Grandmasters Wang Hao and Hou Yifan showcased their exceptional skills by winning the Open and Women’s titles at the chess competition of the 15th National Games of the People’s Republic of China in Shenzhen, held from September 23 to 28. Jiangsu topped the team standings, with Shandong taking silver and Hebei bronze.
Highlights of the National Games Chess Competition
The National Games, known as China’s premier multi-sport event held every four years, brought together many of the country’s strongest chess players. Notable participants included Ding Liren, Wei Yi, Yu Yangyi, Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun, Hou Yifan, Lei Tingjie, and Zhu Jiner. The chess competition employed a 25-minute time control with a 10-second increment and was divided into Open, Women’s, and Team sections. Each individual event began with a round-robin preliminary phase, after which the top four competitors advanced to semifinals and a final.
In the Open event, the seventh seed, Xu Yinglun, produced an impressive upset by reaching the semifinals alongside Wang Hao, Ding Liren, and Xu Xiangyu, finishing ahead of higher-rated contenders Yu Yangyi and Lu Shanglei. Both semifinals—Wang Hao against Xu Yinglun and Ding Liren against Xu Xiangyu—were decided in tiebreaks, with Wang Hao and Xu Xiangyu moving on to the finals. Wang Hao ultimately secured the title in another tense tiebreak in the final match, while Ding Liren defeated Xu Yinglun to claim the bronze medal.
The Women’s tournament followed a more predictable path, with Hou Yifan, Zhu Jiner, Ju Wenjun, and Lei Tingjie advancing from the preliminaries. In the semifinals, Lei Tingjie eliminated Ju Wenjun, and Hou Yifan narrowly edged past Zhu Jiner in a close tiebreak. Hou then won the final decisively with a score of 2–0 against Lei Tingjie to take gold, while Ju Wenjun triumphed over Zhu in a tiebreak for the bronze medal.
This chess competition highlighted the remarkable talent within China’s chess community and showcased thrilling matches that engaged fans and players alike. The victories of Wang Hao and Hou Yifan not only enhance their impressive careers but also inspire the next generation of chess enthusiasts in China.