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 ~