2021 Elephant Armor

At 14:24 pm on May 26, as the last battle ended, the first stage of the Tencent Chess·Tiantian Xiangqi 2021 National Xiangqi Men’s League A concluded at the Heyue Hotel in Yushu City, Jilin Province.

In the 11th round and the last round of this stage on May 26, four teams, Zhejiang Mintai Bank, Hangzhou Environmental Group, Guangdong Country Garden, and Henan Chuhe Hanjie Tianlun defeated Beijing-Hebei United respectively. Team, Zhejiang Sports Lottery, Shenzhen Yichuan, Heilongjiang Changsheng, Shanghai Golden Bund and Xiamen Xiangyu, Sichuan Chengdu Yijin Holdings and Jiangsu Haite faced off in pairs, and all ended in draws.

In this round, the competition between the Beijing-Hebei United Team and the Zhejiang Mintai Bank Team has become the focus of the battle. After the first 10 rounds, the two teams ranked second and third in the standings respectively, with only 1 point. Difference. This confrontation is the last battle to determine the first stage rankings of both sides. Both sides are in high spirits. In addition, the impressive ten-game winning streak of Beijing-Hebei United team Lu Weitao and Guangdong team Zheng Weitong has tied the record for the longest winning streak in the Elephant League. Who can break this record has also become a hot topic. In the first game, Beijing-Hebei United Team Jiang Chuan defeated Xu Chongfeng, but in the next three games, Zhejiang Mintai Bank Team Zhao Xinxin, Huang Zhufeng, and Wang Jiarui defeated their opponents successively, helping the team secure the victory, and Zhejiang Mintai Bank Team also took the lead. The Beijing-Hebei United Team occupied second place in the standings at the end of the first stage. As Wang Jiarui, who played the last game, defeated Grand Master Lu Weitao, ending the latter's unbeaten record, the Beijing-Hebei United Team fell to fourth place in the standings due to a defeat.

Looking at all 11 rounds of the first stage of the competition, it can be said that "some people are happy and some are sad", which also corresponds to a classic saying: "How much effort there is, how much reward is there." Whether you have deep chess skills and daily training Whether you work hard or not will be reflected in this year's league. The reason is that this year's Xiangjia competition system has undergone major adjustments. Each game must have a winner. If the slow chess game is tied, a super fast chess match must be played. If the slow chess game draws again, it will enter a super fast chess play-off. Under the new competition system, if all four teams in a group enter the play-offs, up to 12 games can be played. In the ninth round of the "derby match" between the Zhejiang Mintai Bank team and the Hangzhou team, the two sides played 11 games, which can be called the first stage. The best number of games."

After canceling the draw, the previous team tactics will no longer be useful. The players are required to go all out and fight for victory in every game. For all participating players of the 12 teams It's a new experience for me.

The Guangdong team, the league's "eight-time champion" that has withstood the test, returned to its peak under the leadership of Xu Yinchuan. The four of them cooperated perfectly to perform "superiorly", winning 10 and drawing 1, accumulating 21 points. Currently at the top of the standings, team member Zheng Weitong leads the individual rankings with a complete victory record. If the Guangdong team can maintain its peak form in the second stage of the competition, it will be worth looking forward to the ninth championship in team history. Zhejiang Mintai Bank Team, Henan Team, and Beijing-Hebei United Team all performed relatively stably and ranked among the top four in the first stage of competition. The defending champion Sichuan team had the same lineup as last season, but its performance was hardly stellar, ranking only fifth at the end of the first stage.

The Xiamen and Shenzhen teams, ranked sixth and seventh, have performed wonderfully from time to time. Among them, Shenzhen team Li Shaogeng defeated Wang Tianyi, the current leader in level points, in the first round. The two teams were on break. It is necessary to make some adjustments in the second stage and strive to sprint towards a higher ranking in the second stage. The Hangzhou team, which has "alien" Wang Tianyi and super master Shen Peng, is only ranked eighth due to the unstable performance of the young players and the two giants. The Shanghai team, which finished second in the league last season, seems to have not fully adapted to the new competition system and is currently ranked ninth. The "promoted teams" Heilongjiang team and Zhejiang Sports Lottery team are currently in the relegation zone. The tenth-ranked Jiangsu team is also hovering on the edge of relegation. If the three teams do not adjust in time, they may face the risk of relegation.

It is worth mentioning that the competition in the Elephant League after the adjustment of the competition system is more intense, and the number of games has increased significantly compared with previous years. In order to share the exciting events with chess fans as soon as possible, this season the Elephant League The entire event was broadcast live on Kuaishou, creating a new scene for elephants to watch the game.