Li Chao (chess player)

Li Chao
Li Chao in 2015
CountryChina
Born (1989-04-21) 21 April 1989 (age 35)
Taiyuan, Shanxi
TitleGrandmaster (2007)
FIDE rating2635 (December 2024)
Peak rating2758 (June 2016)
Peak rankingNo. 14 (August 2015)

Li Chao (Chinese: 李超; pinyin: Lǐ Chāo; born 21 April 1989 in Taiyuan, Shanxi)[1] is a Chinese chess Grandmaster and Asian champion in 2013. In 2007, he became China's 23rd Grandmaster at the age of 18.

He has been a second/assistant for fellow Chinese chess Grandmaster Wang Yue on several occasions; the two are good friends having known each other since they were children.[2]

In chess circles he is sometimes known as "Li Chao b" since there is another Chinese chess player named Li Chao.

Career

Li Chao started to play chess at the age of six.

In 2005 he finished sixth at the World Junior Chess Championship held in Istanbul.[3] In August 2007, Li won the Scandinavian Chess Tournament in Täby, Sweden with 8½ points out of 9.[4] In September 2007, he won the fourth IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur.[5] He won the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup in Manila held on 21–29 November 2007.[6]

Li Chao (right) winning the fourth Dato' Arthur Tan Open in 2007, standing next to Dato' Tan Chin Nam (left)

In 2007, he was awarded the Grandmaster title. His GM norms were achieved at:[7]

In April 2008, he came equal first with 7/9 points and fourth on tie-break at the tenth Dubai Open.[8] In May 2008, he came joint first on points (8.0/11) and first on tie-break at the second Philippine International Open in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. In August 2008, he won the fifth IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open with 9/11.[9] In the following month, he competed at the fifth Russia v China Match in Ningbo where he scored 3/5 with a performance rating of 2767 for the men's team (with Wang Yue, Wang Hao, Ni Hua, Bu Xiangzhi).[10]

In the Chess World Cup 2009, held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, he reached the third round losing to Vugar Gashimov, after he didn't show up in time at the second game of the rapid tiebreaks, as he was smoking, and was forfeited.[11]

In 2010, Li Chao won the Corus C tournament at Wijk aan Zee (15 January - 31 January) scoring 10/13. The victory qualified him for the 2011 Corus Group B, later renamed Tata Steel Chess Tournament Group B. A few months later, in April 2010, he convincingly won the 48th Doeberl Cup held in Canberra, Australia. Li won this latter event again in 2013.

At the 2011 Tata Steel B tournament he scored 6/13, placing ninth.[12] Li won the men's individual chess tournament of the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen with a score of 8.5/9, two points ahead of the field, including compatriots Wang Hao and Wang Yue.[13] In October 2011, he won the Indonesia Open Chess Championship in Jakarta on tiebreak over Ganguly Surya Shekhar.[14] Li took part in the Chess World Cup 2011, where he was eliminated in the first round by Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son.[15]

He tied for first with Yu Yangyi at the 2nd Indonesia Open Chess Championship in 2012, but placed second on tiebreak.[16] In January 2013 Li Chao won the Boston Chess Congress[17] and the 4th Annual Golden State Open in Concord, California.[18] In May 2013, he won the Asian Chess Championship, which took place in Manila, and this achievement earned him the qualification for the Chess World Cup 2013. In the latter he defeated Evgeny Postny in the inaugural round to reach the second one, losing to Anish Giri. In 2014, he won the Reykjavik Open with 8.5/10.[19]

In March 2015, he won the 31st Cappelle-la-Grande Open.[20] This success was followed by the victory at the 19th Neckar Open in Deizisau with a score of 8.5/9.[21] In August 2015, he played a six-game match with Hungarian Grandmaster Peter Leko in Szeged, Hungary. He won the match by 4-2 (+2-0=4).[22] Li played for the team "Siberia" (alongside Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Wang Yue, Anton Korobov, Dmitry Kokarev and Dmitry Bocharov) which won the 2015 European Club Cup in Skopje.[23] In February 2016, he won the Graz Open with 8/9.[24]

China Chess League

Li Chao played for Beijing chess club in the China Chess League.[25] In August 2015, Grandmaster Ian Rogers reported that Li Chao had been banned for more than a year from all Chinese teams and tournaments, resulting from a dispute with a sponsor of a Beijing club.[26]

Notable games

See also

References

  1. ^ 中国国际象棋运动员等级分数据库 Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "李超温阳担任贴身助理 死党助王玥调整最佳状态 - 中国棋院在线". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  3. ^ Istanbul 2005 - 44° Campeonato Mundial Juvenil Brasil
  4. ^ Crowther, Mark (13 August 2007). "TWIC 666: Scandinavian Chess Tournament". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. ^ 4th Dato' Arthur Tan Open: the "Empire" Strikes Back! ChessBase.com, Sept 1 2007
  6. ^ Li Chao Wins President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup in Manila Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine FIDE. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 9 October 2015
  7. ^ GM title application FIDE
  8. ^ Ravi Kumar (17 April 2008). "Wesley So wins Dubai Open, player disqualified for cheating". ChessBase. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  9. ^ Crowther, Mark (13 October 2008). "TWIC 727: Malaysian Open". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  10. ^ Fifth China vs Russia Match in Ningpo
  11. ^ "World Cup R3: Two Chinese players default – for smoking". ChessBase. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  12. ^ Standings of grandmaster group B Tata Steel Chess
  13. ^ "Li Chao convincing victory at the Universiade". Chessdom. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Li Chao b winner of the Indonesia Open Chess Championship". Chessdom. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  15. ^ Crowther, Mark (21 September 2011). "The Week in Chess: FIDE World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk 2011". London Chess Center. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  16. ^ "Indonesia Open 2012: Resounding win for Yu Yangyi". ChessBase. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  17. ^ Immitt, Steve (16 January 2013). "GM Chao Li Wins Boston Chess Congress". United States Chess Federation. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  18. ^ "Li Chao convincing in Golden State Open". Chessdom. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  19. ^ N1 Reykjavik Open 2014 Chess-Results
  20. ^ L'Ami, Alina (9 March 2015). "Li Chao is champion at Cappelle". ChessBase. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  21. ^ Doggers, Peter (7 April 2015). "KID Killer" Li Chao Convincing Neckar Open Winner, Now World #17". chess.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  22. ^ Doggers, Peter (21 August 2015). "Li Chao beats Peter Leko 4-2 in friendly match". chess.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  23. ^ McGourty, Colin (25 October 2015). "Siberia survive scare to win European Club Cup". chess24. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  24. ^ Crowther, Mark (22 February 2016). "TWIC 1111: Graz Open 2016". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  25. ^ "雅戈尔杯中国国际象棋甲级联赛官方网站". Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  26. ^ "GM Rogers: Li Chao Down but Not Out". gardinerchess.com.au. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.