chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
player. In 2004, he became China's 18th grandmaster at the age of 17. He is China's first player ever to break into the top 10 of the FIDE world rankings and was the highest-ever rated Chinese player, with a peak rating of 2756, until August 2015, when this record was broken by
Ding Liren
Ding Liren (; born 24 October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. He is the highest rated Chinese chess player in history and is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion. He was the winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, beating Maxime Vac ...
.
In October 2007, Wang became the first Chinese player and third Asian player to cross the 2700
Elo rating
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor.
The Elo system was invented as an improved c ...
mark. In October 2008, he became the world No. 11, the highest-ranking a Chinese player had ever achieved, surpassing the previous record of 17th by Ye Jiangchuan set in 2000. In January 2010, he became the first Chinese world top-ten player with a world ranking of 9. His highest world ranking to date is No. 8 in the May 2010 rating list with a rating of 2752.
In the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010, he was a last round victory over
Teimour Radjabov
Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; az, Teymur Boris oğlu Rəcəbov, ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster, ranked number 18 in the world
A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaster ...
away from joining Levon Aronian as an automatic qualifier for the
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The w ...
of the World Chess Championship 2012 cycle; however, Radjabov secured a draw which allowed him to win the final qualifying position.
In 2008, Wang was a
Communication Studies
Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in diffe ...
Nankai University
Nankai University (NKU or Nankai; ) is a national public research university located in Tianjin, China. It is a prestigious Chinese state Class A Double First Class University approved by the central government of China, and a member of th ...
in
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
. He also played for his university club chess team.
Early life
Wang was born in
Taiyuan
Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
, where he learned to play
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
at the age of four. He would during summer every day after dinner watch people play
xiangqi
''Xiangqi'' (; ), also called Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. ''Xiangqi'' is in the same family of games as ''shogi'', ''janggi'', Western chess, '' chat ...
in the streets. When he was 5, with the support of his parents he started to receive chess training at school and made rapid progress. When he was 9 he joined the National Junior Team and won the Li Chengzhi () National Children's Cup. At 12, he joined the National Team and at 15 he joined Tianjin City Club.
Career
Wang has participated in several national team summit matches, including against the United States (2002), Russia (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), France (2006) and the UK (2007).
1999–2005: Junior player
In 1999, Wang won the under-12 category of the
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015, the event has been split into "World Cade ...
in Oropesa del Mar, Spain.
In 2000, he came second in the U-14 category World Youth Championship, which was also held in Oropesa del Mar, to
Alexander Areshchenko
Alexander Areshchenko ( uk, Олександр Арещенко, Oleksandr Areshchenko; born June 15, 1986) is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2002. He has competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2005, 2009, 201 ...
. That year, in Artek, Ukraine, and again in 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he competed for the
China national chess team
The Chinese Chess Association (CCA) (中国国际象棋协会) is the governing body of chess in China, one of the federations of FIDE, and a member of the Asian Chess Federation (ACF). It is the principal authority over all chess events in China ...
at the World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiads. In 2000, the team came 9th, with Wang scoring 6/9 (+4−1=4) with a 2430 performance. The 2002 team won gold and he also achieved on first board an individual gold medal for his stunning result of 8½/10 (+7−0=3) with a 2657 performance. He was supported by teammate Zhao Jun who had an 80% score on board 2.
In July–August 2002, at the Second China–USA Match in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, Wang scored 2½/4 (+1−0=3) with a performance of 2526. He played
Hikaru Nakamura
Christopher Hikaru NakamuraVinay Bhat. China won 20½–19½ overall.
In April 2004, Wang scored the highest with 9/11 at the Chinese Men's Team Championships in
Jinan
Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
. In August of that year, at the 2nd China–Russia Match in Moscow, Wang scored 3/6 (+1−1=4) with a 2670 performance. China won the match 37½–34½. Continuing, from October 14–31, when Wang became a FIDE master, he competed in his debut Olympiad in
Calvià
Calvià () is a municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located in the southwestern part of the island of Majorca, between the Serra de Tramuntana and the Serra de Na Burgue ...
,
Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...
scoring 8/12 (+5−1=6) on the first reserve board with a 2621 performance. The team finished in 24th place and Wang finished on 16th in the individual board standings. At this event he achieved his last GM norm and became China's then youngest grandmaster. December 18–23 saw him at the
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (, ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing style, ...
