Chinese chess community warns: 'Lai Li Huynh has defeated 6 chess champions'

Ahead of the Wuyang Cup super tournament, the Chinese chess community is reviewing instances where Chinese champions have been defeated by Lai Li Huynh, the current world champion.

Lai Ly Huynh (on the right) after defeating Hong Zhi, one of the top-ranked grandmasters of Chinese chess - Photo: XQ

A recent Weibo post cited statistics from the website GdChess, proving that Lai Li Huynh is a formidable opponent in the Chinese chess world, as evidenced by his six victories against chess champions.

"Chess King" is a title awarded to chess players who have won the Chinese championship. At the Wuyang Cup super tournament taking place at the end of February, in which Lai Li Huynh is participating, there is also a chess king in attendance: Wang Yubo (champion in 2025).

"But Wang Yubo needs to be cautious against Vietnamese player Lai Ly Huynh, because Lai has defeated six other Chinese chess champions in his career," the Weibo post stated.

The six chess masters mentioned are Hong Zhi, Lü Qin, Zhao Guorong, Sun Yongzheng, Yu Youhua, and Xie Jing. All are Grandmasters with illustrious positions in the history of Chinese chess.

Among these achievements, the most memorable was when Lai Ly Huynh defeated Hong Tri in the 2023 Chinese Team Chess Championship (Jia-level League).

Vietnamese media and Chinese game archives alike acknowledge this as one of the games that changed Lai Ly Huynh's career, elevating him from the ranks of "masters" to the level of grandmasters in China.

Many Chinese newspapers subsequently ranked Lai Ly Huynh among the " world's top players." It was even suggested that if he competed regularly in China, the Vietnamese player could reach the top 10 after this match.

Moreover, the victory against Hong Tri was particularly significant because at that time, this chess champion was only 42 years old, not yet entering a period of decline. Compared to Lai Ly Huynh, Hong Tri was 10 years older - a generational gap, but not a significant disadvantage in terms of age.

Chess player Ta Tinh - Photo: XQ

Another chess champion who also lost to Lai Ly Huynh while at the peak of his form was Ton Dung Chinh, who was one year younger than Hong Tri.

Ton Dung Chinh has competed against Lai Ly Huynh four times, with the Vietnamese player winning once in 2017, when Dung Chinh was 36 years old.

Notably, Lai Ly Huynh defeated Ta Tinh, who was only one year older than him, at the Han Xin Tournament in 2016.

Meanwhile, the three chess masters Lu Qin, Zhao Guorong, and Yu Youhua are all around 30 years older than Lai Ly Huynh. All three only lost to the Vietnamese player when they were over 60 years old, an age no longer suitable for top-level competition.

Considered a "super tournament" holding the top position in the world of Chinese chess, the Wuyang Cup boasts a total prize pool of over 1.1 million yuan (over 4 billion VND), the highest ever.

The champion will receive 300,000 yuan (over 1 billion VND), while simply reaching the final round guarantees a minimum prize of 12,500 yuan (47 million VND).

The qualifying rounds of the tournament took place from January 29 to 31, while the finals were held from February 25 to March 1.

Lai Ly Huynh was the only player to be granted a special pass directly to the final round. Meanwhile, many powerful Chinese players such as Cao Yanlei and Meng Chen were eliminated in the qualifying rounds.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lang-co-trung-quoc-canh-bao-lai-ly-huynh-tung-danh-bai-6-ky-vuong-2026020720120127.htm