Yu Retains Chinese Title But Loses To Ju
Two weeks after clinching the Shenzhen Masters (online), GM Yu Yangyi won his third Chinese Championship title (over the board!). GM Ju Wenjun, who chose to play in the open section, was one of two players to beat the eventual champion.
How to watch?
You can find, play through, and download all games of the Chinese Championships on our Events page: Open section | Women's section.
That this Chinese Championship took place just five months after the previous must be related to the coronavirus pandemic, which probably led to a postponement of the 2020 edition until the end of last year. Because, yes, we're talking about over-the-board chess!
Again held in Xinghua, Jiangsu, it was again Yu who won the title, his third in all as he also won in 2014. This time, he edged out GM Wei Yi and GM Li Di on tiebreak.
After nine rounds, Wei and Yu were sharing the lead with 6/9. While Yu had lost one game earlier in the event, Wei was still undefeated. In this crucial encounter, Yu managed to beat his five-year-younger opponent so that he went into the final round a point ahead of the pack.
However, Yu lost that final-round game, so Wei, and also Li, were able to catch him. The tiebreak helped Yu to retain his title.
The player who beat him in the final round was Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun, who played in the open section (just like in December). This time it was Yu who ended up in a hopeless endgame.
The nice game below was one of several clashes among the four players in this tournament who share the same family name. This game caught our eye thanks to the weekly blog by the Azerbaijani grandmasters Vasif Durarbayli and Burak Firat, who chose this one as their Game of the Week for the special role the white king plays:
2021 Chinese Championship | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Name | Rtg | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | Yu Yangyi | 2709 | 2680 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7.0/11 | 37.75 | ||
| 2 | Wei Yi | 2732 | 2678 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 7.0/11 | 37 | ||
| 3 | Li Di | 2561 | 2693 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.0/11 | 36 | ||
| 4 | Lu Shanglei | 2615 | 2622 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 6.0/11 | |||
| 5 | Ju Wenjun | 2560 | 2564 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 5.0/11 | 28 | ||
| 6 | Xu Yinglun | 2554 | 2564 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 5.0/11 | 27.25 | ||
| 7 | Xu Zhihang | 2506 | 2569 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 5.0/11 | 27.25 | ||
| 8 | Xu Xiangyu | 2573 | 2564 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5.0/11 | 27 | ||
| 9 | Zhao Jun | 2638 | 2558 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.0/11 | 26.25 | ||
| 10 | Liu Yan | 2524 | 2567 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5.0/11 | 26 | ||
| 11 | Bai Jinshi | 2618 | 2527 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 4.5/11 | 24.75 | ||
| 12 | Xu Yi | 2527 | 2535 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4.5/11 | 23.75 |
Like Yu, GM Tan Zhongyi retained the title that she had won in December, also after losing in the final round. However, she had already secured victory with a round to spare as she was leading by 1.5 points after round 10.
Tan's game in round six was an example of a concept coined by GM John Nunn called LPDO: Loose Pieces Drop Off.
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2021 Chinese Women's Championship | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Name | Rtg | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | Tan Zhongyi | 2510 | 2508 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.5/11 | |||
| 2 | Ning Kaiyu | 2327 | 2481 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8.0/11 | 40.75 | ||
| 3 | Zhu Jiner | 2459 | 2469 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.0/11 | 39 | ||
| 4 | Song Yuxin | 2290 | 2378 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 6.5/11 | |||
| 5 | Xiao Yiyi | 2301 | 2345 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.0/11 | 25.75 | ||
| 6 | Zhai Mo | 2366 | 2340 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0/11 | 25.5 | ||
| 7 | Wang Yu A. | 2294 | 2251 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.5/11 | 22.75 | ||
| 8 | Gu Tianlu | 2267 | 2254 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4.5/11 | 22.5 | ||
| 9 | Li Xueyi | 2328 | 2248 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 4.5/11 | 18.75 | ||
| 10 | Ren Xiaoyi | 2267 | 2185 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.5/11 | 18.75 | ||
| 11 | Yuan Ye | 2081 | 2201 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 3.5/11 | 15.75 | ||
| 12 | Gu Xiaobing | 2263 | 2105 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 2.5/11 |
Liang Ziming informed Chess.com that IM Xu Zhihang narrowly missed his third and final GM norm. In the women's section, WIM Ning Kaiyu got her second WGM norm while WIM Song Yuxin just missed out on her third and final WGM norm.
See also:
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
Peter's first book The Chess Revolution is out now!
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