Chapter 118: Mm... you're right

Horikawa Kaori stared intently at the giant display screen above the venue, her gaze scanning back and forth between the constantly switching secondary broadcast areas, and couldn't help but complain in a low, anxious voice:

"Why hasn't it reached Natsume-kun and Caixu-chan's match yet?"

"What on earth are these directors doing?"

Compared to her urgency, Gu Chuan Changhong appeared much more composed.

He stroked his snow-white long beard, a calm smile hanging on the corners of his mouth:

"Young person, don't be impatient. When the time comes, it will naturally be broadcast; we just need to wait patiently."

The fundamental reason he was so calm lay in his absolute confidence in his granddaughter's strength.

Even without watching this match, he had already foreseen the result.

At this moment, Gu Chuan Changhong was even conceiving in his mind how to "inadvertently" reveal his identity in front of many shogi enthusiasts later, so as to build momentum for his genius granddaughter.

Just then, the secondary broadcast area of the giant screen finally switched to the scene everyone was looking forward to—the match between Natsume Chikage and Gu Chuan Caixu.

Horikawa Kaori, who had been looking forward to it, immediately pointed to the screen excitedly:

"Look!"

"It's Natsume-kun and Caixu-chan!"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Gu Chuan Changhong's face deepened a bit.

He thought to himself that the match had already been going on for more than ten minutes.

According to Caixu's strength, she should have already occupied an absolute advantage on the board by now, having devoured most of Natsume Chikage's pieces, right?

One must know that when his granddaughter played against players below the professional rank online, she could usually lock in victory within fifteen minutes and definitely end the battle within an hour.

In most cases, the opponent wouldn't even last half an hour before resigning.

Now that a quarter of an hour had passed, surely the fruits of victory were already in sight.

Gu Chuan Changhong looked up at the screen unhurriedly; however, the moment his gaze touched the board, the calm smile on his face froze abruptly.

He examined the board carefully, his expression turning into disbelief at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wait, how is this possible...

Why is it Caixu who is at a disadvantage?

And if the situation develops according to this, she will definitely collapse within ten moves!!

What on earth happened?

How could Caixu play like this?

Could it be because it's her first time participating in an official tournament, and excessive nervousness led to frequent mistakes?

Gu Chuan Changhong's eyes became increasingly solemn.

As the former Dragon King, his brain worked at high speed, immediately beginning to deduce possible chances of survival on the board for his granddaughter.

And Horikawa Kaori, whose shogi skill was limited, was completely unable to foresee the changes in the situation ten steps ahead.

She could at most calculate the development two or three steps ahead.

Therefore, she didn't notice at all that Gu Chuan Caixu was already in a desperate situation.

She simply felt that Natsume Chikage was playing quite well, actually capturing a few of Caixu's pieces.

And Caixu was also performing quite well.

At first glance, it seemed she was still at an advantage.

Horikawa Kaori observed the match, the corners of her mouth rising involuntarily.

In her view, the duel between these two was truly simple, simply "clumsy pecking," clearly at the level of amateur players.

If she were to take over this game, it would be more than enough to deal with either of them.

But on second thought, it was already quite remarkable that they could reach this level.

After all, one was only ten years old, and the other was just a first-year high school student; the future is promising, the future is promising!

If she could guide these two, they would likely break through the amateur level very soon!

To use game ranks as a metaphor, that would be jumping from bronze to gold!

When Horikawa Kaori noticed that Natsume Chikage placed his pieces almost without a second thought, and then caught a glimpse of his remaining time, she was even more surprised to find: the match had been going on for more than ten minutes, and he had actually used less than 30 seconds!

This meant that Natsume Chikage responded almost the moment Gu Chuan Caixu placed her piece?

Could this Natsume Chikage be a big idiot?

You have to know that the thinking time for this tournament is a full hour!!

Why don't you think carefully before placing your piece?

Playing shogi without thinking like this is simply playing randomly based on feeling!

Horikawa Kaori had a look of "hating iron for not becoming steel" and secretly resolved to find a good opportunity to talk to Natsume Chikage after the match.

Shogi is not played like this!!!

You must think carefully and think clearly before placing your piece!

For every step you take, you must at least consider the changes in the next three steps!

How can there be a reason to place a piece directly without thinking?

This is completely a novice's reckless behavior!

Ah, no... Natsume Chikage has indeed only played a dozen or so games.

Looking at it this way, he indeed didn't lie; he is a thorough novice...

If that's the case, his way of playing makes sense.

Thinking of this, Horikawa Kaori felt a bit unable to hold it together.

She had originally suspected whether Natsume Chikage was lying to her and actually had rich playing experience.

Now it seems he is indeed an honest person...

Mm... at least the quality of not lying is still very valuable.

Looking at Gu Chuan Caixu on the other side, she is truly worthy of having studied shogi since childhood.

Look!

Her thinking time has already been used for nearly ten minutes.

Horikawa Kaori nodded repeatedly, believing that this is the correct way to play shogi.

Playing shogi should involve more thinking.

Not a single bit of time that should be spent can be saved.

If one step is wrong, it is very likely to affect the overall situation.

Therefore, she strongly disagreed with Natsume Chikage's way of playing without a second thought, taking one step at a time.

Horikawa Kaori carefully deliberated on the game, feeling that according to this trend, it was Gu Chuan Caixu who had a better chance of winning.

Looking at the overall situation, she couldn't even see any possibility of Gu Chuan Caixu losing the game.

Holding this thought, she turned to Gu Chuan Caixu's grandfather, Gu Chuan Changhong, and praised sincerely:

"I really didn't expect that their strength is quite good."

"Especially Caixu-chan, as expected of someone who has played shogi since childhood; looking at it now, the chance of winning is very high!"

"Looking at Natsume-kun on the other side, he looks okay on the surface, but in reality, he has already fallen into a bitter battle, and it won't be long before he falls into a disadvantage, not to mention he makes frequent bad moves, placing pieces without even thinking... sigh, if it continues like this, I'm afraid the defeat is already set."

Hearing this, Gu Chuan Changhong couldn't even bother to continue deducing the game.

He looked back and forth between the board and Horikawa Kaori in shock and disbelief, as if confirming whether he had misread the game or misheard the words.

However, no matter how he looked at it, the one at a disadvantage was clearly his own granddaughter. ===== CHAPTER 119 =====