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Compared to most of his peers， 20-yearold yu yangyi leads a distinctly different life. Seven to eight hours of his day， every day， are spent playing， practicing and thinking chess.
His efforts have finally paid off.
This year， his team won first place at the 41st Chess Olympiad—held in the Norwegian city of Troms？ in August—together with his four teammates Ni Hua， Wang yue， Ding Liren and Wei yi.
This marks the first time the Chinese men’s chess team has won gold at the event since its inception in 1927. In the last round of the competition， the Chinese team beat Hungary， finally conquering the event with eight wins and three draws. Up till now， the winners of the Olympiad have all hailed from European countries and the United States.
The Chinese men’s chess team has made national history， stunning the world after Xie Jun’s 1991 win at the Women’s World Chess Championship propelled her to become China’s first women’s chess world champion， and the Chinese women’s chess team took their first ever first-place win at the 1998 Chess Olympiad.
In China， the men’s chess team has long been outshined by the glory of the women’s team. Having already brought home four Chess Olympiad grand titles， respectively in 1998， 2000， 2002 and 2004， the team has also produced four world champions： Xie Jun， Zhu Chen， Xu Yuhua and the current champion， Hou Yifan. The Chinese women’s team won second place at this year’s Chess Olympiad.
While they have come close to taking the title several times， the men’s team has narrowly missed these opportunities and remained in second place at three World Chess Championships and one Chess Olympiad.
“We won the Olympiad this time because we were confident and embraced teamwork，”said yu. “Most importantly， we were self-disciplined and observed a regular schedule.”
yu said it’s important for chess players to follow a strict daily routine as staying up late or having an irregular diet might affect their performances.
A competitive chess game usually lasts three to four hours—sometimes stretching from seven to eight hours when a game is too close to call—thus requiring players to maintain a strong mental poise and concentrate intensely on the game. Some have even compared the amount of energy exerted during a round of chess to that of a boxing match.
“Some players may have been tired of the cafeteria food there， which was the same every day， and chose to dine elsewhere. However， I stuck to the same foods throughout the competition， which kept me healthy and helped me win，” yu said. Thanks to his self-discipline， yu gave an outstanding performance during this year’s Olympiad and was awarded the Best Individual Player on the men’s side.
ye Jiangchuan， head coach of the Chinese chess team， was not surprised by the success of the team this time around.
“We have taken a number of approaches to strengthening the men’s team in recent years， including encouraging them to take part in all kinds of international and national matches and build up their spirit of teamwork，” said ye. “Additionally， many players are enrolled in university. Such learning experiences help to improve their overall competence and chessplaying abilities.”
The average age on the Chinese men’s chess team is very young， at just 22 years old， with the oldest player， Ni Hua， being 31， and the youngest， Wei yi， just 15.
“Having started to play chess at an early age， they have accumulated vast experience in a short time，” said ye. “Our next goal is to train a men’s world champion.”
Life in black and white
In spite of his young age， yu has already made remarkable achievements in the chess field， becoming a grandmaster—the highest title a chess player can attain apart from world champion—at the tender age of 15 and winning the championship title at last year’s World Junior Chess Championship in Turkey.
yet yu’s appearance is no different from that of any common-or-garden college student. He sports a pair of thin-framed glasses and casual wear， attributing his wild success to both his concerted efforts and his gift for the game.
Talking about his life， he said it may seem boring to others. His days are spent at the Chinese Chess Academy in Beijing and he divides his time between training and traveling both at home and abroad for matches.
His daily life， in his words， is consumed by chess. “Without a deep love for the game， one would not be able to persevere，” he told Beijing Review.
“I have stuck with this game for so long because I want to really make the most of my talent for this. I don’t know what else I can take up as a career except chess. It’s lucky to find a line of work one really takes pleasure in，” said yu.
yu started to play chess at the age of 7. Back then， his primary school offered several extra-curricular courses. yu opted for chess， as his parents considered the game “more international” than Chinese chess. Selected to train at the Chinese Chess Academy in Beijing at 11， after winning the 2004 World youth Chess Championship， yu was still too young to live away from his home in central China’s Hubei Province alone. His father quit his job and rented an apartment in Beijing to look after him. “My father didn’t go back home until the beginning of this year，” yu said.
He became a formal member of the national team in 2010 after being awarded the grandmaster title a year earlier， and now ranks at No. 47 in the world.
“There were times when I questioned my pursuit， especially when I lost a game or found it hard to improve further after reaching a certain level，” said yu. Had it not been for a small error he made at last year’s World Chess Team Championship， his team would have won the gold. yu felt immense regret and questioned his abilities. Fortunately， he said， all of those negative thoughts have been overcome.
International advances
In spite of the Chinese chess team’s achievements at this year’s Olympiad， what is known in the country as “international chess” is still a relatively unpopular game. Before 1990， fewer than 20，000 people in China knew how to play it. Despite having a history over 2，000 years long， the game didn’t really take off in China until 1991， when Xie won the women’s world championship.
The Chinese Chess Association estimates there are currently 600 million people worldwide who can play chess. In China， there are now 10 million chess players， but the number of those who regularly register for matches is only 300 to 400， of whom just 60 to 70 are professional players.
Compared with Chinese chess， the international version has a weaker cultural tradition in China. ye said one of the difficulties of promoting the game is the lack of professional teachers. As an “international chess” pioneer in China， ye has done a lot to promote the game nationwide， including giving lessons at Peking University.
At present， the Chinese Chess Association is building an online platform which offers distance teaching and opportunities to carry out online matches. The platform will be put into operation at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
“Only by enlarging the talent pool of young chess players can the Chinese chess team have stronger players to choose from and put on better performances in international competitions，” said ye.
Talking about his future plan， yu said that his long-term goals are as yet unclear. In the short term， he hopes to concentrate on training and improving his grade and making it into the global top 20 players. For now， however， his greatest intellectual challenge remains finishing his studies at Capital Sports University in Beijing next year.
His efforts have finally paid off.
This year， his team won first place at the 41st Chess Olympiad—held in the Norwegian city of Troms？ in August—together with his four teammates Ni Hua， Wang yue， Ding Liren and Wei yi.
This marks the first time the Chinese men’s chess team has won gold at the event since its inception in 1927. In the last round of the competition， the Chinese team beat Hungary， finally conquering the event with eight wins and three draws. Up till now， the winners of the Olympiad have all hailed from European countries and the United States.
The Chinese men’s chess team has made national history， stunning the world after Xie Jun’s 1991 win at the Women’s World Chess Championship propelled her to become China’s first women’s chess world champion， and the Chinese women’s chess team took their first ever first-place win at the 1998 Chess Olympiad.
In China， the men’s chess team has long been outshined by the glory of the women’s team. Having already brought home four Chess Olympiad grand titles， respectively in 1998， 2000， 2002 and 2004， the team has also produced four world champions： Xie Jun， Zhu Chen， Xu Yuhua and the current champion， Hou Yifan. The Chinese women’s team won second place at this year’s Chess Olympiad.
While they have come close to taking the title several times， the men’s team has narrowly missed these opportunities and remained in second place at three World Chess Championships and one Chess Olympiad.
“We won the Olympiad this time because we were confident and embraced teamwork，”said yu. “Most importantly， we were self-disciplined and observed a regular schedule.”
yu said it’s important for chess players to follow a strict daily routine as staying up late or having an irregular diet might affect their performances.
A competitive chess game usually lasts three to four hours—sometimes stretching from seven to eight hours when a game is too close to call—thus requiring players to maintain a strong mental poise and concentrate intensely on the game. Some have even compared the amount of energy exerted during a round of chess to that of a boxing match.
