The world of Chinese chess is in uproar over rumors of cheating and a bad behavior scandal that saw the national champion stripped of his title on Monday after a victory celebration ended with him defecating in a hotel bathtub.
Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, has been hugely popular for hundreds of years across Asia — and 48-year-old Yan Chenglong beat dozens of contenders last week to win the title of “Xiangqi King” at a national tournament hosted by the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA).
His joy was short-lived, with the CXA on Monday announcing that Yan would have his title revoked and prize money confiscated after he had been caught “disrupting public order” and displaying “extremely bad character.”
Photo: AFP
The association was also forced to address rumors circulating online that Yan had cheated during the competition by using anal beads equipped with wireless transmitters to send and receive signals.
Yan allegedly clenched and unclenched rhythmically to communicate information about the chess board through code to a computer, which then sent back instructions on what moves to make in the form of vibrations, reports circulating on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo.
“Based on our understanding of the situation, it is currently impossible to prove that Yan engaged in cheating via ‘anal beads’ as speculated on social media,” the CXA said.
However, he was still stripped of his title and banned from playing for a year after his celebrations went wayward.
“Yan consumed alcohol with others in his room on the night of the 17th, and then he defecated in the bathtub of the room he was staying in on the 18th, in an act that damaged hotel property, violated public order and good morals, had a negative impact on the competition and the event of xiangqi, and was of extremely bad character,” the association said in a statement.
The association did not disclose the amount of prize money Yan was forfeiting, but xiangqi tournaments often promise winners tens of thousands of yuan.
The CXA had published a social media post last week congratulating Yan and other players for their “spectacularly heated high-level gameplay.”
The post included a photograph of Yan on stage, flanked by two runners up, proudly holding up his prize certificate.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS