Wang Yue Top Seed in China National Chess Championship

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

China has one of the strongest national chess championships in the world. It is time for the 2012 edition this month. The 2012 China Chess Championships for men and women is being organised from March 27 to April 7 in the city of Xinghua. Both groups will be 12-players round robin tournaments. Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan will compete in the open section. You can find all the live coverage at Chessdom. You can read about the opening ceremony at the Fide website.

The open section top seed is Wang Yue (2702 elo) who won one national title, in 2005. The last year champion Ding Liren will defend the title, but the 2010 champion Wang Hao is not in the starting list. The average elo of the players is 2595.

Participants (Men):
GM Wang Yue CHN 2702
GM Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2668 (champion in 2004)
GM Ding Liren CHN 2660 (champion 2009, 2011)
GM Hou Yifan CHN 2639
GM Ni Hua CHN 2637 (champion 2006, 2007 and 2008)
GM Zhou Jianchao CHN 2625
GM Yu Yangyi CHN 2615
GM Zhao Jun CHN 2583
GM Li Shilong CHN 2549
GM Lu Shanglei CHN 2514
IM Wang Chen CHN 2490
IM Liu Qingnan CHN 2461

Round 1 pairings:
GM Li Shilong – GM Lu Shanglei
IM Wang Chen – GM Hou Yifan
GM Ding Liren – GM Wang Yue
IM Liu Qingnan – GM Ni Hua
GM Zhou Jianchao – GM Bu Xiangzhi
GM Zhao Jun – GM Yu Yangyi

The women’s championship has an average elo of 2324. WGM Zhang Xiaowen  is the defending champion, while the 2010 champion Ju Wenjun is the top seed.

Participants (Women):WGM Ju Wenjun CHN 2557
WGM Tan Zhongyi CHN 2438
WGM Huang Qian CHN 2399
IM Wang Yu A CHN 2372
Wang Jue CHN 2366
WGM Zhang Xiaowen CHN 2354
WGM Guo Qi CHN 2351
WGM Ding Yixin CHN 2350
WGM Gu Xiaobing CHN 2257
WIM Wang Xiaohui CHN 2209
Wang Doudou CHN 2186
Nie Xin CHN 2053

Round 1 pairings:
WGM Guo Qi – IM Wang Yu A
WGM Gu Xiaobing – Wang Doudou
Wang Jue – WGM Ju Wenjun
WIM Wang Xiaohui – WGM Ding Yixin
WGM Zhang Xiaowen – WGM Huang Qian
WGM Tan Zhongyi – Nie Xin

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Also see her personal blog at
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Congratulations to Maldives for holding their first-ever national chess championship

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hi everyone,

Nice chess news that the country of Maldives is all set to host their very first national chess championship. Wow. The inaugural national chess championship of the Maldives would be conducted from July 14-18 at the National Sports Building in Male. Chess has remained a hobby in the country and has had very few professional chess events.

A total of 30 players have registered. The best player from among the women players will be declared the first national women's chess champion of Maldives. We wish Maldives a great future in chess ahead.

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Ding Liren, Zhang Xiaowen win 2011 China National Chess Championship

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hi everyone,

Here's more to the strength of chess in China. A 19-year-old has won the national Chinese Chess Championship - for the second time at that!
Ding Liren had won it last in 2009 and has repeated that performance by despite tough competition of the likes of Bu Xiangzhi and Wang Yue (2734), Ding totalled 9.0/11 and a 2867 performance. Zhang Xiaowen won the women's section with 8.5/11.

The 2011 Chinese national champions DIng Liren and Zhang Xiaowen.

The Championship took place from March 30 to April10, 2011 in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, China. It was an 11-round event with 12 players. The top eight finishers will be seeded in the 2012 China Chess Championship, while the final four players will play in Group B of the 2012 China Chess Championship. The winner of the men's event also secures a spot in the World Chess Team Championship in Ningbo, China later this year. Prior to the event the men already qualified are: Wang Yue, Wang Hao, Li Chao, and Yu Yangyi. The women's section also qualified eight of the 2012 China Chess Championship 2012, and the last four for Group B. The time control was 90 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

Hou Yifan, who took part in the men's section, managed a nice 6.0/11 and a 2640 performance to manage the fifth place.

If you're comfortable with Chinese then here is the official website.

Final standings

1. Ding, Liren g 2637 9
2. Ni, Hua g 2646 7
3. Zhou, Jianchao g 2660 7
4. Zhao, Jun g 2580 7
5. Hou, Yifan g 2602 6
6. Wang, Yue g 2734 5½
7. Yu, Yangyi g 2652 5½
8. Li, Chao b g 2646 5
9. Bu, Xiangzhi g 2677 5
10. Xiu, Deshun 2508 4½
11. Li, Shilong g 2520 3½
12. Zhang, Ziyang m 2442 1

Women's section

1. Zhang, Xiaowen wg 2344 8½
2. Zhao, Xue g 2495 8
3. Wang, Jue 2275 6½
4. Wang, Yu A. m 2398 6½
5. Tan, Zhongyi wg 2428 6½
6. Ju, Wenjun wg 2519 6
7. Guo, Qi 2331 6
8. Huang, Qian wg 2394 5
9. Shen, Yang wg 2443 4½
10. Gu, Xiaobing wg 2369 4
11. Ding, Yixin wg 2376 3½
12. Xu, Tong wm 2217 1

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From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

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China national chess championship: Three leaders in open section, two in women's

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011


Hi everyone,

Have you been following the China Chess Championships 2011? They've become one of the strongest in the chess world now. After nine rounds, we had news that Ding Liren, Zhang Xiaowen and Zhao Xue were the joint leaders in the open section which also has Hou Yifan playing.

Leading in China: Zhao Xue

The Championships are being held from March 30 to April 10 in Xinghua, Jiangsu, China. Both groups are 12-players round robin tournaments. 

The top eight finishers qualify for the China Chess Championships 2012. The last four players will compete in China Chess Championship 2012 Group B. Champion of the Open section will be invited to play for the Chinese team in the World Chess Team Championship in Ningbo later this year. Four players already earned the place in the team: Wang Yue, Wang Hao, Li Chao B and Yu Yangyi.

GM Zhao Xue, after defeating top seed and defending champion WGM Ju Wenjun, is leading jointly with the 2009 Asia champion WGM Zang Xiaowen in the women's section with 7.0 points each.

You can find more details here. Though the site is in Chinese!

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From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com