四国争霸赛吴宗翰夺冠

新加坡出现绝顶象棋高手，打平许银川及王天一，击败中国棋王蒋川，勇夺冠军。

For a very long time, the world Xiangqi arena has been the playground of the Chinese team, and during the time of such Grandmasters Hu Ronghua, Lu Qin and Xu Yinchuan, players of other countries and regions were powerless to fight back.

However, in recent years, these players have gradually begun to grow in strength, they are starting threatening the status of the Chinese team.

In many international competitions, on the podium of the winning champions, there are other national and regional teams, the most extreme is Grandmaster Wang Tianyi together with Grandmaster Zheng Weitong participating both at the same time, and their championship ambitions were sidelined!

Now it is just like reflecting the national individual competition in China, where amateur players can also win the championship. The game of Xiangqi inevitably advances, and with the changes of times players have made a lot of difference.

A top chess master now appeared in Singapore, tying with Grandmasters Xu Yinchuan and Wang Tianyi, defeating the Chinese Qi Wang (Chess King) Jiang Chuan（蒋川）, and winning the championship, he is named Wu Zonghan（吴宗翰）.

In a four-nation tournament between China, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia, Singapore player Wu Zonghan played brilliantly in the final stage, defeating the Chinese Grandmaster Jiang Chuan in the endgame, and took the championship.

In this final game, Wu Zonghan played a very cold trick in the early stage of the opening, with the idea to seize the opportunity through the change of array.

Entering the middle game, the Black side did not choose to retreat, but forcibly marched the cavalry forward into battle, sacrificing the Cannon on the left wing.

Wu Zonghan was not afraid to engage battle, boldly and forcibly took the sacrificed piece, and then stood up against Jiang Chuan's fierce attack. The Red forces resisted the counter attack, bringing the situation under stable control, with advantage of majority of pieces.

Then Red with Rook, Knight and Cannon launched a final decisive attack, the two sides exchanged Knight for Knight, the Red's Rook and Cannon cooperated closely, plus there were two Pawns advancing, the Black side could not continue the game, he was helpless to resist further, Wu Zonghan triumphed and won the championship.

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Source ：狮城新闻
2021年08月25日

My Chess Dream of Broken Blue Bridge

My Chess Dream of Broken Blue Bridge

by 随缘321

Different environments and lands will shape different people. People in the South are usually different of the North. In the Southern cities, signboards of Xiangqi and Card Clubs are more openly displayed, the activity more plenty and more convenient. In the North, the activity is not that openly supported, and it is up to the local authority to decide.

A friend of mine has recently opened a Xiangqi and Card Club（棋牌会所）in a Southern coastal city, it is situated right in the city center, in the 3rd floor of an Hotel, with dozens of rooms to conduct club's activity. Having large scale and luxurious setting, with bars, lounges, plenty of mahjong tables, pool tables, table tennis, with abundance of snacks, tea and so on. In-room sofa, couch, air conditioning, TV, WiFi, restrooms, all are available.

Xiangqi spans the major fields of Culture and Sports, and is officially recognized and enjoyed by the population. Chess and Card Clubs across the country, under the big flags acting like a sort of tiger skins, putting chess in front of the signsboards, in reality however, in these Clubs, there is almost no real Xiangqi activity, just like in the market, people selling Wife Cakes（老婆饼）without wife, just using the name only.

My good friend, making things to appear for real, has asked me to set up the Xiangqi room in his Club, he only charged me a minimum monthly utility bill, covering partly for water and electricity, and I was very happy and thrilled, now my dream comes true. I just need ploughing, regardless of the harvest, so I bought brand new tables, chairs, benches, Xiangqi sets and many other supplies. If someone comes to my Xiangqi room to play, I will only charge him or her for the tea, the idea is that through Xiangqi one will meet many new friends, and hopefully the attraction of the game entertainment will be in full swing.

There are many Xiangqi fans in the city, playing the game is quite popular, in parks, streets, alleys, and squares, you can see many people bringing their own chess set with them, calling their friends and together they will have endless fun. The establishment of the Xiangqi room, in my opinion, coincided with the good timing. Like planting of trees, you will enjoy the shade under the trees. I printed lots of business cards, distributed them everywhere.

After a while, seeing no movement or response, I went to the square to find someone or anyone to play, so a few chess people caught up with the business cards, took them to the hotel looking for the Xiangqi room, when they just entered the luxurious hotel lobby, a few of them looking around amazed, a bit of suspicion on their face, hesitant, and embarrassed. As soon as the elevator door opened, the group immediately scattered, and one of them blurted out and shouted: "pyramid schemes, scammers".

