He was a childhood friend of future Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

[1] Nie began learning Go at the age of nine and won the inaugural World Amateur Go Championship in 1979.

[2][3] He became famous in the Go world after leading China to victory in the China-Japan Supermatches, beating several top Japanese players including his teacher, Fujisawa Hideyuki.

[2][4] He earned the nickname "Steel Goalkeeper" for his ability to string together wins as the last Chinese player left.

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