Yu Youhua 于幼华

Name: Yu Youhua 于幼华 1961-present
Birthplace: Zhejiang province
Titles: GM , IGM
Summary of achievements:
2002 winner of the Chinese National Xiangqi Singles Championship
Key player on the 1995 team that represented Huo Che Tou in the Chinese National Xiangqi Team Championships
2003 Winner of the Five Rams Cup
Runner up of the 2003 World Xiangqi Singles Tournament
First champion of the 2007 Lai Qun Cup
Nicknames: 拼命三郎 which translated directly means a brave man willing to risk his life. ( from www.mdbg.net )

Yu Youhua was born in Zhejiang province in 1961. He first started learning Xianqi from his father when he was very young. Later, he would come under the tutelage of Cai Weiming, also a Xiangqi expert and author of a few books of his own. Yu’s first claim to fame came in 1977 where he was the winner of the Chinese National Xiangqi Youth Championships. He was promptly inducted to the Xiangqi team representing Zhejiang Province the following year.

Yu started competing in the Chinese National Xiangqi Singles Competition in 1981 where he would come in 6th place. He was awarded the title of Xiangqi master the following year. However, he would only win the event over twenty years later in 2002. He did obtain favorable results in the competition coming in 3-6th places in many of the years. Another highlight of his career would be winning the coveted Five Rams Cup in 2003. He would also come in runner up in the World Xiangqi Federation Singles Tournament the same year. In 2007, he won the first ever Lai Qun Cup, which was a competition whereby only the best were selected for competition. In team competition, he led the Huo Che Tou team to championship glory during the Chinese National Xiangqi Team Championships in 1995.
What distinguished Yu from other Xiangqi greats is the way he plays. He is perhaps the most aggressive player in this era today, which is a rare quality because most other players would opt for a slow and steady pace where they can control the game. Yu is especially renowned for his preference for complicated mid-games where he fares best. Indeed, there are always fireworks in his games, thus earning him his nickname. Perhaps, this would also explain why given his talent, he has only won one Chinese National Xiangqi Singles Championship today. Yu is still very much active in the chess scene in china.

 

The following video would be a commentary of a game played by the Grandmaster. It is in Chinese with ... 'interesting' English subtitles.

 

Last updated: 10th, Jan 2021
Reference:
In Chinese, http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/qishou_27.html

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