Because of the helping of my good friend, my running cost is not that expensive, if the business does not work smoothly, at least I can entertain people who come to play Xiangqi for free. My hard work paid off, and in the days coming, I actually found one or two people who came to the chess room to play, I brewed monk-fruit tea, handed over cigarettes, I did not charge them at all, I explained to them the reason, cleared as much as possible the other party's doubts and misgivings. Despite all these, those people did not come back again. I called them by phone, and they said that they were sorry to disturb me too much. I ponder on the matter, finally I think this is because the Xiangqi room looked too luxurious, lavish and opulent, unlike the atmosphere in the park or street corner.

The Chess and Card Club has never got improved, few people came along. Now the weather is getting hot, I am a person from a cooler place, not accustomed to the hot weather, then my family came and picked me up home. It was a Dragon Boat Festival the day before leaving, my good friend gave me a lot of rice dumplings（粽子）, it was really delicious.

I haven't been seeing him for a long time, if I have time I will go to see him again during the Dragon Boat Festival, and to bring back again more delicious rice dumplings. The Dragon Boat Festival has again arrived, so I take up pen and write down some words as memory of our friendship.

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Source : 象棋大师网
Dated 2019-June-9th

许银川半争成败半悟道

The way of Xiangqi is like the way of life

Guest Interview at the Xiangqi Summit: The Way of Xiangqi is Like the Way of Life (Xu Yinchuan)

by Shi Shaozong

Grandmaster Xu Yinchuan, a 34-year-old Xiangqi world champion, national champion is an idol in Guangdong and the Xiangqi community all over the country, he is not only a superb player, but also has done much research and has deep understanding of the Xiangqi culture. The newspaper reporter interviewed the humble gentleman Xu Yinchuan during the the Guangzhou's Xiangqi Culture Summit, and talked about every aspect of the game.

Shi Shaozong: "The 2 Heroes of Lingnan" have been occupying the top two places in the Xiangqi for a long time, which is very rare in the history of Chinese chess, do you think such brilliant results have anything to do with our locality?

Xu Yinchuan: It should have a lot to do with it. I think there are mainly several reasons, the first is that our Xiangqi history is relatively long, in the 20's and 30's of the last century, Xiangqi was already very popular, various competitions were often held, and then in the 50's, we have already set up our own team. Secondly, there were many top players at various times, the earliest 4 powerful players were known as "4 great Tian Wang"（四大天王）, later there were players known as "3 great Phoenixes". In modern time, there was Grandmaster Yang Guanlin, a top Xiangqi player, and then Grandmaster Lu Qin, and then I myself. In the past 80 years, it should be said that the country's top players have appeared in Guangdong. The third reason is that Guangdong's chess foundation is very good, there is very strong popular support. I have lived in an atmosphere where many people play chess at a very young age, which is one of the important reasons why Xiangqi in our province can maintain a leading position for a long time. The last reason is that the social influence of Xiangqi is big, the public evaluation is also high, people from all walks of life paid a lot of attention.

Shi Shaozong: Do you think we still maintain this leading position?

Xu Yinchuan: We are still in the lead, but this lead has weakened, or it is already possible to be surpassed by other teams. There must be another player who achieves top results in national competition, so as to maintain our leading position in Guangdong. We should now focus on younger players and select talented, hard-working and persevering players to work on this project.

Shi Shaozong: When you first joined the provincial team, Grandmaster Lu Qin already began to win the national championship, was he an unattainable senior in your eyes at that time?

Xu Yinchuan: Yes, when I won the provincial junior championship, he was already a national champion, one of the top players in the country, and he was very famous. At that time, he was very tall in my eyes, like a mountain.

Shi Shaozong: How long did it take for you to catch up with him?

Xu Yinchuan: A landmark time was when I won the national championship and became a grandmaster, and the national rating score suddenly ranked me No. 2. It should be said that I was close to him at that time. For more than a decade, he and I have been winning and losing against each other, so everyone jokingly called us "The Twin Heroes of Lingnan".

Shi Shaozong: In the past ten years, in fact, the two of you have been competing for the top place, maybe more often than not, you are in the first place, you are both teammates and opponents, there is a competitive relationship with each other, do you think this relationship is very delicate?

Xu Yinchuan: It's quite delicate, I often tell my friends that my relationship with Grandmaster Lu is a colleague and a buddy, because I often go to competitions with him, living under the same roof, frequently in contact. It's very brutal that we have to face direct competition in the game, and often in the final stages of the championship, so the relationship is very delicate. In short, over the years, I have maintained such a mentality, respecting my Grandmaster brother, who is a mentor and a friend, in fact, I have gained a lot of Xiangqi knowledge from him, the achievement of Grandmaster Lu is the driving force for me to move forward.

