Wei Yi
| Wei Yi | |
|---|---|
 Wei Yi, Athens 2012 | |
| Country |  China |
| Born | June 2, 1999 Yancheng, Jiangsu, China[1] |
| Title | Grandmaster |
| FIDE rating | 2753 (November 2024) |
| Peak rating | 2724 (July 2015) |
| Ranking | No. 9 (November 2024) |
Wei Yi (Chinese: 韦奕; pinyin: Wéi Yì; 2 June 1999) is a Chinese chess grandmaster and chess prodigy. On 1 March 2013 he won his final GM norm at the Reykjavik Open, becoming, at the age of 13 years, 8 months and 23 days, the youngest grandmaster in the world at that time, and the fourth youngest in history.[2][3]
Wei represents the Jiangsu Taizhou club in the China Chess League.[1]
Principal results
Early years
In 2007, he competed in the Chinese Chess Championship B group at the age of 8, recording a draw against Grandmaster Zhou Jianchao.[1]
In 2010, he won the Under 12s event at the Asian Youth Chess Championship, and followed this up by winning the same division at the World Youth Chess Championship.[1]
2012
In August, he won his first GM norm at the World Junior Chess Championship in Athens, including a victory over Richárd Rapport and a draw with eventual winner Alexander Ipatov.[4] The competition is open to participants under 20 at 1 January, when Wei was only 12.
In October, he took his second GM norm at the Indonesian Open, with victories over Michal Krasenkow and Sergey Fedorchuk.[5]
2013
In February, he secured his final norm at the Reykjavik Open with a score of 7½/10, including a victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave,[3] finishing 6th.[1]
In August, he made his debut at the Chess World Cup, held that year in Tromsø. He defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the first round and Alexei Shirov in the second, but was knocked out by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the third round.[6]
On the November FIDE rating list, Wei, aged 14 years, four months and 30 days, reached a rating of 2604, thus becoming the youngest player in history to achieve a rating of 2600+.[7]
2014
In August, he played on the reserve board for China in the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø. He scored 4/5, helping the Chinese team to win the gold medal.[8][9]
In October he finished second in the World Junior Championship in Pune, India behind Lu Shanglei.
2015
In January, he won the Challenger Group at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament with a high 10½/13 score (+8-0=5) and 2804 ELO performance, ahead of David Navara and without any defeat.[10] By doing so, he qualified for the Masters section in 2016.[11]
In February, he competed in the Gibraltar Masters tournament and finished in a share of 3rd - 11th.[12] This boosted Wei's rating to 2706 in the March rating list, making Wei Yi the youngest player ever to cross the 2700 mark. The record had previously been held by Magnus Carlsen.
In April, Wei took part in the World Team Chess Championship, which was won by the Chinese team. Wei scored +5=4-0.
In May, Wei won the Chinese Championship, beating Ding Liren, Wang Hao and Yu Yangyi to the title.
In June, he won his second consecutive Magistral de León rapid tournament, defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final.
Notable Games
Wei Yi vs. Alexey Shirov, World Cup 2013
Wei Yi vs. Anne Haast, Tata Steel Group B (2015)
Wei Yi vs L Bruzon Batista, 6th Hainan Danzu (2015)
References
- ^ a b c d e "Chessgames: Wei Yi". chessgames.com. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ^ "Chessbase: Wei Yi has become the youngest GM in the world". chessbase.com. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ^ a b "Certificate of Title Result (Reykjavik)" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
- ^ "Certificate of Title Result (Athens)" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
- ^ "Certificate of Title Result (Indonesia)" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
- ^ "Chess World Cup 2013: Pairings & Results". Retrieved 2013-08-19.
- ^ http://chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4011697/wei-yi--youngest-2600-gm-ever-011113.aspx
- ^ "Chess Results Olympiad breakdown". Chess-Results. 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
- ^ "Chess Results Olympiad Summary". Chess-Results. 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
- ^ http://www.tatasteelchess.com/tournament/standings/year/2015/group/2
- ^ "Tata Steel Chess news". Tata Steel Chess. 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
- ^ http://chess-results.com/tnr158561.aspx?lan=1&art=4&turdet=YES&wi=821
External links
- Wei Yi rating card at FIDE
- Wei Yi player profile and games at Chessgames.com