A series of Chinese chess masters are at risk of being banned from competition.

"I heard that more than 10 Grandmasters of Chinese Chess have been banned from competing," Kim Tung said on his personal page. "It's strange because the banned players are all masters, including two of my friends: 'Thần Kiếm' and 'Phi Ung'. I hope they are okay and safe."

Kim Tung is 50 years old, has defeated Grandmasters like Vuong Thien Nhat or Trinh Duy Dong, but currently mainly comments on chess on the channel.Liaoning TVThe "divine sword" and "flying eagle" he was referring to were most likely the "Six-meridian divine sword" Trieu Ham Ham and the "Gu To flying eagle" Tu Sieu.

Zhao Xinxin, 36 years old, is currently ranked fourth in China, was the national champion in 2007 and the world champion in 2009, and is nicknamed "Six Meridians Divine Sword" for her sharp and daring attacking style of chess. "Six Meridians Divine Sword" is a famous technique in Jin Yong's novels.

Xu Chao, 43 years old, ranked 26th in China, won the national championship in 2017 and the world championship in 2019, nicknamed "Suzhou Eagle". He is famous for his defensive ability, considered the "King of Active Defense".

Zhao Xinxin and Xu Chao did not play in any major tournaments this year, just like Wang Tianyi before he was banned for life. The Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) recently announced that Wang Tianyi and Wang Yaofei were banned for match-fixing, without mentioning Zhao Xinxin, Xu Chao, or any other players.

A few days before Kim Tung's statement, journalist Ly Vi Ngao ofEconomic Observer Newspapersaid that "many players in China's Top 10 have not appeared for a long time due to police investigations." "CXA will soon announce the results of the investigation into these players," he added.

Li Wei Ngao is an investigative reporter with 21 years of experience, who exposed Olympic table tennis champion Zhang Jike's gambling, loan sharking, and the distribution of sensitive photos of his ex-girlfriend. It was journalist Li who first reported the case of "Chess King" Wang Tianyi being investigated and arrested by the police.

CXA has not yet announced specifically which players Vuong Thien Nhat has been involved in match-fixing. According to journalist Ly, the amount of money Thien Nhat and Vuong Duoc Phi violated exceeded 800,000 yuan (about 113,000 USD or 2.8 billion VND). At Thien Nhat's level, his opponents are usually Special Grandmasters or Grandmasters. Therefore, many other players will also be punished for match-fixing with the Thien Nhat - Duoc Phi group.

China’s number two player, Zheng Weidong, is also being accused of match-fixing. Zheng, 30, won the national championship two years in a row, in 2014 and 2015, and is studying at Tsinghua University. He has also not played high-level chess for a long time.

The whistleblower is Ma Zeping, 39, director of the China Poetry Association and also a fan of Tianyi. In an article sent to Tsinghua University on September 24, Zeping said that it is possible that Duy Dong is being banned from competing by CXA because he was absent from the 2023 Jiaxing Lien Tai tournament organized by the federation, but still participated in the Asian Games.

Another reason given by Trach Binh is that Duy Dong's record of 22 consecutive victories at the 2021 Giap Cap Lien Tai is unusual. Because the previous record was only 10 consecutive victories, belonging to Hua Ngan Xuyen and Vuong Thien Nhat. With this record, Duy Dong also surpassed Thien Nhat to become the number one player in China, according to the current Elo. Although according to the official ranking, Thien Nhat has held the number one position in China continuously since 2014.

However, in an interview withCCTVDuy Dong denied the accusations, saying he did not participate in recent tournaments because he was busy studying at Thanh Hoa.