Zhou Jianchao

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhou.
Zhou Jianchao
Zhou in 2007
CountryChina (until 2024)
United States (since 2024)[1]
Born (1988-06-11) June 11, 1988 (age 36)
Shanghai, China[2]
TitleGrandmaster (2006)
FIDE rating2572 (December 2024)
Peak rating2669 (November 2010)
Peak rankingNo. 67 (July 2010)

Zhou Jianchao (Chinese: 周健超; born June 11, 1988) is a Chinese-American chess player. In 2006, he became China's 21st Grandmaster at the age of 17. Zhou competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2007, 2009 and 2015.

Career

Zhou Jianchao learned to play chess at the age of 6. He achieved the norms required for the Grandmaster title at the 2005 Aeroflot Open (A2 Group), the 2005 Dubai Open and the 2006 Aeroflot Open (A2 Group).[3] Zhou was the runner-up of the National Individual Championship and joint runner-up of the World Team Championship in 2005.

He is a co-champion of Asian Team Championship and won a Board Gold in 2008.[4] Zhou reached round three at the World Cup 2007, where he eventually lost to Michael Adams. Zhou knocked out Emil Sutovsky and Andrei Volokitin in the first two rounds. In March 2009, Zhou became for the first time in his career a top 100 player in the world. At the 2009 Aeroflot Open, Zhou came third on tiebreak scoring 6.0/9 (+3,=6,-0) with a 2753 performance. Also in 2009, he reached the second round of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. Zhou Jianchao scored 6/9 points (+3,=6,-0) at the 2010 Aeroflot Open, coming 4th out of 80 players with a 2777 performance.[5] In 2011 he came third in the Lake Sevan tournament in Martuni[6] and won the 1st Chinese Rapid Championship in Hefei.[7] In 2022 he won the Mission 360 GM/IM Norm #1 tournament in San Jose.[8]

In team events, Zhou played for China in the Chess Olympiad in 2010, the World Team Chess Championship in 2005 (winning the team silver), the Asian Team Chess Championship in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2018, the 2nd Russia-China Match in 2004 and the World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad in 2004 (winning gold). Zhou Jianchao plays for Shanghai chess club in the China Chess League (CCL).[9]

References

  1. ^ "Transfers in 2024". FIDE. December 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Certificate of 2nd GM norm. FIDE.
  3. ^ GM title application
  4. ^ Participants Chess Academy of Armenia
  5. ^ Crowther, Mark (2010-02-19). "The Week in Chess: 9th Aeroflot Open 2010". London Chess Centre. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  6. ^ Nadanian, Ashot (2011-08-02). "Lake Sevan 2011 - Jobava wins volcanic event". ChessBase.com. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  7. ^ Crowther, Mark (2011-07-07). "The Week in Chess: Zhou Jianchao wins 1st Chinese Rapid Championship". London Chess Centre. Retrieved 12 November 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "The Week in Chess 1431". theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  9. ^ "雅戈尔杯中国国际象棋甲级联赛官方网站". Archived from the original on 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2009-12-15.