The Emperor's Rage
……What kind of human is this?
During the amateur tournament, I had witnessed all sorts of unsportsmanlike behavior. But the sight of a professional slapping his own cheek in the final of the preliminaries was something I had never seen before.
“Slap.”
Not once. Twice.
It was so hard that the sound echoed, and his cheek turned bright red.
The expression on his face was a mixture of fury, shame, and utter disbelief.
‘Was it really that humiliating not to see the move?’
It wasn’t a mistake. It was skill.
I had read the moves, but Zihao 9-dan had not seen them.
The fact that he was so self-abusive in his self-blame because of that.
‘The match is over.’
Releasing emotions during the game meant the mind had already broken.
The difference in territory, tactics, and shape had been important, but what had truly shattered Zihao 9-dan now was his mental state.
And this defeat would clearly weigh on him for the second game tomorrow.
He was pulling his hair out in self-blame when he forced himself to play one more move.
“Thud.”
It was too late to pick up the spilled water.
The stones I had placed with the double-wing shape writhed in the center, swallowing white’s shape whole.
Zihao 9-dan’s legs trembled.
He noisily slammed the Go stones in his hand together.
Did he really believe he could win even if it was a winnable game?
Now that belief had shattered, it seemed nothing remained of manners or anything else.
Zihao 9-dan continued to fight desperately for a few more moves.
When he finally couldn’t find the thread for a comeback, he threw the Go stone he was holding into the container with a nervous jerk.
And then, suddenly, he muttered as if biting his tongue.
“Ha… damn.”
It was definitely Korean.
With perfect pronunciation.
For a moment, I, the referee, and all the surrounding staff froze.
A short silence fell.
In that quiet, I glanced at Zihao 9-dan.
‘……The first time a Chinese has said a Korean curse.’
He bit his lip hard, eyes wide, and stood up from his seat.
Then the referee approached with an interpreter, asking cautiously if he was conceding.
Zihao 9-dan nodded nervously.
As he turned to leave the studio.
“The one who played better wins, right?”
Fluent Chinese.
Zihao 9-dan’s jaw twitched as he stopped and turned back.
The uncontrollable storm of emotion was fully reflected in his expression.
And again.
“Damn.”
He spat out the curse and abruptly stormed out of the studio.
I watched that back for a long time.
‘……Should I call this the greatness of the Korean language?’
A Chinese saying Korean curses.
Why was the accent so sharp?
A vague smile escaped my lips.
Anyway.
The one who had provoked first was Zihao 9-dan, and I had only answered the provocation.
And.
‘I won.’
When the feeling of victory slowly seeped into my skin, the familiar notification rang.
You have won the first game of the 60th DN Automobile National Go Championship finals.
You have defeated the 'madman who entered the realm'.
The system has confirmed the evolutionary potential of your talent 'Go'.
Congratulations. The 'Realm of Enlightenment' is deepening.
You have won all games of the National Go Championship by resignation. If you also win the second game by resignation, the first achievement will be added.
Future achievements will be added to the rewards.
I slowly exhaled.
Actually, I had felt no sense of having won by resignation so far.
Winning one game or a hundred made no difference.
However.
‘……If there’s no greed, it’s a lie.’
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
The opponent was Zihao 9-dan, the world’s top Go player.
But it was enough to challenge.
‘Because I broke his mental today.’
Sometimes this system doesn’t spare unexpected rewards.
Only when you endure difficult challenges.
I quietly closed the system window and stood up.
Heading to the second-floor press conference room with the staff.
In front of the photo wall, seated in the reserved seats, the eyes of the waiting journalists focused.
The MC greeted first.
Player Kim In-ha, congratulations on winning the first game. Please give your thoughts on today’s match.
I held the microphone and looked straight ahead.
And said very simply.
It was a tough match until the middle. Honestly, I was at a disadvantage. But I believed I could win… and as you see, I won.
I stated the facts as they were.
I had no need to be humble or boast.
The MC nodded and passed the question to a journalist who raised his hand.
What was the decisive move for today’s win, the double-wing move ‘Jin Shin Du’? I know it’s a rare move that can be counted on one hand in Go history. Did you see that move from the beginning?
I nodded.
Yes, I saw it.
Then the journalist asked.
Then, did you lead Zihao 9-dan to the ko?
The following journalist’s question.
It seemed he wanted to hear a certain answer.
I responded to that expectation.
Yes. That was my intention. I read that move, and Zihao 9-dan didn’t see it. In the end, that difference decided the match.
The difference in reading moves.
It meant I had played better Go than Zihao 9-dan and was stronger.
The microphone passed to another journalist.
How do you feel about Zihao 9-dan’s unsportsmanlike behavior?
……I think it can happen, but it would be good if manners were kept a bit more.
My words made the Korean journalists let out small laughs.
In contrast, the Chinese journalists made disgusted faces.
Angry that a Chinese had lost in Go, and then pointing out manners, they had no control over their expressions.
The MC asked the last question.
Player Kim In-ha 9-dan is known as a player who plays many rare moves. Can we expect a move like ‘Jin Shin Du’ in the second game?
With a slight smile, I nodded.
It would be good to expect.
I laughed briefly.
……I may hate it, but that’s why I can’t hate my own Go.
After the interview, I quietly put down the microphone.
Then the camera shutters flashed one after another.
