China's number one chess player Wang Tianyi is under investigation!
According to the Economic Observer, Wang Tianyi, who has ranked first in the country in chess player rating for eleven consecutive years and is known as the "number one" in Chinese chess, was investigated by the Hangzhou police in Zhejiang Province a few months ago on suspicion of accepting bribes as a non-state employee.
From June 10 to June 26, 2024, several insiders confirmed the above news to the Economic Observer reporter.
Wang Tianyi, born in Beijing on April 23, 1989, showed his talent for chess very early. In 2014, Wang Tianyi won the first place in the national chess player rating and "occupied" this position for eleven consecutive years. In 2023, his rating reached 2800 points, which is the highest in the history of Chinese chess since the implementation of the rating system. Therefore, Wang Tianyi is also known as the "No. 1" in Chinese chess today.
In March 2018, Wang Tianyi joined the Hangzhou branch of the Chinese Chess Academy. At that time, Wang Tianyi publicly stated that he was "upgraded from a contract worker to a formal worker."
The Hangzhou Branch of the Chinese Chess Academy is the only branch of the Chinese Chess Academy in China. It was officially approved by the Chess and Card Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sports in 2004. It has professional teams in the three major chess categories of Go, Chinese chess, and international chess.
Over the years, many people, including some professional chess players, have questioned whether Wang Tianyi used technical means to cheat in chess competitions. One of the questioners is Sun Yongzheng, the champion of the 2011 National Chess Championship.
On November 7, 2012, Wang Tianyi publicly responded on his personal verified Weibo account, saying: "In order to prove my innocence, I have no choice but to publicly challenge Sun Teda to a ten-game match. The time and place can be chosen by you..."
However, this "challenge" was not carried out. A senior chess player told the Economic Observer that this was due to opposition from the Chinese Chess Academy and other departments at the time.
On October 17, 2023, Liu Dahua, the 73-year-old Chinese chess grandmaster known as the "King of Chess", publicly reported Guo Liping, then deputy director of the Chess and Card Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of China, under his real name.
Liu Dahua said in the report, "For a long time, she has been harbouring and condoning the evil forces in the Chinese chess world, openly using computer software and modern scientific and technological means to manipulate the outcome and prize money distribution of various large-scale domestic competitions."
In the report, Liu Dahua also said, "For a long time, Guo Liping did not investigate or question this shocking scandal in the Chinese chess world. Instead, she suppressed and retaliated against the athletes and coaches who stood up to expose the scandal."
On October 18, 2023, Da Wan News reporter contacted the Chess and Card Sports Management Center of the State Sports General Administration. A staff member said that they had already known about the report made by Teacher Liu Dahua, "We all know about this matter." The staff member said that whoever reports must provide evidence, and for the report, the report or submitted materials can be sent to the mailbox of the Chinese Chess Association by email.
Regarding Liu Dahua's report, did the State Sports General Administration Chess and Card Sports Management Center have any public response? In response, the staff member expressed gratitude to the Da Wan News reporter for his attention and asked the reporter to send the relevant certificate information to the mailbox of the Chinese Chess Association.
Afterwards, Da Wan News reporter sent the relevant information to the mailbox of the Chinese Chess Association, hoping to know the response of the State Sports General Administration Chess and Card Sports Management Center or the Chinese Chess Association to Liu Dahua's report. At 3:43 pm on the 18th, Da Wan News reporter received a reply from the mailbox of the Chinese Chess Association: "Thank you for your letter, we will deal with it as soon as possible."
In fact, there was no official public notification regarding Liu Dahua’s report from October 2023 to June 2024.
On June 25, 2024, a reporter from Economic Observer contacted Guo Liping, who was accused by Liu Dahua.
Guo Liping replied that she has now been transferred from the Chess and Card Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, and was unaware of the investigation of Wang Tianyi; as for Liu Dahua's accusations, she was not in a position to respond and needed to wait for the organization's official reply, "I believe there will be a conclusion in the end."
According to an insider, Liu Dahua's report was one of the "triggers" of this case. As for Wang Tianyi's suspected involvement, the insider said that he was suspected of accepting bribes as a non-state employee.
