The ten-year trace of the soul of chess

Compared with before, the sky was a little gloomy.

In the gray sky, a large cloud is moving rapidly.

Occasionally, a ray of light penetrated the clouds and fell to the ground, but was soon completely covered by the flowing clouds.

At this time, three o'clock in the afternoon.

Nippon Chess Academy is in the game room where the 33rd Tianyuan Tournament is in progress.

Calmly looking up at the wall clock on the wall of the Japanese room, Liang narrowed his eyes slightly, a pair of dark green pupils unconsciously cooled down.

This was the first time since he entered the stage that he was so absent-minded in front of his opponent.

Restlessness is a taboo in chess, but...

Turning his gaze back to the chess pier in front of him——

In the chess game in front of him, the black chess dragon is dead, and the other places are also weak. He is also a high-level chess player. It is impossible for the opponent not to see the result of such a defeated game, but he still...

Thoughts were wandering, only to hear the crisp sound of picking up pieces from the opposite side again, and then, a black chess piece settled at the "six of 4" and climbed.

It's like fighting a trapped beast, lingering on its last breath.

He raised his eyes and glanced coldly at the opponent, and almost at the same time as the opponent's fingertips slid, Liang quickly slapped down a white chess piece under the black chess piece that had just been settled, "Four out of five", pull.

Pressing the timer next to him heavily, Liang took a deep breath, as if he was trying to restrain himself, and slowly closed his eyes.

Another 5 minutes wasted.Liang almost felt a little annoyed.

In today's chess game, although he was thinking of a quick decision and rushed back to the hospital as soon as possible, when Liang finally finished his day's work and drove to the hospital, it was almost [-] o'clock in the evening.

Briskly rushing to the ward, Ryo opened the door and entered, and before approaching, he was the first to see Masao Shinto.

Masao Shinto is always busy. Even on the day his grandfather was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, he immediately drove back to the company after confirming that his condition was stable. How could it happen today...

Liang's heart sank slightly, and his footsteps stopped in place.

Beside the hospital bed, he turned around as if he had sensed something, and saw Liang standing at the door, Guang smiled at him, stretched out his hand, and beckoned him to come over.

Walking to the side of the hospital bed, he handed his right hand to Guang, and Guang took Liang's hand, and with the force of his fingertips, he brought Liang to his side.

But this "one pull and one area" seemed to happen in a flash. Before the other patients and family members in the ward even realized the slightest clue, Guang immediately let go of his hand. Li squeezed lightly.

Standing beside Hikaru, after Ryo greeted Heihachi and Shindo couple one by one, the conversation that had been interrupted resumed again.

It turned out that Shindo Masao came here this time to discuss Heihachi's follow-up treatment plan.

Right now, they have no more than two options.One is conservative treatment, that is, bed rest and traction; the other is surgical treatment, that is, implanting steel nails at the fracture site, and performing surgical reduction and fixation.

But no matter which solution has its own advantages and disadvantages, it is by no means foolproof——

Conservative treatment requires at least three months of bed rest, not to mention slow recovery, and may cause various complications such as bedsores and lower extremity venous thrombosis;

Surgical treatment is effective, but it will inevitably form a large wound after the operation, and according to the later recovery situation, if the physical condition permits, a second operation will be required after a year and a half to remove all the implanted steel nails.

In the past two days, Pinghachi was relatively weak, and the examination results were not yet available, so he did not discuss the follow-up treatment with him.

Today, all the inspection results have come out, and all the indicators of Heihachi are in line with the indications for surgery. It is not too late. Whether or not to have surgery needs to be decided as soon as possible.

Just now, after explaining the pros and cons of the two plans to the old man in detail, Ping Ba pondered for a moment, and has not yet answered.

Not to mention that the old man himself couldn't make a decision so quickly, even the Shinto couple, who are family members, couldn't help hesitating after hearing that a second operation was needed.

At the side of the hospital bed where whispered voices were hovering, everyone suddenly fell silent.

Just when Liang thought it was impossible to discuss the results today, Guang suddenly spoke.

"Grandpa," Guang looked at Pinghachi, and slowly tightened his hands hanging by his side, "Conservative treatment requires at least three months of bed rest, although it may be safer to choose this plan, but during these three months, you You can't go anywhere, you can only lie on the bed, and you are not free to do anything, can you... can you bear it?"

After hearing what Guang said, Liang's heart trembled slightly.

Two days ago, when Hikari heard that he and his wife both advocated surgical treatment, the puzzlement and excitement on his face can still be vividly remembered.

But today, today, he alone...

Silently looking sideways at Hikari, Ryo involuntarily held Hikari's hand.

On the other side, hearing the obvious bias in Hikari's voice, Mitsuko just wanted to refute, but Heihachi laughed suddenly.

It may be that I am really old, and I have become greedy for life and afraid of death in my bones, but a life without freedom has no quality of life at all, even if it is only three months in the eyes of others... What's more, he is about to What he was facing was a "minor surgery" with very mature medical technologies.

So, the treatment plan was so willfully...determined.

After repeatedly confirming the operation plan and procedure with the chief surgeon, Shindo Heihachi's operation will be performed three days later.

On the day of the operation, the whole family—the Shinto couple, Hikari, and Ryo—were all present, and Heihachi seemed very relaxed. Before being pushed into the operating room, he still laughed at a group of people who were nervous and excited.

And the result of the operation, just as Heihachi had expected, was very smooth.

After the operation, full-time housewife Shindo Mitsuko accompanied him, and Hikari and Ryo took turns to take care of him. Shinto Heihachi's recovery was very satisfactory.

He stayed in the hospital for observation for two weeks. After the incision was removed, the doctor told him that he could be discharged and go home to recuperate.

But which "home" to return to after being discharged from the hospital has become a thorny issue that the family can't settle down.

The old man insisted that he could do it alone, and the other four voted against it. With Guang as the main player, before the old man turned the corner, he would attack Ping Hachi whenever he had time, and Ping Hachi was not talked about very much. Troublesome, on the day of discharge from the hospital, the minority finally had to obey the majority, making a strategic compromise first—in the recovery stage, temporarily reluctantly lived with the Shindos and his wife, and Mitsuko took care of her daily diet and daily life.

In this turmoil, the first online Go competition has also entered the most critical final stage of the entire event.

In this final, in order to increase the fun and visibility of the chess game, the two winning teams will organize a fast chess arena match between the two teams after the three generals match.

Because the rapid chess group arena is a post-addition event, and there are still many matters that need to be confirmed in the early stage, the organizing committee of the tournament held another working meeting one month before the start of the group arena.

After the meeting, the chairman's secretary unexpectedly asked Liang to stop for a while.

He was led by the chairman's secretary all the way to sit on the reception sofa outside the chairman's office. Not long after, the current chairman Kato Koichi walked out from the inside with a smile.

Kato Koichi, 57 years old.

His face was broad, but the skin on both sides of his cheeks did not show any signs of looseness, and his abdomen was not as potbellied as common bureaucrats.

His physique can be called tall and strong. Even in a suit, it can still be seen that he pays great attention to exercise on weekdays.

When he walked towards Liang, his facial expression was soft, but the difference in physique and age still made his whole body look condescending and oppressive.

In the past, he and Ogata Seiji often visited Chairman Kato together, but this time, it was the first time Ryo faced Kato Koichi alone.

Seeing Kato Koichi walking out of the room, before he approached, Ryo got up first and bowed to him.

"Don't be restrained, sit down."

Walking to the reception sofa, Kato Koichi passed his right hand forward, motioning for him to sit down.

When Liang saluted again and sat down, Kato Koichi did not sit down with him.

He walked slowly towards the low cabinet beside him, took out a set of tea sets from the cabinet, added a can of tea leaves, and then walked back to the reception sofa and sat down on the sofa opposite to Liang.

At that moment, the chairman's secretary who had left earlier knocked on the door and put a pot of hot water on the tea table in front of them.

Kato Koichi nodded slightly to thank her.

