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Wenzhe Liu
W Liu 
 

Number of games in database: 74
Years covered: 1965 to 2000
Last FIDE rating: 2473
Overall record: +26 -33 =15 (45.3%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (13) 
    B83 B74 B92 B33 B28
 Ruy Lopez (5) 
    C80 C92 C95 C91 C66
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (23) 
    B62 B31 B57 B58 B56
 Modern Benoni (7) 
    A65 A61 A60 A75
 Sicilian Richter-Rauser (7) 
    B62 B69
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   W Liu vs J H Donner, 1978 1-0
   Gheorghiu vs W Liu, 1982 0-1
   J Qi vs W Liu, 1987 0-1
   W Liu vs Krogius, 1965 1-0
   Speelman vs W Liu, 1981 0-1
   W Zili vs W Liu, 1987 0-1
   J Qi vs W Liu, 1982 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Chinese Championship (1987)
   Buenos Aires Olympiad (1978)
   Lucerne Olympiad (1982)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Chinese School of Chess (Liu Wenzhe) by Qindarka

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WENZHE LIU
(born Oct-07-1940, died Sep-20-2011, 70 years old) China
PRONUNCIATION:
[what is this?]

IM (1980) Liu Wenzhe was the first Chinese player to defeat a grandmaster, in Liu Wenzhe vs Krogius, 1965. He also became the second Chinese chessplayer to defeat a western GM, in what has become known as "The Chinese Immortal": Liu Wenzhe vs J H Donner, 1978 in round 7 of the 1978 Olympiad, the first win being by Qi Xingjuan over Gudmundur Sigurjonsson in round 1 of the same Olympiad. Liu was born in Harbin on the 7th of October 1940 and is the founder of the modern Chinese School of Chess. His family were originally in Dalian city, Liaoning Province. At the Beijing Chess Research Centre he became a chess coach in 1961. He won the National Championship in 1980 and 1982 and was appointed to the position of Chief National Coach in 1986. Under his tutelage the Chinese Woman's Team won gold at the Chess Olympics of 1998 and repeated the performance in 2000 and 2002. He was also well known as an expert on the games of Go, Bridge and XiangQi (Chinese Chess).

Wikipedia article: Liu Wenzhe


Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 74  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. W Liu vs N Krogius 1-0401965China vs USSR MatchC54 Giuoco Piano
2. Petursson vs W Liu  0-1261978Buenos Aires OlympiadB39 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Breyer Variation
3. W Liu vs D H Campora  0-1491978Buenos Aires OlympiadC66 Ruy Lopez
4. A Delgado Malagon vs W Liu  0-1351978Buenos Aires OlympiadB56 Sicilian
5. H Wirthensohn vs W Liu  1-0421978Buenos Aires OlympiadA10 English
6. W Liu vs V Ciocaltea  0-1571978Buenos Aires OlympiadB06 Robatsch
7. W Liu vs J H Donner 1-0201978Buenos Aires OlympiadB07 Pirc
8. L Schneider vs W Liu  ½-½291978Buenos Aires OlympiadB31 Sicilian, Rossolimo Variation
9. W Liu vs N Tabbane  0-1641978Buenos Aires OlympiadB67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7
10. W Liu vs P Pazos Gambarrotti  1-0381978Buenos Aires OlympiadB31 Sicilian, Rossolimo Variation
11. R Hernandez Onna vs W Liu  0-1811978Buenos Aires OlympiadA10 English
12. Plaskett vs W Liu 0-1341980VallettaB62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
13. W Liu vs Miles  ½-½301980?B28 Sicilian, O'Kelly Variation
14. H Olafsson vs W Liu  1-0481980Valletta OlympiadA31 English, Symmetrical, Benoni Formation
15. Myagmarsuren vs W Liu  ½-½611980Valletta OlympiadB31 Sicilian, Rossolimo Variation
16. G Garcia vs W Liu  ½-½401980Valletta OlympiadB62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
17. Andersson vs W Liu  1-0411980Valletta OlympiadA04 Reti Opening
18. Speelman vs W Liu 0-1281981China/PhilippinesB58 Sicilian
19. Keene vs W Liu ½-½331981China/PhilippinesA65 Benoni, 6.e4
20. I Rogers vs W Liu  1-04019814th Asian Team Championship Final-AE91 King's Indian
21. W Liu vs E Torre 0-14319814th Asian Team Championship Final-AC91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
22. J Qi vs W Liu  0-1281982Chinese National Chess OpenB69 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 11.Bxf6
23. V Small vs W Liu  0-1431982Hong Kong Zonal qual-2B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
24. W Liu vs K Oda  1-0281982Hong Kong ZonalB74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical
25. M Fuller vs W Liu  1-0631982Hong Kong ZonalB20 Sicilian
 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 74  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Liu wins | Liu loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
Nov-24-05  Peter Yang: Mr. Liu is the first generation of Chinese chess players. Here is a nice game of his. Liu Wenzhe vs J H Donner
Dec-24-05  notyetagm: <Peter Yang> means Liu Wenzhe vs J H Donner, 1978, the first victory by a Chinese player over a Western grandmaster. And what a way to gain your first win, a 20-move miniature featuring a queen sacrifice and a mating attack.
Jan-23-08  silvermoon: He has written an informative book:

"Chinese School of Chess"

Published in 2003 by Batsford.

