introduction
Chen Yi was a Confucian general among the marshals, and he liked to write poetry, and many people knew it. At the same time, Marshal Chen Yi was also a Go enthusiast, and even in the war-torn era, the chessboard was with him. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he also used Go to connect the friendly exchanges between China and Japan, creating a unique Go diplomacy.
Chen Yi's Go skills were so deep that the Japanese named him The Honorary Eight Dans.
Chen Yi won a great victory, and Li Lisan angrily threw the chessboard into the sea
Chen Yi was born in 1901 in Sichuan Province to a well-off family, Sichuan since ancient times the go atmosphere has been very strong, the little Chen Yi fell in love with Go, and formed an indissoluble relationship with it.
Even in a foreign country, as far as France, Chen Yi still carries Go with him.
In 1921, Chen Yi was escorted back to China by the French government because he participated in the patriotic movement abroad. On October 13, Chen Yi was forced to leave Marseille and embark on the road back to China.
Even in such a chaotic period, Chen Yi did not forget to bring a set of Go pieces he had made up with black and white stones.
Students from Sichuan and Hunan held a Go tournament, and Chen Yi played for the Sichuan team against Li Lisan. Chen Yi was very murderous, And Li Lisan soon couldn't eat it, and his friends who were watching the battle around him began to laugh at him.
Li Lisan was already in an unhappy mood, and he was even more angry by everyone's laughter, so he directly picked up the chessboard and threw it into the sea.
Even so, Chen Yi was not angry, and the two were still very good friends. Li Lisan later recalled:
"I was young and vigorous, and my self-esteem was at work.
The more you compete in Go, the stronger your self-esteem becomes, and you end up out of control..."
Even in the war years, wherever he went, Chen Yi carried Go with him. He also specially made two bags of Go, one for white and the other for black, and he took it around to fight. The flames of war were burning around him, and he was still able to calmly get on a plate. Under the influence of Chen Yi, many generals of the New Fourth Army also gradually fell in love with Go.
Chen Yi also learned a lot of military ways of fighting from Go. He often said:
Go is full of military dialectics, from small to large, the truth in it is really very beneficial.
During the revolutionary war years,
There is also the story of "Liu Deng's Three Bureaus",
It refers to a Game of Go between Chen Yi and Deng Zihui. Chen Yi and Deng Zihui were both famous Go masters in the military, and in 1929, in the gap between the battles, the two came to a game, and finally Deng Zihui won a game.
Later, before and after the Gutian Conference, the two men played two more rounds.
Chen Yi came to the top and defeated Deng Zihui
。 Later, the two often came to a game, and the two not only became good comrades-in-arms, but also had a very good relationship with chess friends, and the current Gutian Conference Memorial Hall still retains photos of the two playing against each other.
To set up Go, we must catch up with the Japanese slogan and cultivate world champions
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, although Chen Yi was busy with official duties, he was still concerned about the development of the Go cause. During his tenure as mayor of Shanghai, in order to promote the national essence of Go, Chen Yi also hired many highly qualified chess players as librarians of the Shanghai Museum of Culture and History to study Go.
In 1951, Chen Yi also specially sought out Ti Sheng, a chess player, to discuss the establishment of the Beijing Chess Club. soon
Beijing Chess Club was officially established
Many excellent chess players such as Chen Zude and Wang Runan stand out.
Although Go originated in China, Japan is the leader in the arena. In order to change this situation, Chen Shuai proposed
"Go must catch up with Japan"
slogan. Later, the Shanghai Chess Club was also organized and established to cultivate excellent chess players. In the same year, a national Go team was established and went abroad to play. Chen Yi personally selected the generals and sent Chen Zude, Hua Yigang and others to the national team.
In June 1960, Chen Yi received and spoke with some Go players in Beijing. Chen Yi said to the players:
Playing chess is a very good leisure sport, has a broad mass base in China, and is also very important for connecting the friendship of people of all countries. ”
At his direction, an editorial entitled "Advocating Chess" was also published in July of the same year.
In the same year, our country was founded
Go magazine
Chen Yi is one of the loyal readers. Not only did he read every issue, but he also provided a lot of constructive advice to the magazine.
He said: "Go originated in China and has a long history, and we must carry forward this national essence. Although this magazine belongs to the competitive sport, it must also pay attention to political ideological leadership. "In November 1962, it was established
Chinese Go Association
Chen Shuai was also elected honorary chairman.
Nie Weiping is a famous Master of Go in China and was named
"Chess Saint"
。 This Go master also grew up under the care and careful cultivation of Chen Yi. When Nie Weiping was only 9 years old, he was received by Chen Yi and defeated Li Lisan and Chen Yi in a row.
With Chen Yi's encouragement, Nie Weiping decided to carry go forward
。 Chen Yi saw that Nie Weiping was a good seedling, and he also invited Kensaku Segen from Japan, bringing him a lot of Go writings
。 In 1976, Nie Weiping visited Japan and won 7 battles and 6 victories, shocking Japan, at the age of 24.
Creatively proposed "Go diplomacy", and the Japanese Chess Academy awarded the title of "Honorary Eight Duan"
Opening the door to Sino-US relations is the famous "ping-pong diplomacy," but it is not known that there was also "Go diplomacy" before that, which Chen Yi proposed. In 1958, it happened"
Nagasaki flag incident
Kiyoshi Ishibashi in kanto ripped off the Chinese flag. Although it was a small incident, it directly led to the deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations, and the relations between the two countries fell back to the bottom.
In 1960, Mr. Kenzo Matsumura of the Japanese delegation to China mentioned:
"We don't talk about politics, we only talk about friendship, and we also mention that cultures like these traditions can be exchanged."
This opened up new ideas for Chen Yi, and in 1960 Japan sent a Go delegation to visit China. In 1962, the Chinese Go delegation also visited Japan, opening a new chapter in diplomacy and promoting friendship between the two countries.
The Japanese chess community also has great respect for Chen Yi, and every time the Chinese Go team visits China, it must convey his greetings to him and give him many books on Go.
In recognition of Chen Yi's significant contribution to Sino-Japanese Go exchanges,
The Kansai Chess Academy of Japan and the Japanese Chess Academy also gave him the honor of "Honorary Seven Dans".
A ceremony was also held in Beijing. Conferring such a title on a foreigner is unprecedented in the history of Japanese Go. Of course, it also fully proves his Go level.
Thanks to Chen Yi's efforts, Go diplomacy also promoted Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. In order to promote the normalization of bilateral exchanges,
In 1964, 29 players in the Japanese chess community organized more than 8 million chess players to appeal to the government to restore normal relations between the two sides.
In order to promote the normalization of Sino-Japanese exchanges, Takeo Weiyuan was a Japanese nine-dan chess player, and in order to promote Sino-Japanese exchanges, he personally took a basket and a horn on his back to collect signatures across the country to promote Sino-Japanese friendship.
But at this important juncture, the political situation in our country has undergone major changes, and Go has also been banned. Before the normalization of Sino-Japanese exchanges, Chen Yi died in 1972, and his wish was not realized. Fortunately, after Chen Yi's death, the status of Go was restored, and diplomatic relations between China and Japan were normalized. In honor of his contribution,
The Japanese Chess Academy posthumously awarded him the title of "Honorary Eight Duan".