After placing the kettle on the coffee table, the chairman's secretary bowed and left.

"Do you drink tea on weekdays, Taya-kun?" Putting some tea leaves into the teapot just taken out, Kato Koichi raised his head and asked brightly while filling the teapot with hot water.

Liang replied, occasionally, not often.

Kato Koichi seemed to be no exception to Liang's answer, he only smiled lightly, and then quickly poured the hot water in the pot into the sea of ​​tea.

After some "warm soaking", I uncovered the lid again and poured hot water into the teapot. I saw that the tightly pressed and curled tea leaves in the teapot slowly unfolded. Immediately, a fragrance overflowed from the teapot.

"This is the best Gyokuro tea, try it?" Kato Koichi handed one of the tea soup to Ryo after pouring the tea soup into white porcelain thin-walled teacups.

Liang hurriedly got up slightly, and took the teacup with both hands.

When his fingertips touched the body of the cup, Liang noticed that the temperature of the tea soup was not hot.

Sitting opposite each other, they took a sip of tea soup, only to hear Kato Koichi said with a little regret: "Gyokuro tea is best brewed cold, but unfortunately there are no ice cubes here, Taya-kun will just drink it today."

Ryo nodded his head politely, and imitated Kato Koichi, taking a sip of tea soup into his throat.

The warm tea soup enters the mouth, stays between the teeth for a while, and then slowly spreads on the taste buds, the taste is sweet and mellow.

Savor it carefully, there is even a hint of elegant seaweed fragrance.

On this day, Kato Koichi seemed to have some free time, so he first tasted tea with Liang, and then proposed to play a game of chess with Liang.

Just play fast chess in 30 seconds.

As for Koichi Kato, Ryo doesn't know much about him. He only learned from the past information and Mr. Ogata that Chairman Kato had a strong chess style in his early years and was good at playing chess. He had won many titles in chess games. As he grows older, his chess style gradually becomes more stable, and because he often wins with a slight advantage in the finale, he is known as "Hanmu Kato".It's a pity that in the later stage of his career, his focus of development gradually shifted to the behind-the-scenes, so that Liang never had the chance to play chess with him.

This time, to hear Chairman Kato's initiative to invite him, Liang was naturally happy in his heart.

After the two sides guess first, Kato holds the white, and Liang holds the black first.

Perhaps because of the fast chess, the progress on the board was extremely fast, and after a while, the white chess took the lead in provoking a fight on the corner.

Although it was a temporary invitation, Liang could clearly feel that Chairman Kato did not hold back the whole game of chess because he was a junior or he was discussing in private.

When you meet your opponent in chess, you must be hearty.

It was only when the chess game was over that Liang realized that he had narrowly won Banmu.

Immediately feeling uneasy, I looked up at Koichi Kato, but saw that he didn't show any displeasure on his face, he just leaned back on the sofa and joked with himself with a smile: "It seems that the name of 'Kato Kato' is no longer worthy of the name. "

Ryo faintly felt that Chairman Kato still had something to say, so he just shook his head slightly.

Sitting up straight again, he filled his and Liang's cups with Qifen tea soup. When Kato looked at Liang, he suddenly asked him: "Why did Taya-kun choose Go? Is it because of your father?"

Liang was slightly taken aback.

As if not obsessed with Liang's answer, Kato Hikari smiled at him, and then continued talking on his own.

"Go can't lie," Kato Koichi said, looking into Liang's eyes, "a chess player is most afraid of messing up his own position. If his mind is confused, the game will follow. But today's game, you My heart...is very determined."

"..." Unable to guess what Kato Koichi wanted to say, Ryo only responded symbolically and didn't say much.

Feeling Taya Ryo's sharp intelligence, Kato Koichi took another sip of Gyokuro tea, and suddenly changed the topic: "Not long ago, I just got a set of data."

Ryo's slightly drooping eyelids moved slightly, and then he raised his head to look directly into Kato Koichi's eyes.

Catching Liang's gaze, Kato Koichi continued: "It's also a chess game. In Japan, the number of people who play shogi is 500 million, while the population of go is less than 250 million [1]."

