Chen Xiaozhu Article/Photo of Zhao Liangchen, reporter of Yangcheng Evening News/Provided by interviewees
This weekend, the sixth "Taienkang Cup" Go Tournament of Guangdong Province in 2024, which is the "highest specification, widest range, most influential and strongest" Go Tournament in Guangdong Province, will be held in Liuhua Hotel, Guangzhou. In the two-day competition, there will be 14 teams from Grade A and 68 teams from Grade B. The total number of teams participating is 82, which is the largest in all previous competitions; There are 71 amateur players of 6 or more stages, including 11 female professional players and 9 amateur players of 8 stages, all of which have set a new record. Before the opening of this competition, the reporter of Yangcheng Evening News visited Chen Xiaozhu, Deputy Secretary General of Guangdong Weiqi Association, who had participated in the whole process from the first competition, and listened to him talk about the joys and sorrows of building this competition.
High positioning and high requirements to create a high-quality event platform
Guangdong Go League has been one of the most important Go competitions in South Guangdong since it was first held in July 2019, and its scale is still expanding year by year. In Chen Xiaozhu's view, this is not only related to the positioning of the event at the beginning of its establishment, but also inseparable from the support of the provincial counterparts: "'The highest standard, the widest range, the greatest influence, and the strongest strength'. It is very appropriate to use these 16 words to summarize the Guangdong Go League. One of the core elements of its success is the strong support of Guangdong Go Association, 21 prefecture level municipal associations, and all participating units. We all attach great importance to attracting the phoenix through the nesting of the competition, so the atmosphere is very good, attracting many experts to participate in the competition, which has provided great help for the development of Go in Guangdong Province. "
Chen Xiaozhu has participated in the first competition and every competition has involved in the whole process. Chen Xiaozhu said that he has too many feelings. "Because I am both the host and the participant, I can say that I am involved in every detail of the competition." Chen Xiaozhu believes that, Attention and persistence are the key to the success of this event: "Guangdong Go Association has always wanted to be a high standard brand event since its inception. Although we have encountered many difficulties in the past five years, we always believe that we can run this event well and make unremitting efforts for it."
Speaking of his most impressive experience of hosting a tournament, Chen Xiaozhu recalled: "In the second league tournament in 2020, we tried to put the game in Hailing Island, which was the first time to host a tournament in Guangzhou. At that time, the organizer had chosen the venue, but we were not satisfied with the scene. As soon as the regulations were about to be issued, we made a quick decision. We saw three venues overnight, and finally decided on a new venue late at night, and quickly overcame various difficulties such as material distribution. In the end, the competition was successfully held, and everyone spent an unforgettable time in Hailing Island. "
This event has created many new highs
For the upcoming sixth league tournament, Chen Xiaozhu was very excited: "This tournament has 14 teams in the first division and 68 teams in the second division, both of which have created the highest league history. This will also be the most powerful competition. There are 42 players in the Class A team, only one amateur 5-stage player, and also a very strong Chongduan teenager. All the other players are amateur 6-stage or female professional chess players. In addition, there are only 17 amateur eight sections in China, and more than half of the amateur eight sections will appear in the provincial Go league, which shows the overall lineup thickness. "
Chen Xiaozhu revealed that everyone's enthusiasm for the competition was very enthusiastic. "Several teams from Shenzhen, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Maoming and other places came to participate, and all the elite chess players from Guangzhou came out". This game will also be broadcast simultaneously for the first time on Sina, Chess City and Yehu platforms, and on the evening of the 18th, world champion Luo Xihe Jiuduan will be invited to join hands with women professional chess players Chu Keer Sandduan and Xu Jingqi Sandduan to give a comprehensive explanation of the wonderful game of the game.
Looking forward to the future of this event, Chen Xiaozhu said: "We will continue to optimize the competition system while adhering to the inherent advantages. If the number of teams participating continues to increase, we will also consider adding Class C competitions to further expand the participation. We will never change from our ancestors. We will insist on giving more opportunities for chess players in Guangdong Province to exercise with national masters, and create and maintain a high-quality platform to meet friends and improve each other with chess. "
From "Go Province" to "Go Province"
Since the establishment of the Go Association of Guangdong Province six years ago, the Go cause of Guangdong Province has made great progress. According to the statistical data of the Survey Report on the High Quality Development of the Go Industry in Guangdong Province (2023-2025), the "Go population" of Guangdong Province has reached 6.6661 million. At the same time, Guangdong chess players have also achieved good results in major competitions such as international competitions, national competitions and the Armor League.
As the Deputy Secretary General of Guangdong Go Association, Chen Xiaozhu is very optimistic about the overall development of Guangdong Go. "Since the establishment of the Guangdong Go Association six years ago, both the President calmly and firmly and the President Liang Weitang are determined to upgrade Guangdong Province from a big Go province to a strong Go province. We have carried out a lot of work around this goal. In addition to organizing the Guangdong Go League, we have also held various brand competitions." Youth training is also the focus of the Guangdong Go Association, "We have set up several professional teams and Guangdong Junior Teams, and now more than a dozen elite chess players from all over the province are training in the Junior Team. We have trained Xie Jiayan, 11, to be the youngest female professional chess player in China. She has also entered the national team now, and we hope to follow her example and have more children play professional games as soon as possible," Chen Xiaozhu said.
In addition to serving as the Deputy Secretary General of Guangdong Go Association, Chen Xiaozhu has another identity - the General Manager of Shenzhen Longhua Team. Last year, Shenzhen Longhua Team won the first championship of the Chinese Bundle Armor League, which was the first time that a team from Guangdong Province reached the top of the tournament. Chen Xiaozhu summed up the journey of winning the championship: "This is the result of the combination of favorable conditions, favorable conditions and people. On the one hand, the strength of the team has arrived, on the other hand, all kinds of guarantees, rations and services have been done well." On 27 this month, the first stage of the new season's League of Enclosures will also be held in Changxing, Zhejiang. Shenzhen Longhua Team will play with the main force of the original team, Chen Xiaozhu said that he hoped that the team members could continue to work hard and tenaciously, "the goal of the team, of course, is to defend the championship!"
