Ever sit in an office feeling like you’re just the boss’ pawn and will never be a member of the board? Take out your frustrations with some crafty stratagems at the fifth Shenzhen International Chess Open Tournament, taking place this month. The headmaster of the Shenzhen Chess Academy, Liu Shilan, sat down to talk about the upcoming tourney and what chess means to her personally.
Liu was part of the first wave of Chinese players to participate in international competitions after the ban on playing chess in China was relaxed around 1975. She was seven times the national women’s champion between 1979 and 1986 and received her Woman Grandmaster title in 1983.
Why did you begin playing chess?
I fell in love with chess at 12. There weren’t many interesting things to do in that era. I found that chess gave me a chance to travel, instead of being cooped up with my family. Because of the way things were back then, we didn’t get to see much of the outside world, but attending competitions gave me a chance to do that. It became one motivation to study chess.
How is chess in China today different then it used to be?
Teenagers studying chess today are much luckier than we were. They have a lot of opportunities to join competitions, inside or outside China. There’s also a greater chance they will become professional chess players. International chess is a good activity to develop personality and promote mental health.
What do you expect from the chess tournament this year?
The participants are different each year and I believe that the tournament will attract more people because we have invited Grandmaster Jiangchuan Ye to play against selected advanced players, along with myself.
The chess tournament is being hosted by the Shenzhen Chess Academy and organized by Hanbridge Mandarin Ltd. It will be held on October 15 from 9am-6pm in Shenzhen Book City. Anyone is welcome to join and the finalists will be invited to play against Ye and Liu. For more information and to register, call 400 600 2202.
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