Dialogue丨Xie Jun: In the blood of the Chinese people, the cultural genes of intellectual sports are inherited

　　Chess, also known as "chess".

　　As one of the most popular chess games in the world, hundreds of millions of people have crossed the long river of history and played "fighting" on the 64-square chessboard, chasing victory and letting go of defeat while feeling chess-like life.

　　Chess, which has been passed down for nearly two thousand years, has endured for a long time, creating countless wonderful games and spiritual connotations that have been passed down to this day.

But China, an ancient country with a history of 5,000 years, did not gradually enter the center of the "chessboard" until more than 20 years ago, opening a new chapter belonging to the East.

"The pawn is the soul of chess".

In 1749, the French master Francois-Andre-Firidor wrote this classic chess sentence in his book "Analysis of Chess".

　　And if we say that pawns are the soul of chess, a "general" who has reached the pinnacle in the competitive level and has a broader international vision will undoubtedly be met but not sought after.

　　On August 7th, Beijing time, the four-time Chinese chess women's world champion Xie Jun was elected as the vice-chairman of the FIDE, adding a strong Chinese voice to the international stage.

　　From China's first female chess world champion to the vice-chairman of FIDE,

　　Recently, Xie Jun was a guest in the "Dialogue" column of China-Singapore Sports, telling the story

Chess made me

China-Singapore Sports: Congratulations on being elected as the Vice-President of the World Chess Federation with a high vote. From being the first world champion to playing an important role in an international organization, what is the special significance for you and China Chess?

Xie Jun:

This is an important step for China's chess career.

With the continuous development, popularization and improvement of chess in China, being able to speak out in international organizations is what Chinese chess has always pursued.

　　It is a special honor for me,

After years of experience as an athlete, I am now working in colleges and universities. Combining my professional background, I have a broader vision and a deeper knowledge and understanding of this project, which can promote more things.

China-Singapore Sports: From a person who played chess, to a person who promoted the game, to now leading the development of chess, what kind of experience does the change of identity bring to you?

Xie Jun:

I have many years of experience as a chess player and later engaged in an educational position.

I think the most important thing is to keep learning and keep practicing.

It is about how you look at the world, how to absorb nutrients, and finally participate in the wider cause to play your role.

　　Looking back on my sporting career as a chess player, even though it was emotionally ingrained in my blood, that time felt like a lifetime ago to me.

And how to better absorb the nutrients from this experience, achieve a better me and play a role in the development of the project, is a lifetime homework for me.

Data map: Xie Jun.

Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency

China-Singapore Sports: For the development and promotion of chess, you have been on the road.

You once said that you yearned for a certain kind of freedom, but now you are closer or farther away from that kind of freedom?

Xie Jun:

Athletes, especially champion athletes, have one characteristic, that is, they can fight hard.

Because competitive sports decided to strive for the best and defend the honor after success.

Leaving the arena with this habit to do other things, there are no fair competition rules, and I have to keep doing my best. When I first made a transition, I would ask myself why is it so hard?

　　In this process, different views and different voices bring more thinking.

First of all, I have to have enough capabilities and a good platform. I can participate in it to play a better role and drive more people. This is the state I have always pursued.

Time proves the charm of chess

Sino-Singapore Sports: Chess has a history of two thousand years, but it was not included in the official sports competition in China until 1956.

Based on your own experience, how has China's chess developed?

Xie Jun:

The development of chess in China is synchronized with the development of the whole country.

In the early days of the founding of New China, chess at that time was an imported product in China. The organization of events and activities, including talent training, largely learned from and learned from the former Soviet Union.

In the following 20 years, the project has continued to explore and move forward, and the results have not been satisfactory.

　　After the reform and opening up, we resumed participating in international competitions.

From a competitive point of view, there are already some chess players who have the strength and have won the corresponding titles.

By the 1990s, Chinese chess had made breakthroughs in performance, winning the women's individual world championship and the women's team world championship.

Entering the 21st century, we have emerged a group of excellent chess players, and also won the championship in the men's team field.

　　In general, the plan for the development of chess in China is to

, and it is divided into

. The development footprint of chess also verifies this assumption.

