XU, CHAO

徐超 (xú chāo, 1981-present)

Title: Chinese Grandmaster, Xiangqi International Grandmaster

Grandmaster Xu Chao was from Suzhou, Jiangsu. He was the 1997 National Youth Champion and has many other regional championships under his name. In 2001, he was placed in the top 16 positions in the Chinese Xiangqi National Individual's championships where he was promoted to Xiangqi master. Another major victory was in 2009 when he won the Hua Mu Guang Yang Cup, whereby he defeated many masters and grandmasters. But it was only until 2017 when he won the coveted event to become the 19th Xiangqi Champion of the sport. It was no fluke as he eliminated past champions like Wang Tianyi, Zhao Xinxin, Jiang Chuan and many other masters in a brutal elimination match format. With that achievement, GM Xu was eligible to participate in the Chu River and Han Border King of Xiangqi Tournament, where he faced Wang Tianyi. Wang would win that match.

Another highlight in GM Xu’s career was having won the 2019 World Xiangqi Championships, allowing him to participate in the Chu River and Han Border King of Xiangqi match for the second time.

In team competition, GM Xu was a key board on the Jiangsu team which was second place in the 2000 National Team Championships.

The author found a short video on Youtube showing GM Xu giving a lesson on Xiangqi. No better way to see what the GM looks in real life!

References

1. Png, Jim Hau Cheng. Lexicon of Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) Terms in English. Taipei : Jim Png Hau Cheng, 2017. 978-957-43-4707-0.

2. 徐超（中国象棋世界冠军）. 百度百科. [联机] [引用日期: 2020年Sep月28日.] https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BE%90%E8%B6%85/22163372.

3. 小偉象棋. 2017年全國個人賽冠軍徐超專訪：超越夢想. 每日头条. [联机] 2019年Sep月25日. [引用日期: 2020年Sep月28日.] https://kknews.cc/zh-tw/sports/bmy3njm.html.

4. 新浪体育综合. 象棋世锦赛中国揽获5金 徐超成为第九位世界冠军. 新浪体育. [联机] 2019年Oct月13日. [引用日期: 2020年Sep月28日.] https://sports.sina.cn/others/qipai/2019-10-13/detail-iicezzrr1871770.d.html.