1956 was the first year of the national chess professional competition after the founding of New China
For chess, it was a memorable year. This year, Xiangqi (Monthly), edited by Yang Guanxuan and Chen Songshun, was first published in Guangzhou in May, followed by chess being included in the new Chinese sports competition and the first national chess tournament in Chinese history was held in December.
After the founding of New China, the people were the masters of their own affairs, and chess, a cultural and recreational activity that was popular with the public, was also highly valued by the party and the state. Many "chess players" who make a living from chess have a place to live, can play chess with peace of mind, and are no longer regarded as "pawns of peddlers".
In 1956, chess was included in the official national sports, and at the end of that year, the first national competition in The history of our country - the "1956 National Chess Championship" was held in the capital Beijing. In this competition, chess is the only competition, while Go and chess are listed as performance events.
The players who participated in the first National Chess Championship were: Xi'an Wang Yuping, Tianjin Xue Zhanjin, Wuhan Li Yiting, Qingdao Dai Guangjie, Luda Li Xiaocun, Shenyang Xuejiayu, Hangzhou Liu Yici, Kaifeng Tian Jiashu, Chengdu Chen Kaiyuan, Nanchang Feng Deshen, Lanzhou Wei Changlin, Jinan Zou Yuzi, Taiyuan Wang Qingjie, Shanghai He Shun'an, Nanning Zhou Shoujie, Fuzhou Lin Youru, Changchun Zhao Zhenhuan, Guangzhou Yang Guanxuan, Xining Zhang Zenghua, Guiyang Zhao Hengquan, Baoding Deng Yuru, Changsha Li Dingyi, Chengde Chen Guoheng, Chongqing Liu Jianqing, Hefei Zhu Linrui, Zhengzhou Bi Tieshan, Beijing Hou Yushan, Kunming Deng Peng, Harbin Wang Jialiang, Urumqi Najinyuan, a total of 30 chess players. The youngest of them is only 19 years old, and the oldest is already 61 years old.
The first National Chess Championship was held from December 15 to 27 at the Beijing Indoor Stadium, and the competition was divided into three stages: preliminary, semi-final and final, each of which implemented a double round-robin system. The preliminary round is divided into six groups, with the top two in each group entering the semi-finals, and the semi-finals are divided into three groups, and the top two in each group finally reach the final.
Guangzhou Yang Guanxuan won the first National Chess Championship with a record of five wins, three wins, one draw and one loss (a total of 10 games: 4 wins, 4 and 2 losses) in the final, and Harbin Wang Jialiang, Hangzhou Liu Yici, Wuhan Li Yiting, Beijing Hou Yushan and Shanghai He Shun'an ranked second to sixth respectively. In addition, there are also six chess players who entered the rematch: Tianjin Xue Zhanjin, Shenyang XueJiayu, Nanning Zhou Shoujie, Changchun Zhao Zhenhuan, Chongqing Liu Jianqing and Lanzhou Wei Changlin.
In 1959, chess was selected for the first comprehensive national games
1959 was the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in response to Chairman Mao Zedong's call to "develop sports and enhance the people's physique", this year was held, the full name of the "First Games of the People's Republic of China". The first National Games has a total of 36 competitions, including many mass projects and military projects, Chinese chess, Go, aviation model, radio telegraph, navigation and other sports are listed in the National Games family, so the participation and number of participants in this Games is also very large, the average age of athletes participating in this Games is only 21 years old. At the meeting, 40 outstanding athletes who broke world records and won world championships in the past decade of the founding of the People's Republic of China were awarded sports medals.
At the first National Games, female athletes entered
From September 13 to October 3, 1959, the First National Games were held in Beijing. The Chinese chess competition is held in provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, with 1 chess player each selected to participate, with a total of 26 athletes, and Jiangxi, Tibet and the People's Liberation Army did not participate. The competition is divided into two stages: the preliminary round and the final:
The preliminary tournament, held from September 14 to 19, divided 26 chess players into four groups by lottery, and each group admitted two people to enter the final. The ranking of each group is as follows:
The first group: Hubei Li Yiting, Gansu Wu Yanfu, Beijing Hou Yushan, Hebei Wang Jiayuan, Guizhou Lin Cailiang, Fujian Chen Yonghua, Xinjiang Li Chengyi;
Group 2: Shanghai He Shun'an, Ningxia Ma Kuan, Jiangsu Huisongxiang, Inner Mongolia Wang Guifang, Anhui Mai Changxing, Shanxi Wang Qingjie, Henan Ma Jinkui;
Group 3: Heilongjiang Wang Jialiang, Sichuan Liu Jianqing, Zhejiang Liu Yici, Jilin Zhao Zhenhuan, Guangxi Tang Jiapeng, Qinghai Jin Qichang;
Group 4: Guangdong Yang Guanxuan, Liaoning Meng Liguo, Shandong Chen Tiancai, Shaanxi Wang Yuping, Yunnan Deng Peng, Hunan Li Dingyi.
