My Story with Chess

It seems that I have been having a nice connection with chess since my early childhood, when I was a 6-year-old boy. I gazed at the chess pieces fighting on the board, and immediately came to interest. I understood the rules and basic theories of chess so quickly that I crushed my dad when I was seven. At the age of 8, I was promoted to a Chess Association Master, which was a relatively high-level title for an amateur player.

In order to continue to improve my chess, in the summer of 2017, my dad learnt that a notable chess coach, Grandmaster Zeng Chongsheng, is teaching a group of young enthusiasts with similar levels to me in Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center, and his students have made outstanding achievements. I was in an anxious mood, when trying out Zeng’s lesson. Surprisingly, even though I hadn’t trained systematically before, Zeng praised my strong creativity after going through my games. I felt delighted having got the teacher’s appreciation from the very first class.

Under the guidance of GM Zeng, my chess skills have improved day by day, and I’ve won numerous prizes in tournaments across the country. In 2018, I won the championship of the 10-year-old group of the Li Chengzhi National Youth Cup. In 2019, two months after my 10^th birthday, I won the 4^th place of the 12-year-old group of the National Youth Cup. In the same year, I won the title of National Chess Athlete at the 4^th National Mind Games and became the youngest national master in China at that time.

The unique feature of chess is the integration of logic, artistry and competition, which can not only train one’s ability of logical thinking, but also cultivate the spirit of sportsmanship. When I was a kid, I was afraid of losing, so I often tried to offer draws to my opponent in complex positions. GM Zeng emphasized when analyzing my games that offering a draw is a sign of timidity.

“A good chess player should always focus on the best moves, not the result. If you are afraid to lose, you’ll only beat players who are clearly inferior than you, and you won’t make any progress. “

I bear in mind his words. In every match ever since, instead of making draw offers easily, I would made attempts to keep pressure on my opponents, leaving no stone unturned in fighting it out till the end.

In early 2020, the sudden epidemic forced the cancellation of most of the over-the-board tournaments. However, I haven’t put down my love for chess. Whenever I have free time, I would play chess online or study chess books, or make game commentary videos. In May 2021, I got a rare opportunity to play in an over-the-board professional level tournament, where dozens of Grandmasters and International Masters were participating. I entered the tournament with the mentality of learning from strong players. Unexpectedly, I managed to beat many international masters. Media reports of the Chess Association exclaimed that I was the “The Biggest Unexpected Force” of the tournament, and my performance caught the attention of Ye Jiangchuan, the Chairman of Chinese Chess Association and head coach of China national team. He believed that I had great potential and gave me special mentoring in my subsequent training.

In September 2022, I was invited to participate in the highest level of team chess tournament in China — China Chess League A Tournament. I was thrilled that I have the opportunity to represent Shenzhen Chess Team to be teammates with Grandmasters and play against strong professional players. In the tournament, I kept my calmness, not being afraid of my opponents no matter how famous and strong they are, and played in my own style, to finally help Shenzhen team win the 4^th place among 12 professional teams.I was awarded “Rookie of the Year” of the League A Tournament, which was a huge incentive for me.

This year’s FIDE U16 Olympiad, the leaders of China Chess Association selected 4 strongest youth players to form the strongest team, aiming for the champion in the Netherlands. The regulation of U16 Olympiad team competition is 3 male players and 1 female player in each team. As the highest-rated youth player in China, I was put on board 1, which was specially responsible for countering the strongest youth players from other nations. After nine rounds of games, I won 5, drew 4 and didn’t lose a single game. In the words of our coach, I had “successfully accomplished my mission, laying good foundations for the team’s success, with the solid high-quality game I had played in every round”.