Chapter 10: Playing Chess
It’s snowing again !
From the early morning, snowflakes began to fall from the sky. In just one morning, the earth was once again covered in a set of flawless white clothes.
Oh! I sighed. I had originally wanted to take advantage of the two days off to wash my pile of dirty clothes, but it seems that this plan will be ruined again. But it’s no big deal. I don’t change clothes very often in winter anyway, so I can still hold on for two more days.
I was so excited when I woke up today, and I kept chattering about the same thing: Tonight is Xu Shu's solo concert. I'm so excited! I'm so happy, I'm looking forward to it! I can't wait...
In order to avoid my younger sister's mental harassment and eardrum bombardment, I had to go out in the heavy snow to buy a pack of cigarettes. Of course, I would not be back for a long time.
The snow was very heavy and deep, and since it was Saturday, there were few people on the street. I walked step by step in the snow with great difficulty. After buying two packs of cigarettes at a small shop , I started to think about where to go for the rest of the day. With such heavy snow, I really couldn't think of any place where I could stay for a while.
By chance, I saw a sign across the street that read: Kobayashi Go Hall.
Who is Kobayashi? Kobayashi Koichi?
I couldn't help but laugh. I finally found a place to kill time.
Come to think of it, I haven't played Go for a long time! When I first entered university, I was madly fascinated by Go because of a roommate named Liu Hui. Liu Hui started professional Go training at a very young age, and he also studied under a master. His Go skills were amazing. Later, for some reason, he gave up his career and entered university. I wondered how he could reach the level of a professional beginner. He himself said something that made him proud for the rest of his life. Once, by chance, he played a game of Go with national player Yu Bin, and he won in the middle game. He knew the score of this game by heart, and he played it for me at least six or seven times.
I studied Go for a year under Liu Hui's guidance, from the level where Liu Hui would beat me without leaving a single piece of me when he let me play with nine stones to the level where he would lose more than he won when he let me play with two stones, and win less than he won when he let me play with three stones. It only took me one year, and it was not professional training, but it was already very good to reach this level.
Liu Hui once said that I was a Go genius, but I started playing too late and would never catch up with him. I really didn't make any progress since then. No matter how hard I studied, I was still two or three stones lower than him. I saw that I couldn't make any progress, so I lost interest and gave up learning.
After graduating from college, I didn't stop playing Go , but I played less often. I estimated that my level was between 2nd and 3rd dan amateurs. There were a lot of people of this level in the various Go clubs in the city, so I never went to such places to play Go. And since I started working, I had less and less free time, and my work became increasingly busy, so I put Go aside and haven't played it for a long time.
It was snowing heavily and the weather was freezing cold today. I had nothing to do and a chess hall appeared in front of me, so naturally I walked in.
The chess hall is on the second floor. The heating is on, which makes me feel very comfortable. The venue is very small and there are not many people playing chess inside. There are only two pairs playing against each other, and there are no onlookers.
A bald middle-aged man who looked like the owner of a chess parlor saw me coming in and asked with a smile, "Want to play chess? How many people?"
I said, "I'm alone, just looking around."
"Oh, then I'll make you a cup of tea."
I knew he would charge me for the tea, but I was going to stay here for a while anyway, so I just went ahead and made some. I nodded and walked over to a table where a couple was playing chess and watching the game.
The two players were both around 50 years old, and they were staring at the chessboard intently. A black chess piece on the board was under siege by white chess pieces, and it could not escape the encirclement of white chess pieces no matter how it moved left and right. I estimated that in a few more moves, the black dragon would be completely killed, and the game would be over.
At this time, the boss came over with a cup of brewed tea, handed it to me, and said with a smile: "Young man, do you know how to play chess? It's so boring to play alone. Do you want me to find you an opponent?"
I knew I had to pay a game fee, but I was just killing time, so a game of chess was fine. I thought the boss was referring to himself, so I said, "Okay! Come on!"
The boss was overjoyed when he heard this, and he shouted to a room inside: "Xiao Lin, come out and play chess."
There was no response from the room. The boss smiled at me and shouted again, "Xiao Lin! Come quickly, don't keep us waiting."
A female voice came from the room: "I'm coming, why are you rushing me!" The door opened and a girl of about 16 or 17 came out. She was wearing a loose sweater and jeans, and looked very innocent. But when she walked in front of us, she looked up at the sky and ignored us.
The boss introduced her with a smile: "This is my niece Xiaolin. She is quite good at chess. You guys can go and have a look first."
