The ten-year trace of the soul of chess

The next day, Hokkaido, Sapporo.

At 7 o'clock that night, the eve festival before the 61st Honinbo title match was held as scheduled at the hotel where Hikari stayed.

Although the staff gave him a general explanation beforehand, after the eve festival officially started, Guang was still a little confused.

According to the schedule, the mayor of Sapporo will give a speech first, and then it will be the turn of the two protagonists of this chess game to "make their debut".

When being taken to the stage by the staff to prepare, Kuang Yuanren seemed to see the restraint of the light, and softly comforted him with his dry voice: "Boy, it's just a formality, don't be too nervous." After a pause, he said, "However, This is your first time participating in the challenge, and you don’t know if you will have another chance in the future, so nervousness is inevitable.”

After finishing speaking, a low-decibel magic sound fills the ears.

I could hear the veins on my forehead twitching, but before he could retort, the host had already signaled the two of them to speak on stage.

After receiving the bouquet handed out by etiquette, when asked about the feelings of both sides on this title match, Kuwahara unhurriedly sold Dunlao first: "I am old, I have played chess for so many years, and I don't have any ambitions anymore. I will be satisfied if I can keep the Honinbo title." Then, the topic changed, "I have participated in three Honinbo title games in Sapporo, and I have achieved good results. I hope this time I can continue the previous few times. Lucky, so, even if the opponent is a rising star in the chess world, I will not show mercy."

In the audience, there are many old reporters who have many experience in covering chess games.

As soon as Kuwahara's words came out, they couldn't help but sweat in their hearts for Hikari Shinto, this old fox was fighting psychological warfare again!

And Shinto Hikari on the stage didn't know if he was really unmoved, or he was so frightened that he lost his expression, but he looked quite calm.

After taking over the microphone, he first delivered a speech of praise for Sapporo, where the chess game was held, and then said seriously: "This is the first time in my career to enter the Honinbo Challenge, which is of great significance to me personally. .Although my experience in chess games is very lacking, I will definitely go all out to play every game well and not leave any regrets for myself. At the same time, please take care of your health and give me a lot of advice, Mr. Kuwahara!"

After the words fell, I heard Guang's calm counterattack at the end of the sentence, and the audience immediately burst into warm applause. Many people began to secretly look forward to what wonderful performance Guang would have in this chess game.

After the presentation was over, he came down from the stage. Before he could catch his breath, he was surrounded by reporters and accepted interviews from various newspapers. At the end, he was dragged to the old man's side and forced to take a photo with him.

Xu Shiguang stood a little far away, and a reporter motioned him to move closer.

Hikari resisted instinctively, and while he was in a daze, the old man approached him on his own initiative. Hikari had nowhere to escape, so he was forced to accept the baptism of several flash lights together with Kuwamoto Inbo.

During the whole dinner party, Hikaru almost spent in constant interviews and taking pictures, and basically didn't eat much.

Occasionally, I want to replenish some energy when I place an order, and strangers will come to strike up a conversation and toast.

When I learned that I was under 20 years old and could not drink alcohol, I was often forcibly praised [Note].

When Guang waited for the end of the dinner and returned to the room, he was so tired that he was unconscious.

Tired, nervous, and busy with social activities all the time, Guang's stomach also felt uncomfortable. He dug out a cup of instant noodles from the suitcase and ate it, and his hunger was slightly relieved.

However, the tension that had been suppressed for a while also returned with a comeback.

Guang stood in the huge room in a daze for a while, then lay down on the bed, and buried his face in the pillow like an ostrich.

When the phone rang, Guang didn't get up immediately. After a few seconds, as if he had realized something, he jumped up suddenly, and crawled to get the phone on the table: "Bright!"

"Well, how do you feel?"

Suddenly, I heard Liang's voice coming from the phone, and all of Guang's tension and anxiety surged up like a switch.

He simply sat on the carpet and said honestly, "It's not very good."

Then, it started from the mayor's speech as if pouring bitter water, and continued to add oil and vinegar to vilify Mr. Kuwahara.

