Chess Love (2021)

Pretty decent drama for having that many episodes

I know what you're thinking. 41 episodes, that seems a lot and bound to have a lot of troubles. Even I was concern too but in honest truth, it wasn't all that bad.

Before I continue with my review, I'm just going to pinpoint a couple of things about this drama and hopefully that will determine if you want to watch it or not.
1. If you're not a fan of the drama cliché of the leads meeting each other as kids, then you might as well skip this one. If you're not bother by it, then continue on. I considered this as a good drama cliché.
2. There are no evil parents or in-laws
3. There are a few misunderstandings, in the beginning and then right around Ep 31-32. However, these misunderstandings are cleared up pretty quickly, so if you're concern about long episode wait of solving the misunderstandings, you don't have to worry. The second misunderstanding doesn't lead to a break up but more of FL's concern and need of reassurance about ML's love for her.
4. Very minor love rival for our main couple. I said minor because the FL's rival doesn't show up until much later in the drama and even then, she's only in a few episodes but she is hecka annoying. There is a love triangle but that's within the secondary couple. There are 3 couples in total for this drama.
5. Some people may get annoyed by Yu Da, the guy that forms our 2nd couple and is part of the secondary love triangle. Either because of his actions or they seemly are rooting for the other guy in the love triangle. He doesn't really bother me but I can see the annoyance especially when it's with the SFL.
6. There is a main villain but it's more like the forming of a villain due to the greedy nature of wanting to win and to bring down the ML.

I personally like this drama overall and my rating of a 9 doesn't necessarily mean that you'll have the same opinion or taste as me. I gave this drama a rating of a 9 because for one, it's a 41 episode drama and I got to admit, it's actually pretty okay from start to finish for having that many episodes. There are some moments where it drags but that's what you expect with dramas this long. However, even with that, I still anticipate for the next episode so at least it kept me interested for the most part.

Story is nothing new here but it isn't bad either as the FL will play the key role to the ML's recovery process. This drama does a great balance on showing the GO competition and the building of relationships between our couples. Now there are some scenes where they do explain the movements of GO and how the play of this game works but not enough explanation for a newbie like me to understand. However, in replacement of that, the drama shows cool and awesome fighting scenes between our GO players to show who will win and I for one, really enjoy those cinematic scenes.

The one thing I wish that could've been better is at least having one of the character suspecting our villain throughout the drama. In terms of that aspect, the characters are too trusting which leads to the villain getting away with a lot of stuff until close to the end. Now the stuff he does just impacts the ML for the most part, as he is his main target so while his plans and actions are evil, there not as evil as other villains I've seen in other dramas. Also, I wasn't too fond of the secondary couple love triangle. That wasn't needed at all for this drama.

In summary, I'm very impressed with the quality of this drama being that it's 41 episodes. FL is a little bit annoying in the beginning but she's a strong character overall so that's a big plus for me. The drama OST for the intro and credit are amazing. I never skip it! It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I for one enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

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We don't eat deserts as the main course... they should be served as deserts, and the same goes with fluffy rom-com. Go Into Your Heart is nothing more than a very long and unnecessary drag with content that needs no more than 24 episodes to wrap up... so 41 episodes give nothing but boredom due to things happening just for sake of extending the plotline and annoying characters every by and then.

Though I'll admit the main couple is kinda cute and acting from them is promising as Landy Li can always pull out that cute adorable role and Niu Jun Feng may seem stiff and robotic throughout the whole show but that is what his character is made up... I adored Cheng Yi's character a lot... but other than that nothing impressed me or even make it worth watching, as the story forwards in a vague direction every time.

I don't get why dramas have to glamorize every profession? Like from when Go players are treated like celebrities or idols for fangirling... or news anchors make scandals for drinking or going to club or spending their time with whomever they want. It doesn't make any sense... The whole fingerprint thing was nonsensical, and why they have to make a lead who's just soooo surreal almost not relatable at any point, but then yes male lead should be the most intelligent and smartest person alive where female lead clumsy, naive, and the innocent type who isn't even par to male leads aura. Ah, that kinda sucks.

Maybe I would have appreciated it if they made Sheng Jing Chu more human-like, not LEGEND... I mean his girlfriend calls him legend all the time, doesn't he deserve some human-like treatment?

As of the fact, this is 41 episodes so sure it takes a time to get leads together... both being adorable I did enjoy their time and moments together. But apart from the leads side couples were a bit off for me, I wasn't rooting for anyone lol Yu Da is mood but he's just childish and so immature and I was annoyed by his actions most of the time. Xu Chi was just so trying to fit in the mold of perfect which made him a bit stiff and unreachable. I guess Xi He would be the only one... I enjoyed seeing him on screen every time, I also liked his moody style changing so every time he looks like a whole new person with a different persona.

