Another work.’
I quietly smiled.
This kind of Go wasn't bad either.
And the next day.
In the following semifinals, I defeated Kang Joon-soo 9-dan by resignation and advanced to the finals.
* * *
Park Ji-man's Baduk in channel.
Before the National Go Tournament finals first game, live viewers reached 30,000.
Normally, viewers increase after the game starts, but Kim In-ha's event was an exception.
Interviews more anticipated than Go.
He shattered the clichéd perception that one must be polite and respect opponents in a refreshing way.
And always proved results with wins.
Against the world's strongest Chinese player.
Is there anything more dopamine-spiking than this?
Today's viewers were also expecting that scene.
The trigger was yesterday's interview with Zihao 9-dan.
- I said it. I wanted to say that I am sorry for winning the National Go Tournament. There are only two games left.
On Park Ji-man's broadcast screen, the video of Zihao 9-dan's interview was playing.
A scene of him answering the host's question with a self-assured smile.
- Ah, about Kim In-ha 9-dan's move? Well, if you can, try it. I won't stop you.
A quite provocative interview.
However, Park Ji-man was smiling relaxed with arms crossed.
“Everyone, the villain should be like this to be fun. It should be fun to defeat him, right? Right, In-ha? I'll win for you?”
At that moment, the screen switched, showing the Korea Baduk Association press conference hall.
Kim In-ha slowly walked out and sat down.
The host held the microphone.
“Zihao 9-dan said to Kim In-ha 9-dan, 'If you can, try it.' What do you think?”
In-ha answered briefly.
“So, I'll try to block it.”
A concise, plain one-word answer.
Even to the following questions, he answered calmly.
No lively or provocative lines as usual.
Rather, refined, polished tone.
“Today's In-ha interview is a bit boring, isn't it?”
Park Ji-man and viewers clicked their tongues half in jest, half in regret.
As the interview was about to end, Kim In-ha picked up the microphone again.
“Ah, I forgot to say something.”
In-ha, who had taken a breath, looked straight at the camera.
“Chinese journalists, please pass on to Zihao 9-dan that I'm sorry......”
For a moment, tension filled the press conference hall.
As the meaning was conveyed through interpretation, a wave of murmurs spread.
What else was he going to say.
The feeling of the emotion from the Ciel Bank Cup loss revived.
In that atmosphere, Kim In-ha added.
“...... Zihao 9-dan's world tournament title, the Jinlan Cup.”
He smiled slightly.
“I'm going to take it in spring.”