Shi Shaozong: Do you think your rivalry is a good thing for Cantonese chess?

Xu Yinchuan: Right. This kind of rivalry is between the two of us in a narrow sense, but in reality we are also competing with others, as we are constantly improving and gaining useful knowledge.

Shi Shaozong: There is a calligraphy written by you in the Donghu Chess Academy, that is, "half of the country in attack, half of it in defence, half for success or failure, and half for enlightenment"（半壁河山半攻守，半争成败半悟道）, is this a kind of understanding of yours?

Xu Yinchuan: There is a song called "half and half song", it is better to do everything half, drink half of the wine, don't drink too fiercely, don't do thing too full, so I feel that in chess this seems to reflect such a spirit. Over the years of my playing career, I have gradually realized that in chess, finding the offensive and defensive balance is the most important key, if you can find a very reasonable balance, your chess will be played well, and there is half victory and half understanding. I have a problem now, there were so many winning success and sometimes failures, that now I take these more lightly, I am not nervous anymore, so I have no motivation.

Shi Shaozong: In life, if you can take the victory and defeat lightly, this is a very high state.

Xu Yinchuan: That's right, but if you participate in the competition, you can't look at it this way, you have to invest time and energy in the competition to win, then you can come out, see it more lightly, this is actually a spur to myself, or a feeling. I can't tell what this is, is it the way of life, or the way of chess?

Shi Shaozong: So what do you think of the way of chess, what do you think is the charm of this culture? What attracted you?

Xu Yinchuan: The connotation of Xiangqi culture is relatively rich, Xiangqi first reflects a kind of military's wisdom, it has a very distinct war mode, in which, many of our strategies can be used in the chessboard, such as the Thirty-Six Plans, "Sun Tzu's Art of War".

The golden mean can also be reflected in chess, we often say drawing, now there is a trend which is to criticize the draw, but I think there are two sides in it, and there is also a good side too. Our time especially needs the peace, a draw to some extent is a kind of harmony, we are not actually talking about the lack of a sense of contention, everyone is struggling, fighting, but "drawing" things are less, so for thousands of years, we have been advocating this "harmony", including the "harmony in society" we are now proposing which is too. Xiangqi's draw actually provides you with a retreat between victory and defeat, so players will not simply pursue just victory and defeat, they have another choice, which is conducive to harmony between people. Of course, this is not a negative harmony, this harmony should be a high degree of harmony after being aggressive.

For so many years, I have been thinking, but not very systematically, because the profession of a chess player makes me unable to think very detached to some other issues. My more serious thinking is occupied by this kind of victory and defeat, by specific techniques and tactics, so I rarely think about other things, but I feel that there are still a lot of cultural things in it, we need to dig and sort out, the Xiangqi is a good promotion, so I plan to sort out the process, technique and tactics, experience, etc. of my chess game, as well as my chess life, philosophy, thirty-six plans, the power of the soldiers, etc. Although I know that my culture education is limited, I still hope to do my best for a little more of exploration, opening ways for other scholars to engage in the research, so that Xiangqi will not be limited to competition, we can raise it to a higher level, not only competitive sports, as there are other higher things, we can form a sort of movement, I think in this way, chess may contribute more to society.

Shi Shaozong: Who is your biggest opponent now? Is it Lu Qin or Zhao Xinxin, Jiang Chuan, Wang Yang and other rising stars?

Xu Yinchuan: The current opponent does have some differences from previous years, in the first ten years, the younger generation was actually me alone, there were several who were more than ten years older than me, and now in addition to a few chess players who are older than me, there are also a generation younger than me, forming such a competitive pattern, there are several very good young players behind me, and there are several senior chess players who have maintained a very good state in front of me, so in a way the competition is very fierce.

Shi Shaozong: What level of competitive status do you maintain now?

Xu Yinchuan: My current situation is okay, but I obviously feel that the pressure of competition is very high. However, I think competitive sports itself is stressful, is always dynamic, you can't stop here and enjoy the fruits you already have, if you don't work on it, you will be eliminated, so I will use this idea to push myself to keep improving, if I am willing to continue to be a Xiangqi player, I will definitely give it my all, if I really can't, then it really can't carrying on.

Shi Shaozong: Is playing chess a career for you?

Xu Yinchuan: For me, it was an interest at the beginning, then it became a career, and then it became a business career, and I should now be at the stage of treating it as a business career, interest has taken a back seat, and more importantly, it is a strong sense of professionalism, at such a height, I have to pursue it very zealously. I think it is difficult to completely separate life from chess, many of my life views, and some life insights and thoughts, are improved from playing Xiangqi, because I entered the Guangdong chess team at a very young age, I was exposed to it rather early, I didn't have much contact with the outside world, I now understand the cause and effect of things from the truth of Xiangqi, and know how to face life.