The production value or quality doesn't matter to me most of the time, as a strong story is more than enough than beautiful cinematography. But when you try to do some-not-really-needed-but-just-for-visuals-things do it properly. The whole graphic thing during Go matches was poorly done... it almost felt like if I'm watching any cheap animation movie without any context.

In conclusion, it's nothing unique or delivers something that's out of the box.. you have a lot of free time and the ability to turn off your brain for some time then you can give it a try at your own risk.

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Fake Sports Drama

If you're watching for the Go part of this drama, you will most likely be disappointed. It's really just a fluffy romance drama targeting a middle schooler's romantic fantasy (or at least what the writer thinks is one anyway). The only difference is they use Go as a backdrop to make the story unique. 75% of the matches were depicted as CGI action fighting scenes. It really felt like an insult cuz they were like "no one is going to be watching for the actual Go stuff so let's just dumb it down and show fighting scenes instead." One or two animated battles would have been nice to add humor or be dramatic, but they overdid it. Most of these fight scenes were lame and absolutely unnecessary.

This drama is extremely cliché. Of course there are some cute moments, but a lot of times I was cringing cuz of the corniness. Let's just say it felt like it was artificially sweetened. The Female Lead is also kind of dumb and ditzy so that was a disappointment for me. I didn't really care about the main couple. My favorite character was the 4th Dan girl. Most of her scenes were amusing. As for the pacing of the drama, the 2nd half is very draggy, especially the last quarter of the drama. It really was a struggle to finish. Overall, this lands under so bad it's good territory. I would recommend it as a good hate watch or something to watch with friends so you can make fun of it. Maybe skip the last 10 episodes though.

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Enjoyable romance with some slice of life (minor spoilers ahead)

There are a lot of negative comments/reviews on this page but I'd like to share my opinion on, why this is an enjoyable drama for romcom lovers.

Apart from the sister's love line (I skipped most of her romantic scenes because I just liked her as her own independent career woman who really did not need a man but oh well), I really enjoyed the drama. Although it is long, the main couple and their relationship as well as the friendships (especially between all the Go players within the dojo and even some competitors) and all the different types of relationships in this drama are heartwarming. The first half of the drama is really cute and what is expected of a Chinese romcom. The chemistry between all the actors is really good, especially the main couple. They were not awkward once they got together and their relationship was healthy with very little misunderstandings.

The second half of the drama is slower, yes, and there is not much development in the main leads' relationship but you see them being stable and loving throughout the whole drama which is something I personally enjoy a lot. If you are in for the short and sweet flash romance that basically ends with the leads just getting together, or for the Go aspect of the drama (the drama more focuses on the mental aspect of playing Go and what the players have to go through to become masters in Go), this is not for you. I find that most dramas tend to finish when the leads have just started dating or when they get back together after a breakup. For me, that is quite frustrating most of the time because there is so much more to life and romance than just the crushing, push and pull and dating period, which is why I love that they show their steady relationship over a longer time period where the romance is not the sole focus anymore. And don't get me wrong, they are still extremely cute, but it's not just about them dating each other but their lives together as a couple among their friends and family, with all the ups and downs of life. All in all, I very much enjoyed the drama. I laughed, cried and felt butterflies in my stomach which is really all I could ask for.

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Cute rom-com with unique focus on Go and it's culture

I thought this was a pretty well executed storyline with nice graphics/editing and music/sound effects. I thought it was interesting how they sometimes visualized the games of Go like video game scenes (given, these aren't the cleanest edits I've ever seen but it was a nice concept). The characters were quite well developed, I especially like the antagonist's story...they were able to make him slowly sink his bottom line (like before he knew it, he was in the deep end already), it was very natural. All of the characters' judgements seem to make sense and the acting was really great for the most part. One character I wasn't the biggest fan of for maybe 2/3 of the drama was Jiang YuDa (you'll probably see him throughout the comments) but I'm pretty sure half his character was written in just as gov propaganda (raised abroad but wants to come back to his homeland, has tried all foods but thinks Chinese foods are the best, etc.). Another issue was that the ML's "greatness" I think was just overkill especially in the beginning of the drama...that was just unnecessary. Overall, a pretty decent watch; very medium-paced and sensible interactions/reactions (there were just a few things about the ML's ability that were very over-exaggerated in the beginning). Keep in mind, this is a drama, and not real life, so things are overexaggerated and this drama also follows the recent trend I've been seeing of dramas greatly overestimating social media hype (let's be real...not every bit of gossip can become a "hot search").

