Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Fuling is a district in the city of Chongqing, which is located in the middle of China at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Jialing River. Chongqing is home to nearly 7 million people but if you add the suburbs, almost 20 million people live there to make Chongqing one of the largest cities in the world.
A number of top Chinese players took part in the event, including Ding Liren, Bu Xiangzhi, Wei Yi, Ni Hu, Li Chao, Hou Yifan or Ju Wenjun, but also many Chinese players who are little known outside their country. The strength of the teams varied widely.
Foreign players did not take part in the Championship. Due to the pandemic, China has more or less completely closed its borders. Only a few Chinese players are given the opportunity to play in tournaments abroad and even fewer players can enter China.
The matches were played on five boards, with boards 4 and 5 reserved for women. The 30-year-old Grandmaster Ma Qun (Elo 2655) played on board one for Hangzhou Bank, former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan (Elo 2650) played on board 4, the first women's board. With a score of 6.0/8 (+5, =2, -1) Hou Yifan was the most successful player on her team. However, with a rating average of 2188 her opponents were not particularly strong.
See more: Endgame Magic Show with Karsten Müller and Hou Yifan (free for all viewers!)
In the first round Hangzhou Bank lost against Chongqing Ticai, but then went on to win five matches in a row. In round seven they drew against Zhejiang, which featured Ding Liren and Lu Shanglei on the first two boards. The games on the top two boards ended in draws. Hou Yifan played against Ju Zhiner and suffered her only loss of the Championship.
Ding Liren
After a win in round eight and a draw in round nine, Hangzhou Bank won all their remaining matches and finished clear first with 18/22. One poinst behind followed Shanghai, which started with Ni Hua and Zhang Zhong on the top two boards and Ju Wenjun at the first women's board.
Ju Wenjun (on the left, with Black)
Hangzhou Bank also won the Rapid Championship, which was played directly after the Championship in classical chess.
Final standings
| Rk. | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 |
| 1 | Hangzhou Bank | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 33,5 |
| 2 | Shanghai | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 34 |
| 3 | Chongqing Ticai | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 32,5 |
| 4 | Zhejiang | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 30,5 |
| 5 | Shenzhen | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 30 |
| 6 | Beijing | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 28,5 |
| 7 | Chongqing Jiulongpo | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 25 |
| 8 | Chengdu | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 24,5 |
| 9 | Hangzhou Zhenjiang Runzhou | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 24 |
| 10 | Jiangsu | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 25,5 |
| 11 | Shandong | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 22,5 |
| 12 | Qingdao | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 19,5 |
| Rk. | Team | TB1 | TB2 |
| 1 | Hangzhou Bank | 18 | 35,5 |
| 2 | Shanghai | 14 | 29 |
| 3 | Jiangsu | 13 | 29 |
| 4 | Chongqing Ticai | 12 | 28,5 |
| 5 | Chongqing Jiulongpo | 12 | 27 |
| 6 | Beijing | 11 | 28,5 |
| 7 | Chengdu | 11 | 28 |
| 8 | Zhejiang | 11 | 27,5 |
| 9 | Shenzhen | 11 | 26 |
| 10 | Shandong | 10 | 28,5 |
| 11 | Hangzhou Zhenjiang Runzhou | 8 | 25,5 |
| 12 | Qingdao | 1 | 17 |
