Hu Ronghua facts for kids

Hu Ronghua (Chinese: 胡荣华; pinyin: Hú Rónghuá, born November 14, 1945) is a famous Chinese xiangqi grandmaster. Xiangqi is a fun board game, sometimes called "Chinese chess." Hu Ronghua is so good at it that some people call him the "Bobby Fischer of Xiangqi." Bobby Fischer was a super talented chess player.

Because of his amazing skills, Hu Ronghua was given special titles. People called him "Top Grandmaster Ever" and "Commander Hu."

Hu Ronghua's Xiangqi Journey

Hu Ronghua started his incredible journey in xiangqi at a young age. He won his first big championship, the Chinese National Xiangqi Championship, in 1960. He was only 15 years old, making him the youngest winner ever!

He then won nine more championships in a row. This gave him a total of 10 wins from 1960 to 1979. The competition wasn't held every year during this time due to the Cultural Revolution.

Later Championships

In the 1980s, Hu Ronghua kept winning. He won the national xiangqi championship again in 1983 and 1985. By the mid-1990s, some people thought he might be getting too old to win. They believed younger players would take his place.

But Hu Ronghua proved them wrong! He won yet again in 1997 and then in 2000. This showed everyone he was still a top player.

Hu Ronghua holds many records in xiangqi history. He has won the most national titles, with a total of 14 wins. He is also the youngest champion (at age 15 in 1960) and the oldest champion (at age 55 in 2000).

Helping Xiangqi Grow

Hu Ronghua has worked hard to make xiangqi more popular. He wants more people to play and enjoy the game.

In 2011, he even started a reality show called Let's Play Chess. The show was created to help him find a new student to teach.

New Ideas for Xiangqi

Hu Ronghua has also added many new ideas to how xiangqi is played. He did important work on special opening moves. These include the "elephant opening" (飞相局) and the "Back-Palace-Knight" (反宫马) opening.

He also came up with a new rule for xiangqi games. This rule, called the "Hu Rule," aimed to make games more exciting. It tried to stop games from ending in a boring draw. However, other professional players did not like this rule, and it was stopped after one year.

In 2022, Hu Ronghua shared his expert thoughts during a big event. This event showed how advanced computer programs, called Artificial Intelligence, could play xiangqi.

Other Hobbies

Besides xiangqi, Hu Ronghua has other interests. When he was younger, he learned a bit about weiqi, which is another board game like Go. He also enjoys playing "daguailuzi" (大怪路子), a popular card game in Shanghai.

Awards and Titles

• 1982: He was given the title of Grandmaster.
• 1988: He became an International Grandmaster of Chinese Chess.