Playing Go

Plot Core: The Fall of a Go Prodigy and the Redemption by His Police Brother

Wang Baoqiang plays Cui Ye, a Go teacher who is reluctantly drawn into a criminal vortex due to a credit union robbery. To protect himself, he uses his Go strategy skills to assist the robbers, only to discover the "perfect logic" of crime—manipulating gambling and orchestrating financial fraud, where the concepts of "qi" and "jie" in Go become metaphors for his criminal activities. Chen Minghao portrays Cui Wei, the police brother, who struggles to uncover the truth but faces moral dilemmas due to his brotherly bond. Their relationship shifts from mutual support to complete opposition, showcasing the human choices within the "black and white board."

Character Depth: The Conflict between Go Philosophy and Real-Life Survival

Cui Ye (Wang Baoqiang): His transformation from a gentle Go teacher to a cold-blooded criminal captures the sense of fate encapsulated in the saying, "One misstep, and the whole game is lost." The series uses "Go analysis" shots to hint at the precision of his criminal mindset and self-justification.
Cui Wei (Chen Minghao): Representing the upholder of law and order, he repeatedly sacrifices promotion opportunities due to his brotherly love. His internal struggle is metaphorically expressed through Go terminology, such as "sacrificing pieces for initiative."

Production Highlights: Innovative Fusion of Realism and Genre Drama

Production Team: The collaboration between Han Sanping and Wang Baoqiang introduces a cinematic narrative pace to the series, enhancing the suspenseful tension in crime scenes.
Symbolic Use of Go: Director Fang Yuan employs "Go board cinematography," such as using black and white stones to correspond with police-criminal confrontations, and even designing the robbery route as a Go formation named "Great Avalanche," deepening the thematic expression.
Early 2000s Atmosphere: The series recreates the social ecology of a small southern town in the early 2000s, reflecting the financial security vulnerabilities exposed by the credit union robbery and hinting at the plight of traditional crafts in the face of modernization through the decline of Go training classes.

(This article is compiled from publicly available plot information and the creative concepts of the producers; specific details are subject to the actual airing.)

Note:

The "credit union robbery" in the series is based on multiple financial crime incidents in southern China in 2003, emphasizing a realistic portrayal of survival pressure on the lower social strata.
The "Go crime" setting draws inspiration from traditional mystery techniques, combining intellectual games with crime solving to enhance the brain-teaser aspect.