Memorial Internet Tournament, with games starting at 12:00 noon in Paris, 14:00 in St. Petersburg. 15:00 in Yerevan and 19:00 in Beijing. Each country faced each of the other three countries two times for a total of six rounds. Fischer time control will be used (1 hour 30 minutes plus 15 minutes added at move 40; 30 second increments are added after every move). The event took place on ICC. China won the Tigran Petrosian Memorial Internet Tournament. Their final round match against Russia came down to the wire. The Russians led 2–1 but Wang beat
Vadim Zvjaginsev
Vadim Zvjaginsev (; born 18 August 1976 in Moscow) is a Russian chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 1994. He played for the gold medal-winning Russian team in the 1997 World Team Chess Championship and in the 1998 C ...
to tie the match and win the event for the Chinese. Final Scores: China 14–France 13–Russia 13–Armenia 8. China players: (average rating: 2590) GM
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi (; born December 10, 1985) is a Chinese chess player. In 1999, he became the 10th grandmaster from China at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua be ...
2615 GM Ni Hua 2611 GM Zhang Zhong 2596 GM Wang Yue 2536
In February 2005, Wang scored 5½/9 at the
Aeroflot Open The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament; in 2013 it was converted to a rapid
Rapids are sections ...
. In April, he scored 6/9 at the Dubai Open. It was won by 16-year-old Wang Hao. In July, he came third on tiebreak with 6½/11 (+3−1=7) at the 2nd Sanjin International Hotel GM Cup in his hometown
Taiyuan
Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province ...
.
Pendyala Harikrishna
Pentala Harikrishna (born 10 May 1986) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He became the youngest grandmaster from India after attaining the title in 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior ...
Hyderabad, India
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. W ...
. In November, he came fifth with 8½/13 at the
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
The idea was the brainchild of William Rits ...
in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, and reached the second round of the FIDE World Cup having beaten and lost to
Karen Asrian
Karen Asrian ( hy, Կարեն Ասրյան; 24 April 1980 – 9 June 2008) was an Armenian chess player. Awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1998, he was a three-time Armenian champion. Asrian was a member of the gold medal-winning Arme ...
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Also, in 2005 he won both the National Youth Championship and the National Collegiate Championship.
2006: Becomes a 2600 Elo player
In February, Wang scored 4½/9 at the
Aeroflot Open The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament; in 2013 it was converted to a rapid
Rapids are sections ...
. In June at the
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad ( it, Le 37° Olimpiadi degli scacchi), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as w ...
in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...
, the national team, seeded 12, came second winning silver. Wang, on board four, went undefeated scoring 10/12 points (8 wins and 4 draws) and received an individual gold medal for this board four result, as well as an individual silver medal for his rating performance of 2837 (the second highest of all players after
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Ch ...
of Russia).
On July 10–22 at the
Taiyuan
Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province ...
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is ...
Event, the Chinese team won 36½–35½ against the foreign side with Wang scoring 6½/12. From 28 July to 7 August, at the 4th Marx György Memorial (Category 15 av 2622 of July'06 ratings) in
Paks
Paks is a small town in Tolna county, in the south of Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube River, 100 km south of Budapest. Paks as a former agricultural settlement is now the home of the only Hungarian nuclear power plant, which prov ...
, Hungary, Wang scored 5/10 (+1−1=8) and came joint third with Zoltán Almási. The tournament was won by
Pendyala Harikrishna
Pentala Harikrishna (born 10 May 1986) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He became the youngest grandmaster from India after attaining the title in 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior ...
. From 10–20 August, at the 3rd Russia–China match in Erguna, Wang scored 5½/10 (+3−2=5) with a 2711 performance. China won the match 51½–48½.
On September 4–9 at the Trophée MULTICOMS China–France Match, he scored 4/6 with a performance rating of 2712, the highest in the competition. On 7 September, at the 7th
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...
Young Masters, he came second after having lost to
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French chess grandmaster who is the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2819, Vachier-Lagrave is the seventh-highest ...
in the final rapidplay playoff. In October, he came sixth with 8½/13 at the World Junior Championship in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...
.
At the
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until th ...
in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...
in December, the national team won silver, with Wang on board two scoring 6/9 points (+4−1=4) with a 2647 performance.
