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