Li Chao (chess player)

{{Infobox chess player

| name = Li Chao

| image = Li Chao 2015 Deizisau.JPG

| caption = Li Chao in 2015

| birth_name =

| country = China

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1989|4|21}}

| birth_place = Taiyuan, Shanxi

| death_date =

| death_place =

| title = Grandmaster (2007)

| worldchampion =

| peakrating = 2758 (June 2016)

| peakranking = No. 14 (August 2015)

| FideID = 8604436

}}

Li Chao ({{zh|c=李超|p=Lǐ Chāo}}; born 21 April 1989 in Taiyuan, Shanxi)[http://www.chessinchina.net/html/CHNrating05.8.htm 中国国际象棋运动员等级分数据库] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112145833/http://www.chessinchina.net/html/CHNrating05.8.htm |date=12 November 2013 }} is a Chinese chess Grandmaster and Asian champion in 2013. In 2007, he became China's 23rd Grandmaster at the age of 18.

He has been a second/assistant for fellow Chinese chess Grandmaster Wang Yue on several occasions; the two are good friends having known each other since they were children.{{cite web |url=http://games.sports.cn/chessorg/domesticnews/2009-10-09/1893897.html |title=李超温阳担任贴身助理死党助王玥调整最佳状态 - 中国棋院在线 |accessdate=2009-10-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721173007/http://games.sports.cn/chessorg/domesticnews/2009-10-09/1893897.html |archivedate=21 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}

In chess circles he is sometimes known as "Li Chao b" since there is another Chinese chess player named Li Chao.

Career

Li Chao started to play chess at the age of six.

In 2005 he finished sixth at the World Junior Chess Championship held in Istanbul.[http://brasilbase.pro.br/w20b2005.htm Istanbul 2005 - 44° Campeonato Mundial Juvenil] Brasil

In August 2007, Li won the Scandinavian Chess Tournament in Täby, Sweden with 8½ points out of 9.{{cite web|last1=Crowther|first1=Mark|title=TWIC 666: Scandinavian Chess Tournament|url=http://www.theweekinchess.com/html/twic666.html#12|publisher=The Week in Chess|accessdate=9 October 2015|date=2007-08-13}}

In September 2007, he won the fourth IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur.[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4087 4th Dato' Arthur Tan Open: the "Empire" Strikes Back!] ChessBase.com, Sept 1 2007

He won the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup in Manila held on 21–29 November 2007.[http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/1621-112-li-chao-wins-president-gloria-macapagal-arroyo-cup-in-manila.html Li Chao Wins President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup in Manila] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235343/http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/1621-112-li-chao-wins-president-gloria-macapagal-arroyo-cup-in-manila.html |date=3 March 2016 }} FIDE. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 9 October 2015

File:Li chao chess player.jpg (left)]]

In 2007, he was awarded the Grandmaster title. His GM norms were achieved at:[https://ratings.fide.com/title_applications.phtml?details=1&id=8604436&title=GM&pb=17 GM title application] FIDE

2005 World Junior Chess Championship in Istanbul; score 8.5/13;
Aeroflot Open 2007, A1 Group tournament in Moscow; score 4.5/9;
Lake Sevan round-robin tournament (category 12) in Martuni, Armenia, where he scored 5.5/9, thus finishing joint first with Yuri Vovk and G.N. Gopal.

In April 2008, he came equal first with 7/9 points and fourth on tie-break at the tenth Dubai Open.{{cite web|author1=Ravi Kumar|title=Wesley So wins Dubai Open, player disqualified for cheating|url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/wesley-so-wins-dubai-open-player-disqualified-for-cheating|publisher=ChessBase|accessdate=9 October 2015|date=2008-04-17}}

In May 2008, he came joint first on points (8.0/11) and first on tie-break at the second Philippine International Open in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In August 2008, he won the fifth IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open with 9/11.{{cite web|last=Crowther|first=Mark|title=TWIC 727: Malaysian Open|url=http://www.theweekinchess.com/html/twic727.html#14|publisher=The Week in Chess|accessdate=24 October 2015|date=2008-10-13}}

In the following month, he competed at the fifth Russia v China Match in Ningbo where he scored 3/5 with a performance rating of 2767 for the men's team (with Wang Yue, Wang Hao, Ni Hua, Bu Xiangzhi).[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4921 Fifth China vs Russia Match in Ningpo]

In the Chess World Cup 2009, held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, he reached the third round losing to Vugar Gashimov, after he didn't show up in time at the second game of the rapid tiebreaks, as he was smoking, and was forfeited.{{cite web|title=World Cup R3: Two Chinese players default – for smoking|url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/world-cup-r3-two-chinese-players-default-for-smoking|publisher=ChessBase|accessdate=24 October 2015|date=2009-11-29}}

In 2010, Li Chao won the Corus C tournament at Wijk aan Zee (15 January - 31 January) scoring 10/13. The victory qualified him for the 2011 Corus Group B, later renamed Tata Steel Chess Tournament Group B. A few months later, in April 2010, he convincingly won the 48th Doeberl Cup held in Canberra, Australia. Li won this latter event again in 2013.