2007: Becomes a 2700 player
In February, Wang came in joint second with 6½/9 at the
Aeroflot Open The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament; in 2013 it was converted to a rapid
Rapids are sections ...
in Moscow. In March, he won both the Calvi Open (6/7) in France and the
Cappelle la Grande
Cappelle-la-Grande (; nl, Kapelle) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
It is very close to Dunkirk.
Population
Heraldry
See also
* Communes of the Nord department
*Cappelle-la-Grande Open
The Cappelle-la-Grande Open i ...
tournament – which hosted 87 GMs, 81 IMs and 465 FIDE rated players – on tie-break, ahead of five other players with 7/9 points and a performance rating of 2784, achieving his goal of crossing 2700 Elo rating (China's first).
In April, he won the Philippines International Open Chess Championship in
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shorterned as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic in Zambales, and the towns of Morong and Hermo ...
with 7/9 points. In July 2007, he came second with 5/8 at the 4th Sanjin Hotel Cup in Taiyuan. In July at the 4th
Taiyuan
Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province ...
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is ...
Event, the Chinese team lost 17–15 against the foreign side; Vadim Zvjaginsev finished 5½/8 to top the score in the event, Wang made 5/8 to top the score for the Chinese team. In 18–31 August at the 4th China–Russia Match in Nizhniy Novgorod, Wang scored 5½/10 (+2−1=7) with a 2714 performance. China won the match overall 52½–47½. In 3–9 September at the UK–China Match in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, Wang scored 4/6 (+2−0=4) with a 2722 performance. China won the match 28–20.
At the FIDE World Cup in
Khanty-Mansiysk
Khanty-Mansiysk ( rus, Ха́нты-Манси́йск, Khánty-Mansíysk, lit. ''Khanty-Mansi Town''; Khanty: , ''Jomvoćś''; Mansi: , ''Abga'') is a city and the administrative center of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia. It stand ...
, in November, Wang defeated Aleksei Pridorozhni (1½–½),
Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov (russian: Серге́й Тивяков; born 14 February 1973) is a Russian–Dutch chess grandmaster. He is a three-time Dutch Champion and was European Champion in 2008.
Chess career
Tiviakov won the World Under-18 Champion ...
(2½–1½) and his compatriot
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi (; born December 10, 1985) is a Chinese chess player. In 1999, he became the 10th grandmaster from China at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua be ...
(1½–½), only to be eliminated by Ivan Cheparinov (½–1½) in the fourth round. In December, Wang came second on tiebreak at the Category 17 XVII Ciudad de Pamplona (Magistral A) tournament in Spain having scored 4/7 (TPR 2695). It was won by Francisco Vallejo Pons.
2008: Becomes a Top 20 player
In January, at the 15th Asian Team Chess Championship in
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
, the national team won gold with Wang scoring on board one 4½/7 points (+3−1=3) with a 2534 performance. In February, he scored 7/10 (+4−0=6) at the Gibraltar Chess Festival Open finishing 20th with a 2653 performance. In March, Wang finished shared first at the
Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a pop ...
Open, together with compatriot Wang Hao (who won on tiebreak) and
Hannes Stefánsson
Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson (born 18 July 1972) is an Icelandic chess grandmaster. He has won the Icelandic Chess Championship thirteen times, which makes him the record holder for most Icelandic Championship victories.
Chess career
Born in 197 ...
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has ...
, scoring 8/13 (+3−0=10) with a performance rating of 2806. Wang called it a "nightmare start" when his planned flight departure from Beijing on the 18th was delayed because of bad weather and did not arrive in Azerbaijan until the early morning of the 21st, thereby missing the opening ceremony as well as having to face the top seed (
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has ...
) with black later on the same day.
In July–August 2008, at the 2nd FIDE Grand Prix in Sochi, he came joint third with
Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky ( tt-Cyrl, Гата Камский, italics=no; russian: Гата Камский; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and a five-time U.S. champion.
Kamsky reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Ch ...
with 7½/13 (+2−0=11; elo performance 2765) behind winner Levon Aronian and second placed
Teimour Radjabov
Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; az, Teymur Boris oğlu Rəcəbov, ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster, ranked number 18 in the world
A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaster ...
. He was featured on the cover of '' New in Chess'' magazine's July 2008 issue. On August 20–30, 2008 in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, Wang won the NH Chess Tournament—"Rising Stars" (Wang, Cheparinov,
Caruana Caruana is a surname, commonly found in Italy, Sicily and Malta. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alfonso Caruana (born 1946), member of the Sicilian Mafia
* Antonio Annetto Caruana (1830–1905), Maltese archaeologist and author
* Charl ...
Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...
, Jussupow)—with 8½/10 points (+7−0=3; rating performance 2892) remaining undefeated. As the Rising Star winner of the tournament he won an invitation to the March 2009 Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
, and immediately after having won all of his first six games, he was invited by Jeroen van den Berg to Group A of the January 2009
Corus Chess Tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is an annual chess tournament held in January in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. It was called the Hoogovens Tournament from its creation in 1938 until the sponsor Koninklijke Hoogovens merged with British Steel ...
.
In September 2008, he competed at the 5th Russia–China Match in
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
where he scored 3/5 (+1−0=4) with a performance rating of 2767 for the men's team (with Li Chao, Wang Hao, Ni Hua,
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi (; born December 10, 1985) is a Chinese chess player. In 1999, he became the 10th grandmaster from China at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua be ...
). China won the match 26–24.
In November 2008, he played on board one for the Chinese Open team at the
38th Chess Olympiad
The 38th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 38. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from 12 to 25 November 2008 in Dresden ...
in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
, Germany (6½/10 (+3−0=7) and performance rating 2773). Other team members were Ni Hua,
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi (; born December 10, 1985) is a Chinese chess player. In 1999, he became the 10th grandmaster from China at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua be ...
, Wang Hao and Li Chao. The team came 7th overall.
On December 13–29, 2008, at the 3rd
FIDE Grand Prix
The FIDE Grand Prix is a biennial series of chess tournaments, organized by FIDE and its commercial partner Agon. Each series consist of three to six chess tournaments, which form part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship or ...
in
Elista
Elista (russian: Элиста́, (common during the Soviet era) or (most common pronunciation used after 1992 and in Kalmykia itself);"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. ...
, Russia – moved from
Dohar
Dohar ( bn, দোহার) is an upazila of Dhaka District in the division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The upazila is situated in the southernmost part of Dhaka District. The Padma River borders the southern part of the upazila.
History
During th ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
List of world records in chess
The world records in chess listed here are achieved in organized tournament, match, or simultaneous exhibition play.
Game length records
Longest game
The longest tournament chess game (in terms of moves) ever to be played was Nikolić–Arsov ...
Peter Svidler
Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (russian: Пётр Вениами́нович Сви́длер; born 17 June 1976), commonly known as Peter Svidler, is a Russian chess grandmaster and an eight-time Russian Chess Champion who now frequently comment ...
Étienne Bacrot
Étienne Bacrot (; born 22 January 1983) is a French chess grandmaster, and as a child, a chess prodigy.
He competed at the Candidates Matches in 2007 and won the Aeroflot Open in 2009. He passed 2700 FIDE rating in 2004 and in January 200 ...
.
On 16 January – 1 February, Wang in his debut at the event, became the second Chinese player to compete at the Group A Corus after Zhang Zhong in 2004, in
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee ( literally ''Neighborhood at Sea'') is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the C ...
, Netherlands. He came joint 8th with 6/13 (+2−3=8) and a 2685 performance in the Category 19 (average 2716) event.Rising Stars beat Experience 33½–16½ All of his decisive games were with the white pieces; He lost to Ivanchuk,
Adams
Adams may refer to:
* For persons, see Adams (surname)
Places United States
*Adams, California
*Adams, California, former name of Corte Madera, California
*Adams, Decatur County, Indiana
*Adams, Kentucky
*Adams, Massachusetts, a New England town ...
and Radjabov, and had wins against Morozevich and Carlsen. In Round 2, he blundered early with 9.Na7 in a what was to be a wild and scrappy game against Ivanchuk in an early deviation of the
Queen's Gambit Declined
The Queen's Gambit Declined (or QGD) is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:
:1. d4 d5
:2. c4 e6
This is known as the ''Orthodox Line'' of the Queen's Gambit Declined. When the "Queen's Gambi ...
