Liu Wenzhe
Encyclopedia
Liu Wenzhe is a retired International Master chess
player. He has also been one of China
's top chess trainers.
Liu Wenzhe played for Guangdong
chess club
in the China Chess League
(CCL).
and China's first chess player to defeat a grandmaster. He has been considered as a pioneer of chess in China and is the founding father of the Chinese School of Chess. He won the Chinese Chess Championship
in 1980 and 1982.
Two years after the end of the Cultural Revolution
and Mao Zedong
's death and the fall of the Gang of Four
in 1976, China competed in their first Olympiad
in Buenos Aires. It was there that Liu Wenzhe became the first Chinese player to defeat a Western grandmaster, GM Jan Hein Donner
of the Netherlands, in crushing style.
At the time it was considered an aberration, but subsequent events have proved otherwise. In total, Liu made three appearances at the Chess Olympiad
s (1978–1982) with an overall record of 37 games played (+14, =4, -19). He also made four appearances in total at the Men's Asian Team Chess Championship (1979–1981, 1991–1993) with an overall record of 17 games played (+10, =4, -3).
In 1986 he was appointed to the post of Chief Trainer of the Chinese Institute of Chess and head coach of the Chinese national chess team
. He was succeeded by Ye Jiangchuan
in 2000.
In 2002-3, he wrote a seminal book on the "Chinese School of Chess" called the same name (see Further reading). In the book he charts the dramatic progress of Chinese players over the past 25 years.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player. He has also been one of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's top chess trainers.
Liu Wenzhe played for Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
chess club
Chess club
A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs provide for both informal games and timed games, often as part of an internal competition or in a league.-Organisation:...
in the China Chess League
China Chess League
The China Chess League is a Chinese professional league for chess clubs. The league is organized by the Chinese Chess Association. It is sponsored by Youngor Group and was sponsored by the Shandong and it has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. Seasons usually run from April...
(CCL).
Chess career
He was the first Chinese chess masterChess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
and China's first chess player to defeat a grandmaster. He has been considered as a pioneer of chess in China and is the founding father of the Chinese School of Chess. He won the Chinese Chess Championship
Chinese Chess Championship
The Chinese Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of China.-Winners:-Women's Crosstables:Average Elo: 2382 Cat: 6m = 6.60Average Elo: 2372 Cat: 5m = 7.04Average Elo: 2346 Cat: 4...
in 1980 and 1982.
Two years after the end of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
and Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's death and the fall of the Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
in 1976, China competed in their first Olympiad
23rd Chess Olympiad
The 23rd Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 25 and November 12, 1978, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-References:...
in Buenos Aires. It was there that Liu Wenzhe became the first Chinese player to defeat a Western grandmaster, GM Jan Hein Donner
Jan Hein Donner
Johannes Hendrikus Donner was a Dutch chess grandmaster and writer. Donner was born in The Hague and won the Dutch Championship in 1954, 1957, and 1958. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, awarded him the GM title in 1959. He played 11 times for the Netherlands in the Chess Olympiads...
of the Netherlands, in crushing style.
At the time it was considered an aberration, but subsequent events have proved otherwise. In total, Liu made three appearances at the Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s (1978–1982) with an overall record of 37 games played (+14, =4, -19). He also made four appearances in total at the Men's Asian Team Chess Championship (1979–1981, 1991–1993) with an overall record of 17 games played (+10, =4, -3).
In 1986 he was appointed to the post of Chief Trainer of the Chinese Institute of Chess and head coach of the Chinese national chess team
China national chess team results
This article details the results of the China national chess team.-Chess Olympiads:China has competed at the every Chess Olympiad since the 23rd edition in 1978...
. He was succeeded by Ye Jiangchuan
Ye Jiangchuan
Ye Jiangchuan is a veteran Chinese chess player and has been one of China's leading players in modern history.In 1993, Ye became China's third Grandmaster, after Ye Rongguang and Xie Jun. On 1 January 2000, he became the first ever Chinese player to cross the 2600 elo rating mark...
in 2000.
In 2002-3, he wrote a seminal book on the "Chinese School of Chess" called the same name (see Further reading). In the book he charts the dramatic progress of Chinese players over the past 25 years.
Quotes
"Systematically training players is more important than selecting them." --Liu Wenzhe, head coach, women’s Chinese Olympic team.Further reading
- Bill Kelleher. "From I Ching to Zhu Chen". ChessCafe.com Book Review of Chinese School of Chess (2003) by Liu Wenzhe.
External links
- ChessmetricsChessmetricsChessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
Career Ratings for Liu Wenzhe