Shi Shaozong: There is a very famous "Danghu Ten Games" in the history of Weiqi (Go), and now some people have also proposed to say, that we should also engage in a "Lingnan Ten Games", what do you think?

Xu Yinchuan: This formulation is quite good, because each era needs something specific to express the characteristics of its time. The confrontation between two very high-level Xiangqi players who represented the highest level at that time will surely influence future generations, and can be passed on, and can promote the current trend of chess. If there is such an opportunity I am willing to join in, not only with Grandmaster Lu, in fact, no matter who, as long as it can represent the highest level, I think it is very meaningful, and it is not limited to the two of us, other people are also good to do the challenge.

If it is our Lingnan culture, from the national level, now by me and Grandmaster Lu Qin, the confrontation between our "Lingnan double heroes" should be said to be one of the forms that can better express the characteristics of Guangdong Xiangqi.

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Source : 白鹿城主的博客
Dated 2015-March-13th

The Way and Sense of Xiangqi's 7 Pieces

The Way and Sense of Xiangqi's 7 Pieces

(1) The Way of King

The Jiu Gong（九宫）Palaces are the beginning of the Xiangqi game, it is the residence of the King (General), and the King should have been in the Central Palace. But the King in Xiangqi stays in the Top (or Bottom) Palace, and why is that? According to ancient divination, there is fire from the top and also from the bottom, meaning discordance, since the King has intention of annexing the vast lands in all direction. Therefore, the initial array of Xiangqi contains the trend of discord. As soon as the game begins, there is no reason to remain idle and seek peace too early.

There is an old saying to the effect that there are no two Suns in the Heaven and no two Kings in the land. In Xiangqi the two opposing Generals（帅/将）cannot both be in the same open vertical line, unless there be at least a piece in between them. Thus the above meaning is clearly stated.

In ancient times, the relationship between the King and the General was very delicate, and the appointment of the General by the King was very solemn. The King and the General each hold half of the Tiger Talisman（虎符）, and the General goes out with the army on behalf of the King. If the King interferes too much with the General, then most of the results will be about defeat.

Though the General is inside the Palaces, he can easily command thousands of troops far away. Many attacks and checkmates in Xiangqi have the direct participation of the General. There are numerous examples of royal conquests in history. "The King must not make a move lightly, but if he moves, he will win" was an important understanding of the ancient imperial way.

A game of Xiangqi, when played to the endgame, pieces are less and less, the field is wider and wider, although countless spaces are under control, yet a lot of life-strength is sacrificed. This is full of ancient warnings, that "wars are murderous weapons, only when there is no other choice should one do it", and "to win wars without the actual fighting" are the best policy.

(2) The Way of Guards

Guard is a special class on the chessboard, and the only sub-force that will never leave the General's side. The slash of the lines without going out of the Palaces is rich in meaning.

Shi（士）is the personal guard of the King, and can both defend the King and trap the King, which is quite similar to the role of ancient eunuchs. The chaos of the ten constant servants in the late Han Dynasty was a manifestation of the King of Guard Trap. Of course, the strength of the double warriors is always stronger than the single one, for example, the single warrior is no match for the single Knight, but the double Guards can hold the situation.

Why do the Guards take the diagonal line?

Imagine ancient Generals sat in the tent of the army, guards outside the tent armed with spears or halberds to defend, whenever the enemy envoy came to see the General, the standard way for the guards to show their might was to cross the spears or halberds to form a weapon door.

Therefore, the slash on the chessboard may have evolved from this.

The sum of the three horizontal and three vertical lines intersections of the Nine Palaces is equal to 15, and the commander can visit all of the Palaces, but the route is via vertical and horizontal. The Guards made for diagonal line. The design of the move is most thoughtful.

Another very interesting phenomenon is that in the simple endgame stage, the two Guards who move along the diagonal line can stop the Knight who also moves along the diagonal (partly) line, but there is nothing they can do about the Rook that moves in a straight line.

(3) The Way of Elephants

The Elephant（相/象）of Xiangqi is arguably the most unique character on the board, and it is the only piece that can traverse the four sides and center according to the rules in the initial state of the board. From this characteristic, it can be seen that because the King does not go out of the Palaces, the Elephant is actually an important assistant to the management of the territory on behalf of the King. It can be seen that the Elephant in Xiangqi functionally simulates the role of the Prime Minister（首相）.