At the 2011 Tata Steel B tournament he scored 6/13, placing ninth.[http://www.tatasteelchess.com/history/recent/year/2011/standings/2 Standings of grandmaster group B] Tata Steel Chess Li won the men's individual chess tournament of the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen with a score of 8.5/9, two points ahead of the field, including compatriots Wang Hao and Wang Yue.{{cite web|title=Li Chao convincing victory at the Universiade|url=http://www.chessdom.com/li-chao-convincing-victory-at-the-universiade/|publisher=Chessdom|accessdate=24 October 2015|date=2011-08-21}} In October 2011, he won the Indonesia Open Chess Championship in Jakarta on tiebreak over Ganguly Surya Shekhar.{{cite web|title=Li Chao b winner of the Indonesia Open Chess Championship|url=http://www.chessdom.com/li-chao-b-winner-of-the-indonesia-open-chess-championship/|publisher=Chessdom|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=2011-10-19}}

Li took part in the Chess World Cup 2011, where he was eliminated in the first round by Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son.{{cite web|url=http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/fide-world-cup-khanty-mansiysk-2011 |title=The Week in Chess: FIDE World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk 2011 |last=Crowther |first=Mark |date=2011-09-21 |publisher=London Chess Center |accessdate=14 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020150713/http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/fide-world-cup-khanty-mansiysk-2011 |archivedate=20 October 2011 }}

He tied for first with Yu Yangyi at the 2nd Indonesia Open Chess Championship in 2012, but placed second on tiebreak.{{cite web|title=Indonesia Open 2012: Resounding win for Yu Yangyi|url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/indonesia-open-2012-resounding-win-for-yu-yangyi|publisher=ChessBase|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=2012-10-18}} In January 2013 Li Chao won the Boston Chess Congress{{cite web|last=Immitt|first=Steve|title=GM Chao Li Wins Boston Chess Congress|url=http://www.uschess.org/content/view/12048/221|publisher=United States Chess Federation|accessdate=9 April 2016|date=2013-01-16}} and the 4th Annual Golden State Open in Concord, California.{{cite web|title=Li Chao convincing in Golden State Open|url=http://www.chessdom.com/li-chao-convincing-in-golden-state-open/|publisher=Chessdom|accessdate=9 April 2016|date=2013-01-23}} In May 2013, he won the Asian Chess Championship, which took place in Manila, and this achievement earned him the qualification for the Chess World Cup 2013. In the latter he defeated Evgeny Postny in the inaugural round to reach the second one, losing to Anish Giri.

In 2014, he won the Reykjavik Open with 8.5/10.[http://www.chess-results.com/tnr111685.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=10&flag=30&wi=821 N1 Reykjavik Open 2014] Chess-Results

In March 2015, he won the 31st Cappelle-la-Grande Open.{{cite web|url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/li-chao-is-champion-at-cappelle|title=Li Chao is champion at Cappelle|publisher=ChessBase|last=L'Ami|first=Alina|authorlink=Alina l'Ami|date=9 March 2015|accessdate=25 August 2015}} This success was followed by the victory at the 19th Neckar Open in Deizisau with a score of 8.5/9.{{cite web|url=http://www.chess.com/news/li-chao-convincing-winner-neckar-open-8157|title=KID Killer" Li Chao Convincing Neckar Open Winner, Now World #17|publisher=chess.com|last=Doggers|first=Peter|date=7 April 2015|accessdate=25 August 2015}} In August 2015, he played a six-game match with Hungarian Grandmaster Peter Leko in Szeged, Hungary. He won the match by 4-2 (+2-0=4).{{cite web|url=http://scacchi.chess.com/news/li-chao-beats-peter-leko-4-2-in-friendly-match-7332|title=Li Chao beats Peter Leko 4-2 in friendly match|publisher=chess.com|last=Doggers|first=Peter|date=21 August 2015|accessdate=25 August 2015|archive-date=5 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905233827/http://scacchi.chess.com/news/li-chao-beats-peter-leko-4-2-in-friendly-match-7332|url-status=dead}} Li played for the team "Siberia" (alongside Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Wang Yue, Anton Korobov, Dmitry Kokarev and Dmitry Bocharov) which won the 2015 European Club Cup in Skopje.{{cite web|last=McGourty|first=Colin|title=Siberia survive scare to win European Club Cup|url=https://chess24.com/en/read/news/siberia-survive-scare-to-win-european-club-cup|publisher=chess24|accessdate=7 November 2015|date=2015-10-25}} In February 2016, he won the Graz Open with 8/9.{{cite web|last=Crowther|first=Mark|title=TWIC 1111: Graz Open 2016|url=http://theweekinchess.com/html/twic1111.html#5|publisher=The Week in Chess|accessdate=21 March 2016|date=22 February 2016}}

China Chess League

Li Chao played for Beijing chess club in the China Chess League.{{cite web |url=http://ccl.sports.cn/ |title=雅戈尔杯中国国际象棋甲级联赛官方网站 |accessdate=2011-10-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028194605/http://ccl.sports.cn/ |archivedate=28 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }} In August 2015, Grandmaster Ian Rogers reported that Li Chao had been banned for more than a year from all Chinese teams and tournaments, resulting from a dispute with a sponsor of a Beijing club.{{Cite web|url=http://gardinerchess.com.au/gm-rogers-li-chao-down-but-not-out/|title=GM Rogers: Li Chao Down but Not Out|date=2015-08-29|website=gardinerchess.com.au|access-date=2016-03-26}}

Notable games

[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1431881, Li Chao vs Wang Hao, World Junior Championship 2006, Scandinavian Defense: Panov Transfer (B01), 1-0]
[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1507473, Li Chao vs Evgeny Alekseev, Russia vs China Match 2008, Spanish Game: Berlin Defense, l'Hermet Variation Berlin Wall Defense (C67), 1-0]
[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1522589, Tu Hoang Thong vs Li Chao, 2008 Olympiad 2008, Queen's Pawn Game (A45), 0-1]