When White played the one-space high approach, only a few in the crowd—Su Yiming, Zheng Qin, and a handful of others—remained calm, eyes fixed on the board as they awaited Yin Yan’ang’s response.
Yin Yan’ang frowned slightly, then reached into his Go bowl and slowly placed a stone.
Column 8, Row 4 — Two-space high pincer!
No one was surprised by this move.
After White’s one-space high approach, Black’s classic response was this two-space high pincer, forming the foundational shape of the Demon Blade.
If White responded with a Large Knight’s Approach, then the Demon Blade formation would be complete!
“But if White jumps, and Black follows with a jump, then when White jumps again, that terrifying ‘Diagonal Push’—first played by Zhuang Weisheng—could still be triggered.”
“Is he really confident enough to leverage that outer influence and use it to resist Black… even against a 9-dan like Yin Yan’ang?”
True, in that historic game, White’s influence didn’t end up being useful—but that wasn’t only because of the diagonal push. It was because the opponent was Zhuang Weisheng, the man who invented the Demon Blade Joseki!
The sound of another stone echoed across the room.
Yu Shao had made his move.
And when everyone saw where he played it, they all froze in place.
“White didn’t jump… instead—”
Column 4, Row 7 — Large Knight’s Approach!
“He played the Heavenly Flight!”
Someone stared at the board, stunned, their eyes reflecting utter disbelief—as if they could hear the steel ring of a blade being unsheathed.
“The… the Demon Blade?!”
With this move, the Demon Blade had been drawn!
The one-space high approach and the two-space high pincer—these two moves formed the Demon Blade’s base.
But this Large Knight’s Approach was the final trigger—this was what unleashed the blade!
“It’s actually the Demon Blade?!”
The crowd collectively buzzed, thoughts racing.
This wasn’t the same as in the classic game.
This time, Black had already placed an extension along the edge. That extra Black stone, combined with the Small Point and the high pincer, formed a deadly triangle.
White playing the Demon Blade now meant clashing directly with all three of those stones—a losing battle more often than not!
And truth be told, this exact position had precedent.
In fact, because of those previous cases, players now typically avoided playing the Demon Blade in such setups.
Why? Because with that extension already in place, Black would explode in the midgame and deliver a decisive blow during a capturing race—turning that edge stone into a key hammer strike!
White would be eaten alive. Collapse would come instantly.
These conclusions weren’t drawn from speculation, but from the blood spilled by countless top pros who tried and failed.
But that was when the Demon Blade still lived.
The Demon Blade was considered dead.
“White may gain the corner by forcing their way through, but thanks to that extra edge stone, Black only needs to steer away from the most complex sequences. As long as White doesn’t get that ‘cut-to-corner’ combo, Black can still surround and kill!”
Zheng Qin said nothing, eyes locked on the board as he simulated the next moves in his head.
Column 5, Row 5 — Attach!
Yin Yan’ang had moved.
Yu Shao responded immediately.
Column 6, Row 5 — Hane!
Column 5, Row 6 — Extend!
Column 4, Row 4 — Push!
So far, it was all classic Demon Blade.
If Black continued, the next move would be a Second-Line Jump, followed by White’s counter-hane at the corner—launching one of the most complex fighting sequences in Go.
If Black did play that Second-Line Jump, White wouldn’t follow up with a corner hane.
Instead, White would double push—seizing the entire upper-left corner, with outer White stones still surviving.
And that’s when Yin Yan’ang made his decision.
Column 3, Row 5 — Extend!
The stone hit the board with a clear sound.
He hadn’t jumped. He’d changed tactics!
“Yin Yan’ang’s changed course!”
Faces turned serious.
This was new territory. No one had ever played this variation before.
White could no longer threaten the corner the way the Demon Blade allowed. Black’s plan was to completely surround and kill.
Because this variation had never been played, no one knew for sure if White had any hidden counterplay.
Everyone held their breath as Yu Shao placed his next move.
Column 3, Row 3 — Hane!
Stunned silence followed.
Even Yin Yan’ang looked surprised. He paused, then placed his next move:
Column 2, Row 3 — Hane again.
Column 2, Row 2 — Double Hane.
“White’s opting to live instead of fight back…”
The crowd was in disbelief.
Everyone had expected a bloody battle to erupt in the corner, one that could have engulfed a quarter of the board.
Instead, White sacrificed some points to secure life—and the battle ended in just a few moves.
But in doing so, White also gave up any chance of counterattack.
In the crowd, Su Yiming stared at the board, deep in thought.
Yin Yan’ang looked at the shape of White’s stones and ran through the options.
“If I try to force a capture with atari after atari... it won’t work. If I atari twice and White cuts, then while I’m capturing, White can push and atari my stones instead. When I recapture, White jumps, and I collapse.”
With the calculations finished, Yin Yan’ang dropped the idea of killing the corner.
Column 6, Row 4 — Cut!
Column 4, Row 2 — Tiger’s Mouth!
The moment the Tiger’s Mouth landed, White’s corner group was 100% alive.
Column 3, Row 6 — Extend.
A vicious battle in the upper left that was supposed to be explosive had ended abruptly—with White’s peaceful retreat.
But the game wasn’t over.
Column 15, Row 3 — Small Knight’s Approach!
Yu Shao pressed forward again.
Yin Yan’ang watched the board with calm eyes.
Though White’s retreat had caught him off guard, locally Black had profited. Still, the difference was marginal. The game was far from over.
“And this retreat, combined with that small knight’s approach…”
Yin Yan’ang looked at both corners, frowning slightly before placing his next move.
Column 12, Row 4 — Two-space high pincer!
Column 14, Row 5 — Flying Press!
Zheng Qin stared intently, calculating possibilities.
“Black pushes, White blocks, then Black—wait…”
His expression shifted.
Something had clicked.
“If Black pushes, White blocks, then Black cuts… White has a shoulder attachment tesuji—that’s the key! If Black extends, White also extends… then White hane!”
Suddenly, the three Black stones on the upper side that had seemed threatening…
…might become targets for capture!
Zheng Qin’s eyes narrowed.
“If Black doesn’t jump but instead stands to cut off White’s advance, White can turn. Then Black turns, White hane, Black extends, White pushes—”
“White’s formation gets blocked on the right, but Black becomes low on liberties. White’s hane-chain and second-line jump for flexibility—”
“They form a balanced exchange!”
Stones fell one after another.
The crowd was completely absorbed in the flow of moves.
On this battlefield, armies clashed in silence.
Only after a few more moves did others start to catch on. Their expressions shifted in disbelief as they finally saw what Zheng Qin had seen.
More people recalculated the sequence.
The grand plan White was laying down… was terrifying.
Sure, White’s retreat seemed like a local loss.
But if you zoomed out to the entire board—it was a strategic sacrifice.
That left-side clash wasn’t over.
It had simply gone underground, lying in wait.
And now—with this sudden reawakening of the Demonic Power—White was plotting a comeback.
As long as Yu Shao landed the shoulder-attachment tesuji, the upper side of the board would erupt into chaos!
Yin Yan’ang stayed composed, silently awaiting White’s next move.
White’s stone dropped with a crisp, ringing click.
When the crowd saw where it landed, they all froze again, eyes wide.
It wasn’t the shoulder-attach…
Column 17, Row 5 — Block!