Wikipedia

Wei Yi

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wei.

Wei Yi (Chinese: 韦奕; born 2 June 1999) is a Chinese chess grandmaster.

Wei Yi
Wei Yi in 2024
CountryChina
Born (1999-06-02) 2 June 1999 (age 25)
Yancheng, Jiangsu, China[1]
TitleGrandmaster (2013)
FIDE rating2753 (December 2024)
Peak rating2763 (October 2024)
RankingNo. 9 (December 2024)
Peak rankingNo. 8 (August 2024)
Wei Yi
Traditional Chinese韋奕
Simplified Chinese韦奕
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWéi Yì
IPA[wéɪ ì]

Wei became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 8 months and 23 days, the 9th youngest in history.[2][3] He is the youngest player ever to reach a rating of 2700, accomplishing this feat at age 15.[4][5] Wei represents the Jiangsu club in the China Chess League and is a three-time Chinese Chess Champion as well as the 2018 Asian Chess Champion.[6] He won the Tata Steel Masters in 2024.[7]

Career

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Early years

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In 2007, he competed in the Chinese Chess Championship B group at the age of 8, recording a draw against Grandmaster Zhou Jianchao.[8]

In 2009, Wei Yi won the under 11 section of the 5th World School Chess Championship, held in Thessaloniki, Greece.[9]

In 2010, he won the under-12 event at the Asian Youth Chess Championship[10] and followed this up by winning the same division at the World Youth Chess Championship.[11]

2012

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In August, he won his first GM norm at the World Junior Chess Championship in Athens, including a victory over Richárd Rapport and a draw with the eventual winner Alexander Ipatov;[12] when Wei was only 12. The competition is open to participants under-20 at 1 January.

In October, he gained his second GM norm at the Indonesian Open Chess Championship, with victories over Michał Krasenkow and Sergey Fedorchuk.[13]

2013

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In February, he secured his final norm at the Reykjavik Open with a score of 7½/10, including a victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, finishing 6th.[14]

In August, he made his debut at the FIDE World Cup, held that year in Tromsø, being one of the FIDE president's nominees. He defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the first round and Alexei Shirov in the second, then was knocked out by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the third round.[15]

On the November FIDE rating list, Wei, aged 14 years, four months and 30 days, reached a rating of 2604, thus becoming the youngest player in history to achieve a rating above 2600, breaking the record held by Wesley So.[8] This record has since been broken by John M. Burke.

2014

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In June, Wei won the 27th Magistral de León rapid tournament by defeating Francisco Vallejo Pons in the final.[16]

In August, he played on the reserve board for China in the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø. He scored 4/5, helping the Chinese team to win the gold medal.[17][18]

In October he finished second in the World Junior Championship in Pune, India behind Lu Shanglei.[19]

2015

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In January, he won the Challenger Group at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament with a score of 10½/13 (+8-0=5) and a rating performance of 2804, ahead of David Navara and without any defeat.[20] By doing so, he qualified for the Masters section in 2016.[21]

In February, he competed in the Gibraltar Masters tournament and finished in a share of 3rd–11th.[22] This boosted Wei's rating to 2706 in the March rating list, making Wei Yi the youngest player ever to cross the 2700 mark.[4] The record had previously been held by Magnus Carlsen.

In April, Wei took part in the World Team Chess Championship, which was won by the Chinese team.[23] Wei scored 7/9 (+5=4-0) and won the gold medal on board 4.[24]

In May, Wei won the Chinese Championship, beating Ding Liren, Wang Hao and Yu Yangyi to the title and in the process becoming the youngest Chinese chess champion ever.[25]

In June, he won his second consecutive Magistral de León rapid tournament, defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final.[26]

At the Chess World Cup 2015, Wei sequentially knocked out Saleh Salem, Yuri Vovk, Alexander Areshchenko, and compatriot Ding Liren to progress to the quarterfinals, becoming the youngest player in the Chess World Cup history to accomplish this. Then he lost to Peter Svidler in the second set of rapid tiebreakers (10'+10") and therefore was eliminated from the competition.

In the inaugural edition of the China Chess King Match, held in Taizhou, Zhejiang[27] and featuring most of the top Chinese players, Wei Yi sequentially knocked out Zhao Jun, Yu Yangyi and Bu Xiangzhi to win the event. The format of this event was identical to that of the Chess World Cup.[28]

2016

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In January, Wei Yi played in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament Masters section, for which he qualified by winning the Challengers section in 2015. He finished seventh out of fourteen participants with a score of 6½/13.[29]

In April, Wei Yi won the Chinese Chess Championship for the second time in his career, scoring 7½/11 (+4 =5 -0).[30]

Wei played in the Bilbao Chess Masters Final in July, which included five players from the world's top 10: Wesley So, Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, the world title challenger Sergey Karjakin and the world champion Magnus Carlsen. Wei won against Giri playing with white,[31] lost against eventual winner Carlsen playing with black[31] and drew all other games, finishing with a score of +1 =8 -1 to take third place.[31]

2017

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In January, Wei Yi participated again in the annual traditional Tata Steel Tournament finishing fifth.[32]

In May, Wei Yi won the Chinese championship for the third time in a row with a score of 8½/11 (+6 =5 -0).[33]

In July, he won his first super-tournament at the 8th Danzhou Super-GM event ahead of the likes of Ding Liren, Vassily Ivanchuk and Yu Yangyi with 6½/9, a full point clear of the field.

2018

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In December, Wei Yi won the Asian Continental Championship in Makati, the Philippines. He scored 6½/9 points and took the title on tiebreak from Amin Tabatabaei and Lê Quang Liêm. Thanks to this achievement Wei also qualified for the FIDE World Cup 2019.[34][35]

2019

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In December 2019, Wei Yi reached the finals of the fourth stage of the prestigious FIDE Grand Prix 2019 Tournament (after outplaying David Navara in the semi-finals on tie-breaks), losing to Ian Nepomniachtchi. He came sixth place overall in the tournament.

2022

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Wei Yi was runner-up in the FTX Road to Miami tournament, losing to Levon Aronian in the finals.[36]

2023

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In September, Wei Yi won a gold medal in the Men's individual rapid event at 2022 Asian Games, with a score of 7½/9.[37]

2024

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In January, Wei Yi won the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 after defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Gukesh D in the tiebreaks.[38] With this result, he achieved his personal best rating of 2755, ranked 9th in the world.

In May, Wei Yi came second place overall in the 2024 Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament with a score of 25½. He came first in the Rapid section of the tournament.[39]

Wei Yi played on board two for China at the 45th Chess Olympiad, scoring 6½/10 (+5−2=3) with a performance rating of 2742.[40]

Notable games

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Wei Yi vs Bruzon Batista, Danzhou 2015
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Final position

Personal life

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In 2018, Wei enrolled as a student at the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management.[42] He finished his studies in July 2024.[43]

References

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  1. ^ "Yancheng player wins championship at Corus Chess Tournament". Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Wei Yi has become the youngest GM in the world". ChessBase. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Certificate of Title Result (Reykjavik 2013)" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  4. ^ a b "March 2015 ratings: After 26 years, Yifan no.1". ChessBase. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Wei Yi Wins in Danzhou, Climbs to World #14". 18 July 2017.
  6. ^ Chinese Chess League: Wei Yi OlimpBase
  7. ^ "Wei Yi wins 2024 Tata Steel Masters". FIDE. 28 January 2024. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Wei Yi: youngest 2600+ GM ever". ChessBase. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  9. ^ 5th WORLD SCHOOL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN UNDER 11. Chess-Results.com
  10. ^ "Asian Youth Chess Championship 2010 U12". Chess-Results. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  11. ^ "World Youth Chess Championship 2010 Open Under 12". Chess-Results. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Certificate of Title Result (Athens 2012)" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  13. ^ "Certificate of Title Result (Indonesia 2012)" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  14. ^ "Wei Yi at Reykjavik Open 2013". Chess-Results. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Chess World Cup 2013: Pairings & Results". Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Leon Final: Wei Yi wins on tiebreaks". ChessBase. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Olympiad 2014 Open: Chinese team composition with round-results". Chess-Results. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  18. ^ "Olympiad 2014 Open: final ranking after 11 rounds". Chess-Results. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  19. ^ "World Junior Chess Championship 2014: final standing". Chess-Results. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Standings of Tata Steel Challengers". Tata Steel Chess. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Tata Steel Chess news". Tata Steel Chess. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  22. ^ "2015 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival - Masters". Chess-Results. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  23. ^ "World Team Championship 2015". Chess-Results. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  24. ^ Martínez, David (30 April 2015). "China, again. Hello, domination!". chess24. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  25. ^ "Wei Yi youngest Chinese Champion". ChessBase. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  26. ^ "Wei Yi repeats in Leon". ChessBase. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  27. ^ The First China Chess King Match. Tournament details FIDE. Retrieved 10 December 2015
  28. ^ Fischer, Johannes (1 December 2015). "Wei Yi wins brilliancy". ChessBase. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  29. ^ Standings of Tata Steel Masters 2016. Tata Steel Chess.
  30. ^ Fischer, Johannes (2 May 2006). "Wei Yi and Guo Qi are Chinese Champions 2016". ChessBase. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  31. ^ a b c "Masters Final: Pairings – Bilbao Chess 2016". Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  32. ^ "Who was the player of the year?". Chess News. 7 January 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  33. ^ "Wei Yi wins third straight Chinese Championship". Chess News. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  34. ^ "Wei, Padmini Wins Asian Continental Championship 2018". FIDE. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  35. ^ Ang, Bobby (19 December 2018). "Wei Yi is Asian champ". BusinessWorld. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  36. ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (17 July 2022). "Levon Aronian Wins FTX Road To Miami". Chess.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  37. ^ "Asian Games: Wei Yi and Zhu Jiner win individual titles". www.fide.com. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  38. ^ Doggers, Peter (28 January 2024). "Wei Yi Wins 2024 Tata Steel Chess Masters In Thrilling Tiebreak".
  39. ^ McGourty (Colin_McGourty), Colin (12 May 2024). "Carlsen Wins Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland With 10-Game Winning Streak". Chess.com. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  40. ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 45th Chess Olympiad Budapest 2024". chess-results.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  41. ^ Hainan Danzhou and Wei Yi’s immortal game, Chessbase, 7 April 2015
  42. ^ "韦奕：六年超霸战对我帮助很大 祝学弟柯洁早毕业". sports.sina.com.cn. 2 July 2019.
  43. ^ Barden, Leonard (2 February 2024). "Chess: Wei Yi wins at Wijk aan Zee as former prodigy emerges from shadows".
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