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This show was surprising to me. I knew it was going to be too long but I dove in not really expecting too much. It won me over in many ways. The premise of the show revolves around the game of GO. I even watched an online video of the basics of GO because I wanted to understand better as I was watching. They successfully made all of the parts revolving around the game extremely interesting. I’ve never been so tense watching a boardgame before as I was watching the competitions in this drama. The main leads were so perfect that you were drawn to them immediately. I first saw Niu Junfeng in Love O2O and knew he was a good actor but would never have guessed he would be able to transition into the male lead. This drama is a testament to his superb acting. He transformed himself into another person entirely and held this show together and created a believable character. Landy Li was the perfect choice for the leading lady in this drama. Her smile lit up the screen and her character was one of the most delightful I’ve seen. The entire drama was so fun to watch and devoid of any typical clichés. They incorporated new experiences for the viewers to watch and a ton of excellent humor and dialogue throughout. There were some unbelievably great support characters that made the show even better. The reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 was the unnecessary length. Although I found the entire thing extremely interesting and fun some of the scenes were drawn out and a few episodes could’ve been deleted and it would’ve been a better drama overall. It’s certainly worth watching all the way through so you don’t miss any of the fun moments. I have to give a thumbs up to the wardrobe selection. Because of the color blindness issue they brought in a fantastic selection of sweaters and sweatshirts in bright colors that emphasized the importance of color in life. Every time the leading man saw the leading lady, her pop of colors made me smile, and you could feel his heart. Well done!!!!!!

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A drama about playing Go? It’s actually kind of cute.

I’m glad I saw Niu Jun Feng in Meet Yourself first, although that was a supporting role, I felt like his acting ability was a lot better. I like seeing him as the carefree music lover, than the stoic stiff Go player in Go into your Heart. With that said, I still enjoyed his character very much.

I haven’t see any drama with Landy Li, but I know she’s in Starry Love and that’s next on my list. I have to say, I’m a fan. She’s super young at 23, but she acts so well and she reminds me a lot like Zhao Lu Si, just really bubbly and has a cute but beautiful presence on camera.

I’m not a huge fan of dramas where one is a reporter and that person tries to get the scoop on the other lead, but in Go into your Heart, it was actually cute. The ML is color blind, but he can see the FL in color and I really loved that story plot. It’s very typical C drama writing and that’s why I love watching my C dramas.

I really liked how they did the fight scenes. Instead of watching two people play Go, they have them do martial arts and it makes the drama fun to watch.

The main leads have great chemistry and I love how effortless their story is. It was REALLY easy to watch and even simple stuff like shopping and making food was treat to feast my eyes on.

I didn’t care too much for the secondary and 3rd storylines. One was a love triangle and the other was a one-sided love. I chimed in a few times here and there when I saw the other stories, but towards the end I started to fast-forward. She didn’t pick the guy I wanted too!

The drama is a bit long at 40 episodes, so you got filler episodes, like a 4th love story pops up. That was a little crazy.

Overall, the heart and spirit of the drama is cute and will put a smile on your face. I would highly suggest just watching the parts that are interesting and skipping the stuff you aren’t interested in.

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PDA and sweetness off the charts!!

First of all, I don’t agree with most of the other earlier reviews. This is a very sweet drama, no-frills, yes a little typical, but it’s genuine and very touching. I didn’t like Forever and Ever or You are my glory- those two dramas were too hyped up and too fake.

The story, character and relationship development were all very good. It seems rather long with 41 episodes, I wasn’t bored until probably the last 10 episodes. It then got a bit repetitive. 41 episodes is too long for a rom-com, cos you can’t go any further with the comedy or the storyline. It would have been better to finish it off by 30. There were however many touching scenes which surprisingly made me cry!

The love story between Sheng Jing Chu and Cheng Liao was very sweet. The PDA and romance was off the charts :):):) Lots and lots of it! So unlike Forever and Ever which was SO HARD to come by, even though that couple was older and more matured? Yes the FL can be overly cute, but I didn’t find that annoying at all. The ML (he was one of the guys in Love O2O) yes he was stiff, but I believe that was the portrayal of his character.

I also particularly liked how the scenes from the GO competitions would change to virtual Kung-fu battle scenes! I enjoyed that very much! Good blend of comedy and some wrongdoings as well.

Ignore the other reviews. GO watch this for a lovely sweet drama :):)

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Wasted my time

~ Please forgive any spelling errors. English is not my native language.

I won't write a whole review, but rather write down a few key points that I wrote down while watching the drama.

Starting with the positive:

1. I find that most actors act really well. I liked Landy Li (Cheng Liao) and Han Jiu Nuo (Cheng Yi) the best. Both had good chemistry as sisters.
2. The side story with the sister, Cheng Yi (Han Jui Nuo), was really good. I even think it was sometimes better than the main story. I liked the younger, Jiang Yu Da (Zhu Jia Qi), of the two love interests a lot.