In ancient history, the status of the Prime Minister is quite high and many were famous, such as Jiang Ziya, Zhuge Liang, Wei Zheng, Zhao Pu and so on. Jiang Ziya proposed in his military treaty "Six Tao" that "the world is not the world of one person, but the world of the people. Those who benefit the world gain the world, and those who gained benefit from the world lose the world." In Xiangqi, there is a maxim called "those who lack Elephants are in danger of their play", which shows the importance of Elephants.

The way of the Elephant is an extension and expansion of the way of the King, however the old school players did not understand sufficiently the way of the Elephant, and thus regarded the Elephant Opening as unfeasible. Since Grandmaster Hu Ronghua popularised the Elephant Opening, the Flying Elephant game（飞象局）in modern chess has become a common layout for masters. This is indeed a milestone leap forward for Xiangqi.

(4) The Way of Rooks

Ju (车）- The most powerful member of the chessboard, the gains and losses of the Rook often directly affect the victory or defeat of the chess game. For example, in the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass in the Three Kingdoms period, Dong Zhuo was defeated after Lü Bu met his defeat.

Because of the high power of the Rook, it often got ambushed. The form of movement of the Rook is indeed like the ancient combatant. In ancient times, such General were often entrusted with heavy responsibilities and even guarding frontiers. However, the fate of the General also seems to be very similar to that of a Rook on a chessboard. When the game reaches a critical moment, sacrificing the Rook in order to protect the King is commonly used as technical and tactical means.

Since ancient times, the external ministers will be at odds with the internal ministers, which is manifested in the chessboard, that is, the Rook wants to enter the Palaces, which will inevitably cause the Elephant to give way or the Elephant route is not accessible. This movement of chess pieces on the chessboard actually implies a kind of open and secret struggle of the imperial court.

Generals who have left a name for themselves through the ages are like Rooks on a chessboard, when the country is peaceful, they will work hard to guard the frontiers, and they will surely work tirelessly to help the empire. This is also the embodiment of faithfulness and loyalty.

(5) The way of Pawn

The Pawn（兵/卒）is the weakest piece on the chessboard, but it is also the most adaptable.

Many people will mention the rules of promotion and adaptability for Pawn in Xiangqi, thinking that it can be introduced to enrich the variation. In fact, Xiangqi has long been rich in the characteristics of developing and changing, and in the performance process more to test the level of the players.

The fate of the Pawns is tragic and magnificent.

There has always been a saying that those who are sacrificed after being used are called "Pawns who cross the river", but in fact, the Pawns who cross the river on the chessboard are embodying an ancient spirit of "the spirit of fearlessness that is indomitable".

After the Pawns crossed the river, there is no way to retreat, either they stay put, or they die in battle. The faith and righteousness will always exist in the hearts of the Pawns.

(6) The Way of Knight and Cannon

In Xiangqi, Knight（马）and Cannon（炮）is the most testing skill of a player. Xiangqi is also often called Knight and Cannon competition, but from the stereotype of the game, there are Knights first and then Cannons, but from the perspective of the development of chess skills, it is the player who will first use the Cannon and then the Knight; Judging from the arrangement of troops formation, the Cannon at the beginning of the game is in front of the Knight, but in the game, the Cannon is mostly behind the Knight. It's interesting indeed. Therefore, the Knight-Cannon relationship is well combined.

The Rook in the chessboard as if mounted on the Horse, holding the sword, the chess proverb says "one Rook and ten pieces tremble", but the combined force of the Knight-Cannon can stand against the Rook, more often it is the situation where the Rook cannot win, whilst Knight-Cannon can, such as the Knight Cannon can win against the complete set of defenders, but the Rook is helpless. This innate combination of sub-forces fully reflects the idea of cooperation that has long been contained in Xiangqi. In fact, as long as you can play chess, the truth of this cooperation will naturally be understood, and the chess proverb "three pieces to the side and a game is won" is a high generalization. It seems that to improve people's thinking of cooperation, chess is the best way to grasp.

Knight-Cannon cooperation contains the idea of Yin and Yang, and the Cannon moves straight for Yang and the Knight moves diagonally for Yin. The Cannon has strong long-range attack capabilities, while the Knight's close control is strong, and the combination of two strongs is endless.

Next, let's talk about the Cannon. The Cannon was a great invention on the chessboard, hence the chess proverb "Cannon is the guts of the force". The biggest role of artillery at the beginning of the game is to help build the battle formation, and although the famous screen Knights, anti-palace Knight, and single Knight formation name is Knight, it is nothing without the coordination of the Cannon. In the middle game, the Cannon is more often used to create opportunities for diversion and other sub-forces to create the main attack. It seems that the Cannon is the best supporting role on the chessboard.

