Chapter 41 The third arena

In terms of candidates for the group arena, basically those who won a game in the last session were guaranteed to be in the next session.If you lose all the time, you will not be able to play again. This is still a lot of pressure for a professional chess player.The third session of Cao Dayuan and Shao Zhenzhong stopped.The chess player Shao Zhenzhong is very talented, and was once on par with Ma Xiaochun, but his fatal weakness is his lack of fighting spirit.I criticize him and he argues with me.He said that in Go, if you win, you win, if you can't win, you can't win.I said that the technical aspect of chess is very important, but when the level is similar, morale is particularly important.To play chess, you must have "Qi". By "Qi", I mean morale. Regardless of whether you win or lose, you must maintain a high morale.I may not be able to win you now, but I will always win you in the future.Some people have no "qi" when playing chess, and they seem to be extremely sad when playing chess. If the situation is not good, they will collapse first.Such a chess player would rather let him go back.

Liu Xiaoguang did not hold a "peace" in the previous two sessions, but considering his strength, he will still have him in this session.Before the game, Liu Xiaoguang invited me to his house for dinner. While eating, he suddenly mentioned the group arena. He said that he was placed behind in the previous two rounds. The opponent was too strong and he had never won chess. Big, can you arrange him to go to the front this year?I thought it was okay, so I promised him to go back and study it.In fact, he was placed in the second place, because a female player was added in this session, and he was placed in the first place.This time he played well, coming to a four-game winning streak, which made our situation very favorable.

This summer, after Liu Xiaoguang won four consecutive victories, the Go team went to Beidaihe to recuperate.Deng Xiaoping was also in Beidaihe at that time, and when he was playing bridge, he asked about the game.I told him that our results are good now, and Liu Xiaoguang has won four sets in a row.I also told him that the Go team was here, I meant to let him meet him, but I couldn't say it directly, I just diverted the conversation to this side.After hearing this, the old man said, well, invite him to dinner.As soon as I heard it, I invited Liu Xiaoguang alone, something was wrong, but the old man had already spoken, so I couldn't say anything more, so I had to bring Liu Xiaoguang to dinner alone.During the meal, I said to the old man again that the players from the Go team are here and want to see you.In the end, there was no response when I said it. I guess I didn't hear it. The old man is very deaf.After the meal, the old man asked Sun Yong, the director of the Security Bureau, to invite the Go team to watch a movie.

On the day of watching the movie, I brought the Go team and came excitedly in a super limousine, but as soon as I got to the gate, I was stopped by a policeman wearing only a vest and asked us for a special pass.I am very familiar with the Beidaihe Party Central Station, and I often go back and forth, and no one has ever interfered, so I don't know that a special pass is needed here.But where can I get a pass?Anyway, we were the guests invited by Deng Xiaoping, so I had no confidence, so I said to the driver, ignore him and rush over.The driver said, Lao Nie, we dare not rush, look, he still has a thing in his waist!The driver stopped the car, and I explained to the policeman for a long time, but he just didn't listen and insisted on getting us out of the car.We had no choice but to get out of the car obediently, and we were taken to a room by him and locked up.I asked him to call Zhongzhi's duty room right away, but he refused to call at first, and only did so at my strong request.It turned out that Sun Yong accompanied the old man back to Beijing to attend the reception for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the army before "August 1", and explained the matter to Rong Gaotang, but he didn't expect the pass.After a delay of half an hour, it was finally released.But when I got to the second post, I was stopped again. Fortunately, the man knew me. He said that I let you go, and I won't let you go before.I said you let me go first, and I'll talk to the front later.

So let it go again.Entering the central area, not only was there no one to stop us, but they saluted our car as if we were welcoming the chief.When we arrived at the auditorium, the movie had been on for more than half an hour, so we couldn't watch it. Many members of the Go team had never been here before, so I took them around for a tour, and then went to Rong Gaotang's house to eat watermelon and chat.Later, I met Sun Yong and complained that he didn't have a pass, so the movie didn't make it.He was quite proud of what he heard, and said, look, my subordinates are quite responsible.

This is an episode in the third group arena.After Liu Xiaoguang's four-game winning streak, Hiroshi Yamashiro rewarded us with a five-game winning streak.After Ma Xiaochun took down Hiroshi Yamashiro and Masaki Takemiya, the game moved to Japan.At this time, it was the turn of the Japanese side with only coach Masao Kato left, and the situation was in our favour.I hope Ma Xiaochun can win so that I can rest.But at this critical moment, Ma Xiaochun played softly, made a wrong move and lost. Before the game, when we came to the competition venue, we found a sign of Kato Dental Hospital hanging at the door. Ma Xiaochun was very unhappy to see it, and said that there might be a little psychological barrier in this place.

Now it's my turn to play again.Before the game, many people asked me, are you sure about this game?I said, in terms of strength, it is about the same, so it is 50-50.The final victory or defeat depends on the performance on the spot. Although Masao Kato is 40 years old, in 1987 among Japanese chess players, he still ranked first in bonuses and game fees.He has four championships in Japan's seven major competitions, and he is also the challenger of the biggest competition "Chess Holy War".This is the second peak in his life. After becoming the main general of the Japanese side in this group arena, he once said that "we will win this competition with the honor and life of the chess players."Therefore, when he came out to fight me, he naturally had the mentality that he must win.Due to the bottom of the previous two victories, my burden as the leader is a little easier than him.

However, as soon as any chess player sits in front of the chessboard, he is always "certain to win". The chess game was very close at the beginning, but it suddenly took a turn for the worse in the middle of the game, and I caught a big dragon. After only one hundred and seventy-seven moves, I won the middle game.After the game, some people said that you won too much, just win less, and winning once is the same as winning a hundred times.But at that time, the killing was so dark that there was no way to think about anything else. After the third group arena, that is, in March 1988, I was awarded the "Chess Master" by the Chinese Weiqi Association

title. The ceremony was held in the Weiqi Hall, and Vice Premier Fang Yi delivered the certificate to me in person.Huanglongshi was once called "Chess Master" in history, but that was just a folk title, and no emperor officially granted it.This is the first time that the government officially issues a certificate, and I don't quite understand this. How can a certificate be issued?As for why the title of "Chess Master" was conferred, who proposed it in the first place, and which level of leadership approved it, etc., I have no idea.My own understanding is that they thought it was impossible for me to win so many people, but in the end I did win and caused a relatively big sensation in the whole country, so they decided to award me the title of "Chess Master".

As a person, I am very happy to receive this title.Unexpectedly, Deng Xiaoping was very surprised when he found out, and immediately told me to go to him with the certificate the next day, and he wanted to see the certificate with his own eyes. The next day I honestly showed him the certificate. Wan Li was there at the time, and Deng Xiaoping's secretary even took a photo of us.After Deng Xiaoping read it, he said to me: "It's not easy to be a saint! It's better to be an ordinary person." This sentence left a deep impression on me. I have often thought about this question over the years. I am not a saint, and I sometimes make mistakes. Sooner or later, I will resign this title.Recently, I met the leader of the State Sports Commission who said that he should find an appropriate time to resign the "chess master", because Deng Xiaoping made it very clear that it is not easy to be a saint, but it is better to be an ordinary person.