Still looking at Ryo, Kato Koichi said again: "It's strange, isn't it? Although shogi is a Japanese national game, Go enjoys a higher international reputation and the rules are simpler, but the number of learners is far lower than that of Go. Shogi."

As Kato Koichi said, his face slowly became serious.

"In addition to the previous years of financial deficits of the Nippon Ki-in, Japanese players have not performed well on the world stage for many years, and the sponsors and chess bonuses of major Go tournaments have also been reduced year by year. A series of reforms have been made to the competition system, but if this vicious cycle continues, the situation of Japanese Go..." Kato Hikaru paused, and finally said, "It will go from bad to worse."

Kato Koichi's last words, like several strongest voices, stirred up several waves in Liang's heart.

But he looked at the chairman with a calm expression, so he could only ask respectfully like a routine: "Excuse me, what do you want me to do?"

Kato Hikaru kept looking into Liang's eyes, and was silent for a moment, but did not answer and asked: "Taya-kun, do you blame the council? Ignoring your proposal, the chess battles are still arranged so densely?"

Liang was slightly taken aback in his heart, but only smiled lightly on his face, "How could it be..."

Kato Koichi didn't answer, just looked at Ryo silently.

The brown pupils gradually became deep and sharp.

For a moment, Ryo even had a sense of being completely seen through his thoughts.

He turned his throat lightly, paused for a few seconds, and then corrected: "It won't happen now. There must be a reason for the council to do this."

It can be seen that Liang still has a grudge against him, but Kato's face does not show the slightest unhappiness.

He only half-jokingly said: "You are blaming yourself for not being qualified to make decisions."

"..." Looking at the emerald green tea soup in the cup, Liang fell silent again.

As Kato said, he did have dissatisfaction in his heart, but it was not his turn to say these words.

He is not qualified enough, he knows it in his heart.

Although Liang did not reveal the true thoughts in his heart, Kato Koichi seemed to see through it, and said meaningfully: "Some 'chronic diseases' need to be treated slowly, and urgent treatment will only cure the disease to death."

"!" Liang felt a shock in his heart.

He suddenly raised his head to look at Kato Koichi, but Kato Koichi seemed to be just mentioning it casually, Chaoliang smiled lightly, then got up and walked towards the window.

"Japanese Go has been closed for too long, and it's been too long to recover." Standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back, Kato Hikaru looked out of the window and couldn't help sighing, "Now, whether it's Kuwamoto Inbo or your father, A group of Go players over the age of [-] are indeed the leading figures in the Japanese Go world and enjoy high prestige among Go players and Go fans, but their era will pass sooner or later."

As he spoke, he turned around slowly and looked at the young chess player behind him.

At some point, Liang also stood up.

"The wave of the times is constantly pushing and driving us forward. I have reason to believe that Ogata-kun and Kurata-kun will become the mainstays of Japanese Go in the near future, but what Japanese Go needs more is you. The young generation headed by them will bring more fresh blood to Japanese Go." Seeing bright eyes in the air, Kato Koichi continued, "Whether it's you or Shinto-kun, I don't know what other people think of you. , and don’t care, but personally, I have expectations for you.”

Hearing Hikari's name from Kato Hikari's mouth at first, Liang's expression tightened slightly.

Kato Koichi seemed not aware of it, just shook his head and smiled wryly: "I'm ashamed to say that although I am the director of the chess academy, my little girl doesn't like Go, and it can even be said that she has no interest in Go."

Fu raised his head to look at Liang again, and Kato Koichi continued: "But I don't know when, the little girl also cared about Go. When I was at home, I would take the initiative to ask me about the recent situation of you and Shinto-kun. To actually ask me to analyze your and Shinto-kun's chess records for her, I'm a little 'flattered'."

"Lingai?" After Kato Koichi finished speaking, Ryo couldn't help asking.

"That's right," Kato nodded and said, "Maybe I've heard of you from somewhere. When I was at home, I always talked about you in front of me, as if she had seen you with her own eyes."