In the game, players with lower strength often fail to grasp the coordination of the Cannon, and their Cannon position is chaotic early on, and the result is a bad formation and quick defeat.

Next, let's talk about the Knight. The Knight is the weakest major piece at the beginning of the game, and the opposing Rook-Cannon can easily create obstacles for it. The Knight's activity depends on the help of other Pawns, the Cannon or Elephant to help take safe position, and the Rook to help open the route quickly. So beginners even think that Knights are difficult and a burden.

Knight - in fact, the most hard-working character on the chessboard.

Because of initial formation, Knights do not perform well when there are many obstacles. However, when the game becomes complicated and the formations of the two sides are intertwined, the Knight's ability to control multiple points begins to be revealed. When the central plains of the chessboard becomes wide open, it is suddenly found that Knight become the hero of the battle field. It is precisely because of its ability to "stand on a little and radiate more" that the Knight has become the best pioneer in cracking the Divinity Array under the Elephant's cloak.

Knight-Cannon cooperation is a supporting role that endures selfless hard work and bears weight, in fact, it is the supporting role that is the mainstream in the real world.

The ancient game has long hinted to people that the hardest skill in life is to play a supporting role. Just like a game of Xiangqi, down to the Knight-Cannon endgame: the board space is infinite and varied, adaptable in all circumstances.

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Source : 蝴蝶飞博客
(Dated 2016-September-2nd)

19届亚运会杭州明开幕

The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2023 Grand Opening Ceremony is on tomorrow Saturday 23rd September, and the Closing Ceremony will be on Sunday 8th October.

Some competitions beginning as early as 19th September.

There are a total of 481 events. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Games were postponed from last year.

Schedules for Xiangqi : 28th September to 7th October

Chess : 24th September to 7th October

Go (Weiqi) : 24th September to 3rd October.

Countries and regions participating :

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Philipines, Palestine, North Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tukmenistan, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.

Competition events :

Archery, Artistic Swimming, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Basketball 3X3, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Breaking, Bridge, Canoe Slalom, Canoe Spring, Chess, Criket, Cycling-BMX, Cycling-Mountain Bike, Cycling-Road, Cycling-Track, Diving, Dragon Boat, Equestrian, Esports, Fencing, Football, Go, Golf, Gymnastics-Artistic, Gymnastics-Rhythmic, Gymnastics-Trampoline, Handball, Hockey, Ju-Jitsu, Judo, Kabaddi, Karate, Kurash, Marathon Swimming, Modern Pentathlon, Roller Skating, Rowing, Rugby Sevens, Sailing, Sepaktakraw, Shooting, Skateboarding, Soft Tennis, Softball, Sport Climbing, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Wushu, Xiangqi.

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蒋延广横车献马号角吹

There is a 93-year-old King of Xiangqi in Nanhai
Dated : 2006-September-6th

There is a 93-year-old Qi Wang (Xiangqi King)

In Heshun, Lishui Town, Nanhai District, there is a well-known old man "Qi Wang Guang," whose original name was Jiang Yanguang（蒋延广）, and many people like to call him "Uncle Guang" or simply "Qi Wang" (King of Xiangqi). At the age of 93, he has been in the chess scene for nearly 80 years.

Yesterday, the reporter met "Qi Wang Guang" in the Leisure Hall of the Heshun Village Community. The old man is in good spirits and has very sharp memory! Uncle Guang's first words when he saw the reporter, when revealing the "secret" of his longevity were: "It all came down to years of playing Xiangqi, mind power really."

At the beginner: Young Worker Self-taught Art of Xiangqi

Since the beginning of August this year, at the call of the township Youth League Committee and the village Community, Uncle Guang has opened a free Xiangqi class in the Leisure Hall of the village. Instantly about 30 primary and secondary schools pupils joined the class.

Born in 1914, Uncle Guang worked in a grocery store at the tender age of 15. During that period, whenever he had his work finished, Uncle Guang liked to go and watch people playing the game, and soon he learned to play it well, and with the guidance of his chess teacher, his knowledge and skills improved greatly.

The Trick: Good at dissecting the endgame

“Qi Wang Guang" 's name spread quickly locally.

Once, Heshun had held a Xiangqi tournament, and Kong Qingqiu（孔慶球）, a native of the town who had returned from Guangzhou, signed up for the competition after knowing about it, and he lost to Uncle Guang in the final stage. He was not convinced, so he sent a challenge letter to Uncle Guang for a direct encounter. Uncle Guang gladly accepted the challenge, and the two fought it out like dragon and tiger behind closed doors. At the end of the day, Uncle Guang won 27 out of a set of 40 games, Kong Qingqiu this time was convinced, and he bowed down, and said that Uncle Guang's Xiangqi King of Heshun was well deserved.

