Several informed sources have told mainland Chinese media that Wang Tianyi, a top grandmaster of Chinese chess, has been approved for arrest by the Hangzhou authorities. Along with Wang Tianyi, other top grandmasters of Chinese chess are also under investigation. It is reported that Wang Tianyi’s arrest is related to the previous “audio recording scandal.”
According to a report from the Economic Observer, from August 1 to August 23, multiple sources disclosed that Wang Tianyi has been approved for arrest by the Hangzhou authorities. Besides Wang Tianyi, other top grandmasters of Chinese chess are also under investigation.
The report stated that the allegations against Wang Tianyi include suspicions of “buying games” during competitions – meaning he or through another top grandmaster Wang Yuefei providing benefits to opponents to win matches and gain advantages in chess ratings; and also suspicions of “selling games” by accepting money from opponents and intentionally losing chess games. Wang Tianyi and Wang Yuefei are suspected of transactions related to “buying games” totaling over 800,000 Chinese yuan.
A source familiar with the case revealed that Wang Tianyi provided a Zhejiang-born top grandmaster of Chinese chess with a “handicap fee” for a match amounting to 200,000 yuan. The said top grandmaster of Chinese chess was taken in for questioning by the police three times, with the third time being in early July 2024, and has since been in a state of “missing.”
Public records indicate that Wang Tianyi was born in Beijing in 1989 and displayed a talent for chess from a young age. In 2012, Wang Tianyi won the national individual chess championship and was promoted to the status of a top grandmaster. Starting from 2014, Wang Tianyi held the top rank in Chinese chess player ratings for eleven consecutive years; in 2023, his rating reached 2800 points, a historic high since the implementation of chess player ratings in China, earning him the title of “the top Chinese chess player.”
In March 2018, Wang Tianyi officially joined the Hangzhou branch of the China Chess Academy. The Hangzhou branch is the only domestic branch of the China Chess Academy, established with the formal approval of the Chess and Card Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of the CPC Central Committee in 2004, with professional teams for Go, Chinese chess, and international chess.
Behind Wang Tianyi’s “glory,” there are also scandals. In the 7th National Peasant Games held in Henan Province in 2012, Wang Tianyi changed his name and impersonated a peasant to participate, winning the championship in men’s rapid chess. However, after being exposed, Wang Tianyi publicly apologized.
In April of last year, a phone conversation recording between two Chinese chess top grandmasters, Wang Yuefei and Hao Jichao, was leaked. In the recording, Hao Jichao admitted to cheating in matches using computer software, and they mentioned Wang Tianyi, discussing the involvement of Wang Yuefei and Wang Tianyi in “buying games” and manipulating chess matches, possibly mentioning the use of “special means” to cheat during matches. This leaked recording caused a major uproar.
Furthermore, it was mentioned by Liu Dahua that “for a long time, Guo Liping turned a blind eye to this shocking scandal in the Chinese chess world, and instead, she oppressed and retaliated against athletes and coaches who bravely exposed the scandal.”
Informed sources have stated that the “Chess King” Liu Dahua’s whistleblowing against Guo Liping has brought to light the various chaos and scandals existing in the Chinese chess community to a wider audience.