'Chinese chess king' Wang Tianyi sentenced to nearly 3 years in prison for match-fixing

Following a closed-door trial on May 9 in the Shangcheng District of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Economic Observer reported the sentencing of multiple grandmasters of xiangqi. The convicted include Wang Tianyi, Zhao Xinxin, Xu Chao, Xie Jing and Wang Yuefei. Only Hong Zhi has yet to plead guilty or be sentenced.

World number one Wang Tianyi was found guilty of paying a total of 942,000 yuan ($130,700) to opponents to lose 22 matches. He also accepted a bribe of 116,000 yuan to throw two games. Wang was convicted of two crimes: offering and accepting bribes involving non-state employees.

Though initially denying the charges, Wang later pleaded guilty during the trial and was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, along with a fine.

Of the 22 bribed matches, 19 transactions were made through fellow grandmaster Wang Yuefei, 42, a senior of Wang Tianyi at the Hangzhou chess team. As a medium in this case, Wang Yuefei was sentenced to one year in prison with a fine. His sentence was lighter as he was only charged with bribing non-state employees.

When asked whether Wang Yuefei benefited from his role, he replied: "There is no such thing."

Wang Tianyi, 36, has held the top national ranking since 2014 and allegedly fixed matches to maintain his title amid competition from number two Zheng Weitong. Like Wang, Zheng has been banned for life by the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) but was not among those sentenced in this trial.

The heaviest sentence went to Zhao Xinxin, who received four years and nine months in prison. Known for his aggressive playing style, Zhao reportedly received and paid significant bribes, though the total amount has not been disclosed. Before his arrest, Zhao, 37, was ranked number four in China and served as coach of the Zhejiang chess team.

Chinese chess player Zhao Xinxin (L). Photo taken from Baidu

Xu Chao, 44, and Xie Jing, 36, were each sentenced to two years and six months in prison plus fines. Xu won the national championship in 2017, while Xie claimed the title in 2013. Both pleaded guilty to bribery and accepting bribes.

Hong Zhi, 45, who was crowned national champion in 2005 and ranked seventh in China before the scandal, is the oldest among the six defendants. He was reportedly the whistleblower who released an audio recording of a match-fixing conversation between Wang Yuefei and Hao Jichao. However, he was later prosecuted himself.

Although Hong turned himself in, he did not accept the charges or the sentencing on May 9. His lawyers, Sun Xiaoyang and Ma Shengkun, disputed the legality of the charges, arguing that the tournaments involved, such as the national club championship and the national championship for individuals, were invitational events organized by the CXA, not official state agencies. They claimed this disqualified the players from being treated as "non-state employees" under the law.

As of Tuesday, the Shangcheng Court in Hangzhou has not issued an official public statement regarding the trial.