Liang suppressed his smile and patiently listened to what Guang said, until he stopped talking before asking: "Is it finished?"

"Ah, it's over."

"Then can I say it?"

Guang laughed: "Well, sure."

Only then did Liang put away his smile, and exhorted: "Guang, you have 8 hours of chess playing time tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Take your time, don't rush. When you feel confused, you'd rather stop and think clearly before playing. "

He just listened, and gave a soft "hmm".

Liang asked again, "Is everything in order?"

Guang glanced at the suitcase that was spread out not far away, basically untouched: "It's almost there, that's it."

On the phone, Liang paused for a few seconds, and Guang was keenly aware of something.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Liang shook his head: "Nothing."

After a while, he said again: "Rest early today, don't think too much."

Biting his lower lip, he couldn't speak: "Yes."

"Believe in yourself, you can do it."

"Ah."

"Guang, I've always been with you."

"Ah, I know."

"Behind you, there is not only me, but also Sai."

Guang raised his head slightly: "Got it! Is there any more? Why are you so wordy!"

Liang thought for a while: "It's gone. Then... I hung up the phone?"

Guang: "Well, hang up."

Liang: "You hang up first."

Guang: "You hang up first!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone: "Then I hang up first?"

"Yes yes yes! You, first, hang up!" Guang confirmed firmly.

However, when the busy tone came from the other end of the phone, Guang's heart was still empty.

When he returned to the suitcase, he always felt that there was something in what Liang just said.

The suitcase... what happened to the suitcase?

I just shoveled into the suitcase casually, the toiletries have been taken out, the bag of snacks has been unpacked, the rest is nothing special, I will use it when I need it...

The hand that Guang was playing with the white storage bag suddenly paused.

He lifted the pouch completely, and a brown paper envelope was revealed.

Light's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He said silently: "Isn't it? Isn't it? Impossible?" He picked up the envelope tremblingly.

The envelope is very thick and feels heavy in the hand.

It can't be chess or something, right? !When opening the envelope, Guang thought again.

The envelope is the type that seals from the middle. When pulling the seal out of the card slot, you may use too much force, and several small pieces of paper in the envelope will fall out of it due to inertia.

It is an ordinary message raft, only half the size of a hand.Each sheet is neatly folded in half twice.

Guang opened one at random with trembling hands, and saw that it read:

"You are younger than Kuwamoto Inbo, this is your advantage"

Guang showed a somewhat awkward expression, and very "reluctantly" opened the second one.

However, as the pieces of paper were uncovered, the breath of light gradually became unstable, and the speed at which he opened and read the paper became faster and faster.

There is everything on the piece of paper.

There are chicken soup, jokes, suggestions, and... the love stories that Liang wrote to him that make people blush and heartbeat——

"Light dancing shadow

moonlight night

I am like you

"When thinking of you

Discover yourself

laughed again

"The speed of time

all depends on

are you by my side

……

When exactly did he write it?

Light quickly recalled in his mind.He clearly remembered that when he packed his luggage and checked the items for the last time, there was no such envelope.He clearly confirmed it himself!

—You give me something.

——It is small and easy to carry.

Is it because of what I said?

Looking at the small pieces of paper in the envelope, which add up to at least hundreds of pieces, Guang couldn't imagine how long it took Liang to finish writing all this after he fell asleep on the desk alone last night. The words, how long did it take to fold them neatly, put them in an envelope, and carefully hide them in the suitcase.

Light stroked the bright and powerful handwriting on the piece of paper, and he felt that the person lit a small oil lamp in his heart. It wasn't too bright or too warm, but it was enough to bring him infinite strength.

At that moment, Guang thought, I still have no reason not to work hard.

The next morning, I woke up just before 7 o'clock.

After washing up, I just put on my shirt and trousers, then walked to the dressing mirror, solemnly put on the yellow and black striped tie in front of the mirror as if performing some kind of ceremony, tidied it up, and then put on the royal blue suit coat, out of the room.

nine in the morning.

