Chess in China
The plan came to be known in Asian chess circles as the "Big Dragon Project" and the man behind it was Dato Tan Chin Nam.
In an exhibition played in Shanghai, he was held to two draws, one to Xie Xiaxun Chinese: 谢侠逊, the leading xiangqi player, also nicknamed 总司令 (Chinese for Top Commander) of the first half of the 20th century and later nicknamed "Centurian chess king" because at 100 years old, he was a strong player in all the three strategy board games.
In 1936, in Guangzhou, the British sponsored a tournament with top players from Austria, Britain, China, Germany and the United States.
Many big names had been trained at those chess classes when they were young, such as female grandmasters Liu Shilan and Wu Minqian; female master An Yanfeng; male master Qi Jingxuan, Li Zunian, Liang Jinrong, Yang Xian, Lin Ta, Ma Hongding (马红丁, born in 1963[5]) and Wang Li.
Before the ban on chess was imposed in 1966, the Chinese national team played four international matches with the Soviet Union, represented by master players.
After the end of the Chinese National Chess Championship Final in December 1958, three Soviet masters, Boris Baranov, Mamadzhan Mukhitdinov and Alexander Grushevsky visited China.
In the game Grushevsky-Xian Quan (later known as Sin Kuen after leaving to Hong Kong) the Chinese had good winning chances in the middlegame but blundered badly and lost.
To prepare for the match, the Chinese National Sports Committee from June 14 – July 15 selected over 20 players from all over the country to form a National Chess Training Team: Deng Wenxiang, Feng Bingrong, Feng Zuquan, Hong Kemin, Hou Chengji, Huang Xinzhai, Jian Mingji, Li Chengyi, Li Zhongjian, Li Zhu, Liu Chengwan, Liu Zhenguo, Lu Zhuoran, Qian Zongxiang, Wang Bijun, Wu Weiwen, Xu Hongshun, Xu Jialiang, Xu Tianli, Zhang Donglu, Zhang Fujiang and Zhu Fushan.
Jian Mingji, the young player from Guangdong, who changed his name to Kan Wai Shui when he left to Hong Kong, took the first place in the round robin qualifying tournament.
In September it was confirmed that the Soviets would be led by GM Andor Lilienthal, and other two players were IM Mikhail Yudovich and Vladimir Zagorovsky.
As preparation the Chinese team looked at their opponents’ games in order to analyze their style of play and predict what kind of strategy or tactics would be used.
China's Liu Wenzhe and Zhang Donglu both beat GM Krogius in their games and they were the best among Chinese players – 5 points out of 8 games with 62.5% In 1974, at the invitation of the Malaysian business tycoon Dato Tan Chin Nam, then President of the reorganized Malaysian Chess Federation, China was invited to attend the 1st Asian Team Championship with observer status.
It was here that the Chinese soon put themselves on the map when one of their players, Liu Wenzhe, rated a mere 2200, defeated in spectacular style with a stunning queen sacrifice a top Western Grandmaster, the hapless Jan Hein Donner of The Netherlands, in just 20 moves.
Liu Shilan won 1st place in Asia by sweeping the board in 14 games, entered World Champion Candidate Competition, namely the quarterfinal, and was entitled grandmaster.
In the Asian Area Qualifying Trial held in Laoag, Philippines, Chinese players Qi Jingxuan, Li Zunian and Ye Jiangchuan swept the top three prizes.
At the same time, men players like Ye Jiangchuan, Zhang Zhong and Ni Hua also gradually gained excellent results in various competitions.
The three strategy board games share a common headquarters called QiYuan (Chess Academy) normally with a dormitory with twin-sharing rooms on the top floor.
Fortunately for the Chinese Chess Association, in 1993, it received an endowment fund from Singapore businessman Lee Seng Tee who donated about US$1.5 million.
The remaining 90% were deposited in a fixed account from which the Chinese Chess Association drew interest mainly for its administrative operations and to send players for overseas competitions.
Another major benefactor was Prof Lim Kok Ann (1920–2003) who managed to move sponsors into investing in chess in China via the creation of the Dato Tan Chin Nam and ST Lee Cup tournaments.
His and others' efforts helped, in part, contribute to the creation of two Women's World Champions, Xie Jun (1991–1996, 1999–2001) and Zhu Chen (2001–2004) (ref.).
He also appeared for a one-hour talk show viewed live on prime time slot during the most popular TV program in China.
In 1990, China hosted the second part of the Women's Candidates Final Match between Yugoslav Grandmaster Alisa Marić and GM Xie Jun.
In recent years, were the S T Lee Beijing International Open and the Dato Tan Chin Nam Invitational Tournaments.
In 1998, the controversial Women's Candidates Final Match between Russian Grandmaster Alisa Galliamova and GM Xie Jun in August and the first ever Asian Chess Open were held in Shenyang.
It was won by the tandem pair of Nigel Short and Zhao Xue, who took the title a full point ahead of their nearest rivals, Yasser Seirawan and Zhu Chen.
The Games were under the aegis of GAISF and organized by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) of which FIDE is a founding member.
The six players were Veselin Topalov g BUL 2791; Vassily Ivanchuk g UKR 2786; Levon Aronian g ARM 2757; Sergei Movsesian g 2732 SVK; Peter Svidler g 2727; Bu Xiangzhi g CHN 2714.
The top two qualified in Shanghai played in Bilbao along with Magnus Carlsen, winner of the tournaments in Wijk aan Zee, Nanjing and Bazna, and Viswanathan Anand, the then-World Champion.
Tan Zhongyi won the 2017 Women's World Chess Championship, succeeding Hou Yifan, who had held the title since 2010.
