Master profile
Lü Qin
吕钦
- Games
- 1,729
- Years of the dated games
- 1990–2008
- Archive record
- 700W · 788D · 241L
National titles: Men's national individual champion: 1986, 1988, 1999, 2003, 2004
The player
吕钦 (Lü Qin), born on 10 August 1962, won the national individual championship five times, in 1986, 1988, 1999, 2003 and 2004, and holds the grandmaster title. He played for and led the Guangdong team in the national league, and with 许银川 (Xu Yinchuan) he formed the pair the Chinese press calls the two heroes of Lingnan. He also won six Asian team titles, an Asian masters title and five world championship titles in individual and team events. In the Five Rams Cup, an event for champions only, he won eleven times.
No player has more games in the archive than his 1,729, and he scored 68.7% as Red and 57.6% as Black. As Red he opened with the Central Cannon in 600 of them. As Black he met the Central Cannon with the Screen Horses more often than with anything else. His most frequent opponent was Hu Ronghua: in 154 games he won 37, drew 82 and lost 35.
The first game below is a win over 赵国荣 (Zhao Guorong) at the 1999 individual championship, which Lü Qin went on to win. The second is a long win over 胡荣华 (Hu Ronghua) at the 1991 team championship. In both he opened with the Central Cannon, the opening he played most as Red.
In the archive
| As Red / as Black | 884 games as Red, 845 as Black |
|---|---|
| Score | 68.7% as Red, 57.6% as Black |
| Most played systems | Central Cannon as Red (600 games) · Screen Horses as Black (365 games) |
| Best-scoring system | Pointing Finger as Red: 73.8% over 181 games |
| Most frequent opponent | Hu Ronghua (154 games) |
| Longest game | 398 plies against Yang Deqi |
Lü Qin - Zhao Guorong, 1999
1999 National Individual Championship · 1999 · Lü Qin (red) vs Zhao Guorong (black)
Two of the strongest players of the decade meet at the event that decided China's champion. Lü Qin has red and opens with the Central Cannon, the opening that made his name. He plays it fast and on the attack, the style his fans called 'swift horse, flying blade'.
The first capture is a soldier around move eight, and from there Lü Qin wins by steady pressure. He keeps trading pieces while his own stay more active, and by the long endgame Zhao has run out of counterplay. It is a clear example of winning by technique. Play through the whole game, or jump to the key moments below.
Red won · 53 moves
The starting position.
Key moments
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Lü Qin - Hu Ronghua, 1991
1991 National Team Championship · 1991 · Lü Qin (red) vs Hu Ronghua (black)
A young champion against the older one. By 1991 Hu Ronghua had led Chinese xiangqi for three decades, and Lü Qin was one of the young champions taking over from him. Lü Qin has red and the Central Cannon, and he plays boldly against the older master.
A cannon takes the first soldier on move nine, and the game becomes a long, exact contest of 131 plies. Most of the exchanges come in the middle of the game, and in the end Lü Qin's cannon and horse prove stronger than Hu's thinner force. Hu Ronghua was very hard to beat in a long game, and Lü Qin wins this one by careful technique.
Red won · 66 moves
The starting position.
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