1956 · The first national championship

Every Xiangqi Champion

127 moves

The first national championship ever played, and the first great upset in it. Li Yiting, the teenager from Hubei they called 小神童, the little prodigy, beats the man who goes on to win the tournament. He takes the title himself two years later, at twenty. Li Yiting (Red) vs Yang G…

blunder: 18.7 win% given up, eval +3.49 after. The engine wanted the line in the sibling branch.

Great: the only move that punishes the error before it, and every alternative is at least a mistake worse.