Chinese female chess player Xie Jun won the women's chess world championship four times in 1991, 1993, 1999 and 2000.

After successfully defending her title in 1993, she became the first female athlete in China and even in Asia to win the title of Men's International Grand Master.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xiaojun

China-Singapore Sports: After you won the world championship, more and more outstanding players have emerged. What is the reason for such achievements in a short period of time?

Xie Jun:

Chess is an intellectual sport with a long tradition and history in China.

In ancient times, there were four major talents—qin, chess, calligraphy and painting. Although the “chess” mentioned here is different from chess, it is also an intellectual sport, and there have always been high-quality cultural genes in our blood.

　　It is also closely related to the development of the country.

As the so-called "prosperity of national sports leads to prosperity of sports", it is backed by the strong strength and influence of the country, which allows us to obtain more opportunities to participate, and is also conducive to the building of self-confidence.

　　In addition, it is inseparable from the attention of parents.

As an intellectual sport, many parents begin to let their children learn to play chess and enlighten their children, which is also a particularly good life experience.

Invisibly, the population participating in chess has grown rapidly.

China-Singapore Sports: In the perception of many people, chess is an imported product. In your opinion, what is the threshold for the popularization of the project, what are the difficulties?

What kind of charm does it have?

Xie Jun:

In terms of the speed of its own development, chess has always made a qualitative leap.

Especially on the Internet, chess is a common language for international communication. We often say that

Time has seen the charm of chess, and

participating in it will make you better think about the meaning of victory and defeat, pursue victory without fear of defeat, and so on.

Therefore, in the process of promotion and popularization, we should pay attention to the extraction of the cultural characteristics of the project, and let the masses be nurtured and educated in the process of participation.

Data map: Xie Jun.

Photo by Zhong Xin

Taking chess as a bridge, seeking common ground while reserving differences

China-Singapore Sports: Now, you are also shouldering the important task of integrating Chinese chess and even sports with international standards and exchanges. What are your thoughts on this?

Xie Jun:

As former South African President Mandela said, sports have the power to change the world.

We must

　　In the process of communication, we can actually feel the humanistic value beyond this project, which is also an important function of sports in promoting peace in the international community and building a humanistic environment.

　　The most important thing in chess culture is to grasp the characteristics of intellectual sports, so that participants can enlighten their wisdom, learn to think, and get the desired effect in the process of cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

China-Singapore Sports: Now more projects hope to attract more people to understand and participate by creating star players.

There are many famous players such as Ding Liren and Hou Yifan in Chinese chess. What do you think of this model?

Xie Jun:

Role models are not created, they are truly achieved by strength.

For this project, he is a hero that has been recorded in history, but also needs to have a love for the project and a strong self-discipline.

There are many high-quality idol-level sports players, who not only shine on the field, but also have their personalities in life, and the state they show is deeply loved by the public.

　　Chess has a strong cultural attribute, and athletes have a relatively long life expectancy.

Throughout the process, there are very few visually striking images that make the audience feel particularly exciting.

　　There are many great players in the Chinese chess world, and they also play the role of inheriting the culture.

In fact, the

Data map: Hou Yifan.

Photo by Xiong Ran issued by China News Agency

China-Singapore Sports: In the future, what areas do you hope to make efforts to promote the better development of chess in China?

Xie Jun:

First of all, I want to focus on the cultural construction of chess. Although it is an imported product, "qin, chess, calligraphy and painting" has long been engraved in the bones of our people. I hope that we can communicate and inherit from a cultural perspective and achieve tolerance and mutual learning.

　　Then there is the talent training.

Talent is a very broad term, such as an excellent coaching team, an excellent talent training system and the standardization of teaching materials. The development of the project is inseparable from the construction of a talent team.

　　In addition, the

The whole project needs to be recognized by the public and accepted by the society. If you want to seek better development, you must have hematopoietic function, rather than unconditional investment.

　　I believe that chess has a very good cultural gene in China. As the country continues to grow and develop, the whole society has a deeper understanding and acceptance of this project, and the future is limitless.

The burden on us is also very heavy, and we must come up with more and better ways to seek development.

　　Author: Wang Yu