“Some players may have been tired of the cafeteria food there， which was the same every day， and chose to dine elsewhere. However， I stuck to the same foods throughout the competition， which kept me healthy and helped me win，” yu said. Thanks to his self-discipline， yu gave an outstanding performance during this year’s Olympiad and was awarded the Best Individual Player on the men’s side.
ye Jiangchuan， head coach of the Chinese chess team， was not surprised by the success of the team this time around.
“We have taken a number of approaches to strengthening the men’s team in recent years， including encouraging them to take part in all kinds of international and national matches and build up their spirit of teamwork，” said ye. “Additionally， many players are enrolled in university. Such learning experiences help to improve their overall competence and chessplaying abilities.”
The average age on the Chinese men’s chess team is very young， at just 22 years old， with the oldest player， Ni Hua， being 31， and the youngest， Wei yi， just 15.
“Having started to play chess at an early age， they have accumulated vast experience in a short time，” said ye. “Our next goal is to train a men’s world champion.”
Life in black and white
In spite of his young age， yu has already made remarkable achievements in the chess field， becoming a grandmaster—the highest title a chess player can attain apart from world champion—at the tender age of 15 and winning the championship title at last year’s World Junior Chess Championship in Turkey.
yet yu’s appearance is no different from that of any common-or-garden college student. He sports a pair of thin-framed glasses and casual wear， attributing his wild success to both his concerted efforts and his gift for the game.
Talking about his life， he said it may seem boring to others. His days are spent at the Chinese Chess Academy in Beijing and he divides his time between training and traveling both at home and abroad for matches.
His daily life， in his words， is consumed by chess. “Without a deep love for the game， one would not be able to persevere，” he told Beijing Review.
“I have stuck with this game for so long because I want to really make the most of my talent for this. I don’t know what else I can take up as a career except chess. It’s lucky to find a line of work one really takes pleasure in，” said yu.
yu started to play chess at the age of 7. Back then， his primary school offered several extra-curricular courses. yu opted for chess， as his parents considered the game “more international” than Chinese chess. Selected to train at the Chinese Chess Academy in Beijing at 11， after winning the 2004 World youth Chess Championship， yu was still too young to live away from his home in central China’s Hubei Province alone. His father quit his job and rented an apartment in Beijing to look after him. “My father didn’t go back home until the beginning of this year，” yu said.
He became a formal member of the national team in 2010 after being awarded the grandmaster title a year earlier， and now ranks at No. 47 in the world.
“There were times when I questioned my pursuit， especially when I lost a game or found it hard to improve further after reaching a certain level，” said yu. Had it not been for a small error he made at last year’s World Chess Team Championship， his team would have won the gold. yu felt immense regret and questioned his abilities. Fortunately， he said， all of those negative thoughts have been overcome.
International advances
In spite of the Chinese chess team’s achievements at this year’s Olympiad， what is known in the country as “international chess” is still a relatively unpopular game. Before 1990， fewer than 20，000 people in China knew how to play it. Despite having a history over 2，000 years long， the game didn’t really take off in China until 1991， when Xie won the women’s world championship.
The Chinese Chess Association estimates there are currently 600 million people worldwide who can play chess. In China， there are now 10 million chess players， but the number of those who regularly register for matches is only 300 to 400， of whom just 60 to 70 are professional players.
Compared with Chinese chess， the international version has a weaker cultural tradition in China. ye said one of the difficulties of promoting the game is the lack of professional teachers. As an “international chess” pioneer in China， ye has done a lot to promote the game nationwide， including giving lessons at Peking University.
At present， the Chinese Chess Association is building an online platform which offers distance teaching and opportunities to carry out online matches. The platform will be put into operation at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
“Only by enlarging the talent pool of young chess players can the Chinese chess team have stronger players to choose from and put on better performances in international competitions，” said ye.
Talking about his future plan， yu said that his long-term goals are as yet unclear. In the short term， he hopes to concentrate on training and improving his grade and making it into the global top 20 players. For now， however， his greatest intellectual challenge remains finishing his studies at Capital Sports University in Beijing next year.