Vertical and horizontal Chu-Han: Hu Ronghua's life in chess

Author: Chengzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: Entering the Shanghai team in 1959, he made remarkable progress in chess under the guidance of renowned players He Shun'an and Xu Tianli. In 1960, he won the championship at the Hangzhou Five Provinces Invitational Tournament, thus joining the ranks of top national chess players. That same year, he represented Shanghai in his first national competition, winning both the national team and individual championships, creating a legendary achievement in the chess world known as "the age-old saying that heroes emerge in youth." From 1962 to 1979, he won the national chess individual championship nine times in a row, achieving the remarkable feat of "ten consecutive reigns" over two decades. In 1983, 1985, 1997, and 2000, he won the national individual championship four more times. Especially in 2000, at the "advanced age" of fifty-five, he once again won the championship and was hailed as the "evergreen tree" of the chess world, earning the title of the "undying bird" in chess circles. Hu Ronghua is a master of Chinese chess, a key founder of the modern Chinese chess school, and one of the most outstanding chess players of the 20th century.