从菜鸟进化到棋大师

From rookie to chess master

Xiangqi is easy to learn but difficult to master. This saying is correct at all time. Knight moves in rectangular pattern, Bishop crosses the field diagonally, Cannon can be fired into the far side of the mountain... Once you have learned these basic moves, and then tried a few practice games, you can say that you have learned to play the game, it is much easier than Weiqi (Go). However, that is only the beginning stage, just like the first steps of a child learning to walk. Here the expert coach provides a few guidances and suggestions to newbies for reference only.

1. It is recommended to start by receiving odds of Rook, Knight and Cannon, later odds of Rook and Knight, then Rook, after that, graduate to odd of 2 Cannon only. And to keep up more practice games, take more time to master the basics, gaining a certain strength.

2. Later on, if you like you can arrange playing where some prizes or little gifts are offered, thus making the game more attentive and less casual.

3. Learn to master a kind of openings, be familiar with them, adapting to all the variations, and keep going and studying, it will be helpful.

4. Master certain endgame patterns, and some set-piece endgames, such as Rook, Knight and Pawn vs Rook, Cannon and Pawn, Single Knight wins against Single Advisor and so on. Mastering of these can often help in the middle game or endgame.

5. Use of software and internet to improve play and obtain relevent information, such as master's game, video lectures, etc. Proper use of chess software can quickly improve human chess strength.

6. At least one game a day seriously. This is more impressive than playing ten games casually.

7. If situation permitted, try to find a teacher, who will guide you where to improve your skill and technique.

Many chess friends say that the game is difficult, others say that they are good at it. In fact, the strength of the game is a process of accumulation, it is like doing a school math paper, those basic questions in the math paper are like the basic moves you mastered in the game, anyway if your mathematics is good, then similarly you should play chess well, at least not too bad.

For Xiangqi, there are several main points. The first is to lay a solid foundation; secondly, practice diligently; third, be good at summarizing. Spend at least an hour a day practice and be good at summarizing. You can save every game you play, and write down the game experience and summary. This is often the most critical, and the easiest to make rapid progress. It is very important to pay attention in playing. Lack of concentration is often the beginning of defeat. How do one play a good game of Xiangqi?

If it is a winning situation, do not be too excited, work hard to finish it, because not until the game's very end, no one knows who will lose or who will win.

If it is a losing situation, don't give up, keep going, and if you are losing, try work harder, keep hanging on and fight for a draw, because the opportunities may come.

If it is a situation of superiority, it is necessary to expand the advantage, fight for the advantage of each step, and expand the advantage into a victory.

If it is a situation that you need to catch up quickly, don't mess around, try to move back into the game, fight for the day, and look for opportunities to regain the initiative.

If it is a situation that need to make sacrifice, then do the sacrifice at the right time. By giving up something at first, you may regain it in the end.

If it is a situation full of temptation, you must try to analyze the situation, see for yourself clearly, and see what move the other party is making. Once you see it clearly, you can act in the right way.

If it is a balanced situation, you have to work hard and try to win a Pawn if possible, otherwise you may go for a draw and shake hands for peace.

Life is a game of chess, we are merely chess players, we always face a variety of puzzles and problems, so we have to see the situation clearly, to see how to go on, everyone plays the game differently, life is a game of chess, sometimes it is dull, sometimes it is full of excitement, sometimes no progress, sometimes facing a variety of choices, other times facing a variety of dilemmas. Every day we seem to be playing a totally different new game. The opponent's King is the object we are persuing, literally and we must rely on various relationships and judging well in order to capture our objective. Playing chess is a process of pursuing a goal. We have to work hard for this goal, some goals are easy to achieve, and some goals are very hard to achieve, or never be achievable.

As the saying goes, chess is like life, life is like chess, so everyone should play as well as possible the game of lifetime.

Source : 象棋大师网博客2019-6-6

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

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湖南象棋开路人文竹

Mr. Wen Zhu（文竹）is the "Godfather of Xiangqi in Hunan Province", he once became obsessed with Xiangqi, and "loved the game very deeply".

When Hunan's Xiangqi started to take off, out of his pocket, he personally sponsored the Provincial Xiangqi Tournament, trained a group of excellent players, and personally leading the "Hunan Troop" to compete across the country, aiming to build up a professional team. He loved the game and was willing to devote his life to it.

"Loved very much the game"

Spring rain was incessantly long, wet clothes and wet shoes, wet everything. In the Hunan Old Staff College on Rongyuan Road in the City of Changsha, a plaque with the engraved words "Hunan Xiangqi Team Training Centre" hangs in front of a building. Pushing the door open and getting in, once inside, the sound of raining gradually subsided. The visitor heard the crisp sound of wooden blocks clashing against one another ~~ inevitably Wen Zhu was playing Xiangqi with a retired old colleague.

Here was the 45-year-old Wen Zhu, with slightly gray hair on his sideburns. He was thoughtful, yet he seemed to play his move casually. In between the small areas of the chessboard, it's a chess game and it's a life.

Mr. Wang Runan (王汝南), former president of the Chinese Qi Yuan, bluntly said, "Wen Zhu changed the Hunan Xiangqi scene."

At the end of the game he had just finished, Wen Zhu poured a cup of tea for the guest and himself, and talked about his bond with Xiangqi.

Wen Zhu is a native of Fengyang, Hunan Province, the family have been farming for generations. He remembered people in the village liked to play Xiangqi in front of their houses or under the shade of a large tree, and there were always crowd of adults and children around them.

Thus Wen Zhu, who was not yet at school, already had some understanding of the move of the pieces. At the age of eight or nine, Wen Zhu became much efficient in the game, and began to be really fascinated by it.

"At that time, I used to get money from my parents, and then pick up a tractor which was passing by, got into it and went to the county seat more than 20 kilometers away just to buy a chess book to study, in this way I did spend a lot of money. Because I jumped on and off from tractors on the way to the city, I fell down from these kind of transportation several times, once breaking the ankle and had to recuperate for a few months at home, I was not deterred." For this reason, Wen Zhu was punished and scolded by his father.

Later Wen Zhu attended a middle school in the county seat. The classmates around him were no longer his equal opponents, and in order to get more serious practice, he began to play with others on the street, whereby the losers had to pay a few cents.

"I definitely lost, but if in this way I improved my game, I can consider as if just paying for my Xiangqi tuition." Wen Zhu said with a smile.

Once, Wen Zhu read in a chess magazine that there was a large tournament to be held in Leshan, of Sichuan Province. In order to see the Xiangqi masters in real person, he took some money from home and got on the train. The railway system at that time was still underdeveloped, Wen Zhu had to change trains a few times, there was traffic delay on the way too, and when he arrived in Leshan, it was already three days late, the tournament was all over already.

"The mood at that time was really indescribable, there was no other way, I could only come back home in great disappointment." When talking about this, Wen Zhu was quite emotional, even to this day. He sighed and took a sip of tea, then continued to talk about his past adventures.

Although he loved the game, his academic performance in school never fell behind, and after graduating from junior high school, he was admitted to the secondary school and successfully graduated, he then joined the Guangdong Armed Police Force.

During his three-year police career, Wen Zhu has been the champion of various Xiangqi competitions in the local force. He had not met any good opponent, in a way he felt a sort of total helplessness, nevertheless he continued to try to find stronger opposition.

Due to strict regulations, Wen Zhu rarely had the opportunity to step out of the force. Sometimes after dinner, he took two hours off in the name of meeting friends, and in fact, as soon as he got out, he went straight to his chess friends who were already gathered. After a few hours of play, it was the morning sunrise, the players dispersed one after the other. What awaited Wen Zhu was the boss's reprimand and the penalty. He was even almost expelled from the sercice.

"At that time, I dreamed of Xiangqi, just like everyone having WeChat now, and my love for the game was too deep, as if like someone intoxicated." Wen Zhu said.

"Individual contribution"

Since then, this "love" has not been lost or cleared away.

In 1993, at the age of 21, Wen Zhu was discharged from the service and later had participated in the Hunan Provincial Xiangqi Tournament, finishing in the top eight.

Due to the excellent results in various competitions and the fascination of the game itself, in 1993, Wen Zhu joined the Hunan Provincial Qi Yuan as a member and began to devote himself to the development of Xiangqi.

After 5 years of hard work, Hunan Xiangqi ushered in a milestone year in 1999. That year witnessed the birth of the "Godfather of Hunan Xiangqi".

At that time, the Xiangqi team in Hunan was not yet matured enough, and the outside world recognition was low. Wen Zhu wanted to hold a promotion event, but there was no sponsorship. With the enthusiasm of the game, Wen Zhu, who was working at Hunan TV Station at that time, took out more than 60,000 yuan of his own savings, organized the "Wenzhu Cup" Hunan Province Xiangqi Competition, bearing all the expenses for food and accomodation of the participants.

This was groundbreaking in the world of Xiangqi at that time.

Asked why, Wen Zhu said: "I just like the game, I don't care so much." ”

The tournament was a great success, giving hope for the development of Hunan Xiangqi. Wen Zhu began to serve as the vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Qi Yuan, trying to lead Hunan Xiangqi to a broader and brighter future.

That year, Wen Zhu hosted the "Wenzhu Cup" National Xiangqi Invitational Tournament, although the strength of the participating players were not of top-level, they were nonetheless good players from various provinces, and the biggest significance of this invitation tournament was that Hunan Xiangqi started really to emerge from the ground upward. The best thing was people had the idea of learning from the experience of other advanced provinces and joining hands with the whole country.

From 1999 to 2001, Wenzhu personally funded three consecutive Hunan Provincial Xiangqi Tournaments.

"At that time, I was eager to hope that the Hunan Xiangqi team could embark on the road of professionalism." Wen Zhu, sitting in the chair, comfortably, talked about his dream back then, his voice couldn't help but raised a few degrees higher, he was still full of enthusiasm for the game like in the past.

Since then, he has also successfully held other tournaments such as the 2001 Nanyue Seven Chess King Quickplay, the 2002 "De Tailong Cup" Xiangqi Rookie Invitational Tournament, and the 2003 "Xiang An Cup" Xiangqi Master Invitational Tournament. At the same time, at the 2002 National Sports Game, Wen Zhu led the young Jiang Chuan and Xie Yejian winning two bronze medals in the Team and also in the Individual competitions.

As a result, Hunan Xiangqi began to emerge among the equal in the country.

In 2004, the first professional Xiangqi team in Hunan was established under the leadership of Wen Zhu, and participated in the National Xiangqi Second Division League.

What shocked the Xiangqi world was that the Hunan team, which made its debut in the national arena, successfully qualified for promotion to the 2005 National Xiangqi League A Division, and the dream of establishing a professional Hunan Xiangqi team was at last realized.

