SHANGHAI: The world of Chinese chess is in uproar over rumours of cheating and a bad behaviour scandal that saw the national champion stripped of his title on Monday (Dec 25) after a victory celebration ended with him defecating in a hotel bathtub.
Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, has been hugely popular for hundreds of years across Asia – and 48-year-old Yan Chenglong beat dozens of contenders last week to win the title of “Xiangqi King” at a national tournament hosted by the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA).
But his joy was short-lived, with the CXA on Monday announcing that Yan would have his title revoked and prize money confiscated after he had been caught “disrupting public order” and displaying “extremely bad character”.
The association was also forced to address rumours circulating online that Yan had cheated during the competition by using anal beads equipped with wireless transmitters to send and receive signals.
Yan allegedly clenched and unclenched rhythmically to communicate information about the chess board via code to a computer, which then sent back instructions on what moves to make in the form of vibrations, according to reports circulating on the Chinese social site Weibo.
“Based on our understanding of the situation, it is currently impossible to prove that Yan engaged in cheating via ‘anal beads’ as speculated on social media,” the CXA said.