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Yu Yangyi
Biography
Yu Yangyi was born on 8 June 1994 in Huangshi, Hubei, and was awarded the grandmaster title in 2009 at 14 years, 11 months and 23 days. He announced himself internationally by winning the World Junior Chess Championship in September 2013 with 11/13, finishing clear of runner-up Alexander Ipatov (10.5/13), then took the Asian Chess Championship in April 2014 with 7/9. His rapid rise carried him to a career-peak FIDE rating of 2765 in September 2018.
Yu has won a series of strong open and invitational events: the Qatar Masters in December 2014, scoring 7.5/9 and defeating Vladimir Kramnik and Anish Giri along the way; the Capablanca Memorial in Havana in June 2015 with 7/10 and a 2860 performance rating; and the Shenzhen Masters in April 2021. He reached the semifinal stage of the Chess World Cup on multiple occasions, finishing fourth in the 2019 edition.
Yu has been a mainstay of China's Chess Olympiad team, winning individual board gold at the 2014 Tromsø Olympiad with 9.5/11 on board three — the best individual performance rating of the entire event, 2912 — as China took its first-ever Olympiad gold. He also played board two on China's gold-medal team at the 2018 Batumi Olympiad, and won a further team gold with China at the 2015 World Team Championship in Tsakhkadzor, scoring 7.5/9 on board two.
Key achievements
- World Junior Chess Champion, 2013 (11/13)
- Asian Chess Champion, 2014
- Two Chess Olympiad gold medals with China: 2014, 2018
- Board-three individual gold at the 2014 Olympiad — best performance rating of the event (2912)
- Fourth place, Chess World Cup 2019
Ratings
| Date | Milestone | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Awarded the grandmaster title (age 14) | — |
| 2013 | World Junior Chess Champion (11/13) | — |
| 2014 | Asian Chess Champion (7/9) | — |
| Sep 2018 | Career-peak FIDE rating | 2765 |
| Sep 2026 | Current rating | 2710 |
Titles
| Title | Details | Year |
|---|---|---|
| GM | Grandmaster, age 14 | 2009 |
| World Jr. | World Junior Chess Champion (11/13) | 2013 |
| Asian Ch. | Asian Chess Champion (7/9) | 2014 |
Classical Tournaments
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Qatar Masters — beat Kramnik and Giri | 1st (7.5/9) |
| 2015 | Capablanca Memorial, Havana | 1st (7/10) |
| 2019 | Chess World Cup | 4th place |
| 2021 | Shenzhen Masters | 1st |
Team Events
| Year | Event (Board) | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Chess Olympiad, Tromsø (Board 3) — China's first Olympiad gold | 9½/11 |
| 2015 | World Team Championship, Tsakhkadzor (Board 2) — gold | 7½/9 |
| 2018 | Chess Olympiad, Batumi (Board 2) — gold | 7/11 |
Source: OlimpBase (olimpbase.org) Olympiad rosters, cross-checked with Wikipedia.
Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.