Wang Bin 王斌
Name: Wang Bin 王斌 22/3/1979-present
Birthplace: Nanjing City 南京市 Jiangsu Province江苏
Current team: Jiangsu
Titles: GM
Summary of achievements:
1. 1992 and 1995 National Youth Xiangqi Champion 1992、1995年两获全国少年冠军
2. 1996 9th Asian Xiangqi Youth Champion 1996年第9届亚洲杯象棋赛少年冠军
3. Came in 2nd Place in the 2001 Chinese National Xiangqi Individuals Championship 2001年获全国个人赛亚军
4. 2nd BGN World Xiangqi Champion in 2002 2002年获第2届BGN世界象棋挑战赛预赛冠军
5. 3rd place in the 23rd 5 Rams Cup in 2003 2003年获第23届“五羊杯”全国象棋冠军赛、全国个人赛（甲组）第三名
6. 4th Place in the 2006 Chinese National Xiangqi Championships 2006年王斌获深圳全国个人赛第四名
7. Champion of the 3rd World Xiangqi Championships. GM Wang won 20k USD for that one!
Nicknames: None found yet
GM Wang Bin 王斌 was born in 1979 to Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. From his autobiography, he was first introduced to Xiangqi by his father who taught him how to play the game. But both his father and mother were not very well versed in the game and according to GM Wang himself, he was able to beat his father in Xiangqi three days after learning the game. He fell in love with the game and started to play more and more against his neighbors and soon, his Xiangqi prowess caught the eye of his school teacher, who promptly sent him to a Xiangqi summer camp. His genius in the game was noted and he was promptly sent to 白下体校 to learn Xiangqi. In his autobiography, GM Wang mentioned that this was his first real encounter with Xiangqi. He came under the guide of 宗树明 卓家璋 and he made much improvement. Not long after, he was cordially invited to train there as one of the players. When he was young, he took part in 6 provincial events and managed to win 5 out of 6 of them. In the competition where he did not win, he came in second place. GM Wang also managed to win the National Youth Xiangqi Championships in 1992 and for his achievements, he was invited to train with the Jiangsu team in 1993. He repeated this feat in 1995 and was starting to make a name for himself.
In 1996, he represented China to take part and win the 9th Asian Xiangqi Youth Championships in Indonesia. From then on, GM Wang his career took off. In the same year, GM Wang was also invited to represent the Jiangsu team as they became champions in the National Team Xiangqi Championships that year, where he played an important role. In 1999, he was eligible for A league tournaments and in 2001, GM Wang won the Laoshan Cup嶗山杯 National Rankings Competition. At the same time, as his winning percentage exceeded the 77% mark, he was granted the title of Xiangqi Master. He did not stop there, and proceeded to come in second place in the National Xiangqi Singles Championship that same year. In 2002, he improved further and was eligible to participate in the 2002 BGN Championships. In 2003, he came in 3rd place in the National Xiangqi Singles Championships. GM Wang had special thanks for his mentors, Master Li Guoxun 李国勋 who trained him from 1989. Master Yan Mujiang 言穆江(6th place in the 1980 National Xiangqi Singles Championships) also guided him in this period. From 1996 onward, GM Xu Tianhong 徐天红 took over the task of coach of the Jiangsu team and GM Wang studied under him. GM Wang was especially grateful to these great man who gave his career a big boost. In the final paragraph of his autobiography, GM Wang stated that he was introverted but had many interests. And he loves playing Xiangqi under anonymous names, giving him much fun and training in the process. So, the next time you get trounced in Xiangqi when playing in Chinese websites, do not fret. It might be a GM you were up against. Today, GM Wang Bin still writes many articles of high quality and great insight for the periodical Qiyi 《棋艺》.
The following video would show a video of the grandmaster giving a lecture on Xiangqi.
First created: 28th March 2011
Last updated: 10th, Jan 2021
Acknowledgements: None yet
References:
In Chinese, http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/qishou_8.html
In Chinese, <<象棋词典>> by 屠景明 杨柏伟
In Chinese, <<神洲八骏>> by Chief Editor GM Hu Ronghua