Jun-23-08  wrap99: Perhaps a biography would be of interest -- he is certainly of some historical importance. Birthdate, etc.

Is he also a master of chinese chess?

Aug-12-08  myschkin: IM <Liu Wenzhe> born October 7, 1940 was the first Chinese chess master and China's first chess player to defeat a grandmaster (see the 1978 Donner game below). He has been considered as a pioneer of chess in China and is the <founding father of the Chinese School of Chess>. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_We...

Especially during the Cultural Revolution, the political climate in China meant that chess was not an encouraged activity (basically from 1966 to 1976).

“At that time, moreover, he could not even feed his family and himself. All his food for a day was two steamed buns. He would go in his shabby clothes to Beijing Library to translate Russian writings on chess ...” (by Yi Shui)

Aug-17-08  wrap99: Thanks. What is the method by which this info can be in the bio proper here, rather than merely the kibbitzing section.

As your posting shows, his is certainly a remarkable story.

Oct-07-08  whiteshark: Olimpbase: http://www.olimpbase.org/players/jx...
Dec-16-08  Benzol: <RichardTaylor> has kindly lent me his book "Chinese School of Chess" and I must say that so far it has been a fascinating read.
Dec-16-08  Ziggurat: <Benzol> Yeah, it's pretty cool. I can't say I understand everything he writes about the "Chinese school of chess" - it's often pretty abstract - but the games are good and the whole thing is thought-provoking.
May-16-11  wordfunph: <In 1981, B.T. Batsford Ltd sponsored a British chess team on a visit to China. This opened a new chapter in the history of chess relations between the two countries. At that time I was a player in the Chinese team. Afterwards I often wore a good-quality blue t-shirt with "Batsford" printed on it. I never suspected that twenty years later, Batsford would gladly agree to publish my book. Surprisingly, my life is once again connected with them.>

- Liu Wenzhe (foreword of the book Chinese School of Chess)

i still have to scan the book, seems a good read..

Apr-25-12  Nightsurfer: Hello dear <wrap99>,today I would like to come back to your posting from <Jun-23-08>. The career of <Liu Wenzhe> has been unstoppable because of his his roots in Chinese Chess <XiangQi>, therefore, if you read <Liu Wenzhe>'s book <"Chinese School of Chess">, there you will find the assessment that the rise of young Chinese stars has a lot to do with China's ages-old culture of Chinese Chess <XiangQi>.
Apr-25-12  Nightsurfer: The <LIVING LEGEND of International Chess> in China, namely <Liu Wenzhe>, is not the only person who has not only learned International Chess, but Chinese Chess <XiangQi> as well.

Members of the club are: the former Women's World Champion in International Chess, namely Zhu Chen ; the former Women's World Champion in International Chess, namely Xie Jun.

Prominent male players who both play International Chess and <XiangQi> are: the most handsome guy in the chess circus, that is Alexander Grischuk; the World Champion in International Chess 2004, that is Rustam Kasimdzhanov; and the former German candidate to become World Champion of International Chess, that is Robert Huebner , please check out the personal pages of these players!

Apr-25-12  Nightsurfer: In case that one would like to know more about that mysterious Chinese brand of chess that has been the basis of so many Chinese careers in International Chess, namely that thrilling game <XiangQi>: herewith the link that will lead you to a clip that the German program of MTV has produced on Chinese Chess aka <XiangQi>: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NBX....

The Chinese version of Chess can be compared to modern strategic <tabletop games>, please have a look at a clip that features the climax of a game of <XiangQi> after having transformed the traditional pieces into units on a tabletop: Red army corners Black General, and that is the matrix of the dreaded <HORSE-CANNON-PALCORNER-CHECKMATE> - please watch the final moves in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_ef... .

The foregoing clip has transformed the final moves of the friendly game Rene Gralla vs Phan Thang, Hamburg 2003, into a scenario of <Chinese Battle Chess>.

That very game <Rene Gralla vs Phan Thang> has been battled out on February 28th, 2003, at Hamburg, Germany, at the place of the Vietnamese <Doctor Quang Nguyen-Chi> at the square <Berliner Platz> in the eastern part of Hamburg.

The well-known <Doctor Quang Nguyen-Chi> is a mentor of Chinese Chess, herewith a photo: http://shaolinchess.de/svalban0.gif .

Apr-26-12  Nightsurfer: The game that has been featured in the <XiangQi>-video that has been aired by MTV, namely the contest between the well-known German experts on e-sports and electronic games, that is to say: Daniel "Budi" Budiman (herewith the biography: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel...)/ Red vs. Etienne Cedric "Eddy" Garde (herewith the biography: http://www.esport.de/wiki/Etienne_G... )/Black - please see once more again the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NBX... - , can be watched from the first move to the last check by following the link as follows: http://www.gameone.de/blog/2010/9/g... , you have just to click on the second picture on that page!
Oct-07-17  Benzol: Happy birthday.

:)

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