China has emerged as a chess power

                                                                                        China has emerged as a chess power

The World Chess Federation website published an article titled "China's rise as a chess power" on July 1. The article is compiled as follows:

From humble beginnings, China has risen to dominate the chess world. China's journey to chess dominance is worthy of serious discussion and study.

According to the World Chess Federation's June 2023 rankings, China accounted for two of the top 20 players in the World Open. But of the top 20 female players, China accounts for five (three of whom occupy the top five positions). China currently has the third highest average score among the top 10 players, although it has fewer grandmasters than India, Ukraine and Germany. The latter three countries are all behind China in the average ranking. Why is that?

In a culture that values tradition, wisdom and long-term vision, it seems natural that chess would become China's national sport. Still, their own board games - Chinese chess and Go - are best known in China. In fact, it wasn't until the second half of the 20th century that chess began to gain a foothold in China.

In 1977, China won the second place in the Asian Chess Team Championship. In 1978, China confidently announced its entry into chess at the Buenos Aires Chess Olympiad team tournament.

In 1979 and 1981, China finished second at the Asian Team Chess Championships, won the gold medal for the first time in 1983, and then again in 1987, 1989 and 1991. In addition, Chinese players began to win numerous tournaments in Asia, making their presence felt around the world. As chess has progressed in China, so has the government's support.

In the first decade of the 21st century, China began to make the podium in team chess events - the women's team won silver MEDALS at the 2010, 2012 and 2014 Chess Olympiad, while the men's team won gold at the 2014 Olympic team event. He won gold again in the 2018 and 2021 Olympic team events.

During this period, the government continued to increase its support for chess at the national and local levels. The Chinese are beginning to make great strides in women's chess.

In the 1980 Chess Olympiad, the Chinese women's team took part for the first time. They tied with the Olympic champion of the Soviet Union and achieved the sixth place, which aroused the attention of the international chess world. The women's team continued to improve in the chess field and finally finished tied for third place at the 27th Chess Olympiad held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 1986.

In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Chinese female chess players officially declared their dominance in the field. Xie Jun won the title that year and held it until 1996, and again from 1999 to 2001. In 2010, another Chinese female player, Hou Yifan, won the title and became the youngest women's world champion, which she successfully defended three times. Her crown was later taken by two other Chinese players, Tan Zhongyi (2017-18) and Ju Wenjun (2018) respectively.

The highest achievement of Chinese chess so far is Ding Liren won the World Chess Championship in 2023. China now holds both the Open and women's chess titles, a feat previously unique only to the Soviet Union.

With chess increasingly dominated by younger players, China's pool of young talent is almost unmatched. Given the large number of students in China, it is not surprising that there are many outstanding chess players.