What Uncle Guang relishes the most is the classic endgames, and what an endgame such as "The Vertical Rook and Knight Sacrifice Formation"（横车献马阵）, which can be described as a treasure according to Uncle Guang. "The highest level of playing Xiangqi is knowing the Openings (start) and the Endgames (end)!", he insisted, quite seriousness.

Apprenticeship: Passing the baton

Since the establishment of the Lishui Town Art of Xiangqi Association, Uncle Guang has been appointed as a coach, focusing on educating the junior players. Once Uncle Guang's students had formed a team to participate in the junior three-game (Xiangqi, Chess and Weiqi) tournament in Nanzhuang, and the result was good : one championship and two runners-up, and when Uncle Guang heard the news, he immediately composed a poem : "The trumpet blows in the chess arena of Nanzhuang, and the young generals of Heshun thundered, carefully looking for the way to win the championship and victory brought the smile well earned in return."（南庄棋坛号角吹，和顺小将一声雷，临场细心寻子路，夺取冠亚笑颜回。”

Long-cherished wish: Write the life experience into a book

During the casual conversation, Uncle Guang inadvertently revealed that he had a wish, that is, he wanted to write a book about his years of chess experience and leave it to his juniors, and let them understand the truth of Xiangqi.

The moral of "The Vertical Rook and Knight Sacrifice Formation" endgame is to warn us not to miss the overall situation because we are too greedy for capturing one piece."

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Source : 象棋大师网

元朗荣华杯孟辰再夺冠

（象棋通讯）2023年第7届“元朗荣华杯”象棋公开赛，孟辰夺冠

2023年元朗荣华杯象棋公开赛，历经3天11轮，今已决出名次。

冠军孟辰、亚军陈泓盛、季军黄海林。

第4至第10名，分别为：赵金成、何文哲、钟少鸿、张学潮、刘宗泽、黄光颖、朱少钧。

女子组冠军宋晓琬、亚军沈思凡、季军王文君。

第4至第8名，分别为：时凤兰、何媛、董毓男、李沁、黄蕾蕾。

元朗荣华杯从2016年起，至今共举行了七届，孟辰夺冠共计三次，另外张学潮、黄仕清、邹海涛、蔡植坚也在前几届中分别折桂一次。

孟辰三度称霸，此番登顶，孟辰全程多次弃子攻杀，棋路大气磅礴，领先一场，依然进攻之心不减。

值得一提的是，孟辰与爱妻王晴大师赛前不久喜得爱女，喜气的加持，奶爸再得冠军，三阳开泰，喜笑颜开，孟辰感言我家刚出生小棉袄带来好运。

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（又讯）2023年东莞市第7届“元朗荣华杯”象棋公开赛，7月21日至23日，在东莞市石碣镇天悦酒店强势演绎，比赛限报180人，执行最新象棋竞赛规则，采取11轮积分制。

本次比赛吸引了众多的特大和大师，男子特大、国际特大包括：于幼华、孟辰、庄玉庭、许国义、张学潮、苗永鹏、李锦欢、赵汝权、黄学谦。

强大师包括：曹岩磊、赵金成、李翰林等。因为名额受限，“东莞双雄”之一的金松大师报名未被接受，沧海遗珠。“东莞双雄”的另一位赵玮大师则将参加“新泰杯”。

赛程21日晚8点赛2轮，22日上午8点半、下午2点半各3轮，23日上午8点半又有3轮决战。

赛事奖励丰厚，总奖金15万，冠军3万、亚军2万、季军1万，第4至第60有奖。女子组冠军1万2，本地组、历届男女冠军另奖。

比赛特邀棋坛宗师，广东象棋灵魂人物，世界五冠王，“羊城大帅”吕钦现场颁奖。亚洲冠军李鸿嘉、一线美女武文慧担当主持。

元朗荣华杯投入巨大，7届之中，奖金加办赛，已超100万以上，这些很多都是民间私人资金的注入，殊为不易，特别是袁炜年先生，为此比赛付出很多，待棋友甚厚，成为人人认可的象棋孟尝君。