During this period, the Hunan Provincial Qi Yuan was also successfully created. Wen Zhu recruited a group of outstanding young players for systematic training, and since then, many well known Xiangqi players have emerged from there.

"Nurturing Human Resources"

Jiang Chuan, who won the National Individual Championship and the World Championship, is one of the players once trained by Wen Zhu.

In 2002, Jiang Chuan was only 18 years old, an unknown player at that time, through recommendation, Jiang Chuan had met Wen Zhu, without hesitation, the latter agreed for Jiang Chuan to represent Hunan professional team in the competition.

Years later, Jiang Chuan recalled: "He saw that I didn't say much, so he agreed to give me a precious opportunity to compete. ”

Why trust a fledgling young player so much? Wen Zhu said: "I saw that this young man was very smart, had a good sense of the game, and felt that he could be well trained. ”

As it turned out, Wen Zhu's feeling was right. With excellent results in the professional competition winning honours for Hunan, Jiang Chuan afterwards successfully joined the Beijing Xiangqi team in 2003 for further advance and more success.

"One of the great impressions of knowing Wen Zhu over the years is that he is really very good to the players, especially amateur and young players, he is willing to give unknown players the opportunity to become famous, and he also has keen eyes to spot players of talents. Teacher Wen Zhu also maintained that all competitions hosted under his name must provide free food and accommodation to all participants, which I have enjoyed a long time ago." Jiang Chuan said frankly.

In addition, other well known Xiangqi masters such as Sun Haoyu, Cheng Jinchao, Meng Chen, Lu Weitao, etc. have also been trained and led by Wen Zhu, as well as players such as Xie Yejian and Zhang Shenhong.

"It has always been my ideal to train more outstanding talented players and help the Hunan Xiangqi team develop and grow." After a pause, Wen Zhu with a sigh, added that unfortunately, due to many factors such as the environment and traditional background etc. of Hunan Xiangqi, the many talents carefully trained and cultivated are frequently lost to the outside provinces.

"As long as they become talented players, isn't it a good thing?" said Wen Zhu philosophically.

Today, Wen Zhu has his own business, and in addition to his busy work, he still devotes a lot of time to promoting Xiangqi.

The building with a plaque engraved with the words "Hunan Xiangqi Team Training Centre" often welcomes retired staff or young Xiangqi enthusiasts, and Wen Zhu is always willing to have a game and to talk to them.

"When I play Xiangqi, my mood is much better, I can calm down and think better as well, and the things in Xiangqi seem to have more taste and appeal than things in life." Wen Zhu continued, "A move may looks so simple, yet there are dozens or hundreds of variations to ponder and make a right choice, avoiding grave mistakes as much as possible. Things that you like will always allow you to use fully your brain power to think, to decide, and to enjoy. ”

Wen Zhu thus said, fiddling with the chess pieces on the table, the spring rain outside the window did not stop, and the sound of rain water mixed with the sound of chess pieces lightly hitting the chessboard, produced a sort of appealing summer melody.

"In the second half of this year, I am planning to hold a top tournament in the country, and the plan is still in the pipeline." Wen Zhu said, after a long pause.

As for the funds, Wen Zhu said: "The complex is here, it doesn't matter if one provided some money oneself." Since 1999, for the Hunan Xiangqi professional team, and for the holding of various Xiangqi tournaments every year, I have funded at least the sum of several millions yuan. Some people who engaged in the games will play their own economic calculations to some extent, and I may be like the philanthropist hero Lei Feng（雷锋）in this regard。Really what kind of economic account can I be calculated in my hobby? No way, I am just taking it as a fund for the public welfare!"

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Source : 蝴蝶飞的博客
(2017-3-16)

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

李来群仗剑远走天涯

(Ed. Li Laiqun was born in 1959, crowned Individual Champion in 1982, 1984, 1987, 1991. He was sometimes known as "Star of Multiple Wisdoms".)

李来群特大仗剑走天涯

Li Laiqun : "Playing Xiangqi made me feel like a swordsman (剑客), my life was full of act of chivalry."

"I am 58 years old, and now I still regard myself as a 28-year-old young man, playing Xiangqi, I have benefited a lot, my life is full of heroic act of chivalry."

On June 18, on the occasion of the Grandmaster Jiang Chuan's Xiangqi Blind Exhibition Guinness World Record Challenge, the many distinguished Xiangqi guests held a round-table forum, and the renowned veteran Xiangqi Champion Li Laiqun took to the floor and gave an interesting talk.

Grandmaster Li Laiqun recalled that when he started learning to play, there was a good old man from the neighborhood kindly teached him. In those days, he played the game after his school, not very openly, anyway the old man gave him odds of 2 Knights to start with, gradually Li's level of play improved. At the end of 1974, Li Laiqun participated in the Handan City Staff Xiangqi Competition, at that time he was still a student, and asked his father permission playing. He had high hope, was active and adventurous, he also played football and took part in other activities. Playing Xiangqi has had a profound impact on him, Li said, and later pointed out that all honours and achievements to this day have been brought by Xiangqi playing.

He said, now that he thinks about it, by learning to play the game, he learned many truths in life, from a teenager developing into a player, then into an inspired young man, on the way he won the Handan tournament a year later, after that he participated in the provincial tournament year after, in the meantime, the Hebei Provincial authority decided it was right time to build a professional Xiangqi team.

Over the years, Xiangqi has always inspired him, and he never let it down, Li said.

"My teacher one day had asked me, what are your future goals?"

Li replied, "if I decide to play Xiangqi, I have to aim to win the national championship".

It was a self-motivation deep from Li's heart. At that time, many people did believe in him, but there were also people who mocked him. He remembered it clearly, even now, the realization that if one believes and decides in doing anything worthy of doing, then let it be done without hesitation.

Back then, when he studied the Xiangqi scores of Grandmasters Yang Guanlin and Hu Ronghua, he considered them to be his long distance teacher. They inspired him. Later on Li himself in turn wrote lots of Xiangqi scores and books, and Xiangqi inspired him all his life, and that was for more than forty years.

Li said, "After 1990's, I gradually faded out of the chess scene, and some people said that I made money by going out of Xiangqi and becoming an entrepreneur. I don't think it's important what you do, the key is that the career you choose is what you like, it is a lifelong responsibility as well."

He had set up small scale enterprises, had sponsored chess team, organized competitions, and had sponsored a big tournament with the highest prize money ever offered.

Li added, "In my life of Xiangqi playing, I felt like a (medieval) swordsman, there was a certain heroic and chivalry atmosphere, I have always regarded myself as a warrior without fear, now 58 years old, and I still see myself as a 28-year-old young man."

Li added, "Playing Xiangqi brings happiness in my life, and I am also the biggest beneficiary."

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Source : Xiangqi World 2017-06-19

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

澳门公园街巷象棋热

Macao's Xiangqi in recent years

Xiangqi has long been one of the popular cultural pursuits, attracting countless enthusiasts with its unique charm. In modern times, the game has developed in many other countries and across continents. Macao has hosted some large-scale tournaments, thus building bridges and links to Southeast Asia and the world.

From the colonial era to nowadays Macao Special Administrative Region, the game has maintained its attraction, produced a number of high calibre players. Among them the "Macao Qiwang" (chess king) Li Jinhuan was quite remarkable. In 2005 during the World Xiangqi Championship in Paris he single-handedly defeated China's Grandmasters Lu Qin and Liu Dianzhong, and Taipei's Wu Guilin, winning 2nd place ahead of many top world players.

Macao is a small city having deep European and Chinese influences, an area about 30 square kilometers with a population around 500,000. Though well known as a gambling city, not many residents are addicted to gambling itself. On the contrary, large number of residents like to play Xiangqi, but due to crowded environment, people are rarely invited to play at home. With folding tables and chairs, the narrow streets and alleys are the ideal playing grounds, a unique local scene in the old streets area. The city authority also built leisure centres, putting up stone tables and benches for residents to enjoy.

The few small public parks have become a paradise for Xiangqi lovers, the little triangular garden located at the junction of Taishan, Yuhan and Heisha Bay is always crowded with players, very often dozens of games are played all at the same time. The renowned Li Jinhuan played there, reputedly giving odds of 2 Knights to all comers. The first time I (the artice writer) played against Li Jinhuan in the park, I only asked to play first move, and I lost after an hour of play. Macao's other top players Liu Yongde and Xu Baokun often play in the park too, basically unbeaten. These players rarely cross the boundary to challenge one another, thus keeping good and friendly relationship.

In addition to Macao parks and streets and alleys, there are also clubs opened to Xiangqi enthusiasts, these clubs charged a cheap entrance fee for playing, the owners of these clubs are all people known in the chess circle. Masters and top players often come in the clubs, so people are more attracted to play.

As a community of associations, all organizations have to be registered before they can conduct various activities. The government allocates funds for activities that benefit residents. Macao Xiangqi Federation spares no effort to give local players more opportunity for practice. At present, the main events held every year are the Macao Xiangqi Individual Open, the Team Open, the Individual Quickplay Open and the Youth Tournament.

The Individual Open is held in March, which is the most important tournament in Macao, and players can use the event to determine their own ranking, the Xiangqi Federation uses the results of the event to decide the candidate players for the year's external tournaments.

The Team Open is held in April, which is an important event for teams and clubs to fight for prestige and reputation, it is usually a good time to recruit players to play for the teams. Those with a certain degree of ability are much in demand, they are deeply appreciated for their contribution.

The Quickplay Open was added in recent years, often held in May, with the aim of allowing players to be fluent with the fast chess format increasingly seen at home and abroad. The Youth Tournament is often held in June or July, a very important competition for young players as first step into the Xiangqi world.

In recent years, the Macao Xiangqi Federation has hosted the 7th and 10th World Xiangqi Championships, the Asian Indoor Games Xiangqi Tournament, and will host the 15th Asian Cup Xiangqi Tournament at the end of this year 2011.

The Macao Xiangqi Federation attaches great importance to external competitions, which are opportunities for local players to learn and get more practical experience. In addition to annual domestic team and individual competitions, there is also the Hong Kong-Macao Cup tournament.

The players themselves welcome all the activities, they really wanted to show off their ability. However, as we know local players are all amateur, they have their own jobs proper, their playing opportunities often restricted, the Xiangqi Federation does not have much additional fund to support for the players' days of lost earning, it can only select people who are free at the time, so that for the external competitions representatives are often not ideally of first-line players.

In order to discover and train new good players, the Macao Xiangqi Federation has been holding teaching classes all year round, conducted by Grandmaster Li Jinhuan and other top players, they also teach at some special interest classes set up by the government, the training courses are all free. However, interest classes often need to be allocated by lottery draws because of the large number of applicants, those assigned to the Xiangqi classes do not necessarily like Xiangqi, the schools themselves may lack staff resources or maybe interested in other topics, in the end not too many schools take up the Xiangqi.

All this has put further pressure to the younger generation. However once a good seedling is selected, the Xiangqi Federation will dare to throw money into training, including organizing exchange competitions in Guangdong towns and cities during the summer vacation, and inviting Grandmasters to come to give lectures in Macao. Nowadays the rapidly rising young players Chen Zhaorong, Li Henghong, Wen Xunlan are typical local figures, Chen Zhaorong has played in the Asian Xiangqi Tournament and the World Mind Sport Games, achieving acceptable results for Macao.

In addition to the competitions organized by the Xiangqi Federation, various clubs and neighborhood associations also organized competitions from time to time, for example the Federation of Trade Unions holds the "Unity Cup" competition every year, attracting many masters to participate and has become the main event for players to gain practical experience. Other organizations and clubs also hold competitions every year, the "Street Champion Cup" tournament attracted many grass roots players.

Since the 90s, outstanding players include Leung Wai Hong, Liang Bo, Xu Baokun, Chen Tianwen, Liu Yongde, Chen Yijun, Li Jinhuan, Guo Yulong, Yu Jinyan and many others, and after 2000, we have Zheng Bairong, Du Guangwei, Liang Shaowen, Huang Shichao, Chen Zhaorong, Li Henghong and more, among them Li Jinhuan has been invincible in Macao from 90s to 2000s, winning at least ten championships, he was generally acknowledged to be the "Macao Qiwang".

In view of the fact that the overall level of Macao Xiangqi has not made a breakthrough, this year (2011) Macao has obtained the service of Cao Yanlei, a young Xiangqi master from Guangdong, many people believe that the Macao Xiangqi team will be greatly strengthened, no longer to be considered as easy and weak in the eyes of the top players in the competition.

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Source : 中体象棋网

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

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中法棋艺交流在巴黎

(Ed. A story by the former women's world chess champion Ms Xie Jun about her visit to France in mid October 2003, when she was participating in the Franco-Chinese chess exhibitions as part of a cultural exchange. There and then, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua became her Xiangqi teacher. The article sheds light on some aspects of Chess, Xiangqi and Weiqi (Go)'s relationship.)

Cultural Exchange in Paris

by Xie Jun

Our 8-members all stars chess delegation visited France from 11-18th October 2003 to take part in Franco-Chinese cultural exchange activities. The delegation was led by Mr. Pei Jiarong, Secretary of the Chess Academy（棋院）, with top players of Xiangqi, Weiqi (Go) and Chess included.

Three different kind of games performing on the same stage at the same time was rare, it was ground breaking and has never attempted before. If you ask me what I gained most from participating in the friendly exchange activities during my stay in France, I would say that I had found a renown and respected Xiangqi coach to teach me.

A once-in-a-lifetime visit to a famous teacher

My Xiangqi coach is extremely well-known. The game of Xiangqi has been the art handed down from generation to generation, and yet how do I still need to travel to far away France to find a foreign coach to learn Xiangqi? Forget it, don't hang everyone's appetite, my new coach for the game of Xiangqi is no other than the great and amazing Grandmaster Hu Ronghua in person.

I guess when my friends at home seeing this, they will definitely say that is not possible, Mr. Hu Ronghua a player of Xiangqi to teach Ms Xie Jun Chess? Is it possible that Ms Xie Jun is tired of playing Chess, and now she wanted to change her career to Xiangqi halfway? In reality, no matter what kind of chess we play, the truth of chess playing remains the same. Often, when our chess technique and skill reaches a certain level, the player's understanding of the game is key to victory or defeat, as a proverb pointed out the essence and secret is outside of the game itself. Therefore, for a Grandmaster like Hu Ronghua, his knowledge and understanding of Xiangqi is an inexhaustible wealth, of great benefit for younger players.

In 1960 Hu Ronghua won his 1st National Xiangqi Championship at the tender age of 15, and 40 years later, he won his 14th National Xiangqi Championship in 2000. He holds the record of being the youngest champion, the oldest champion and the highest number of national championships won, so Grandmaster Hu Ronghua is definitely the most legendary player in China, and his brilliant career is a miracle in itself. When he swept through and beat his rival and opponents with brilliancy, his friends and admirers called him "Commander Hu". Nowadays he is still active on the front line aged 58, so Grandmaster Hu Ronghua has got added the title of being called an "Immortal Bird".

Since I started to play Chess, I have heard about Grandmaster Hu Ronghua's name very often, however, because the Xiangqi and Chess competitions were rarely held at the same time in the same venue together, I have not had much direct contacts with Grandmaster Hu Ronghua himself over the years. In addition to a few brief encounters at some large-scale events, the longest time we gathered together was in the festival of the 10 outstanding chess players during the 50th national anniversary in 1999. Now, to have the guidance and help of a Grandmaster of this level is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.

He remembers he met me twenty years ago

However, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua said that he had mentored me at the Beijing Chess Academy as early as the 80's in the last century, and he still remembers what I looked like at that time. Hey, this is all complaining about my bad memory, throwing such a valuable experience out of cloud nine, more than 20 years ago I was an 11-12-year-old little hairy girl (毛孩), I didn't remember what was of anything.

Because many Chess players are migrated from Xiangqi, hence I am not the only admirer of Grandmaster Hu Ronghua in our delegation. I remember when our Chess team visited Europe a few years ago, I saw my "full-time" coach Grandmaster Ye Jiangchuan holding a copy of Mr. Hu Ronghua's Xiangqi score sheet all day long during his leisure time, trying to think about and deeply concentrating. I have never seen Grandmaster Ye Jiangchuan admired anyone, even facing world Chess legend Grandmaster Kasparov, Mr. Ye Jiangchuan still went on to evaluate and analyze with an objective attitude.

However, it was different towards Mr. Hu Ronghua's chess score, and while looking at it, he would murmur : "Master, really a master, he simply understands everything in Xiangqi." Seeing that my coach was so respectful to Mr. Hu Ronghua's Xiangqi scores, I piled up a little more of admiration to "Commander Hu". This time we are together in France, I am not going to miss the good opportunity, I humbly asked Mr. Hu Ronghua to be my Xiangqi teacher coach.

Cameo performances are fun

Although the delegation's visit to Paris lasted only a short week, the daily schedule during that time was very full and the event was completely covered by the local newspapers. Exhibition matches large and small took place almost every day. Once, in order to seize the time to let the local fans and friends practice more, the Chaozhou Guild Hall, which was responsible for receiving the delegation, even set up the challenge venue in a Chinese restaurant. The enthusiasm of overseas compatriots and the degree of obsession of chess fans and friends was really very touching.

Maybe because local fans and friends want to win against the grandmasters over the board, they care about winning or losing a game quite seriously. Although these fans and friends have an objective evaluation of their own strength, in any case, the reality of repeated defeats no doubt made them feeling strange and not happy in their hearts. Thus, as hinted by my Xiangqi coach Grandmaster Hu Ronghua, and as a sort of little encouragement, our delegation launched a "cameo performance" of chess players in a timely manner, which means that when we played in exhibition with local chess fans and friends, we did not use our own professional projects, but play another discipline of game of chess.

However, don't underestimate the chess skills of these masters in the "other side of the business", Grandmaster Hu Ronghua's Weiqi at least belongs to the level of professional dan players, and coach Ye Jiangchuan's Xiangqi was excellent since he had participated in national competitions. Only me, who once won the Beijing Children's Xiangqi Championship when I was 10 years old, is not strong enough anymore, but I can still give a good game on the chessboard, which is in line with the "market demand" and is most suitable for friendlies. Although everybody's level is purely amateurish, almost all games got into the stage of both sides going back and forth, the games became more interesting, tasteful, the results of a draws also made people happy and satisfied.

Teaching by example has benefited a lot

Although our time in Paris was just one short week, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua "coached me seriously and strictly", which made me benefit greatly. For example, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua repeatedly emphasized that players should always evaluate correctly their position in actual situation, so as to maintain a normal state of mind and a clear visualization. When it comes to how players can maintain a first class competitive mood, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua's views are very inspiring to me. His experience is that players cannot blindly stay or remain in the "illusion" of their heyday glory when playing. A qualified player must not only face the practical difficulties brought about by the increasing of age, but also must constantly challenge themself and maintain a high fighting spirit and a determined desire to win. No matter what stage you are, players have to put themselves in a state of openness to continuous learning, and when you have the desire to constantly improve your skill level and the ability to improve, you will be a fighter on the board regardless of age. Grandmaster Hu Ronghua also gave an example in life, half-jokingly, saying that he was most afraid of going to some elementary schools to participate in chess activities, because the children called everyone grown up by saying "Grandpa Hu is good". This made him really older and instantly soft in heart.

Whether it were the days in the past or the days spent in Paris, whether he was happy or troubled, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua was always in rather care free mode, laughing and scolding as the world goes by, and it was difficult for outsiders to see the true feeling of his inner world from his poker face. As a battle-hardened player, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua has had experienced by himself too many victories and defeats, defeats and victories, what is valuable is that he can always maintain a peaceful and tranquil attitude both in mind and in action.

In 2002, Ms Xie Jun had just started to take up the leadership of the Beijing Qi Yuan, so she had many opportunities to consulting with Mr. Hu Ronghua, who had been president of the Shanghai Qi Yuan for many years, in terms of administrative management. From the daily routine of a manager to how to improve the training quality and competitive performance of the players, from strengthening the professional ability of staff to mobilizing the enthusiasm of everyone in the organization, Grandmaster Hu Ronghua gave me a lot of guidance and precious advice of his valuable experience.

The leading character of the lively atmosphere

Since the main task of the trip to Paris was to carry out friendly cultural exchange, our delegation also has a lot of partying and entertainment activities. When Grandmaster Hu Ronghua became my Xiangqi coach, every day at the table, lunch or evening meal, I firmly occupied the position on the left-hand side of my teacher, and Mr. Hua Yigang, secretary general of the Weiqi Association, sat on the right-hand side of GM Hu Ronghua, calling him "master brother". Every time the two of them sat at the dinner table they were definitely the leading performers of the gathering, enlivened the atmosphere as soon as one of them start to talk, the dinner table became alive, they were a pair of old urchins really. If all their jokes and wise-cracks were compiled, that would be a formidable "Paris Quotations".

Coach Hua Yigang is known as the "king of stories" in the Weiqi circle, and encouraging him talking about something is like listening to a direct commentary, and from time to time Grandmaster Hu Ronghua beat the side drum, and with Mr. Hua Yigang as partner, the two of them can always make everyone laugh when they got into singing and pretending to work out a reconciliation. Once everyone was happy, and the two leaders drank a few more glasses, it so happened that Mr. Hua had to perform a one-legged squat demonstration to prove that his drinking was under control. At that time, no one could believe Mr. Hua's words, not to mention that he was "drunk" under the influence of a few bottles of wine, as even in normal circumstances it was difficult for Mr. Hua to complete such difficult movements as squatting on one leg. But incredibly, after doing a warm-up exercise in the "imitation model", Mr. Hua actually easily squatted down with only one leg, and all of a sudden, everyone was amazed and applauded.

It seems that each of these older generation chess players has a lot of unique skills, and next time I have to find an opportunity to humbly ask Mr. Hua also to accept me as his student.

A small regret

If I have any regret with my Xiangqi coach, it is that Grandmaster Hu Ronghua said that because I came to him already having some good skill, I can only be counted as his named disciple but not to be included in the ranks of those official acceptance. Hey, then I don't have the good grace of being his closed disciple. As I much admired the "overseas" coach in Paris, I counted myself very fortunate to be taught by Grandmaster Hu Ronghua, I should not be too worried about what disciple name I am given or be known.

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Source : Hebei Xiangqi Website

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

瑞典夺欧歌大赛冠军

五月十三日的欧洲歌唱大赛总决赛，共26队参加，过程激烈，引人入胜，经过裁判组及观众组的投票，瑞典夺得2023年大赛冠军：

1.  瑞典      583
2.  芬兰      526
3.  以色列    362 
4.  意大利    350
5.  挪威      268
6.  乌克兰    243
7.  比利时    182
8.  爱沙尼亚  168
9.  澳大利亚  151
10. 捷克      129
11. 立陶宛    127
12. 塞浦路斯  126
13. 克罗地亚  123
14. 亚美尼亚  122
15. 奥地利    120
16. 法国      104
17. 西班牙    100
18. 摩尔多瓦   96
19. 波兰       93
20. 瑞士       92
21. 斯洛文尼亚  78
22. 阿尔巴尼亚  76
23. 葡萄牙      59         
24. 塞尔维亚    30
25. 英国        24
26. 德国        18

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Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest last night after a dramatic jury and audience votes :

1. Sweden 583  
2. Finland 526
3. Israel 362 
4. Italy 350
5. Norway 268
6. Ukraine 243
7. Belgium 182
8. Estonia 168
9. Australia 151
10. Czechia 129
11. Lithuania 127
12. Cyprus 126
13. Croatia 123
14. Armenia 122
15. Austria 120
16. France 104
17. Spain 100
18. Moldova 96
19. Poland 93
20. Switzerland 92
21. Slovenia 78
22. Albania 76
23. Portugal 59         
24. Serbia 30
25. United Kingdom 24
26. Germany 18

第67届欧洲歌唱大赛

第67届欧洲歌唱大赛决赛将于明日星期六（五月十三日）在英国利物浦举行。BBC One 及 iPLayer 将首次进行现场直播。

有37个国家参加了半决赛，争取20个入选席位。半决赛分两组，已于五月九日及十一日圆满举行。

自动入选的六国为英国、法国、西班牙、德国、意大利及去年冠军乌克兰。

以下是全部参加明日歌唱大赛决赛入围名单, 号码顺序根据抽签 ：

1.  奥地利	
2.  葡萄牙
3.  瑞士	
4.  波兰	
5.  塞尔维亚
6.  法国	
7.  塞浦路斯	
8.  西班牙	
9.  瑞典	
10. 阿尔巴尼亚	 
11. 意大利	
12. 爱沙尼亚	
13. 芬兰	
14. 捷克共和国	
15. 澳大利亚	
16. 比利时	
17. 亚美尼亚	
18. 摩尔多瓦	
19. 乌克兰	
20. 挪威	
21. 德国	
22. 立陶宛	
23. 以色列	
24. 斯洛文尼亚	
25. 克罗地亚	
26. 英国

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Eurovision Song Contest 2023

The grand final of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest will be held tomorrow Saturday (May 13) in Liverpool, England. BBC One and iPLayer will broadcast live for the first time.

37 countries participated in the semi-finals, seeking 20 selected places. The semi-finals, divided into two groups, were successfully held on Tuesday of May 9th and Thursday of May 11th respectively.

6 countries are automatically entered for the final, they are UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and last year's champion Ukraine.

Here is a list of all the finalists who are going to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest tomorrow :

1.  Austria	
2.  Portugal
3.  Switzerland	
4.  Poland	
5.  Serbia
6.  France	
7.  Cyprus	
8.  Spain	
9.  Sweden	
10. Albania	
11. Italy	
12. Estonia	
13. Finland	
14. Czech Republic	
15. Australia	
16. Belgium	
17. Armenia	
18. Moldova	
19. Ukraine	
20. Norway	
21. Germany	
22. Lithuania	
23. Israel	
24. Slovenia	
25. Croatia	
26. United Kingdom

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Mauritius first in Best Nature Destinations

Mauritius was named to TripAdvisor's 2023 Travellers' Choice list

TripAdvisor, one of the top travel and booking platforms, has announced its Travellers' Choice Awards list of the world's best destinations. Mauritius was ranked first on the Best Nature Destinations list and third on the Popular Destinations list.

The list is based on the ratings, number and content of hotels, restaurants, attractions, booking data etc. of the past 12 months, reflecting the popularity of major travel destinations around the world. The Travelers' Choice Grand Prize is TripAdvisor's highest honor and is awarded annually to the top 1-% of destinations in a given category.

Port Louis, the modern capital of Mauritius, is a bustling port with a vibrant seaside and busy markets. Most tourists are attracted to resorts such as Mont Choisy, popular with divers, the quiet Trou-aux-Biches and the more bustling Flic en Flac. The Rivière Noire is ideal for experiencing deep-sea fishing.

Being able to get close with marine life is one of the main reasons why Mauritius topped the list of natural destinations in the world. With its natural convenience, from whale watching to swimming with dolphins, at the same time these animals are being protected by law from being driven out or disturbed, allowing them to swim past swimmers without fear. In addition to the sea and its famous beaches, Mauritius is also blessed with mountains and valleys, streams and waterfalls. These natural advantages make Mauritius the best travel destination for a wide range of outdoor activities.

The multiculture of Mauritius also attracts tourists from all over the world. Different cultures complement each other in the land, forming a unique color belonging to the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean". During the festivals of different cultural backgrounds, visitors can join the enthusiastic Mauritians in the celebrations, taste traditional cuisine and experience the vitality and charm of various communities. The blend of cultures allows visitors to enjoy a rich and unique and memorable travel experience.

The Tourism Agency is carrying out a global promotion under the theme "Feel our Island Energy", from the humble perspective of the ordinary residents, inviting visitors to come and visit the island. The publication of the TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice list is undoubtedly a recognition of the tourism resources of Mauritius. The vibrant Mauritius will also make every visitor feels at home with greater and warmer friendly enthusiasm.

Source : Tencent Website

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

On Chess and Study

The perfect combination of chess and school learning

Ding Liren（丁立人）was born into a middle-class family, his father was an executive in the energy sector, his mother in a nursing profession. Life was fairly comfortable, they have time and motivation to pursue their hobbies and things they wanted to. Ding's development as a chess player was step by step, during which his parents did not need making too great a sacrifice to help their child learn chess, unlike many families at that time, nor had they narrowed their child's future to just playing chess only. They gave support and guidance to their young child when it was needed and always at the right moment.

Previously, generations of players who earned their living have had one option only, that if they want to succeed in the game, to give up normal school life early on to just concentrate on their chess. Most of them had not experienced life in junior high school or high school, which is quite regrettable. At the same time, many of them when leaving their homes early on to study chess in far away places, without their parents by their side, facing a lot of pressure in training, in never ending competitions, added to these they also had to endure isolation and great psychological hardship.

This is where Ding Liren and many other children who will be engaged in a chess career are lucky nowadays, they can learn step by step at home like other ordinary students, and pursue chess projects that they are passionate about, which was almost unimaginable before. In the next few lines, Ding Liren is to talk about some of his experiences in chess study and normal school learning, hoping that other children and parents can draw some helpful conclusion.

How often Ding study chess and how much opportunities to participate in chess as a child

When Ding Liren was a child, he learned chess like most children, basically attending special classes three times a week, on Saturdays and Sundays from 2p.m. to 5p.m., and on Wednesday evenings. The content of the class were generally that the teacher first gave lectures, and then arranged game-playing exercises, each side has a time limit of about one hour, and immediate reviews of the game after playing, and finally they got 3 to 4 tactical exercises to solve for their homework.

At that time, the main competition that the children could be participating in was the Li Chengzhi Cup, plus some other local children's competitions in Wenzhou. In the third grade, because of his excellent performance in the competition, Ding was admitted to the Zhejiang Provincial Team for advanced training. However, during the first six months of the year, only chess training were given, with nothing like cultural lessons taught, and when Ding's mother went to visit him, she was of the opinion that this was not an ideal situation, and promptly decided to bring her child home to continue his normal schooling. From then on until 2009, when Ding won the national championship at the age of 17 and started his chess career path, he carried on attending schooling on weekdays, chess training on weekends, and more training with the provincial team before a competition.

Attending junior and high school was a much more severe test

During the junior high school, Ding pursued his chess study after finishing his school homework every day. By the second and third years of junior high school, the academic pressure was increasing more and more, Ding felt that playing chess was much easier than going to school. If he could choose by himself, he very much wanted to go for chess because that would avoid the heavy homework every day, and that he need not have to deal with frequent difficult tests and exams too. But Ding's mother stood firm and insisted he must finish his junior high school first.

After going to high school, Ding was getting more tiresome of studying, he had a full schedule every day, had to complete a lot of homework when he went home, thus he had very little time at his disposal. Unlike his friends in the provincial team, their training is not so strict and severe, and if they sleep a little late at night, they can still have free time at their disposal. At that time, it happened that the chess performance of Ding was always excellent, in Li Chengzhi Cup competition he can easily win a top three ranking with confidence. By comparision the junior and senior high school tests and exams are very stressful and sometimes can even cause a failure, so it was really not easy to choose school studying and to persist into it.

Although it was very difficult to play chess well and to study at the same time during the three years in junior high school, Ding was fortunate that due to his excellent performance in both schooling and chess, he was accepted to a leading high school. During the time at high school, in order to be able to carry on playing chess, the families of several outstanding young chess players in Wenzhou City got together and decided to set up a small "family club". The members met every weekend to play chess at an agreed location, usually they and the families having a meal together after a full day of game practice and analysis. Occasionally they held competition among themselves, with prizes and rewards prepared and offered by the parents for the young chess players, sometimes the prizes can be as high as 1,000 yuan, which is a great encouragement. After a year of perseverance, these young chess players have made good and great progress. Among them, Wang Chaoran successfully passed the entrance exam of Peking University Winter Training Camp, and Jia Haoxiang and others later became professional chess players and competed in the National League Category A.

The sweet and bitterness of playing chess

Ding Liren's early chess playing was smooth and did not encounter any difficulties. His secret was to be eager to play and be open in style whenever possible, his parents never put pressure on him, so he plays chess actively and never be afraid of facing his opponents. Winning the national championship in 2009 was one of Ding Liren's most satisfying achievements to date (6 wins and 5 draws in 11 high level games, in 4 of which there were spectacular piece sacrifices). Winning the national championship also laid the foundation for his career path advancement.

However, after participating in the First Division's League competition, the results were not satisfactory, mainly because he was a bit confused of his own strength standing. Facing opponents whom he was afraid of before, now the situation has changed where he has a thinking that he should be able to beat them, yet the result was a bitter loss, and he couldn't bear the huge gap psychologically and wanted to have a pause or even to escape chess. At that time, Ms Xu Yuhua was the coach of the Zhejiang team, and she suggested that Ding should stick to the game anyway, he should go out to do some exercises, and he should not back down because of fear or adversity. So Ding Liren summoned up the courage to play the last game for his team, but unfortunately it backfired and still ended in a defeat. Really no one in competitive sports is a victorious general all the time, and learning to face defeat is a compulsory course for chess players.

Ding Liren frankly said that the real cruelty and pain of playing chess can only be experienced after engaging in the profession. In the past, when he played chess while still learning at school, he didn't care so much, but now that playing chess is everything, it's not so easy to let go after defeat. In the face of losing, his solution was to come back to it and summarize and analyse the game, to accumulate more experience and then participate in the next games and to start all over again. When the mood is particularly sombre, look back on the previous wonderful matches, see how imposing and convincing you have won, and cheer yourself up.

At a critical point to choose playing chess or to go to school

Many middle school chess players face an important choice, that is, what situation is suitable for choosing a career playing chess, and for what kind of students to better choosing further study. Ding Liren believes that this was not so easy to define, as it is mainly based on their personal feelings and circumstances. He suggested that if they really like playing chess, they may consider choosing to play chess regardless of other things, because after all, professional chess players later can turn into excellent coaches and earn a good living. Of course, it is good also to choose to be at school for academic study, however, students with other pursuits and interests may also consider to follow their hearts and the family wishes. In Ding's opinion, learning and studying make people efficient and good at thinking, especially when learning and studying subjects like mathematics, physics etc, they will think of researching when they encounter problems, which is more or less similar to chess playing.

A little advice for young chess players

I've been playing chess since I was a kid, said Ding Liren, and I'm not very good at traps or anything underhand. If you much inclined to take the routine of speculative checking the opponent's King when you start learning chess, it is not very good. When I was young, I encountered professional chess players with a more systematic opening, and I kept playing the Lieji Defense (?) 1.Nf3 2.g3 in order to get out of the book. Until one day for the first time at Li Chengzhi Cup I began to play d4, and from then on I learned a lot about the opening of d4, I began to understand the opening system is something solid, which is a necessary condition for going further in the game's development. If you want to play chess well, there is no short cut, you still have to go right at the very beginning. There are many branches of the opening system. Choosing an unorthodox or untried opening (the left-hand side door in popular saying) from a small age, it will be of limited range of use in the future. By the way, before a game, one can do solving some tactical problems or puzzles, or playing some fast chess games online, all these can be helpful. It's like warming up for the mind, and for relax.

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Source : Sina Website, Authors: Chaoyue Chess Club

Dated: 10th October 2020

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

The ending of "棋艺" (Chess Art)

The Ending Of "棋艺" (Chess Art)

Since yesterday, the Xiangqi community has had a shocking news.

Founded in 1979, the "棋艺" (Chess Art) magazine will face a "suspension of publication" in July this year.

Suddenly in an abrupt way, a very sad farewell and departure.

Perhaps the traditional paper publications are now out of step with modern world after all.

With this year's sudden Covid epidemic, the butterfly effect has spread to all economic and social fields, a straw that kills the camel.

When I was in the fifth grade, there was a kiosk on the way to school that sold snacks and stationery, as well as various bulk magazines and publications. When most of my school friends were immersed in silly jokes, fantasy tales booklets and pirated comics, I had complete different interests, I can play Xiangqi, Pai Jiu, Mahjong, these were popular games among the middle-aged and elderly people, often I would search for "strategies" from publications to improve my competitive strength.

Parents and teachers feel "reliable and safe" about Xiangqi. Probably thinking that Xiangqi has some educational effect, they were willing to let their children to play the game. Mine tacitly allow me to mingle with the "uncles and elders" in the park's Xiangqi stall, I got little pocket money in order to buy Xiangqi publications.

I vaguely remember that "Chess Art" had endgame puzzle at the end of each issue - these endgames were simply hard to solve for me as a teenager. What kind of gods and people can solve these, I asked myself?

The manager mostly turned a blind eye when I took up a magazine, but seeing that I often crumpled the pages, he could not bear it anymore - after an exchange of words, we happily reached an agreement : when I read three or more magazines for free, I should pay at least for one.

The good times of our agreement did not last long, for about a year later, due to the expansion of the road construction, the kiosk was forced to relocate, and I lost the privilege of "free reading of chess magazines".

Because of our frequent house moving, the magazines that I once treasured at home has since scattered and disappeared from my life.

Many Xiangqi fans regard "Chess Art" as a timeless treasure and have a full collection. These chess magazines that grew up with them have finally become historic icons.

The end of "Chess Art" has saddened many Xiangqi fans. In an era of online technology, new move and new variant, within 24 hours, will quickly spread across the country. A certain "layout solution" given by advanced software and hardware will soon be shared on websites, such as Weibo and WeChat groups. It only takes a minute at most to search for the solution of Xiangqi puzzle, there is no need to wait for "Chess Art" to reveal the answer next month.

Just as more Xiangqi fans do not necessarily have to face each other, and the chess pieces need not be physically laid out in order to play a game, people across the world can play against each other simply by pointing the mouse or tapping the screen.

"Chess Art" may disappear, but the spirit and legacy have long been scattered everywhere, like a night sky full of glistening stars.

We said goodbye to "Chess Art", but we can't forget its enlightenment to beginners and masters alike. The advancement of Xiangqi knowledge has been engraved in our minds and condensed in every move we make.

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Source : 新浪体育

Dated : 2020年05月14日

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

Xiangqi story from my heart

（译而再读之，亦是一种乐趣。译文曾于2006年2月22日发表）

(It is nice sometimes to read again the older post, this one was dated Wednesday, February 22, 2006)

Xiangqi story from my heart

~ by Da Mian Mao ~

Before I was 8 years old, no one in my village had heard anything about Xiangqi. The villagers did play a sort of game using muddy ploughing fields as chessboard, stones as chess pieces, even then this primitive native game attracted a big crowd whenever it was played.

When I was 8 years old, suddenly the whole village was much attracted to the game of Xiangqi, it seemed that everyone was playing it, old and young.

One evening, Hu Yong, a young helping worker of my family asked my father whether he knew how to play Xiangqi, on hearing this, my father was tensed, and quite emotioned, as if drunk, it took him a moment to answer a single word: yes.

Later I realized that my father was a good player, when he was young, he had a job working as a county committee's secretary, and when he established his reputation in the Xiangqi circles, a player from the greater county committee contacted father and arranged to play a game.

That same evening, all the leading members of the county committee having heard the news came along to witness the battle, at the same time to have a chance of meeting the visitor, leader of the greater county committe.

Before the match, a county committe leader told my father, saying surely you will not win the game. The meaning of this was that hinting to my father, you must not win it. Maybe my father did not take what was said seriously, anyway the outcome of the match was my father won the game, and quite a convincing win, in such a way that the greater county committee leader felt very uneasy, as if he had lost his clothes in public.

The humiliated leader patted my father's shoulder, said to the host, comrade Xiao Huang is all right, worthy of nurturing. Since then my father's career went downhill, later downgraded to local comittee, and afterward, father resigned his post and retired, went back to his native village.

In the village there was another good player, an old colleague of my father. One day both of them played a game in the back garden, this quickly turned out to be a big event and attracted such an enormous crowd, after the game, everybody rushed forward surrounding both players just like they were two great movie stars, and I was trying to deal with the exciting situation, just as if I was my father's business agent or manager !

Since then, I was infatuated with Xiangqi, at the age of 12, I reached the strength that I seldom met equal opponent in the village. I played more often with my father, people in the village said I got the true style of my father, but I did not think I had it, my father used to play the Rook and Cannon well, with powerful attack in sweeping and wide open style, while I was swift and adventurous in playing my Knights. Naturally, I was still not equal to my father, I had yet to obtain a better position from him. I felt sometimes as if my arms were cut or tied, for my father never allowed me to take back a move.

At the age of 16, I left home to get my living, I travelled and worked in different places. One evening, my boss called me and we played a game in the office. While I was holding a chess piece, hovering it over the chessboard, the memory of my father playing a game with the committee leader came back to my mind, I hesitated slightly, and the boss won. He was very happy, he took a deep breath, laughed heartily. Yes, he had beaten a good player. Once again he had proved to himself his wisdom had succeeded in seeking the feeling of youth.

But for me, this way of playing the game was most unsatisfactory. I longed for the old days of carefree playing with my father. I keenly wanted to return back to my native village and sit down and play games with him.

I had left my village, in a blink of time, already 7 years. During this period, my father became older, bending a little, however, his attitude in life of never say die was still with him. When I arrived back at the village station, my father came to meet me, snatching my luggage, he said, son, have you made any progress in chess? I said, yes. Father laughed and said, I would not be scared by your progress, I am going to teach you a lesson and capture all your pieces on the chessboard.

Deep in my heart, I wanted to give my father a hard fighting game, however, I did not want to destroy my father's confidence and joy of the game, how can I ?

I lost my first game. Father said I was not concentrating enough on my game.

I lost again in my second game. Father took a puff of the smoke, and after a while, he said, son, your chess had progressed a lot. I said, no, I had not progressed as you may think, the old hand remained a better player than the new hand. Father said sombrely, my son, you have changed, you have learned to lie, you have learned to flatter, courting the world's favours. Finally, father sighed and said something with deep signification, he said, when you can win against someone, yet you lost it to the same one, this is disrespectful to yourself, this is toying with others, like a cat toying with a mouse. However, nowadays people like to be toyed, they do not like to be respected.

Since that day, father had not played another game with me again. We even avoided mentioning the word 'Xiangqi'. In our home, the chess set remained in its place, unmoved, covered with a layer of dust, a very thin layer of dust.

Source : Guangdong Xiangqi Website

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~

Rivalries Among Grandmasters

Grandmaster Wang Tianyi（王天一）, the leading Chinese Xiangqi player, had sometimes lamented rival Grandmaster Zheng Weitong（郑惟桐）of declining to share the point of an obvious drawn game, and to carry on playing a kind of chess grinding（磨）in the endgame stage. He also complained that Zheng Weitong liked to circling around him when he was playing in order to influence his play, further, he even accused Zheng Weitong of once carrying an electronic shielding device as if to prevent him from possible software cheating.

The writer (of the article) felt that Zheng Weitong's above-mentioned three practices seem to be of human nature. In the chess world, quite many players are used to the practice of grinding their opponents (to a halt) in a balanced and even endgame, this is understandable. Take for example Grandmaster Lu Qin（吕钦）, in the 2021 Fortuna Cup also did practice the grinding tactic against Grandmaster 'Siberian Tiger' Zhao Guorong（赵国荣）. In a simply balanced and drawing endgame, Lu Qin moved on and on, in the hope that Zhao Guorong may accidentally step into overtime, this was indeed bordering on unethical chess, since even when an amateur chess player was playing instead, Lu Qin cannot win in a theoretically drawn endgame.

Many chess fans laughed at Lu Qin for getting into the shoes of Zheng Weitong. Even with Grandmaster Xu Yinchuan（许银川）, who has a fairer style of Xiangqi playing, has worn down Grandmaster Meng Chen（孟辰）for more than a hundred moves in an equal and balanced endgame of two Knights versus two Knights, and won in the end by sort of brutal force, picking up a whole point when his opponent lost momentarily concentration. Not a fair and gentlemanly way of winning really.

And Wang Tianyi, though lamenting Zheng Weitong's grinding trickery, he himself grinded his senior Zhao Guorong in a theoretically drawn ending for more than a hundred moves in a 2019 1st Division League's game. It can be seen that grinding your opponents down is something that every chess player will do when opportunity arise, so there is no need to blame Zheng Weitong too much on this matter!

Source ：新浪网 作者 我说车你评论

~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~ 　

同舟共济 力战成和

Here is an interesting game between 2 players of the same UK team, Alain Dekker versus Peter Wood in 3rd round of the Paris World Xiangqi Championship 2005:

两名英国队棋手在2005年巴黎第九届世界象棋锦标赛第3轮相遇，迪克对比德乌，激战成和 ：

  
  Alain Dekker v Peter Wood

  1. 兵三进一  (P3+1) 
     马２进３  (N2+3)
  2. 炮二平四  (C2=4)
     炮８平６  (C8=6)
  3. 马二进三  (N2+3)
     马８进７  (N8+7)
  4. 车一平二  (R1=2)
     卒３进１  (P3+1)
  5. 马八进九  (N8+9)
     炮２进４  (C2+4)
  6. 兵五进一  (P5+1)
     炮６平５  (C6=5)
  7. 仕六进五  (G6+5)
     车９进１  (R9+1)
  8. 相七进五  (B7+5)
     车９平６  (R9=6)
  9. 车九平六  (R9=6)
     士４进５  (G4+5)
 10. 车六进四  (R6+4)
     车６进５  (R6+5)
 11. 炮八平七  (C8=7)
     车１平２  (R1=2)
 12. 炮七平八  (C7=8)
     车２平１  (R2=1)
 13. 炮八平七  (C8=7)
     炮２退２  (C2-2)
 14. 马三进二  (N3+2)
     车６退１  (R6-1)
 15. 马二进三  (N2+3)
     车６平５  (R6=5)
 16. 马三进五  (N3+5)
     车５平４  (R5=4)
 17. 马五进七  (N5+7)
     车４退４  (R4-4)
 18. 马七进九  (N7+9)
     炮２平１  (C2=1)
 19. 炮七进三  (C7+3)
     炮１退４  (C1-4)
 20. 炮四平三  (C4=3)
     炮１进２  (C1+2) 
 21. 车二进七  (R2+7)
     车４进１  (R4+1)
 22. 车二平三  (R2=3)
     车４平７  (R4=7)
 23. 炮三进五  (C3+5)
     炮１平７  (C1=7)
 24. 兵三进一  (P3+1)
     象３进５  (B3+5)
 25. 兵三进一  (P3+1) 
     (1/2 - 1/2)
    （和 棋）
     

  

      

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法国鼎力举办9届世锦赛

欧洲的第一次。2005年第9届世界象棋锦标赛，是由法国象棋总会独力承办。

据法国象棋总会理事长许松浩表示，锦标赛主要赞助人是会长黄秋鹏先生。

黄秋鹏热爱象棋，他并不是什么大富豪。工作之余，喜与各地棋手结交朋友。

2001年第7届世锦赛本来由法国象棋总会承办，因事推迟。2003年则因“非典”疫症再次推迟。4年后的预算高达30万欧元。

一诺千金，黄秋鹏个人承担25万欧元，比赛奖金3万欧元由世界象棋联合会主席霍震霆提供，另外的2万欧元由黄秋鹏的朋友赞助补上。

2005年7月31日，巴黎新世界中国城拉开第9届世界象棋锦标赛帷幕。来自世界19个国家和地区的26支代表队参加了比赛。

世界象棋联合会主席霍震霆参加了开幕式。

法国内政部长萨科奇发来了贺信，并向华人社群表示敬意。

为期一周的锦标赛吸引了中国的吕钦、澳门的李锦欢、中华台北的吴贵临等国际高手参战。

战罢7轮，冠军争夺更加白热化。中国队吕钦、刘殿中与越南队阮武军同积6分，齐头并进。

女子组第6轮，中国郭莉萍后手战胜澳大利亚常虹，越南吴兰香先手击败中华台北高懿屏。

吕钦于第3轮输给了李锦欢，说这激起了他‘一把火’，决心尽最大努力下好每一盘棋。

8月6日，第9届世界象棋锦标赛在巴黎隆重降下帷幕。

中国驻法大使赵进军出席了闭幕式。

世锦赛组委会主席、法国象棋总会会长黄秋鹏表示，象棋冲出亚洲，是国际化的一个开端。

第9届世界象棋锦标赛参赛选手人数及奖金为历届之最，领队及棋手膳宿全部免费，赛事竟争异常激烈，气氛友好和谐。战果如下 ：

团体赛 ：冠军中国，亚军越南，季军中华台北，殿军美东，第5名中国香港，第6名新加坡，第7名美西，第8名中国澳门。

男子个人赛 ：冠军吕钦，亚军李锦欢，季军阮武军，殿军刘殿中，第5名吴贵临，第6名李必炽，第7名郑亚生，第8名何荣耀，第9名赵汝权，第10名高维铉，第11名阮明昭，第12名赖汉顺，第13名纪中启，第14名鲁钟能，第15名黄俊铭，第16名吴震熙。

女子个人赛 ：冠军郭莉萍，亚军高懿屏，季军黄玉莹，殿军常虹，第5名吴兰香，第6名殷美娴。

非华裔男子组 ：冠军来自香港的邝伟德，亚军德国米歇尔·纳格勒，季军英国阿兰·迪克。

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First time happened in Europe. The 9th World Xiangqi Championship 2005 was organized by the French Xiangqi Association.

Led by Mr. Kim Laurent the president, Mr. Francis Corrigan the general secretary, Mr. Liang Yeqing the chief arbiter, they were the leading light of making Xiangqi more popular in Europe.

According to Mr. Xu Songhao, committee chairman of the French Xiangqi Association, the main sponsor of the tournament was Mr. Huang Qiupeng, the president.

Huang Qiupeng loved Xiangqi, he was not a big wealthy man. Outside of work, he enjoyed making friends with Xiangqi players from all over the world.

The 7th World Xiangqi Championship in 2001 was supposed to be hosted by the French Xiangqi Association, but was postponed for various reasons. In 2003, it was postponed again due to the SARS epidemic. Thus four years later, with rising cost, the budget reached as high as 300,000 euros.

True to his words, Huang Qiupeng personally contributed 250,000 euros, the tournament prize money of 30,000 euros was provided by Mr. Huo Zhenting, president of the World Xiangqi Federation, and the other 20,000 euros were sponsored by Huang Qiupeng's friends.

On July 31, 2005, the 9th World Xiangqi Championship was held in New World Chinatown, Paris. 26 teams from 19 countries and regions around the world participated in the competition.

The president of the World Xiangqi Federation, Huo Zhenting, attended the opening ceremony.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy sent a congratulatory letter and complimented the Chinese community.

The week-long tournament attracted international experts such as Lu Qin of China, Li Jinhuan of Macao and Wu Guilin of Chinese Taipei.

After 7 rounds of intense competition, the race for top honour got more exciting and more heated. China's Lu Qin, Liu Dianzhong and Vietnam's Nguyen Wu Jun respectively scored 6 points and went hand in hand.

In the sixth round of the women's group, China's Guo Liping defeated Australia's Chang Hong with the Black pieces, while Vietnam's Wu Lanxiang defeated Chinese Taipei Gao Yiping with the Red pieces.

On August 6, the 9th World Xiangqi Championship came to a grand conclusion in Paris.

Huang Qiupeng, chairman of the World Championship Organizing Committee and president of the French Xiangqi Association, pronounced that Xiangqi is going to be an important player on the world stage.

The 9th World Xiangqi Championship in France had the highest number of players participation and prize fund ever, free meals and accomodations for all team leaders and players, and the competition itself was fiercest, the atmosphere most friendly. The grand results are as follows:

Team Competition: Champion China, runner-up Vietnam, third runner-up Chinese Taipei, 4th US East, 5th Hong Kong, 6th Singapore, 7th US West, 8th Macao.

Men's Individual : Champion Lu Qin, runner-up Li Jinhuan, third runner-up Nguyen Wu Jun, 4th Liu Dianzhong, 5th Wu Guilin, 6th Li Biji, 7th Zheng Yasheng, 8th He Rongyao, 9th Zhao Ruquan, 10th Gao Weixuan, 11th Nguyen Minh Chao, 12th Lai Han Shun, 13th Ji Zhongqi, 14th Lu Zhongneng, 15th Huang Junming, 16th Wu Zhenxi.

Women's Individual : Champion Guo Liping, runner-up Gao Yiping, third runner-up Huang Yuying, 4th Chang Hong, 5th Wu Lanxiang, 6th Yin Meixian.

Non-Chinese Men's Category: Champion Kwong Weide from Hong Kong, runner-up Michel Nagler of Germany, and third place Alain Dekker of Great Britain.

　

练习象棋减肥

练习象棋减肥

有人曾经提到，练习象棋，是一项减肥的有效办法，信不信由你。

象棋是两个人在棋盘上进行智力较量的游戏。源远流长，千变万化。

开始时双方各16枚棋子 ：车、马、炮、兵、将、士、象，分7个棋种，走法各不同，如马行日，象行田，炮隔子打子等。

假如找不到和你走棋的人，自己也可以和自己走棋。只要把棋盘摆好，自己轮流自己走，左手和右手走！

这样走棋，脑力和体力消耗很大。下完一盘“自助棋”，会觉得脑子细胞不够用似的，而且饿得很，真是有趣的减肥方法。

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Practice Xiangqi to lose weight

Someone once mentioned that practicing Xiangqi is an effective way to lose weight, believe it or not.

Xiangqi is a game in which two people play an intellectual contest on a chessboard. It has a long history and the variations and combinations are ever-changing and limitless (almost).

At the beginning, there are 16 Xiangqi pieces on each side: 2 Rooks, 2 Knights, 2 Cannons, 5 Pawns, 1 General, 2 Advisors, 2 Bishops, divided into 7 types, with different moves, such as Knight moves in a form of rectangle, Bishop moves obliquely across the field, Cannon strikes overhead and so on.

If you can't find someone to play with you, you can play Xiangqi with yourself. Just lay out the board and take turns playing you against yourself, your left hand playing against your right hand!

Playing thus in this way, the use of mental and physical energy is very exerting and exhausting. After playing a game of "self-help chess", you will feel that the brain cells are critically burn out, and you are feeling very hungry too, which is really an interesting way to lose weight.

大洋洲与楚汉英雄隔空棋战

2022年1月23日，由澳大利亚与新西兰象棋好手组成的大洋洲队，挑战湖北省象棋冠军、棋王刘宗泽（刘师长) 领队的楚汉英雄会高手，在天天象棋网站展开隔空棋战。

双方同意走棋每局限时20分钟，每步限时3分钟，每走一步加10秒。

第一轮：楚汉英雄会，红棋先走：

1号台：湖北省象棋冠军、棋王刘宗泽 对 新西兰吴国华 （1-0）

2号台：陈秀轩 对 澳大利亚刘勤（1-0）

3号台：黄辉 对 澳大利亚申冠群（0-1）

4号台：屈海涛 对 澳大利亚阮日光（0-1）

5号台：许新平 对 澳大利亚阮陈杰（1-0）

6号台：许文强 对 澳大利亚杨恩（1-0）

7号台：陈鹏成 对 新西兰方文伟（0-1）

8号台：夏友生 对 新西兰周柏（0-1）

9号台：石教才 对 新西兰陈文伟（0-1）

10号台：田宇 对 新西兰钟敏（1-0）

第一轮双方成绩5胜5负，各取5分，打成平手。

第二轮：大洋洲队，红棋先走：

1号台：澳大利亚刘勤 对 湖北省象棋冠军、棋王刘宗泽（0-1）

2号台：新西兰吴国华 对 陈秀轩（1-0）

3号台：澳大利亚阮日光 对 黄辉（0-1）

4号台：澳大利亚申冠群 对 屈海涛（1-0）

5号台：新西兰钟敏 对 许新平（1-0）

6号台：新西兰陈文伟 对 许文强（1-0）

7号台：新西兰周柏 对 陈鹏成（0-1）

8号台：新西兰方文伟 对 夏友生（1-0）

9号台：澳大利亚杨恩 对 石教才（1-0）

10号台：澳大利亚阮陈杰 对 田宇（1/2 - 1/2）

第二轮总结成绩：大洋洲队6胜1和3负得6-1/2分，楚汉英雄会3胜1和6负得3-1/2分。

两轮20局总成绩：大洋洲队11胜1和8负得11-1/2分，楚汉英雄会8胜1和11负得8-1/2分.

大洋洲队胜出。

棋赛主办方希望以后能有更多机会，进行更多国际交流，促进象棋在世界发展，加强各国各地民众情谊。

合肥市3月全国象棋团体赛战绩

2023年3月21日到3月25日在安徽省合肥市举行的全国象棋团体赛，浙江队包揽男、女组冠军。

团体锦标赛有男子组28队，每队4名棋手。女子组19队，每队3名棋手，共169名棋手参赛。

经过5天激烈赛事，男女两组战果如下，第一到第八获奖队伍排名是：

男子组：冠军浙江、亚军四川、季军河北、殿军北京、第5上海、第6湖北、第7江苏、第8河南。

女子组：冠军浙江、亚军杭州、季军四川、殿军河北、第5广东、第6黑龙江、第7湖北、第8上海。

获奖男队棋手是：

浙江队：赵鑫鑫、黄竹风、徐崇峰、孙昕昊。

四川队：李少庚、赵攀伟、许文章、杨辉。

河北队：申鹏、陆伟韬、赵殿宇、孟繁睿、

北京队：蒋川、金波、王禹博、任刚

上海队：赵玮、华辰昊、蒋融冰、顾博文。

湖北队：洪智、汪洋、赵金成、俞易肖。

江苏队：徐超、程鸣、孙逸阳、吴魏。

河南队：武俊强、党斐、何文哲、宋炫毅。

获奖女队棋手是：

浙江队：吴可欣、唐思楠、杭宁。

杭州队：王文君、沈思凡、张玄弈。

四川队：梁婷婷、朗褀琪、周博靓。

河北队：张婷婷、刘钰、王子涵。

广东队：陈幸琳、时凤兰、赖坤琳。

黑龙江队：王琳娜、李丹阳、姜瑀。

湖北队：左文静、董波、汪元知。

上海队：董嘉琦、张佳雯、杨若诗。

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Hefei City of Anhui Province has recently held the 2023 National Xiangqi Team Championships. The tournament has 28 men's teams with 4 players in each team. The women's group consists of 19 teams, each team has 3 players, making a grand total of 169 players participating.

After 5 days of intense competition, the results of the two groups of men and women are as follows, the ranking of the first to eighth winning teams is:

Men's category: Champion Zhejiang, runner-up Sichuan, third runner-up Hebei, 4th Beijing, 5th Shanghai, 6th Hubei, 7th Jiangsu, 8th Henan.

Women's category: Champion Zhejiang, runner-up Hangzhou, third runner-up Sichuan, 4th Hebei, 5th Guangdong, 6th Heilongjiang, 7th Hubei, 8th Shanghai.

The winning men's players are:

Zhejiang team: Zhao Xinxin, Huang Zhufeng, Xu Chongfeng, Sun Xinhao.

Sichuan team: Li Shaogeng, Zhao Panwei, Xu Wenzhang, Yang Hui.

Hebei Team: Shen Peng, Lu Weitao, Zhao Dianyu, Meng Fanrui,

Beijing team: Jiang Chuan, Jin Bo, Wang Yubo, Ren Gang

Shanghai Team: Zhao Wei, Hua Chenhao, Jiang Rongbing, Gu Bowen.

Hubei team: Hong Zhi, Wang Yang, Zhao Jincheng, Yu Yixiao.

Jiangsu team: Xu Chao, Cheng Ming, Sun Yiyang, Wu Wei.

Henan team: Wu Junqiang, Dang Fei, He Wenzhe, Song Xuanyi.

The winning female team players are:

Zhejiang team: Wu Kexin, Tang Sinan, Hang Ning.

Hangzhou Team: Wang Wenjun, Shen Sifan, Zhang Xuanyi.

Sichuan team: Liang Tingting, Lang Qiqi, Zhou Boliang.

Hebei team: Zhang Tingting, Liu Yu, Wang Zihan.

Guangdong team: Chen Xinglin, Shi Fenglan, Lai Kunlin.

Heilongjiang team: Wang Linna, Li Danyang, Jiang Yu.

Hubei team: Zuo Wenjing, Dong Bo, Wang Yuanzhi.

Shanghai team : Dong Jiaqi, Zhang Jiawen, Yangruoshi.

险象环生的一次交通事件

人生的过程有很多惊险，棋手们也不例外。象棋特级大师胡荣华也曾遇到惊险万分的一次交通事件。 这事件由胡荣华亲自讲述，格外令人感到险象环生，真有一种从鬼门关逃出生天的感觉。

话说在1974年第5届上海市市运会举行期间，主办单位依照惯例，邀请一些参赛的象棋好手前往工厂、学校、公社、军队单位进行车轮战表演。

有一次胡荣华和其他运动员乘坐工厂里驶来的一辆大卡车，前往周浦的化学工厂表演。大卡车之大，驾驶室就可坐5个人，可想而知。当卡车驶过一座大桥时，卡车与一辆对面驶来的同样的大卡车猛然碰撞，轰然一声，工厂的大卡车严重受损，司机双腿就被夹住，不能移动。胡荣华本人及其他棋手分别有不同程度伤势，万幸的是，没有致命的伤者。

据胡荣华对这事件的描述，当时他随身携带的一把雨伞，后来发现竟然被扭弯了，他自己也受到惊吓，他取笑说，这必定是雨伞代替他受伤。多年后，胡荣华每每回忆起或和棋友谈起这段惊恐的人生历程。回忆起或谈起这人生不平常的体验，都会有所领悟。这反映在棋赛中，十分明显，无论遇到什么困难，什么险境，他都可以保持平常心，去面对失败，或去争取胜利。

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Life is full of surprise and danger, and chess players are no exception. Xiangqi Grandmaster Hu Ronghua also had encountered a perilous traffic incident. This incident was personally narrated by Hu Ronghua, which is particularly impressive, and there is really a feeling such as of escaping from the hell's gate.

It happened that during the 5th Shanghai Municipal Games in 1974, the organizers invited some participating chess players to factories, schools, communes, and military units to perform simultaneous display.

On one occasion, Hu Ronghua and other Xiangqi players were passengers of a large truck travelling to a chemical factory in Zhoupu. The size of the truck was that big it can seat 5 people in the cab, one can imagined. As the truck crossed a bridge, it collided with another large truck coming from the opposite side, and with a bang, the factory's truck was seriously damaged, the driver's legs were clamped and could not move. Hu Ronghua himself and other chess players had injuries of varying degrees, but fortunately, there were no fatalities.

According to Hu Ronghua's account of the incident, an umbrella he was carrying with was later found to have been severely twisted, and he himself was quite frightened, later he joked that the umbrella must have been injured in his place instead.

Years later, when Hu Ronghua recalled or talked to his friends about this fearful and unusual episode, he had got a sense of some realisation, of some understanding. It reflected in his tournament games, clearly whatever the difficulty, whatever the dangerous situation, he will remain calm and cool, whether when facing failure or when facing success.

胡荣华15岁称霸棋坛

Grandmaster Hu Ronehua was born in 1945, a native of Shanghai, of an ordinary family. He won his first National Championship title at the age of 15. All in all, he won the title a total of 14 times. Nowadays, he still cares about Xiangqi, giving advice to the younger generation from time to time.

胡荣华象棋特级大师，1945年出生于上海一个很普通的家庭，兄弟姐妹5人，他排第2。爱下棋的父亲，自然成了 胡荣华的启蒙老师。

1957年，胡荣华夺得上海市小学生象棋组冠军。

1959年，就读初中的胡荣华夺得卢湾区成年组冠军，引起校方重视，促成进入市体育宫象棋培训班进修的机会。 当上海市组织象棋集训队时，胡荣华因缘际会，进入了集训队。

集训队有何顺安、朱剑秋、徐天利、陈奇等众多高手，这让胡荣华得到很好的磨练。

训练课程繁重，最初3个月连输100多局。胡荣华没有放弃苦练，队友们也常帮他总结失败教训。

1960年，上海市举行象棋选拔赛，众多高手蜂拥报名，胡荣华过关斩将杀入决赛。最后何顺安获得冠军，胡荣华亚军。

同年，在五省市象棋邀请赛上，胡荣华发挥出色，勇夺冠军。

1960年10月，全国个人赛在北京举行。赛前，胡荣华预定目标是跻身前6名。比赛到最后一轮，何顺安、杨官璘 及胡荣华3人同分，胡荣华仅靠小分稍高夺得冠军。

1962年全国个人赛，胡荣华与杨官璘两人并列冠军。

1964年全国象棋个人赛，胡荣华夺冠。

1965年全国个人赛，胡荣华继续夺冠。

1966年的全国个人赛，胡荣华夺冠。

时局的动荡，棋院受到冲击。1970年，上海棋院解散。棋手下放到各处劳动。

1974年，全国象棋个人赛恢复，胡荣华夺冠。

1975年，全国个人赛上，胡荣华夺冠。

1977年的全国个人赛上，胡荣华夺冠。

1978年，胡荣华第九次夺得全国冠军。

1979年，全国个人赛竞争激烈，胡荣华以12胜2负的战绩，取得十连冠的辉煌成就。

1980年乐山个人赛上，胡荣华成绩较差，被降级乙组。

1981年全国个人赛，胡荣华名列乙组第4，未能及时升上甲组。

1982年，胡荣华夺得几乎所有比赛的冠军，只是未能登上全国个人赛冠军宝座。

1983年全国象棋个人赛，胡荣华王者归来，强势夺得冠军。

1985年的全国个人赛，胡荣华夺得冠军。

他的全国冠军总数恰恰达到一打。

1997年的全国象棋个人赛，胡荣华以52岁之年，再一次夺得冠军，震动棋坛。

2000年11月，全国个人赛在蚌埠举行。55岁的胡荣华第14次夺得全国冠军。

2003年，举行第一届全国象棋甲级联赛，58岁的胡荣华带领的上海队，夺得了联赛冠军。

胡荣华直到70岁才真的退休，不再参赛。但仍关心象棋比赛，指导年轻棋手，或应邀演讲， 或现场示范，读书写作，总结宝贵经验，生命一样活得有意义，一样活得精彩。

中国象棋特级大师知多少

以中国象棋协会公布的象棋特级大师（男子）名单为准，我们对他们知多少？，一时之间人们可能找不着答案。

下列这些特大名字，如雷贯耳，相信我们都有些许听闻过吧。（排名无先后）

杨官璘、李义庭、胡荣华、柳大华、李来群、吕钦、赵国荣、徐天红、许银川、陶汉明、于幼华、洪智、赵鑫鑫、谢靖、蒋川、 孙勇征、王天一、汪洋、郑惟桐、徐超、王廓、王嘉良、蔡福如、 孟立国、徐天利、刘殿中、林宏敏、卜凤波、庄玉庭、万春林、郑一泓、王斌、苗永鹏、陈寒峰、 王跃飞、张强、郝继超、张学潮、许国义、申鹏、陆伟韬、孟辰、程鸣、孙逸阳。

Following are Xiangqi Grandmasters based on publications according to Chinese Xiangqi Association :

Yang Guanlin, Li Yiting, Hu Ronghua, Liu Dahua, Li Laiqun, Lv Qin, Zhao Guorong, Xu Tianhong, Xu Yinchuan, Tao Hanming, Yu Youhua, Hong Zhi, Zhao Xinxin, Xie Jing, Jiang Chuan, Sun Yongzheng, Wang Tianyi, Wang Yang, Zheng Weitong, Xu Chao, Wang Kuo, Wang Jialiang, Cai Furu, Meng Liguo, Xu Tianli, Liu Dianzhong, Lin Hongmin, Bu Fengbo, Zhuang Yuting, Wan Chunlin, Zheng Yihong, Wang Bin, Miao Yongpeng, Chen Hanfeng, Wang Yuefei, Zhang Qiang, Hao Jichao, Zhang Xuechao, Xu Guoyi, Shen Peng, Lu Weitao, Meng Chen, Cheng Ming, Sun Yiyang.

马来西亚象棋锦标赛黎德志勇夺冠军

  
       

马来西亚PURCON杯2023年全国象棋锦标赛男子组冠军由吉隆坡的黎德志夺得，
女子组冠军是沙巴的洪千惠。非华裔组冠军为吉隆坡的 SASAKI YUKI。

青少年运动员在颁奖典礼中受到表扬，棋会准备赞助洪千惠，吴宇哲，陈志霖
等前往中国参加象棋夏令营。

男子组黎德志以5胜1和的战绩进入决赛，在决赛时战胜了对手沈毅豪。

女子组第一名洪千惠，今年13岁, 6战全胜进入决赛，决赛时战胜陈慧盈。

世界象棋锦标赛今年11月在美国举行

世界象棋锦标赛11月在美国休斯顿举行

The 18th World Xiangqi Federation's Xiangqi Championship will be held in Texas's Houston this year from 19th November to 25th November.

This is the first time the Championship is going to be held in America.

2023年11月19日到25日第18届世界象棋锦标赛将在美国举行，地点在德克萨斯州的休斯敦。

今年2月10日，新闻发布会及酒会在当地的索尼斯特大酒店进行。70多名嘉宾应邀出席了 这次活动，来自中国的音乐家弹起了古筝，悦耳琴声令人回味无穷。人们祝愿第18届世界 象棋锦标赛圆满成功！

休斯敦象棋协会主席胡玉山称，将有120多位杰出棋手来自30多国家与地区参与盛会。比赛分 团体、男子个人、女子个人及少年组。在政府、企业和个人的支持下，相信世界象棋锦标赛 将取得圆满成功。

美国象棋协会主席郑勤霖和世锦赛副主席李明东参加了发布会。郑勤霖指出，我们有信心办好 11月的象棋锦标赛。李明东说各界热心人士将同心合力把赛事办得尽善尽美。

休斯敦象棋协会副主席徐建勋说，象棋潜在市场巨大，这给我们办好赛事很大信心。

休斯敦体育管理局的珍妮贝壳说，她期待学习这个智慧游戏。感谢世界象棋联合会对休斯敦的 信任。

休斯敦国际区区长李蔚华说：“中华棋艺文化的博弈是东方文化的重要部分。世界象棋锦标赛在 这里举办，是对我们华人在美国做出贡献的一种肯定。

2023年香港象棋个人公开赛（甲组）报名参赛棋手名单

香港象棋个人公开赛比赛日期由3月5日到3月26日，共赛9轮。
比賽地點：九龍太子洗衣街200號界限街體育館一號體育场。

2023 Hong Kong Xiangqi Open Tournament (1st division) list of registered participants.

The competition to last from 5th of March to 26th of March, going for a total of 9 rounds.

 1 廖頌庭 LIU CHUNG TING
 2 劉建中 LAU KEN CHUNG
 3 張達光 CHEUNG TAT KWONG
 4 余雄威 YU HUNG WAI
 5 陳景俊 CHAN KING CHUN
 6 林俊傑 LAM CHUN KIT
 7 黃敬慈 WONG KING CHI
 8 鄭彥隆 CHENG YIN LUNG
 9 陳振杰 CHAN CHUN KIT
10 陳永樂 CHAN WINGLOK
11 翁楚光 YUNG CHOR KWONG
12 賴逸瑞 MAY
13 李學勤 LEE HOK KAN
14 劉  強 LAU KEUNG
15 譚景洋 TAM KING YEUNG
16 梁  原 LEUNG YUEN
17 馮志彪 TOM
18 趙汝權 CHIU YU KUEN
19 黃學謙 WONG HOK HIM
20 甘源峰 KAM YUEN FUNG
21 賴羅平 ROBIN LAI
22 梁達民 TIM
23 陳強安 ON
24 黃文偉 WONG MAN WAI
25 翁德強 TAK
26 黃志強 WONG CHI KEUNG
27 蔡偉雄 CHOIWAIHUNG
28 林飛虎 LIN FEI HU

第30届“五羊杯”象棋冠军邀请赛广州胜利落幕

2023年第30届“五羊杯”象棋冠军邀请赛于2月1日至2月5日在广州文化公园举行，采用淘汰制，经过五天激烈战斗，洪智击败吕钦，郑惟桐战胜汪洋， 双双取得决赛资格。最后，郑惟桐夺得冠军，洪智亚军，吕钦、汪洋第三、第四。

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The 30th "Wu Yang Cup" was held in Guangzhou from 1st of February to 5th of February 2023, four top ranking players were invited to participate. After five days of intense competition, Zheng Weitong came out Champion, runner up was Hong Zhi, Lu Qin and Wang Yang were third and fourth respectively.

近期公布的十大象棋领军人物（男女组）

男子组 ：王天一 郑惟桐 蒋 川 许银川 孟 辰 洪 智 吕 钦 赵鑫鑫 汪 洋 谢 靖

女子组 ： 唐 丹 王琳娜 左文静 陈幸琳 赵冠芳 吴可欣 刘 欢 唐思楠 张婷婷 党国蕾

Recent 10 top leading players (Men and Wemen)

Men : Wang Tianyi, Zheng Weitong, Xu Yinchuan, Meng Chen, Hong Zhi, Lu Qin, Zhao Xinxin, Wang Yang, Xie Jing

Wemen : Tang Dan, Wang Linna, Zuo Wenjing, Chen Xinglin, Zhao Guanfang, Wu Kexin, Liu Huan, Tang Sinan, Zhang Tingting, Dang Guolei.

六月或将举办全英象棋锦标赛

很久没有在网站和网友们见面，也有一段时间没有参加公开的象棋比赛了。

写点东西，填充网页的空白，应该可以吧。

令人感到欣喜的一项消息来源透露，在今年六月或将有全英象棋锦标赛举办。

而且，地点将会在伦敦。

哇塞，这让象艺爱好者们相当的期待。

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Long time not see, long time not meet.

It is right to scribble some few lines about Xiangqi or any other things.

Now a glad tiding from a good source gives hints that a Championship Tournament is going to be held on June, and the venue possibly in London.

Wow, that is a lot of expectation.