:
:Wang–Ivanchuk 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Nc3 a6 7. g3 b5 8. Nxb5 Rb8 9. Na7?? A unexpected blunder. 9... Rb4 White must have missed this move. 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Qa5 Bb7 The knight on a7 is now trapped. 12. Bh3 Qb8 13. Qh5 Ke7 13...Rb6 was much safer. 14. d5 Qxa7 14...Bxd5 15.Qxd5! exd5 16.Nc6+ Kd6 17.Nxb8 Rxb8 leaves Black with a better ending. 15. dxe6 fxe6 16. Bxe6! The black king's cover is broken, and Wang has almost reached equality. 16... Kxe6 17. Qe8+ Be7 18. Qxh8 Nf8 19. Qg8+ Kd7 20. 0-0-0+ This allows the black king to find safety, whereas 20.Qg4+ offered good chances of a perpetual check or 20.Qf7! Qc5 21.Rd1+ Kc6 22.0-0! would have allowed play to go on. 20... Ke8 21. Qg4 Qc5 22. a3 Rxb2! There are no more attacks for White, and Black finishes with a mating net. 23. Kxb2 Qxa3+ 24. Kb1 Qb3+ 25. Ka1 c3 White resigned.
At the 26th
Linares chess tournament
The Linares International Chess Tournament ( Spanish: ''Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez Ciudad de Linares'') was an annual chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, which takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén pr ...
(February 18 – March 8) Wang made his debut at the eight-player event and became the first ever Chinese player to participate. Wang finished with +1−2=11 in joint 5th to 7th place on 6½ points with Radjabov and Aronian, 5th on performance rating (2729), and sixth overall on tiebreak. He had his two losses to Grischuk and Anand, and a win over Carlsen.
In 2009, Wang also participated at the 18th Amber Blindfold & Rapid tournament in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
(March 14–26) in his debut event and as a second Chinese player (after
Xie Jun
Xie Jun (born October 30, 1970) is a Chinese chess grandmaster and is not just the first Chinese female but the first Asian female to become a chess grandmaster. She had two separate reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 ...
in 1996), 5th
M-Tel Masters
Mtel Masters was an annual Grandmaster (chess), super-GM chess tournament held between 2005 and 2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria, sponsored and organized by the Bulgarian mobile network operator, M-Tel. The tournament was held as a double round-robin at the ...
in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...
(May 12–23) (Topalov, Carlsen, Ivanchuk, Wang, Dominguez and Shirov) debut event and second Chinese player after
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi (; born December 10, 1985) is a Chinese chess player. In 1999, he became the 10th grandmaster from China at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua be ...
Carlsen
Carlsen is a Danish- Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Carl". The form Karlsen is cognate. The parallel Swedish forms are Carlsson and Karlsson.
Notable people with the surname include:
* Agnete Carlsen (born 1971), Norwegian f ...
; 20m+10s, the Russia v China match and the Maotai Prince Cup China National Chess King & Queen Championships.
In September Wang won the Chinese Chess King tournament with 5/7 points and a 2797 performance.
Wang made his debut at the 2nd
Pearl Spring chess tournament The Pearl Spring Chess Tournament () was a double round robin chess tournament event featuring six super- GM players that took place in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The first edition in December 2008 was won by Veselin Topalov. According to ChessVibes ...
(category 21) in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
. He came third out of six players with 4½/10 (Elo perf=2735); the tournament was won by
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has ...
.
At the
FIDE World Cup
The FIDE World Cup refers to three different events over the years. Since 2000, it has been a major chess event organized by FIDE, the International Chess Federation. Since 2005, it has been a 128-player single-elimination chess tournament, formi ...
in
Khanty-Mansiysk
Khanty-Mansiysk ( rus, Ха́нты-Манси́йск, Khánty-Mansíysk, lit. ''Khanty-Mansi Town''; Khanty: , ''Jomvoćś''; Mansi: , ''Abga'') is a city and the administrative center of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia. It stand ...
, in November, Wang was the tenth seed, and defeated Nikolai Kabanov (2–0) and Boris Savchenko (2½–1½) before falling to
Étienne Bacrot
Étienne Bacrot (; born 22 January 1983) is a French chess grandmaster, and as a child, a chess prodigy.
He competed at the Candidates Matches in 2007 and won the Aeroflot Open in 2009. He passed 2700 FIDE rating in 2004 and in January 200 ...
(1½–3½) in the third round playoff. His loss was notable in that both he and countryman Li Chao were forfeited from their respective playoff games for tardiness, as they were smoking outside the tournament hall and consequently arrived two minutes late for each player's second playoff game, warranting an automatic forfeiture by the FIDE regulations.
2010–2014: Becomes a Top 10 player
In January 2010, he became China's first ever top 10 player on the FIDE rankings. From May 9–25, 2010, he participated in the final
FIDE Grand Prix
The FIDE Grand Prix is a biennial series of chess tournaments, organized by FIDE and its commercial partner Agon. Each series consist of three to six chess tournaments, which form part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship or ...
in
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of ...