Before Kuwahara arrived, Hikaru was like a student about to be tested, sitting in front of the chess pier.

With only 10 minutes left before the start of the game, Hitomi Kuwahara finally arrived late.

When Hikaru's eyes met him briefly, he felt a strong sense of oppression from him.

But this time, Guang's heart is very calm.

After the official start of the game, according to the order of guessing last night, light and black go first.

As early as when he was studying Kuwahara chess records, he noticed that the old man was very good at taking advantage of his strength.In today's battle, if you want to win Baixing, you can't be opened too much before entering the middle game, so you must be extra careful in the layout stage.

After the start of the game, Guang took the lead in occupying the upper right and lower right "star" positions.

White 6 lands at the "ten of 17", intended to divide the shot, Black 7 actively hangs the corner, Black 11 continues to stick, and in the lower left corner, it is almost a tie with White; and in the upper left corner, after White 18, it is temporarily White's family dominates the situation.

At this point, the attention of both sides returned to the right half again.

Relying on the previous advantage of the "star" position in the upper right corner, black 21 firmly grasps the ground, white 22 "digs", black 23 "pulls" bites white, and prevents white from benefiting; in the lower right corner, white 32 "shoulder" "Chong", Black 33 "Pull", White 38 "Shallow", Black 43 Xiaofei to keep up...

After the first 45 moves, just scan the board. Although white has the upper hand in the left half, but the upper right to the lower right are temporarily under the command of black. Black is still satisfactory so far.

Guang pondered for a moment, then sent Black 47 to "14 of Twelve" and flew away.

Kuwahara raised his eyebrows and made a move of Bai 48 "Sharp Break".

Hikaru raised his head and glanced at the old man, unexpectedly, Kuwahara also looked back at the same time.

Just as the two looked at each other, the whole game of chess began.

Starting from the upper middle, Black 51 moves directly below White 6, White 52 "long" counterattacks, Black 53 blocks the left side of White 6 again, in an attempt to form a connection with the "Five of 17" Black in the upper left corner.

On the white side, Kuwahara Ren’s chess piece “16 of 60” is white’s [-] “complement”. Sure enough, the white chess’s thick momentum formed in the upper right corner during the layout stage echoes with this chess piece, further making the thick middle and upper side The white position on the right part.

After that, the battle between the two sides continued from the upper middle to the left middle.

Until the end of the first day's chess game, from the situation, although the white chess at the top was better, but the number of black chess on the board itself was also very impressive, and the gap between the two sides may only be about five eyes.

As the evening approached, it was time for the game.

As expected, it was his turn to seal the chess.

After receiving the paper and pen, Guang decisively wrote down his position on the game record, then folded the game record, put it in an envelope, and handed it to the staff.

When returning to his seat, Guang suddenly asked the old man: "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Kuwahara Ren was taken aback.

Guang showed his white teeth and smiled at him: "For example, you asked me to seal the chess on purpose. The first time you seal the chess, you are very nervous and easy to write in the wrong place. I know where you will play next." After a pause, he wrote and directed again, "Oh, sorry, did you accidentally finish all the lines you prepared? Do you have anything to add?"

Just looking at the old man's face, waited for a while, but didn't see him say anything, and said: "Oh, it seems that there are no more, what a pity." He shook his head lightly, "It's rare that I thought you would have a lot of advice." 'Give it to me, I have been looking forward to it for so long before the game."

During Guang's eloquence, Kuang Yuanren gradually turned pale, and only when Guang was about to leave, he said: "Boy, if you talk too much, you will lose it."

"Thank you for your advice! See you tomorrow!" Guang humbly bowed to the old man and left happily.

He couldn't wait to tell Liang how happy it was to see the old man at a loss for words.

When he received the call from Hikari, Ryo was discussing work matters with Ogata Seiji at his home.

He glanced at Seiji Ogata beside him, and answered the phone without avoiding suspicion: "Hikari?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, the other end of the phone yelled: "Liang, it's really me who sealed the chess today!"

