Zhao Zhixun is an "outlier" of Japanese Go, who has been living in a foreign country since he was a child, but he has realized all his life dreams there. Beyond the Ground and Appearance is a classic work by Zhao Zhixun, a thin one, but some people say that it has "epoch-making significance". Zhao Zhixun's Go thought is also like the title of this book, and has been groping and transcending.
A friend once asked me: Which chess player is my favorite? I said: Regardless of national borders, my favorites are Cho Ji-hoon and Lee Chang-ho. It is difficult to say why I like and appreciate a person, and Cho Ji-hoon and Lee Chang-ho infected me not only with their amazing achievements, but also with their desire to explore and consciously identify with their inner thoughts.
Like Zhao Zhixun, although he can't learn his chess style, he sometimes intentionally or unintentionally tries to get himself into trouble and then survive in the Pubji. When you are young, there is a very interesting phenomenon: some people's chess style makes you stay away, but his attraction to you is huge, such as Zhao Zhixun. Some people have a chess style that makes you appreciate, but you have a strong sense of affinity for others, such as Hero Otake. Of course, there are also people and chess that they like, such as Masaki Takemiya. As I get older, the current game of Go is becoming more and more open, and this aspect has been much diluted.
How should Zhao Zhixun's chess style be characterized? It is generally believed that he is extremely fond of the field chess style, and even some greed. Many chess pieces go too far, and it seems that the realm is not high. However, his ability to cure loneliness is extremely strong, and once the opponent cannot catch his excesses, he will be successful. In short, Zhao Zhixun's chess is a very practical chess, and compared with Masaki Takemiya, who holds high the banner of idealism, he is a complete realist.
What did Zhao Zhixun say himself? "It is irresponsible to say that Zhao Zhixun's chess is a chess piece taken from the ground." "'Taking the land', 'creating a thick trend', and 'expanding the appearance' are not good or bad, they are just a trick in the process of chess." ”
Professional chess players' understanding of Go is not as superficial as that of amateur chess players, and for Zhao Zhixun, the reason why he chooses to take land many times is because he has no confidence in expanding his appearance. Taking the land is a method of warfare that he feels is more suitable for him, and that's all.
For a professional chess player, this is the "basic skill", and each can be used freely. In fact, Zhao Zhixun was also obsessed with chess with big-looking combat, and when he was young, three consecutive stars were the beginning of his frequent walking. However, in the battle with Eio Sakata for the title of Japanese chess player, he suffered a major reversal of two consecutive wins and three consecutive defeats, which made him doubt his "expansion-like" chess, and gradually stopped walking three consecutive stars. However, after becoming a top chess player, Zhao Zhixun will still walk the big layout of "three consecutive stars" and "high Chinese flow" several times from time to time, and it is at the critical moment of great victory and defeat. Of course, he would not expand his appearance without scruples like Masaki Takemiya, but according to the situation, he would transform it into a chess piece to capture the field in time. This is probably also in line with his Go theory - taking the land and taking the position are not two sides of the contradiction.
The most memorable thing about Zhao Zhixun is his terrifying computing ability, which is what we often call tenacity - to calculate repeatedly in any small place, so that people do not know what he is thinking. And the results of such a long exam can sometimes be counterproductive - because of overthinking and out of the inappropriate moves, the situation has plummeted.
A person's chess style will inevitably be closely related to personality, as an exotic chess player, to gain a foothold in the "Kingdom of Go", the most important thing is tenacious vitality. Wu Qingyuan, Lin Haifeng, and later Wang Licheng and others, although the chess style is quite different, the tenacity is no different. Zhao Zhixun has brought this tenacity to the extreme, he is not only tenacious, in order not to let himself have the slightest slack, and even consciously put himself in adversity to fight every moment.
Long before the rise of the "Korean stream", when the "first man in Japan" was still the undisputed "first in the world", Cho Ji-hoon's unique style of chess was considered to run through a strong national character. Kudo Norio once commented: "As a professional chess player, after watching Zhao Jun's chess, I understood that if I wanted to capture the chess saint, I must count to such a deep point!" "Cho Ji-hoon seems to have become the king of chess with super fighting power, so that when Korean local chess players first appeared in the World Series, everyone thought that their style was in the same line as Cho Ji-hoon, and the nature of Koreans was to like tenacious close-knit wrestling.
This is probably a misunderstanding, Cho Ji-hoon's chess is really quite different from the original domineering and even somewhat arbitrary "Korean stream". Among the Korean chess players studying in Japan, the other two outstanding players are Yanagi Shifu and Cho Sunjin, whose chess is atmospheric and solid, which is a typical Japanese "Benge school". Zhao Zhixun, who was educated by Japanese chess before them, of course, also walked the "right way", but the genius integrated his understanding of Go into it.
It is not enough to be a true chess player with only a few talents, but also to input your own ideas in the theories discovered by predecessors. The greatness of Kitani shi is that he never restricts the thinking of his disciples, and every style can be freely tried. Zhao Zhixun was a late disciple under the Mugu Gate, and he could absorb the nourishment of the different chess styles of the brothers and masters to the fullest, and then create the most suitable style for himself.
The easiest adjective to think of when watching Zhao Zhixun play chess is "thrilling". Every move he makes is played with the highest efficiency, and he never compromises even if the situation is already excellent, so that it often makes people feel "excessive". Zhao Zhixun is known as the "master of victory and defeat", which means that no one in the chess world is unsurpassed in his dedication to winning and losing, but he will never give up his belief in the victory or defeat of a game of chess. Asking Zhao Zhixun to win a smooth and one-two-eye game without seeking to be aggressive may be worse than letting him lose chess. As long as there is the strongest means, it must be cast to try, even if it is a good situation, even if it is a good situation, this point Zhao Zhixun showed most vividly in the battle with Wugong Masaki. Such a Zhao Zhixun, even if he is greedy for the field, can you simply say that he is a realist?
Craftsmanship most directly embodies thought. For many years, despite the funny words and deeds, in fact, Zhao Zhixun's heart has always been like a helpless child, right? But his simplicity allowed him to discover his own unique ideas. With strong technology as a support, Zhao Zhixun's Go ideas can be carried forward. Just like his discussion of the first-class chess players of his predecessors and peers in "My View of Go", to be honest, I really have never seen such a pithy commentary, and only Zhao Zhixun among the chess players can say those words that are interesting and meaningful.
Can Zhao Zhixun, who has surpassed the field and appearance, also be able to surpass victory and age? At the age of 64 this year, he holds the record for the most titles and the most wins in the Japanese chess world, the first to reach the seven major chess grand slams, is the famous seven-time victory and defeat demon, and has also won the world championship twice, and is still fighting in the front line of chess. But his career still has many regrets, perhaps imperfection is the fate of the winning division.