372: Chapter 368: Showing Weakness 372: Chapter 368: Showing Weakness Since he aid to strike at Ye Fan, the elder nad Ren naturally chose to play Zhou Zhiqian’s pieces, the black ones.
After he sat down in Zhou Zhiqian’s seat, he said to Zhou Zhiqian standing next to him, “Qian girl, why don’t you hurry and bring a chair over to sit beside , so I can teach you how to play chess.”
“Yes, yes,” Zhou Zhiqian dared not say more, promptly replying and turning around to move a chair next to the elder surnad Ren.
After Zhou Zhiqian sat down, she cast an apologetic look towards Ye Fan, who responded with a faint smile and a slight shake of his head.
The elder nad Ren was looking down, focusing on the chess ga, and didn’t notice the silent exchange of glances between Ye Fan and Zhou Zhiqian.
“Good luck.” Zhou Zhiqian’s pink lips moved silently as she said these words.
Ye Fan nodded slightly.
After the silent communication with Ye Fan, Zhou Zhiqian’s attention returned to the elder nad Ren.
She well knew that the elder nad Ren possessed profound skills in chess and was famous throughout Hua Hai, so she didn’t expect Ye Fan to win but was sowhat hopeful that Ye Fan could hold his own for a few moves against him.
The ga on the board had only progressed a dozen moves or so when the elder nad Ren, after watching for a while, had already grasped it.
After understanding the situation, he didn’t start playing against Ye Fan imdiately, instead taking the ti to explain to Zhou Zhiqian the gains and losses of the black and white pieces on the board.
Ye Fan listened for a bit and thought the elder nad Ren’s comnts were spot on, especially since Zhou Zhiqian had ntioned earlier that the elder’s skill in chess was renowned across the city, so he clearly understood that the elder nad Ren was a Go master.
As the elder nad Ren analyzed the ga for Zhou Zhiqian, so people started to take notice and gathered around.
“Mr.
Ren.” These people, both old and young, greeted the elder nad Ren with respect, revealing that the elder was a regular here and held considerable status.
The elder nad Ren just nodded slightly, not even voicing a response.
After the elder nad Ren finished explaining the ga to Zhou Zhiqian, two circles of onlookers had gathered around.
However, despite the large crowd and facing a renowned city’s chess player, Ye Fan remained calm and composed, not nervous in the slightest.
“Young man, I’ll give you a ten-piece handicap, how about that?” the elder nad Ren finally said to Ye Fan.
Ye Fan laughed lightly, “Winning is winning, losing is losing, it doesn’t matter if you give a handicap or not.”
This old Mr.
Ren was clearly trying to make him look foolish, so he certainly wasn’t going to show any deference due to his junior status; thus, he replied neither too gently nor too sternly.
The other onlookers could not help but snicker, amused at Ye Fan’s overconfidence in not wanting a handicap when playing against Mr.
Ren.
“Ha-ha, you’ve got so backbone,” chuckled the elder nad Ren.
Smiling, he picked up a black piece and said, “Qian girl, watch closely, this is how you should counter his moves.”
Having said that, he pressed down with his finger, and the black piece landed on a star point with a “snap.”
With just that one move, the black and white pieces on the board imdiately switched offensive and defensive stances, and the black pieces exuded an aggressive aura.
The watching Go players couldn’t help but applaud and shout, “Bravo!
With just one piece, the offensive and defense have switched, revealing the sharpness!
Worthy of Mr.
Ren, your profound skill is incomparable indeed!”
The elder nad Ren had no reaction to the spectators’ praise; he nonchalantly explained the reasoning behind this move to Zhou Zhiqian in a few succinct words.
Zhou Zhiqian listened intently to the elder nad Ren’s explanation like a diligent student, but she couldn’t help starting to worry about Ye Fan.
She could see that the elder nad Ren had put forth a great deal of his skill and had deliberately displayed an overwhelming form.
Although she thought that Ye Fan couldn’t possibly win against the elder nad Ren, with so many people watching now, Ye Fan was likely to be embarrassed.
Ye Fan’s expression remained serene as he slowly picked up a white stone and placed it on a star point.
The man surnad Ren picked up a black stone but didn’t rush to make his move; instead, he began to critique the move Ye Fan had just made to Zhou Zhiqian.
In his comnts, the move Ye Fan had made was so appalling it barely differed from that of a beginner.
Ye Fan treated the malicious critiques from the man surnad Ren as if they were a breeze blowing past his ears, maintaining his composure throughout.
After the man surnad Ren finished critiquing Ye Fan’s “poor move,” he finally placed his black stone and explained its brilliant usage to Zhou Zhiqian.
Moreover, he didn’t bother to lower his voice, clearly unconcerned about Ye Fan overhearing.
However, Ye Fan wasn’t listening at all.
He wasn’t foolish enough to fall into the trap laid by the man surnad Ren, allowing himself to be led by the nose.
While the man surnad Ren was speaking, Ye Fan had already calmly made his next move.
Of course, this imdiately provoked another round of malicious criticism.
After about a dozen moves, the man surnad Ren’s mouth began to tire, so he reduced the amount of comntary.
But on the board, it was quite clear, even to the casual observer, that the man surnad Ren had a significant advantage, forcefully pressuring Ye Fan’s white pieces, relentlessly pursuing and surrounding them, leaving Ye Fan to awkwardly fend off the attacks.
The ga reached over halfway, and at the 116th move, the man surnad Ren’s black pieces completely dominated.
“See that, Qian Girl?” the man surnad Ren directed Zhou Zhiqian’s attention to the board.
“His position is about to collapse entirely.
In five or six more moves, he’ll have to resign.”
The onlookers nearby nodded in agreent.
“Oh,” Zhou Zhiqian responded, her heart secretly filled with a bit of sympathy for Ye Fan.
“But, seeing he’s held out until now, it’s not too bad,” the man surnad Ren added.
Throughout it all, Ye Fan remained calm and collected, slowly making another move.
The man surnad Ren comnted again on how poor and futile Ye Fan’s move was before placing his own piece.
In the next two or three moves, Ye Fan’s white pieces beca even more evidently cornered.
“Heh, looks like it won’t take five moves.
One more, and he’ll be utterly defeated,” the man surnad Ren said before placing his piece.
At that mont, Ye Fan let out a faint smile, picked up a white stone, and with a “tap” landed it on a star point.
“Ha ha, such a desperate play.
He’s clearly asking for defeat!” the man surnad Ren laughed, reaching for a black stone, ready to put an end to this ga with his next move.
However, as he was about to place this black stone, he suddenly felt sothing amiss and hesitated.
He moved to another star point, found it unsuitable, and then a third, which was also inappropriate.
Surprisingly, he found himself unable to place the stone.
“Eh?” He let out a puzzled sound, retracting his hand and surveying the entire board anew.
In the next instant, to his amazent, he discovered that Ye Fan’s white pieces had sohow broken free from his tight encirclent and even showed signs of a counterattack.
“Ah!
The white pieces have co back to life!” The bystanders also noticed this dramatic shift in the ga and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
Zhou Zhiqian also realized that the white pieces Ye Fan was playing had revived, and she felt a surge of happiness, though she dared not show it.
The man surnad Ren looked up at Ye Fan and said, “It seems you have so patience.”
“Heh, with inferior skills, I can only play dumb and take a small advantage,” Ye Fan said with a light smile.
“However, you were a bit careless, exerting too much and falling into my trap.”
Ye Fan had wanted to say outright that the man surnad Ren had beco a turtle in a jar for him, but considering that the man was Zhou Zhiqian’s elder, he decided to hold back a little.
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