The finals ran from 20 to 26 September, with seven round-robin round robins. The final ranking of the top eight players is:
1. Guangdong Yang Guanxuan
2. Hubei Li Yiting and Heilongjiang Wang Jialiang (juxtaposed)
4. Sichuan Liu Jianqing
5. Shanghai He Shun'an
6. Gansu Wuyanfu
7. Ningxia Makuan
8. Liaoning Meng Liguo
The Chinese chess tournament of the Games has several features worth a book.
1. First, the first National Games will include the very mass chess project in the official competition project, which has been generally valued by all places, and has held layers of selection, so that the chess sport has been widely promoted, and many excellent chess players have been discovered. Sichuan Liu Jianqing entered the top six for the first time, and the remote provinces of Gansu Wu Yanfu and Ningxia Ma Kuan entered the top eight.
2. Second, in the "experience exchange competition" organized by the conference, the vast majority of chess players, although they have no hope of obtaining ranks and awards, still conscientiously and seriously play and communicate, showing the noble quality of new Chinese athletes.
3. The third is to require Chinese chess players to record their own moves, which not only greatly saves the recorders, but also promotes the development of a serious and responsible attitude of chess players.
4. Fourth, in order to encourage chess players to maximize their chess skills in the game, the Beijing Evening News set up a special award of "the best game of chess", and after a solemn and strict selection, Hubei Li Yiting and Heilongjiang Wang Jialiang were finally selected in the final.
In 1960, the sports newspaper, the organ of the State Sports Commission, published an editorial "Advocating chess playing"
On July 4, 1960, the then organ newspaper of the State Sports Commission, Sports Daily (Mao Zedong inscribed the masthead, the predecessor of China Sports News), published an editorial "Advocating chess playing." Excerpts from the editorial are as follows:
<h1>Advocates chess playing "Sports Newspaper • Editorial"</h1>
Recently, Chen Yi and He Long, two vice premiers, received good Go, chess and chess players in Beijing and gave valuable instructions on how to carry out chess activities. This is the importance and concern of the party and the government for sports and chess skills, and it is also a great encouragement to all chess players across the country. There is no doubt that China's chess skills will further release brilliant brilliance and prosper faster and better. ”
"Playing chess is a noble cultural activity and is deeply loved by the masses. •••••••Can make the heart comfortable and add the style of life. ”
"Playing chess is also very helpful for developing intelligence and exercising will. In playing chess, it is necessary to stress strategy as well as tactics; it is necessary to grasp the overall situation and also to plan local battles; and in the whole process of developing the war situation, it is necessary to have both a cool head and a firm and decisive will to carry out stormy attacks or to hold hands with even forces. A wonderful trick can control the opponent to death, but a little negligence, the difference between one son, may be a complete rout. Therefore, playing chess is an art, and we must also talk about dialectics, which has a certain positive significance for exercising our way of thinking. ”
"It is precisely because playing chess has great benefits and is extremely attractive, so ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, whether it is white, yellow, black... there are people who can play chess, and they all have their own favorite chess skills." 」
"In recent years, there have been more and more exchanges between international chess players, and international competitions have become more and more frequent. Through the exchange of these chess activities, the friendship between athletes and peoples of various countries can also be enhanced. Winning international competitions also adds honor to the country. •••••Chinese chess has thousands of people participating in the activity, and it should also be well led and organized so that more people can enjoy this cultural activity. ••••••”
"The equipment of chess is very simple, chess pieces and chess boards can be made by themselves, and chess is not limited by the venue, men and women, after dinner, can play in the rest place." Parks, cultural palaces, clubs, amusement rooms... can all be set up as chess places. Therefore, the extensive development of chess activities is convenient and does not cost much money, which is very in line with the spirit of the state to do all undertakings with diligence and thrift. ”
"Chess, like other sports, was in the hands of the exploited classes in our country and made to serve them, but today it is in the hands of the broad masses of the working people under the leadership of the Communist Party, who benefit physically and mentally from chess activities and can be better used in the cause of the construction of the socialist motherland. In short, the purpose of carrying out chess and art activities today is to enliven the people's cultural life, cultivate noble sentiments, enhance the people's health, promote international cultural exchanges, and serve the working people of our country and socialist construction. Therefore, we must actively carry out this cultural and sports activity to a great extent, and we must quickly popularize and improve it. ”
"The prosperity of the social economy will inevitably bring about the prosperity of culture and sports." Although all kinds of chess skills, especially Go and chess, have a long history in our country, in the decades under the rule of the Kuomintang reactionaries, internal and external troubles, the people are not happy, and the chess art is getting thinner and thinner, and the breath is dying. Today, the 600 million people have truly become the masters of the country, and under the wise leadership of the party and Chairman Mao, how quickly and efficiently they have built socialism, the great leap forward in industry and agriculture, the flourishing of culture and sports, and the prosperity of Wenchang and Wuchang. Chess is bound to reach an unprecedented level of prosperity at the right time. ”
"I hope that everyone will actively participate in chess activities that are beneficial to physical and mental health; I hope that sports organizations at all levels will strengthen publicity and vigorously carry out chess sports."