Rong Hua HU, winner of the 2000 Chinese championship, is a national icon who simply refuses to enter the history books. His period of high competitive ability, already absurdly long, just goes on and on.

GM Rong Hua HU Photo: Peter Sung

Imagine someone winning the Soviet or Russian chess championship 14 times over a span of four decades. That’s HU. Imagine Kasparov winning major titles in his mid-50s (as he likely will). That’s HU as well.

He is the definitive Xiangqi grandmaster, and one of the leading cultural figures of Shanghai. He won his first national title in 1960, at the age of 15. This began a streak of 10 straight victories over 20 years - without question the game’s most legendary accomplishment. The streak encompassed two of the most turbulent periods of China’s history: the "Great Leap Forward" and the Cultural Revolution.

During the 1980s, new Xiangqi events were established, and HU traded tournament victories with much younger peers. By the 1990s, commentators were agreed that he was past his prime. He was still strong enough to out-strategize anyone, but was more prone to spoiling games with errors. Outright tournament victories became rare.

This changed in 1996. In February, he beat Qin LU, the reigning Qi Wang ("King of Chess", effectively, world champion), in a brilliantly played four-game match. Late in the year, he unexpectedly won the Five-Ram Cup, Xiangqi’s most elite invitational. Then, in October 1997, he won his 13th Chinese championship.

At the time, all of this seemed to be a splendid blip. His latest victory shows otherwise.

Grandly Complex

HU’s style is richly varied, and difficult to describe. His approach is grandly comprehensive, extending from violent attacks to exquisitely difficult endgames. He often begins with quiet moves, and aims for a complex maneuvering game with many pieces on the board. Among chess players, he reminds me most of Botvinnik.

I have seen HU during two of my tournaments, but have never watched him play. During the Fourth World Cup (Singapore, 1995), he simultaneously played exhibition games of chess, Xiangqi, and Go. At the Sixth World Cup (Shanghai, 1999), he was the host and featured commentator, and was as big a draw as the tournament.

At the Shanghai World Cup, HU was resplendent, always wearing a dark suit with a lapel flower, and always surrounded by officials, journalists, and fans. I tried for an interview, but the closest I came was a handshake in an elevator. In contrast, Qin LU spent hours loitering casually in the tournament hall and lounge area, chatting with everyone who approached him.

I did manage to interview another Shanghai GM, Hong Min LIN, who is much more of a working class hero. LIN admitted that, after he had made the city team and was playing at the national level, HU could give him odds of two moves and win. About HU he said: "The people of Shanghai think he’s one of the giants, Xiangqi’s most towering figure. There’s never been anyone like him before, and it looks like no-one in the future will ever achieve his status".

I finally saw live HU games for the first time in September 2000, when this web-site carried games from MSO Singapore. His approach was that of a patient teacher, guiding his opponents into quiet end-games, and then picking apart their technique.

Looking Ahead

HU’s latest victory qualifies him to play in the Seventh World Cup, which is due to be held in France, in the latter part of 2001. This will not only add lustre, it will greatly improve the fun. HU will play a sequence of the best players outside of China, and this will produce fascinating clashes of style.

But before this, the Brain Games Network have announced that they will hold a hold a Xiangqi world championship in March 2001. The Chinese GMs will play off to produce two qualifiers. It seems that HU’s victories now come in bunches. Realistically, he will be long shot, but he will also be among the most feared.

Many HU stories and games have appeared in the Xiangqi Review. About 550 of his games can be found in the Xiangqi Home Page’s Xiangqi Master Database.

Two By HU

We give two fierce attacking games by the veteran Rong Hua HU.

Rong Hua HU - Yin Chuan XU, Five-Ram Cup 1996.
Game in algebraic or WXF text file.

In the first, he patiently builds up over-whelming pressure against Yin Chuan XU, the player that many believe is China’s best.

Rong Hua HU - Wen Xiang YAN, Chinese National Championship 1996.
Game in algebraic or WXF text file.

In the second, he uses a famous two-pawn gambit to destroy Wen Qing YAN, one of China’s most renowned attacking players.