本届大赛，是三年的特殊变动（疫症）过后，重回自由办赛，大公开型模式，火爆非凡，参赛人数迅速上升到一百八十多。

当前，名单已整体截止，除个别外，组委会不再多设，其中特大、大师，强超五十人，火热十足。

男子特大、大师，国际特大、大师，于幼华、孟辰、庄玉庭、许国义、张学潮、苗永鹏、李锦欢、赵汝权、黄学谦。

曹岩磊、赵金成、李翰林、陈泓盛、刘子健、黄海林、宿少峰、黄光颖、莫梓健、杨辉、蒋融冰、张彬、钟少鸿、何文哲、刘明。

陈富杰、郑宇航、万科、蒋明成、张成楚、梁运龙、李学淏、李成蹊、范思远、吴金永、宋炫毅、熊学元、张瑞峰、冯家俊。

女子特大、大师，陈幸琳、沈思凡、时凤兰、梁妍婷、林延秋、王文君、李越川、何媛、董毓男、董嘉琦、黄蕾蕾、宋晓琬、李沁、张佳雯。

广东十虎，有九虎出征，黄文俊、朱少钧、郑鸿标、邹海涛、黎铎、杨鸿轲、林川博、邓家荣、张泽岭。蔡佑广因事未参加。

十虎教练陈球谈道，九虎将会力争好成绩，虎王蔡佑广由于早前答应人暑假赴浙江教棋，时间有冲，金马车守信之人，无法分身，遗憾缺席。

多位业余强手、省市名将、地方战士、未来之星，集结出战，一百八十多人大阵容火线袭来，爆炸不已。

Source : qipu88

选拔赛王天一弃马绝杀

(Xiangqi News) The 18th World Xiangqi Championship 2023 will be held from November 20th to 25th at the Royal Sonesta Grand Hotel in Houston, USA, with a total prize fund of 400,000 yuan.

There will be four main events, including Men's Individual, Women's Individual, Men's Team, and Women's Team.

Leading players Wang Tianyi, Meng Chen, Liu Huan and Shen Sifan are selected for tbe Chinese Team.

In the previous World Xiangqi Championship held in Malaysia last year, Wang Tianyi and Zuo Wenjing won the Men's and Women's Individual respectively. Vietnam won the Men's Team championship, won also three more junior laurels, thus secured a total of four gold medals, and was victorious in the rapid chess tournament too.

The 2023 tournament is scheduled with the first five days being the World Championships for adults and juniors, and the last day being for the Open Xiangqi.

At present, the selection of personnel in various countries and regions around the world is in full swing.

The Xiangqi teams worldwide no doubt attached great importance to this World Championship. It is well known the Chinese team as early as March this year held a series of selection contests.

In the super battles that many chess fans were eagerly watching, in the Women's group, 11 rounds of play, Liu Huan won the contest with a one-point advantage, achieving a personal breakthrough. Shen Sifan was the runner-up.

As for Men's group, there was a fierce battle between Grandmaster Wang Tianyi and Grandmaster Meng Chen, when Wang Tianyi sacrificed a Knight to launch a great attack, his moves were sharp, the whole process was accurate, it was simply a masterpiece to watch.

That's it for the time being, the Xiangqi team of 20 players, led by Wang Tianyi and Meng Chen, will be rushing in due course to the 2023's 18th World Xiangqi Championships in Houston, USA.

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According to good source, the Xiangqi Association of UK will be sending Mr. Tian He (田 荷）to participate in the Houston, USA's World Championship November 2023.

He studies in University, is a leading player of the game and a Xiangqi Champion.

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Result of Mind Sports Olympiad's Xiangqi tournament, London held Sunday 20th August 2023 :

Gold medal to Carman Tang (Hong Kong)

Silver medal to Tam Wai Pong (Hong Kong)

Broze medal to Tung Yat Cheung (Hong Kong)

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杨官璘杯冠军奖金十万

(Xiangqi News) The "9th Yang Guanlin Cup" Xiangqi Open Tournament will be held from 22nd to 24th September 2023 at Hilton Hotel, Dongguan City, Guangdong.

The main organizers are China's Xiangqi Association, Guangdong Xiangqi Association and Dongguan Cultural, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau.

Competition Projects : Men's and Women's Individual.

Eligibility : According to China's Xiangqi Association, Men's Individual : the topmost ranking players. Women's Individual : the topmost ranking players.

Prizes : Men: Champion 100,000 yuan, Runner-up 50,000, 3rd 30,000 RMB, 4th 15,000, 5th 12,000, 6th 10,000 down to 24th 4,000 yuan.

Women : Champion 50,000 yuan, Runner-up 30,000, 3rd 20,000, 4th 10,000 down to 10th 3,000 yuan.

Format of competitions : Men's 9 rounds of Swiss system. Women's all play all.

Timing : Basically 60 minutes to complete all moves, with 20 seconds added for each move.

Players will be provided with expenses for travelling, accomodation and meal.

They are requested to wear formal attire to attend the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

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