Listen to the voice, it's quite energetic.

The corner of Liang's lips twitched slightly: "And then?"

"Then, haha, then I turned to ridicule the old man. You didn't even see the old man's face at that time, it was so interesting!"

The light was so loud that Ogata Seiji who was beside him could hear every word he said clearly.He rubbed his temples tiredly, then walked towards the fish tank as if fleeing.

While responding, Ryo glanced in Ogata Seiji's direction, and said hesitantly, "Well, Hikari..."

"Huh? What?"

"... Tomorrow afternoon, there is an impromptu meeting on the council side, so I..."

The next words, even if Liang did not finish, Guang understood.

He fell silent on the phone.

The flight time from Tokyo to Sapporo is about one and a half hours, plus the time for boarding, exiting customs, and going to and from the airport, it will take at least four and a half hours on the road alone.

And these four and a half hours were too precious for Liang.

At this moment, hearing that Liang couldn't come because of something, Guang felt relieved.

——Compared to being able to see you, I hope you can rest for a while.Just hearing your voice is already the greatest satisfaction.

So, he said obediently: "It's okay, I'm quite happy to hear that you can't come."

Liang's heart sank slightly: "Don't you want to see me?"

"Well, I don't want to." Guang said, "It's too exhausting to fight."

After hearing the voice of Hikari's words, Liang's face softened a little.

Guang said again, "Anyway, I'll be back the day after tomorrow."

Highlight nodded: "Yes."

"Also, Liang..." Guang's voice suddenly raised a lot.

"Ok?"

"I have received so many 'you'..." On the phone, Guang's voice became unusually soft, "I, I will definitely cherish..."

When talking, Liang Mingming was not by his side, yet Guang still blushed unapologetically.

All of a sudden, he ran out of words, so Guang had no choice but to say, "We all have to work hard!"

Come on.

Liang originally disdained these two words.Too ethereal.

Besides, what's the point of saying "come on" by someone else?In the final analysis, all he can rely on is himself.

But just saying it is different.Even the "stupid" in the light is different from others.

Liang smiled unconsciously: "Okay, let's work together."

At this time, Ogata Seiji turned around, just in time to see Ryo smiling, looking so gentle, and there was a bit of shyness in the smile.

After all, he didn't have the nerve to ruin this beauty.

It wasn't until Liang hung up the phone that he pretended to just return to his seat.

Liang put away his phone and said flatly, "Let's continue."

What they were discussing just now were two proposals for the reform of Go in Japan.

A proposal suggests: hold the first online Go tournament to encourage more Go enthusiasts who are restricted by region and time to participate, so as to increase the promotion of Go;

Another proposal suggests: appropriately staggering the time of Japanese domestic chess games, so that Japanese professional chess players have more opportunities to participate in international Go events, and use this to improve Japanese chess players' own chess strength and Japanese Go in the world Go influence.

Ryo looked at Ogata Seiji while talking: "Mr. Ogata, do you think these two plans are feasible?"

Ogata pondered for a moment, just about to speak, when he saw Liang's face, he frowned slightly: "Xiao Liang, are you okay?"

Liang's face was frighteningly pale.Maybe it's due to being too busy recently, eating irregularly all the time, and even a dull pain in the stomach again.

He pressed his stomach tightly with his left hand under the table, and then changed the subject calmly: "Mr. Ogata, is it really okay to introduce me to Chairman Kato tomorrow?"

Ogata seemed to want to say something else. After sighing lightly, he followed up with Liang's question and said, "It's okay, these two proposals are very constructive. Besides, the chairman himself has been paying attention to you for a long time."

In the end, until Ryo left, Ogata did not ask his doubts.

He remembered asking Xiao Liang not long ago, is it necessary to do this?

At that time, Liang answered him lightly. It would be painful to see too clearly, but only those in the game can have the qualification to affect the overall situation.

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Note: In Japanese law, 20 years old is the official adult, and minors are not allowed to drink alcohol.