My confident smile and comments firmly shook the atmosphere of the National Go Championship finals.
- The 60th DN Automobile National Go Championship Finals Game 2.
Same time as yesterday.
Same place.
The only change was that I had held the black yesterday, and today I held the white.
I quietly rubbed my fingers to relax.
No pleasant tremor like before.
Surprisingly calm, and my mind was quiet.
‘……Let’s play as usual.’
Distraction is forbidden.
Zihao 9-dan is a player who is strong in time pressure.
Especially in the 3-2 best-of-five format, there are many cases where he succeeds in counterattack after losing the first game.
The reason he wins major world tournaments every year is also due to that fighting spirit.
How did the nickname ‘emperor of time pressure’ come to be in China as well.
‘Though the influence from yesterday isn’t completely gone…
Still, expecting the opponent’s mistake is not my style of Go.
My Go wins only by skill.
“Thud.”
Zihao 9-dan played the first move.
I took the diagonal point and observed the response.
Then the three-three invasion followed.
After taking the ear point, I balanced the stones and moyo with the stone jump.
From early on, the smell of fight was there.
Zihao 9-dan’s opening today was preparation for that.
Rough and fast taking.
A sequence that reveals power in the front.
Moves that reconstruct AI openings with human sense and breath.
‘……The opening is one move above mine.’
I honestly admitted it.
Different depth of study.
Although I had studied AI openings, I couldn’t follow his sense.
However.
‘From the middle game on, it’s different.’
I accepted the flow as is.
The disadvantage of the opening had already been erased from my mind long ago.
I looked ahead to the battle point dozens of moves later and shaped the board.
“Thud.”
“Thud.”
“Thud.”
The number of moves became shorter.
Each had a 60-minute limit.
Long time, not short time.
But this Go could no longer be expressed with the word ‘short time’.
“Thud.”
The one who tried shaking first was Zihao 9-dan.
He covered the black stone in the cutting like chopping with an axe.
‘Here it comes.’
He came to challenge me.
No refined flow, quiet exploration.
The intention was clear.
Inducing a fight.
‘There’s no reason to avoid it?’
Instead, I was grateful.
I didn’t hesitate and engaged.
In the fight, the sense became sharp.
All stones seemed to be breathing.
“Tight fight.”
No completed shape, no organized area.
Stones tangled with each other, groups intertwined messily.
Each move was a challenge.
Each move was a threat.
While eyeing each other’s necks, no one backed down.
The shape looked even.
A mistake would decide the match.
“Thud.”
Zihao 9-dan raised the rhythm.
Sharper, more dangerous moves.
One-sided attack development.
It was the will to take risks and a declaration of winning.
‘He’s mistaken about something.’
I quietly laughed inside.
Responded to black’s attack with a steady response.
A move that attaches as if expecting.
A move to find white’s escape rather than attack.
When the stone was placed there, Zihao 9-dan’s eyes shook for a moment.
‘……Cutting is the best attack.’
Perfect response.
A counterattack that reverses the board in the big picture.
Zihao 9-dan’s expression twisted anxiously.
He bit his lip, left hand tapping his knee.
After the time, strong attack again.
However, I endured with flexible intuition and sense.
A precarious situation like walking on thin ice.
But I didn’t collapse.
That meant it was fatal for black.
‘I’m ahead.’
It was the moment when that conviction was about to solidify.
“Let’s pause the match for a moment.”
The referee’s voice rang out.
A sudden declaration of pausing the match.
Everyone looked up.
The referee, with interpreter, approached Zihao 9-dan carefully.
He showed a displeased expression at the disturbance in a situation where the shape was unfavorable.
“Zihao 9-dan.”
The referee’s words through the interpreter.
I didn’t wait for the interpreter.
Heard clearly enough.
“You did not put your own stones in the stone container.”
The referee pointed to the two white stones placed on the floor under the board.
“Since last year, this rule has been notified, and informed to all participants in the tournament. For the problem of handling stones, one warning and two point deduction will be applied.”
“You are talking nonsense!”
Zihao stood up shouting.
His expression was filled with shock and anger.
“Our country has no such rule!”
“There is no such rule in our country!”
I had heard it too.
In China, placing stones anywhere doesn’t affect the score much.
But Korea is different.
There were many cases where Chinese players lost points because they didn’t know this rule.
The referee repeated with a stern face.
“This is the official rule. Two points deducted from the score.”
“What ridiculous rule is this!”
Zihao couldn’t hold back and raged.
His face was as if he was going crazy from unfairness and anger.
“Damn.”
Again, a sharp Korean curse came out.
He gritted his teeth, turned his head.
Towards me.
Eyes full of hostility.
Like the match was stolen by one rule.
I didn’t avoid that gaze.
Rather, I received it head on.
I breathed in for a moment, and quietly spoke to the referee.
“Would you please let me play?”
“?”
The referee looked up as if questioning.
I continued slowly.
“The words ‘I won because of the penalty’… I don’t want to hear it. Please handle it only with caution. Thank you.”
My words were passed to Zihao 9-dan through the interpreter.
For a moment, his face hardened.
His eyes looked as if his mouth was blocked.
It was an expression that only someone whose pride was broken could make.
But strangely, no feeling of pity.
I quietly, very small, laughed inside.
‘……I don’t want to give him an excuse.’