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13th Asian Xiangqi Individual Championships, Medan

The Indonesian Chinese Chess Association is hosting this event from 2nd to 8th December 2007, at the Hotel Soechi, Medan. 25 xiangqi experts (18 male, 7 female) will be contesting for the two Champion titles.

Medan, a flourishing port town, is the gateway to Sumatra, Indonesia. The beautiful Lake Toba, and the Batak buildings and culture in this area have attracted tourists from all over the world.

Tournament Schedule and Contestants' List

Opening ceremony and
drawing lots for round 1

On Sunday evening, about 400 people attended the opening ceremony of the championships at the Karo Room of Hotel Soechi. In addition to traditional procedures, there was also entertaining cultural shows... click here to read more.

Round 4 Update

Lei Kam Fun lose to Pan ZhenBo, while Chan Chun Kit lose to Zhao Gurong. With that, Pan and Zhao now take the lead. When they meet in round 5, a draw could be expected, as that will ensure both enter the knock-out stage of competition and avoid meeting each other in the semi-final. Lei Kam Fun just needs half a point from his opponent in round 5, the youngest Chao IFan from Taipei. Chao played an excellent game agaist Hong Kong's Chan Keung On in which he sacrificed a horse in middle game to initiate a fatal attacking combination. He now ties with George Lu at 2.5 points.
It looks that out of the 4 seats in stage II, two have already been occupied by China. The third, barring any unexpectations, will go to Macau. Chao IFan and George Lu will go all out in round 5 striving for the last seat. But, if the most unlikely results happen, one of the eight players at the 2 points rung may become the 4th candidate.
In round 4 of the women's section, Dam Thi Thuy Dung employed an unorthodox opening against Chen LiChun. The weakness in her formation was soon exploited by Chen, resulting in the loss of a horse on the 12th move. She fighted on for another dozen of moves but couldn't save the day. With this victory, Chen LiChun will be sailing on safe waters for the rest of the journey to grab her first international champion title.

Who will be the winners?

In the final round, Pan ZhenBo and Zhao GuoRong will contest for the champion title, Lei Kam Fun and Ifan Minarta will fight for the 3rd and 4th placing. But the 5th and 6th positions are still unclear. Chao IFan, Chan Keung On, Vo Van Chuong, Setiawan and Law Kok Long are the likely candidates. Chao has a slight edge as his score at round 6 is half a point ahead of the other four.
In the women's section, Chen LiChun only needs half a point to bag I champion trophy.
Photo right: The youngest player (12 years) in this championship: Lee Meng-Ju of Chinese Taipei

China again bagged both champion trophies

The championships ended shortly after noon. Pan ZhenBo defeated Zhao GuoRong to claim the Men's Champion title. In the women campus, Chen LiChun had a perfect score of six wins to mount the Champion throne.
Closing and prize-giving ceremony will be held on 7 Dec at 1900 hr at the Karo Room, Hotel Soechi.
Check out full results in the following links:

Results of Round 7, Final Standings.

Results of earlier rounds: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6.

Games for your online viewing: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7.

Photos on the right taken during round 7:
top: Khoo Chin Chin vs Chen LiChun
bottom: Pan ZhenBo vs Zhao Guorong

More photographs

Felix Tan's blog on the 1st Xiangqi Culture Festival and other events.

Xiangqi makes its debut in the
2nd Asian Indoor Games

Xiangqi was included for the first time in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games, China Macau. A total of 28 xiangqi players from countries/regions competed in four categories: Men's Team, Men's Individual, Men's Speed Game and Women's Individual.These competitions spanning from 27 Oct to 30 Oct, were held at the Macau International Shooting Range.

Ngo Lan Huong of Vietnam (picture above) broke the monopoly of China in xiangqi competitions. She tied with Chen Lichun in score but defeated the latter by one extra black-win to seize the gold medal. Click here to see the medal roll .