Eighteen months after leaked recordings revealed widespread match-fixing in the board game xiangqi, also known as Chinese chess, China has imposed lifetime bans on three grandmasters. Announced last Sunday, the penalties also stripped several national champions of their technical titles and suspended 34 other players from competition.

According to the General Administration of Sport of China, the investigation resulted in lifetime bans for grandmasters Zhao Xinxin, Wang Yang, and Zheng Weitong, along with the revocation of their technical titles granted by the Chinese Chess Association (CCA). Another 34 players received suspensions of varying lengths, and four individuals were issued official warnings.

Often compared to chess, xiangqi is a centuries-old board game with deep cultural roots. While both games share the objective of capturing the opponent’s key piece — the general in xiangqi versus the king in chess — their gameplay differs significantly. Xiangqi is played on a board with intersecting lines rather than squares, and features unique pieces like cannons that “leap” over others to attack.

The game remains immensely popular in China, with millions of devoted enthusiasts and frequent professional competitions.

But in April 2023, xiangqi was rocked by one of the biggest scandals in its history. Leaked phone recordings revealed match-fixing schemes involving two grandmasters, Wang Yuefei and Hao Jichao. The conversations detailed buying and selling matches, cheating, and manipulating rating points — practices that shocked the game’s devoted community.

Among those implicated was Wang Tianyi, the sport’s top-ranked player for over a decade. Known as the “Alien” for his unconventional rise to fame outside traditional chess circles, Wang’s name appeared repeatedly in the recordings.

Insiders later revealed that Wang had engaged in match-fixing, offering benefits to opponents in exchange for victories to boost his ranking and accepting payments to deliberately lose games. The alleged transactions reportedly exceeded 800,000 yuan ($110,000).

In July 2023, the Chinese Chess Association and other authorities launched an investigation into the allegations. Just a month later, Wang Tianyi announced his withdrawal from the Hangzhou Asian Games, citing “health reasons.”

According to Gai Hongyan, deputy director of the Chess and Cards Sports Management Center, some players paid intermediaries to bribe teammates and opponents to secure promotions or team event qualifications.

In other cases, player-coaches brokered match-fixing deals, while entire teams pooled resources to manipulate results for collective gain. Transactions were often concealed through private discussions, cash payments, or accounts registered under the names of friends and family members.

By September 2024, the CCA confirmed that Wang Tianyi, Wang Yuefei, and several other players had engaged in match-fixing, including buying and selling games. The violations were described as “extensive in time span, frequent in occurrence, egregious in nature, and extremely severe in impact,” further tarnishing the reputation of the sport.

The CCA updates ranking points every six months, with higher-ranked players gaining fewer points for wins but facing heavier penalties for losses. This system makes it harder for top players to improve their scores and maintain commercial value, creating pressure that can drive match-fixing.

Cai Yi, a lawyer and seasoned xiangqi player, told state broadcaster CCTV that short-term goals like meeting team contracts or qualifying for international events often push players to resort to such practices.

Over the past decade, nearly all champions of the National Chinese Chess Individual Championship have been implicated and banned, with only a few exceptions. The revelations have sparked widespread outrage online, with the topic amassing over 6 million views on Weibo as of Monday.

“I looked at the list, and nearly every master I can name is on it. When the top players in a sport are all involved in violations, it’s really time to reflect on whether there’s a fundamental issue with the entire system,” one highly upvoted comment read.

Editor: Apurva.