Why is chess called Xiangqi? Who is the first Chinese female chess grandmaster?

Chinese chess is an entertaining art form. It is all-encompassing. Through the theory of chess, it shows people's thoughts, strategies and layouts in their hearts, and ultimately wins the victory, which shows the infinite wisdom of our ancestors. Why is chess called chess? Today we will trace its origin. Learn more about chess!

Contents of this article

1. Why is chess called chess?

2. Who is China's first female chess grandmaster?

3. Which dynasty did the earliest chess records come from?

Why is chess called chess?

There are many theories about why chess is called chess. One is that chess was created by imitating the military system and is a symbol of war, with "elephant" meaning symbol. Another is that it is said that chess was created by Shun to educate his younger brother "Xiang". Another is that Han Xin invented chess in prison, and the jailer brought it to the people and named it "Xiangqi".

The "象" in chess has many meanings in ancient times, including celestial phenomena, meteorological phenomena, physical images, and images. Because the word "象" is used very cleverly, it means that human beings use their wisdom to control the appearance of all things. It is also a comprehensive representation of human beings in comprehensive practical activities.

Chinese chess condenses the development trajectory of ancient military warfare and is an entertaining art form that simulates ancient battlefields. It is all-encompassing in itself, and through the principles of chess, it shows people's thoughts, strategies and layouts in their hearts, and ultimately leads to victory.

The elephant is a manifestation of royal power

In addition, in "Ciyuan", "elephant" contains everything and is also used to refer to the origin of all things in the world. It contains the idea of ​​being at home. Later, it was extended to mean that the feudal emperor unified the world. Therefore, the "elephant" in chess and other "chariots, pieces, pawns" are all symbols of royal power and military power.

Who is the first Chinese female chess grandmaster?

The first Chinese female chess grandmaster is Liu Shilan. On October 8, 1982, Liu Shilan won the third place with a total score of 9 points in the Women's World Chess Championship held in Tbilisi, qualifying for the World Championship finals and becoming the first Chinese and Asian chess grandmaster.

In the 1980s, Liu Shilan was extremely famous in the chess world. She started learning chess at the age of 12. As early as 1979, Liu Shilan won the national championship. Since then, she has won the national women's chess championship for 9 consecutive times. With her outstanding performance, she was named one of the top ten athletes in the country in 1982.

Liu Shilan entered the World Women's Championship Candidates Tournament at the age of 20. She was the first Chinese and Asian female chess player to reach the quarterfinals. She has won the international chess championship many times. It was because of Liu Shilan's example that later international chess stars such as Xie Jun and Zhu Chen emerged.

What is a Grandmaster?

Grandmaster refers to the highest official honorary title awarded to chess players by the Chess Association, called the Chinese Chess Grandmaster. One must meet one of the following criteria: 1. National individual championship; 2. Winning the top three in the national individual championship twice within three years; 3. Reaching the specified standards in competitions designated by the association within three or four years; 5. Reaching the specified winning rate standards twice within four years.

Which dynasty did the earliest chess records come from?

The earliest chess record was published in the first year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty. The earliest chess record is "Baibian Xiangqi Pu", which records a total of 70 short chess endgames, mainly divided into two sets of wins and draws, including 8 wins and 62 draws. As the earliest chess record, "Baibian Xiangqi Pu" was reprinted during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, and the main content is roughly the same.

However, this "Baibian Xiangqi Pu" from the first year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty was also a reprint of the ancient book according to the style. The original book should be an earlier work, but it is impossible to verify when it was made. Therefore, we can only use the time of its reprinting as the basis.

The "Baibian Xiangqi Pu" that we see now are all versions from the Ming Dynasty and printed in the Qing Dynasty, but there are certain differences between different versions, such as the names of the games, individual words, etc., but fortunately the main content is roughly the same, and there will be no misunderstandings.

How to record chess scores

The notation method of "Baibian Xiangqi Pu" is different from that of most chess manuals nowadays. It does not use the position of the rows and squares, but uses text descriptions, such as "chariot advancing to checkmate" and "horse crossing the river boundary", etc. This is also a unique way of recording early Chinese chess endgames and chess manuals.