owlsbooks Chapter 57 Signature
Chapter 57 Signature
Alexei's face turned bright red, just like a freshly cooked tomato.
To have someone throw their mockery back at him without leaving a trace was an incredibly humiliating blow to his pride!
But as expected of a top-notch chess player who has weathered many storms, he took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed his anger.
"Of course, since it's a duel, I'll naturally add my due stakes."
Alexei squinted, his gaze sweeping over his pile of "trophies" of snacks.
Then, like a nouveau riche displaying his family heirloom, he arrogantly spread his palms out.
"How about we bet everything here?"
"Huh? All in?" Su Hao's eyes lit up, thinking to himself that this was enough for them to have parties for several days.
"That's right, but there's one condition."
Tell me about it.
"If you lose,"
Alexei tapped his fingers heavily twice on the edge of the chessboard, and said, slowly and deliberately,
"Sign your name on the back of my chessboard, and you must write it by hand:"
"Despite giving it his all, he still suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Alexei."
The air in the hall seemed to freeze for a moment.
This extremely specific statement was like a key, precisely inserted into a lock deep within Su Hao's memory.
Shen Yuxuan's warning flashed through my mind like a projection:
"Let's say you become a successful mathematician someday, a brilliant mathematician who can even solve the Millennium Prize Problem with ease."
As a result, some Russian rascal went on television for a live global interview, shamelessly holding up a chessboard and saying:
See that? Su Hao's brain isn't all that great; I completely crushed him on the chessboard with my eyes closed!
What the hell!
Su Hao suddenly shuddered, goosebumps rising all over his body.
Absolutely!
According to Shen Yuxuan's jinxed prediction, if this Russian kid really gets the chance...
He will definitely frame that chessboard with the signature and show it off to the world like an ancestral imperial edict!
"Why do we have to write this?" Su Hao asked casually, trying to probe.
"Kid... no, Su Hao."
Alexei stared intently at the black-haired boy opposite him, his gaze complex.
"Because even with my layman's eyes, I can see that in the near future, you will most likely become a great figure that the world looks up to."
To be honest, I think everyone in this room probably has similar thoughts, right?
Alexei sneered, turned his head, and coldly surveyed his surroundings.
The onlookers who had been overly enthusiastic and concerned for Su Hao suddenly looked embarrassed, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, and collectively turned to look at the ceiling, coughing repeatedly.
"So? I've said all that, do you still dare to play?"
Looking at Alexei's face, which had lost its frivolity and was now filled with seriousness, Su Hao nodded calmly.
"Of course. Because I won't lose."
Ever since Shen Yuxuan started giving him special training, Psyduck in Su Hao's mind has been constantly running the logical deduction process of chess in the background.
I've got several insane tactics in mind, but I'm worried about not finding a powerful enough computing platform to perform stress tests.
"Okay, you've got guts! Let me make this clear from the start: I actually really hate playing fast chess."
That's a game for intuitive idiots.
The longer I have to think, the stronger I become.
So you'd better be extremely careful and squeeze every last drop of blood from your very bones!
Alexei wasn't lying; he'd never been a good match for rapid chess since childhood.
Several times, he faced rookies who he could easily crush if he had just given them half a minute more, but he was frustrated and defeated because time ran out. This was a major pain point in his life.
"Then let's not play blitz," Su Hao casually remarked. "We'll play slow chess, without the rules of blitz."
Rapid chess takes only ten to sixty minutes, while slow chess is a long, drawn-out game that starts at sixty minutes!
Su Hao's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
The entire audience was stunned!
Upon hearing that Su Hao had actually given up his advantage of information asymmetry and offered conditions that were absolutely advantageous to him, Alexei was stunned, his eyes widening like saucers:
"What did you say?"
Is it due to laymen's ignorance of time and computing power?
Or is it just the reckless courage of a young man who doesn't know the immensity of the world?
Alexei gritted his teeth, determined to make him experience the despair of having his intellect slowly tortured in the most cruel game on the chessboard!
However, Su Hao's next casual remark shattered his prediction like a heavy hammer blow.
"Because I need an 'experimental subject' at the peak of computing power to fight against."
Arrogant!
Utter arrogance!
That kind of nonchalant, careless attitude that completely disregards world-class masters!
Alexei's cold smile froze instantly, replaced by a chilling seriousness.
"If you cry from my abuse later, I won't comfort you."
In the first game, Alexei really didn't take Su Hao seriously, and played all sorts of random, unorthodox moves.
After all, anyone would be careless when facing a child who seems to have only recently learned how to move chess pieces.
But now, facing a prey who has given up the benefits of time and actively stepped into his absolute territory, every nerve in his body is stretched to the limit!
Moreover, if it's a slow game, even on a global scale, he's confident he can crush any young player!
"Don't worry, even if I lose, I will never regret it," Su Hao said calmly.
Alexei gave him a deep look and nodded solemnly.
I thought she was just a hothouse flower with exceptional intelligence, but I never expected that under that thin body was a tough guy with an extremely resilient soul!
"You know what?"
Alexei gritted his teeth, forcing out the words through clenched teeth.
"Right now, I truly and desperately want your autograph on the chessboard."
"I will do everything in my power to prevent you from getting what you want."
Alexei took a deep breath and began to rearrange the position of each piece with an almost reverent posture.
"If it's a slow game, then it's a real, all-out battle. Are you all ready?"
Hans hovered his finger above the clock and asked in a deep voice.
Su Hao and Alexei nodded simultaneously, their gazes sparking an invisible flame in the air.
"Alright, let the timer begin!"
With the coin toss, Alexei, playing white, went first, while Su Hao played black.
Snapped.
Alexei made a swift move, the first step, Wang Bing advanced, e4.
This is the oldest and most classic opening in the history of chess, and it is also extremely oppressive and aggressive.
Although the opening move was exactly the same as the previous game, the crisp sound of the stone hitting the board this time carried a breathtaking force of thousands of troops!