Kato Koichi sighed helplessly, and said again: "That child Eriko, when she was a child, I taught her Go by hand, but somehow, she is not interested in Go, but is interested in those bottle games." Canned cosmetics are very enthusiastic. As a parent, I don’t have much to say. No, after graduating from college, she joined a makeup studio and often went around with some film crews to collect styles and make up. I can’t control her. , and she will go..."

wait wait wait.

Chairman Kato just said... Eriko?

As if time interlaced, the "Eriko" that Kato Koichi said suddenly overlapped with a certain figure in Liang's distant memory.

——Hello, my name is Eriko, please give me your advice!

——The relationship between Shindo-kun and Taya-kun is so good!

--Very happy to meet all of you!I will cheer for you!

Fragments of the past flashed through my mind like a fleeting image [2].

The makeup artist whose real name is said to be unknown.

That girl with short flaxen hair and a thin body that seemed to contain infinite power.

It turned out that it was her...

In the midst of Kato Koichi's gossip, Ryo lowered his head slightly and curled his lips silently.

He had to lament once again the wonderfulness of life.

Sometimes, it seems that such an insignificant link may play a pivotal role in your future life; nobleman...

"In order to increase the public's understanding of Go and shorten the distance between chess players and fans, the Nippon Chess Institute will recently open up a chess player's blog area on the official website for all registered chess players to record their experience in chess or other life experiences. Thoughts [3]."

In the ear, Kato Koichi changed the subject again and returned to the original topic.

"You and Shinto-kun, I will try my best to help you remove all obstacles. Although you are in Japan, if you want to visit other countries, as long as it is a reasonable request, I will grant you leave. But at the same time," Kato Koichi paused, "Reviving the Japanese chess world and strengthening the popularization of Go, I also need your help. Taya-kun, can you help me with this?"

At this point in the dialogue, the purpose of Chairman Kato's meeting with himself could not be clearer.

As a professional Go player, it is their unshirkable responsibility and obligation to vigorously promote the Go business.

What's more, it also comes with such an attractive win-win agreement.

Liang had no reason to refuse.

After getting Ryo's affirmative answer, Kato Koichi smiled in relief.

He slowly walked back to the reception sofa, and when he was about to approach Liang, he suddenly took something out of his suit pocket and threw it to Liang.

The small round object draws a long parabola in the air, and is immediately drawn into Liang's palm impartially.

The separated and closed hands are a round fruit candy.

Liang looked at Kato Koichi with some puzzlement, only to hear Kato Koichi said with a smile: "Young people should smile more and take in some sugar properly. Old age is so tense and easy to age quickly."

Then he looked down at the fruit candy in his palm, Liang could not help but smile.

I was slowly relaxing, and I heard Kato Koichi again: "I have seen the joint commentary of you and Shindo-kun on several online competitions recently. It is very vivid and easy to understand."

This was originally a compliment, but the smile on the bright lips slowly froze.

He looked at Kato Koichi vigilantly, Kato Koichi slowly put away the smile on his face, and also stared back.

For a moment, it seemed that two forces were wrestling back and forth.

After a brief silence, Kato Koichi's slightly deep voice sounded again in the reception room.

"However, Taya-kun," Kato Kokari looked at Ryo, with sharp blades gradually appearing in his eyes, "In everything, too much is too late."

"Whether it's you or Jindo-kun, sometimes you have to know how to restrain your edge properly."

The author has something to say:

Although it's a bit late, Xiong still wishes everyone a healthy Dragon Boat Festival!

Note [1]: This data is based on the number of people playing Go and Shogi in Japan in the past two years. It should be very inaccurate, but the ratio of the number of people playing chess in the two games should be correct. In general, There are still more people playing shogi.Sad~~

Note [2]: For Ms. Eriko, if you have no impression of the little angel, please refer to chapters 74 and 75.

Note[3]: Up to now, there is still a sub-webpage on the official website of the Nippon Chess Academy, for each professional chess player to record his own chess experience or random thoughts. If you are interested, you can click to view it: