Wu Guilin (吴贵临), Xiangqi Grandmaster in Taiwan
The overlapping of times can produce a sense of excitement. Grandmaster Wu Guilin has come a long way through countless battles of the game of Xiangqi. He walked out victorious of all these, the storyline sometimes sad, sometimes full of joy. The Taiwan Qiwang (chess king) has at one time joined the Sichuan Xiangqi team, he has challenged his own ability limit ——— breaking Grandmaster Liu Dahua's Guinness record for 1 verssus 108 in simultaneous display. Wu believed that Xiangqi has no boundary, never at standstill, and always hoped to constantly improve himself.
Enlightenment : Xiangqi used to develop one's intelligence
From the day Wu Guilin was born, no one knew that he would become a Qiwang. "My parents were elementary school teachers, and in 1968 I was just 6 years old, the age when I was about to go to school, and I was bored at that time, I learned to play Xiangqi purely to develop my mind. I started playing with my uncle Wu Jieren（吴介仁）, I can't say that he was my initiate teacher, I didn't think about getting a living by playing Xiangqi in days to come."
Nantou County（南投县）was Wu Guilin's hometown, which was also where his dream began, "Shortly after learning the game, around 1969, when I was 7 years old, I won the runner-up in the Nantou Jiaheli community competition, then three years later I won the Nantou tournaament. However, at that time I did not expect to play Xiangqi for a living." Already he has made his name in the town, his studies at school did not stop him playing the game in his spare time.
Belief : Keep working hard to find a way out
At that time, to learn the game from a good player one has to "pay a tuition fee", which was to play a game with a small bet（下彩）, in this way players sharpened their skills, and learned the trade the hard way. Wu began to wandering in the merciless circle early in his teens. The fierce Xiangqi struggle sharpened his game power and hardened his spirit. At the age of 18, he won the championship in the "Xiangqi Celebrity" competition held in his hometown, since then Wu emerged truly in the Xiangqi world in Taiwan. He had won the first up to the fifth provincial championships, and also the first and the third "Zhongshan Cup" championships.
In the blink of an eye, Wu Guilin grown to be a smart young man. And the most memorable thing for him was the ten-games match with Xu Junjie（徐俊杰）at the age of 22, which in a sense was a duel between the old and the new generations. In the first four sets of the duel, Wu Guilin took the lead, Xu Junjie saw that it was difficult to turn the situation around, gave up the match, and since then Wu Guilin was recognized as the "number one Xiangqi player in Taiwan Province". In the same year, Wu won the Taiwan Xiangqi Association Championship. He was then awarded a six-dan certificate, and since then Wu felt he has reached his best game condition.
Standing at the crossroads of life, Wu Guilin strengthened his belief and self-confidence with winning of championships one after the other. "Since then, we have organized a visiting delegation to Southeast Asia and the United States and other places, and have successively played many international competitions and had a lot of exchanges with players from all over the world. As your level improves, you have the idea of going to the next higher level, because only by constantly working hard can you find a way out." Subsequently, he traveled around a lot and visited Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and many other countries and regions, with outstanding achievements. In 1992, he was awarded the title of Grandmaster by the Asian Xiangqi Federation.
Teacher : Teacher Hu taught me a lot of things in life
A teacher is someone who relays the light of learning, someone who clarifies things. Wu Guilin humbly sought Grandmaster Hu Ronghua to be his Xiangqi teacher. Early in June 1989, Wu Guilin had won the championship at the "Longhua Cup" Master Invitational Tournament held in the mainland. This did not stop him seeking Hu Ronghua to be his preferred teacher. "Hu told me at that time that my basic skills were already very solid and I had a certain foundation. But Xiangqi is not just a competition on the board, there is also a lot to improve outside of the game. For example, the ability to analyze games, as well as the experience of actual playing, Hu's cultivation in these aspects is very valuable, and I can learn a lot from him." On June 15, 1989, Wu Guilin officially paid homage as a pupil to Hu Ronghua in Shanghai. "Teacher Hu has taught me a lot of things, and it is my honour to be accepted by him." Wu Guilin, who can now compete with Hu Ronghua on the chessboard as equal, always respected and revered his teacher.
Jianghu（江湖）: When people swim in the rivers and lakes, how can they not get wet?
In 1989, at age 28 Wu was known as Taiwan top player. He has developed a steady attacking and delicate defensive style in his chess career, with outstanding achievements. At the 1989 Asian Cup Xiangqi Tournament held in Singapore, Wu Guilin caused a sensation with an excellent result of 4 consecutive victories. In April Wu Guilin participated in the "Houxiao Cup" Xiangqi Master Invitational Tournament held in Changzhou. A month later, at the "Longhua Cup" Xiangqi Celebrity Invitational Tournament held in Liuzhou, Guangxi, he defeated Lu Qin and other famous players and won the championship. He had profound skills, strong in the middle game. Wu Guilin was the only Qiwang who has participated in all nine World Championships, he has won once runner-up, twice third place, once fourth place, once fifth place.
"The most regrettable thing was that at the seventh World Cup, he lost to Lu Qin due of a small margin in the tie break, what a shock!" At that tournament, Wu Guilin had a record of six wins and two draws in the penultimate round, the same as Lu Qin's score. However, in the final round, Wu Guilin's opponent had a lower rating than Lu Qin's opponent. Sure enough, Lu Qin knocked the Indonesian player Yu Zhongmin off with a steady and fierce attack, and ascended to the Champion's throne for the fourth time. Seeing that there was no hope of winning the championship, Wu Guilin made a hasty peace with his opponent, and finally only won the third place. "My biggest regret is that I didn't win the world championship, if I had not played well, I would not have anything to say, but I lost to my opponent in the smallest margin of a tie break, I am not too willing to accept the cruel fate."
Love : Xiangqi was our greatest matchmaker
Nanjing（南京）had been the capital of Six Dynasties（六朝）historically, and many heroical personalities had been interpreted in the long river of time, almost like a wonderful chess game. Wu Guilin has also found his favorite heroine there. In May 1996 in Nanjing, Wu Guilin married Ms Gao Yiping（高懿屏）, a female chess master in Jiangsu. "Xiangqi is our biggest matchmaker. The first time I met Gao Yiping was at a tournament in Changzhou in 1989, when she was only thirteen or fourteen years old, I was already a well-known person in the chess world, and she knew me then, at least by name." This meeting did not leave too much impression in the hearts of the two, but fate was already registered." In 1995, I went to Nanjing to do some exchange activities, I often went to meet Grandmaster Xu Tianhong, and met Gao Yiping there too. At first, we didn't have any special feelings, but after a time, we fell in love with each other, Xu Tianhong with good intention did help to match us direct or indirectly, and finally we came together." It was really a wonderful chess-mediated love story.
If you pay attention to the tournament arena, you will see such a shot, one moment Wu Guilin went to Gao Yiping's chess table to watch, and the other time Gao Yiping went to Wu Guilin's chess table to ponder, they care about one another. And every time after the game was played, no matter victorious or defeated, no matter how late, the couple would review the game and analyse it carefully. The husband and wife moved together side by side and this parnership bore fruit. Gao Yiping had achieved excellent results, won the national championship, and then won the runner-up of the fifth World Championship, Wu Guilin and Gao Yiping have become messengers for Xiangqi exchanges across the continents.
+ + + +
Source : 蝴蝶飞的博客
~ a XIANGQI EN BLOG translation ~
No comments:
Post a Comment