Now for the negative:

1. The older, Xu Chi (Chris Song), of the two love interests, on the other hand, I didn't like at all. Although Cheng Yi already said that she is not interested in him and he also said, that he respects her decision, he still makes unwanted advances.
2. Niu Jun Feng (Sheng Jing Chu), as the lead was sometimes wooden and awkward. The character is somewhat intentional, but it didn't always worked. And in the end the character just annoyed me.
3. I found the villain arc of Yao Ke laughable at times. Maybe it was the script or the actor. It just wasn't Cao Bo's role, I think.
4. Normally, an episode on a show would end in such a way that you absolutely have to watch the next episode. here, after a few episodes, I asked myself the question: "Why should I watch the next episode? Nothing happened". Problems and story arcs are introduced and solved within one or two episodes. Events that seem important are forgotten within a few episodes.
5. The episodes are just too long. I don't have a problem with dramas that have a lot of episodes. I also don't have a problem with "long" episodes (45min or longer). But I have a problem with dramas wasting my time. When I was halfway through the drama (episode 20 or so) I stared watching the episodes at a faster speed (1.25x). Many scenes in the drama have simply been dragged out too long. I just feel like a lot of episodes only have to be half the length they are.

I wish I had liked the drama better. Unfortunately I didn't.

~ Again, sorry for any possible errors.

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the use Animation and Live is great

The cast are well liked and believable. The use of animation and live is a great concept. The storyline so far is funny, witty and at time sad. the pressure to win at GO and became a Master must be immense. I am glad that they got into cast members. It enabled a person to understand which direction the Series is going.

If anyone of you all are looking for a bad boy to demean a mindless, weak woman(and call it Romance Drama), this isn't it that type of Series. You well be sorely disappointed. In a way the animation enable me to understand GO. One day I hope to see it played live. The scenery is fantastic. All I can say is that Cheng Liao is a strong minded woman. Good for her!

Cheng Feng Shou is calmer than most Asian fathers I know. If my daughter came to me and said xyz and she was going on a vacation with her boyfriend; there would be a heated debate. If she disobeyed me, her bags would be packed. Shou became star struck and didn't do the right thing. He was right when he told her you are single and you should not stay at a boy's place alone. Everyone knows how bad scandals are could damage ones reputation. Look at Cheng Liao and all she did was get drunk and dance.

There is always has to be a rat(Traitor) in the nest. I really like the concept of this Series. Romance mixed with action and personality is fantastic! The action comes from the game. The only thing I have to say negative so far is that: Sheng Jing Chu creeps me out. They have so much white powder on his face makes him look pale and sickly. He always has a blank look on his face, maybe a Chinese Harry Potter. They have spent too much time on Harry Potter ( Sheng Jing Chu) storyline. When it is actually three romances going on. They could of developed the other two and it would not have distract from the main romance. The twist and turns of this storyline is fantastic, especially the later episodes.

I am sorry to say this but: Jiang Yu Da needs his butt beat. He is immature and a pest. I can't believe Cheng Liao is falling for him. If someone broke my expensive cups, there would be a fight. Jaing and are punks. Neither one of them deserve Cheng Liao. She can do better.

Some of the episodes drag. They could of told the Storyline in 30 episodes instead of 41.

It is a good Series. I enjoyed watching and I will watch it again.

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Great Drama with wonderful plot that the average viewer can follow. Actors were great and had great chemistry. Worth watching a number of times. OST was one of the best. Great location for shooting. The overall rating should be higher than the one currently given. Great watch for American viewers who are just beginning to watch C Dramas.

Great Drama with wonderful plot that the average viewer can follow. Actors were great and had great chemistry. Worth watching a number of times. OST was one of the best. Great location for shooting. The overall rating should be higher than the one currently given. Great watch for American viewers who are just beginning to watch C Dramas.

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A complete surprise. By the end I totally loved it.

That was so damn beautiful.

I thought this was actually really slow and draggy for the first 15 episodes or so. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t really holding my attention and I even briefly considered dropping it at one point but the main couple kept me going. I wanted to see them get together.

As soon as they did it’s like everything took off from there, even though a lot of the story wasn’t directly about just them. I see a lot of people saying they enjoyed the 1st 15-16 episodes (maybe 18, I can’t remember) but that it then took a turn for the worst. I completely disagree. Strongly. This drama was very moving. It had great depth to it and turned into something really beautiful. It went from simple to complex, to very complex but there was a simplistic beauty throughout. This was Romance.

Loved that main couple from beginning to end and loved all the other couples that developed later on too. I laughed a lot. Cried hard as hell a few times too.

Still don’t have a clue how to play GO. Lol! None. But I still enjoyed watching the competitions, although I glazed over some of the commentary (okay, a lot) during.

I’m determined to find and download the OST for this drama. Loved it. I’m especially hooked on the song played during the ending credits. Already got that one added to my playlist and I’ve been singing it all day.

I’ll absolutely rewatch this. Definitely.

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