On the second day in Tokyo, a special guest visited Meng Huo.

"Director Muto, I haven't seen you for a long time..." Meng Huo was receiving this guest from the Go world in the office, while guessing in his heart that his purpose of visiting him - the comic "Soul of Chess" is still serialized, but there should be nothing big happening recently.

Muto smiled and said hello to Meng Huo. He hadn't met Meng Huo for a long time, but this time he came here to reminisce, but invited Meng Huo as a guest to visit the Jidong District Youth Amateur Go Competition.

"Youth Amateur Go Competition?" Meng Huo felt unfamiliar with this competition.

"Yes, although it is an amateur competition, there are a lot of people who have registered this year. I happened to hear that Teacher He Xi, you came to Tokyo, how about you?" Muto smiled and said, "If you serve as a guest, this competition will become more lively."

Go Competition - In fact, Meng Huo is not very interested in this kind of activity, but adding more experience may be helpful to "The Soul of Chess". If it does not hinder his work, he will not be unable to consider it.

"When?" Meng Huo asked.

"This Saturday." Muto said the time was exactly when Meng Huo planned to return to Ninghai, but he would take a day off after returning to Ninghai, so there was no problem in participating in this amateur Go competition.

He nodded and agreed. Early on Saturday morning, Eiji Takashima left the holiday break and drove Meng Huo to the Go competition site himself. After hearing about this, he also wanted to see it.

Muto had already been waiting for them outside the competition hall, but Meng Huo got off the car and was surrounded by the children around him before he could say hello to him.

"Are these contestants?" Eiji Takashima who had parked the car stood beside Director Muto and asked in surprise. Most of the people around Meng Huo were young children. There were also many boys and girls who seemed to be junior high school students and elementary school students, all of whom looked very excited.

"Yes, they are the contestants." Director Muto said happily: "And they are all fans of "Soul of Chess."

He was not surprised at all that Meng Huo received. In fact, the amateur competitions of young Go in previous years were very deserted, and there were even more Go boards than players. However, the number of applicants soared this year. The Far East District Go Association had to open Go competition sites in three major cities, but the number of people at one competition site in Tokyo was twice as high as in previous years.

The reason for this phenomenon is undoubtedly the emergence of "The Soul of Chess". Since the serialization of this comic, the number of Go enthusiasts in various parts of China has been growing rapidly, and events held in other regions are also very lively.

As the source of all this, He Xi, the original author of "The Soul of Chess", will naturally be enthusiastically sought after.

Eiji Takashima smiled: "The president will be popular everywhere, but Director Muto..." He frowned again and said: "Should you separate these people?"

There were more and more people around Meng Huo. People from faraway places rushed over after seeing his appearance. Among them, there were many contestants' parents and elders, as well as some reporters, who were surrounded by Meng Huo. Eiji Takashima discovered the confusion on his president's face.

"I know." Muto also noticed that the situation was not going well like this, so he quickly asked someone to help quarantine the crowd, protect Meng Huo, and then took him to the hall.

The competition time starts at 9:00 in the morning. Meng Huo, as a guest, didn't have much work. He delivered a very brief speech and encouragement before 9:00, and then he just had to sit aside and watch the teenagers' competition.

"Although it's a youth competition, why is it mainly primary school students?" After the competition began, Meng Huo asked Director Muto that there were hundreds of people playing games in the entire guild, but Meng Huo found that two-thirds of them were elementary school students - there were fewer people like junior high school students, and high school students were even rarer.

"Because the ones who sign up are mainly these children." Muto smiled. Among the people who sign up for this competition, the children under the age of fourteen are the ones. In fact, the younger they are, the more likely they are to be influenced by "The Soul of Chess", and parents are more tolerant.

Older students face greater academic pressure. Take high school students as an example. Many parents are reluctant to let their children participate in this kind of competition - because although this youth Go competition is nominally amateur, it is also a place for professional chess players to choose their disciples in tradition.

In the past, the Go industry was when teachers chose disciples, and the amateur Go competition for young people was the key point for players to select potential disciples. This also led to the participation of such competitions being not purely entertainment competitions in the minds of participants, but a platform that can enter the Go world.

"More than 70% of the children here have the desire to be taken by professional chess players." Muto glanced at the children everywhere in the guild where he was playing nervously, and said, "And those parents may also be looking forward to their children having this talent in their hearts."

Meng Huo understood a little. This is just like learning piano and dancing. Because the children are young, parents are more willing to let them try different directions. However, when the children grow up, their behavior will become conservative.

"But there are so many children who can sign up, to be honest... we never dared to think about it before." Muto continued, and he glanced at Meng Huo: "It's all thanks to you, Teacher He Xi."

The success of the competition comes from the success of "The Soul of Chess". Muto knew this very well. In the past, society generally did not recognize Go. Even if parents find that their children have talent in this area, they would not let their children try it.

But the situation is different now. With the success of "The Soul of Chess", the impression given by the Go industry has changed in all aspects, and the exposure has also increased. Go competitions are often broadcast on TV - and the Go Association has also made great changes.

The biggest change is to improve the training of chess players. Now, the training of newcomers in any industry requires considerable funds, and various training classes have to be charged. But Go is different. A child is discovered from an amateur competition, goes to a chess hall to train, becomes a college student, and takes a vocational exam. There is no need for any fees during this period. In view of many parents, it is quite cost-effective to let his child take the path of Go.
Chapter completed!