, but failed to qualify for the
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The w ...
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich () i ...
in September 2010.
Wang was the of the gold medal-winning Chinese team at the
2014 Chess Olympiad
The 41st Chess Olympiad ( no, Den 41. Sjakkolympiade), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place in ...
.
2015
In July 2015, Wang won the 6th
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slight ...
Danzhou
Danzhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. Although called a "city", Danzhou administers a large area which was called Dan County or Danxian () until 1993. The administrative seat and urba ...
tournament with a score of 7/9 and a rating performance of 2887.
In October, he played for the Russian team "Siberia" that won the
European Chess Club Cup The European Chess Club Cup is an annual chess tournament for club teams from Europe. It is organised by the European Chess Union. The competition is held with the Swiss system over seven rounds. It consists of two sections, open and women's, with ...
in
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; ...
. The following month Wang took clear first place in the 5th Chinese Rapid Masters Championship.
China Chess League
Wang plays for
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
chess club
A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs often provide for both informal and tournament games and sometimes offer league play. Traditionally clubs host over the board, face to face chess mor ...
in the
China Chess League
The China Chess League (CCL) () is a Chinese professional league for chess clubs. The league is organized by the Chinese Chess Association. It is sponsored by Youngor Group and was sponsored by the Shandongbr>Torch Real Estate Group(2005–2009 ...
(CCL).
Playing style
Described as a highly technical, consistent and solid player he has a preference for the
endgame
Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to:
Film
* ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film)
* ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film
* ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...
where he seeks to slowly grind down his opponents with a slight advantage. In February 2009 after Corus finished,
Teimour Radjabov
Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; az, Teymur Boris oğlu Rəcəbov, ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster, ranked number 18 in the world
A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaster ...
was quoted in an interview saying, " ang Yuedoes not allow his opponents to develop counterplay and he exerts "strangulation" style very effectively." Wang has said his childhood idol was
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.
Capabla ...
, and once stated that
Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Cha ...
has had an influence on his style of play, having been impressed as a 13-year-old boy with Kramnik's victory over
Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
in the London 2000 WCC match. Wang has been given the nickname "Panda" by chess columnist
Mig Greengard
Michael "Mig" Greengard (born 9 June 1969 in Northern California, USA) is an American chess author and journalist who lives in New York City. Greengard also maintains the official English website of the Russian pro-democracy coalition, The Other ...
.
Openings
Wang usually plays 1.d4 as White, and for Black, plays the
Sicilian
Sicilian refers to the autonomous Italian island of Sicily.
Sicilian can also refer to:
* Sicilian language, a Romance language spoken on the island of Sicily, its satellite islands, and southern Calabria
* Sicilians, people from or with origins ...
,
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
Slav
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic language, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout ...
against d4.
Notable games
In 2005, the 17-year-old Wang manages to defeat his first
Elo
Elo or ELO may refer to:
Music
* Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group
** The Electric Light Orchestra (album), ''The Electric Light Orchestra'' (album), the group's debut album
** ''ELO 2'', the group's second album
* ELO Part II ...
2700+ opponent, the former FIDE world champion
Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olehovych Ponomariov ( uk, Русла́н Оле́гович Пономарьо́в; born 11 October 1983) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He was FIDE World Chess Champion from 2002 to 2004. He won the Ukrainian Chess Championship i ...
:
:Wang (2549)–Ponomariov (2700), Moscow
Aeroflot Open The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament; in 2013 it was converted to a rapid
Rapids are sections ...
2005, Round 6;
Modern Defense
The Modern Defense (also known as the Robatsch Defence after Karl Robatsch) is a hypermodern chess opening in which Black allows White to occupy the with pawns on d4 and e4, then proceeds to attack and undermine this "ideal" center without att ...
Chess in China
China is a major chess power, with the women's team winning silver medals at the Chess Olympiad, Olympiad in 2010, 2012, and 2014; the men's team winning gold at the 2014 Olympiad, and the average rating for the country's top ten players secon ...
China Chess League
The China Chess League (CCL) () is a Chinese professional league for chess clubs. The league is organized by the Chinese Chess Association. It is sponsored by Youngor Group and was sponsored by the Shandongbr>Torch Real Estate Group(2005–2009 ...