Xie Jun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Xie Jun | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Xie Jun | |
| Country |  China |
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| Born | October 30, 1970 Baoding, Hebei, China |
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| Title | Grandmaster | |
| Women's World Champion | 1991–1996 1999–2001 |
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| FIDE rating | 2574 | |
| Peak rating | 2574 (January 2008) | |
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Xie.
Xie Jun (simplified Chinese: 谢军; traditional Chinese: 謝軍; pinyin: Xiè Jūn; born October 30, 1970, Baoding, Hebei)[1] is a chess player from Beijing, China. She was twice (eighth and tenth) Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is only the second woman to hold the title twice, the other being Elisabeth Bykova.
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[edit] Career
At the age of six Xie began to play Chinese chess, and by the age of 10 she had become the girls' Xiangqi champion of Beijing. At the urging of government authorities, she soon began playing international chess. Despite indifferent training opportunities, Xie became the Chinese girls' chess champion in 1984. In 1988 she tied for second–fourth places at the women's world junior championship.
At the age of 20 Xie won the right to challenge for the women's world title, and in 1991 she defeated Maya Chiburdanidze of Georgia, who had held the title since 1978, by a score of 8.5–6.5. In 1993 she successfully defended her title against Nana Ioseliani (winning the match 8.5–2.5). She lost the title to Susan Polgar of Hungary in 1996 (8.5–4.5) but regained the title in 1999 by defeating another championship finalist, Alisa Galliamova (8.5–6.5), [2] after Polgar refused to accept match conditions and forfeited her title. [3][4] In 2000, FIDE changed the format of the world championship to a knock-out system, and Xie won the title again, beating fellow Chinese player Qin Kanying 2.5–1.5 in the final.
In Guangzhou in April 2000, Women's Champion Xie played a match with former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Billed as a "female vs. male chess contest", the match consisted of four games at normal time controls and two rapid games. The four-game portion was won by Karpov 2.5–1.5 (1 win, 3 draws), and the rapid-play portion also went to Karpov, 1.5–0.5 (1 win, 1 draw).[5]
A hero in China, Xie became widely known for her optimism and vivid attacking style. Her success did much to popularize international chess in her country and the rest of Asia. Xie Jun proved to be the first of a number of strong Chinese women players, the others being Zhu Chen, Xu Yuhua, and Wang Lei. She was also an important factor in the Chinese women's team winning the gold medal at the 1998 Chess Olympiad in Elista in Kalmykia, Russia.
Among women, Xie has been ranked as high as number 2 and has been the number 2 or number 3 highest rated woman for much of her career. (Judit Polgar, the top-ranked woman, does not play women-only chess events.)
Around the end of the 1990s, Xie was reading for a doctorate in psychology. Xie Jun now spends most of her present time working as an official at the Beijing Sports Commission, taking care of chess players and other sports people.
[edit] Titles
| Preceded by Qin Kanying |
Women's Chinese Chess Champion 1989 |
Succeeded by Peng Zhaoqin |
| Preceded by Maia Chiburdanidze |
Women's World Chess Champion
First Reign |
Succeeded by Susan Polgar |
| Preceded by Susan Polgar, then vacant |
Women's World Chess Champion
Second Reign |
Succeeded by Zhu Chen |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 中国国际象棋运动员等级分数据库
- ^ http://www.samsloan.com/lianzhi.htm Xie-Galliamova: From Beginning to End By Sun Lianzhi
- ^ The Week in Chess 242
- ^ http://www.samsloan.com/xiejun.htm Xie Jun defeats Alisa Galliamova in match for Woman's World Chess Championship
- ^ Weeks, Mark (17 April 2000), THE WEEK IN CHESS 284, London Chess Center, <http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic284#3>
[edit] Further reading
- Xie Jun (1998). Chess Champion from China: The Life and Games of Xie Jun. Gambit Publications, London. ISBN 1-901983-06-4.— is an annotated collection of many of the world champion's games along with some biographical information.
- Forbes, Cathy (1994). Meet the Masters. Tournament Chess. ISBN 1-859320-41-4.— contains a collection of interviews with many notable chess players.
[edit] External links
- Xie Jun's Blog (sina.com)
- FIDE rating card for Xie Jun
- Xie Jun at ChessGames.com
- "I am not a professional" — interview
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