Miss Xiaolin sat down in front of a chessboard, and I sat down too. I saw that she was just a little girl, and although the younger you are, the less you can look down on her, I still looked down on her a little bit.
But what was even more surprising was what happened next. Miss Xiaolin directly took the white piece to her right hand side, and then asked me with a straight face: "How is your chess skill? How many pieces do you want me to give you?"
I was really surprised. It is true that one cannot judge a book by its cover. Could such a young and innocent girl be a Go master?
I immediately put away my contempt, sat up straight, and said respectfully: "I'm probably just at the beginner level of an amateur. How many moves do you think you can give me?" I haven't played chess for a long time, so my hands must be very unfamiliar. In order not to make a fool of myself, I underestimated myself.
Miss Xiaolin said, "First dan? Then you can place three pieces."
I was even more surprised. The person who could become a 3rd dan amateur was either a top 7th dan amateur or a low dan professional. She was so young and was a female. It was incredible.
I obediently placed three black pieces on the three corners and waited for her to make a move.
Miss Xiaolin held a white piece in one hand and suddenly said to me, "By the way, let me make it clear in advance that I will play handicap chess. If I win, I will charge 100 yuan for the game fee, and only 50 yuan for the loss. Is that okay with you?"
I thought that I had not played a game of chess with an expert since I graduated from college. Although fifty or one hundred yuan was a bit expensive, it was worth it. So I nodded and said, "No problem."
When Miss Kobayashi saw that I agreed, she stopped talking, waved her hand, and with a "pop", she slapped the white piece to my lower left, hanging in the corner!
After more than thirty moves, I could see that she was probably at the same level as Liu Hui. When I was in college, I played more than 200 games of handicap chess with Liu Hui. I can say that I have a unique skill in handicap chess. Later, Liu Hui let me three pieces, and he lost eight out of ten games, and at least six of them were lost in the middle game. So not long after this game, the white chess did not gain any advantage in the attack on the lower left of the black chess, but instead fell behind. I took the opportunity to "snap" a piece on the empty corner star position in the upper left, occupying all four corner star positions and having a clear advantage.
Miss Kobayashi looked up at me and said, "You are quite good at chess. You are more than just a beginner, right?" Then she sat up straight and started to get serious.
At this time, several people came to the chess hall, probably regular customers. When they saw Miss Xiaolin playing chess, they gathered around to watch. At this moment, I had the upper hand and was in a good mood, so I took out the cigarettes I had just bought, opened them and was about to smoke. Miss Xiaolin on the opposite side knocked on the table twice with her white pieces, pointed to a note on the wall and said, "Please pay attention to public morality. Smoking is prohibited in the chess room. If you want to smoke, please go outside and smoke after you are done."
I saw the note on the wall that indeed said "No Smoking" and gave a bitter smile, but there was nothing I could do as my urge to smoke came back. Although it was much colder outside than in the room, I still had to smoke.
Out of a sense of public morality, I said, "I'm sorry!" Then I stood up and walked outside the chess hall, lit a cigarette and started smoking.
Just after taking two puffs, my phone rang. I looked at the display screen and saw that the number should be Qiu Jieqin's. I sighed and pressed the answer button: "Hello?"
"it's me."
"Um, what is it?"
"Nothing, I just missed you. What are you doing?"
"Play chess."
"What chess? Go?"
"yes!"
"Can you play Go?"
"What's the matter?"
"That's great. My dad is a chess fan. You two will have something in common from now on... Hey, isn't it too early for me to say this?"
“…”
"Don't be angry, I didn't mean anything else."
"No, do you have anything else to do? I'm halfway through here."
"Yes, tonight...Are you really not going to the concert?"
"I really don't want to go. I don't have a ticket."
"If you're not going, then I won't go either. Let's find a quiet place to sit in the evening. I... really want to see you."
“…”
"Don't think too much. I'm not pushing you to make a decision. We are old classmates after all. Can't we reminisce and chat? Besides... I really want to see you."
I suddenly felt that I might not be able to refuse her, because she always caught my attention, making it impossible for me to say no, and I couldn't bear to say no. Who would refuse a small request from a pitiful woman who was deeply in love with you?
I said to her on the phone: "How about this, wait for my call in the evening. If I have nothing else to do, I'll go sit with you."
Qiu Jieqin asked happily, "Really? Are you going to keep your word?"
"Don't worry! That's it for now? Hang up."
I hung up the phone, took a few deep puffs of the remaining cigarette in my hand, and returned to the chess room.
Miss Kobayashi, who was waiting impatiently, saw me come back, frowned slightly, picked up a white piece, and with a "pop", attacked the black piece in my lower right corner.
