| David H Li 2005-08-10, 12:33 am |
| Random comments re the 9th WXC held in Paris from 30 July through 6
August 2005:
1) The Organizing committee did an outstanding job. Participants and
other invitees were treated to an unrushed tournament as well as two
leisurely outings -- one a lunch cruise on the Seine (which our good
friend C. K. Lai had mentioned earlier in this newsgroup); the other a
half-day bus tour of the city's highlights.
2) The 11-round contest seems to be a fairer contest than 9-round ones
in previous WXCs, allowing the best player (Lu Qin) to emerge dispite
his early-round loss.
3) The number of non-Chinese/non-Vietnamese male players, 28,
representing 11 Xiangqi Federations, is a record.
4) Xiangqi does not seem to be a difficult game to learn. In
particular, players with experience in other board games did extremely
well. If my memory serves, Michael Naegler (Germany) is a master in
western chess; he is the runner-up in the n-C/n-V group -- and a 1750
Euro prize. Shoshi Kazuharu (Japan) is a 7-dan Shogi player (I talked
to him on one occasion, and he promptly brought out a laptop with Shogi
games); he takes the 4th prize among the n-C/n-V group (1000 Euro). A
big surprise is Alain Dekker (UK), who has posted many times in this
newsgroup. He ties with Naegler in terms of points earned but loses out
in terms of SOS, and takes away the 3rd prize (1350 Euro). I talked to
him afterward, and was surprised to learn that he had been playing
Xiangqi for less than a year.
5) Concerning the draw Lu Qin had in the last round, which quite a few
had commented on in this newsgroup, my take is somewhat different. I
happened to be in the room and, indeed, stood behind Lu Qin, watching
him play. In the midst of the game, he stood up and took a look at
another game. Realizing that that game would result in a draw, and
realizing that a draw in Lu Qin's own game would allow him to
successfully defend the championship title for the fifth time, he
apparently relaxed. It is indeed interesting to observe his demeanor.
I'll have more to say in my next book, scheduled for publication next
year, in which this and other games from this WXC will be featured.
6) Paris seems to be a very relaxed city as well. My wife and I had no
trouble using the Metro -- as well as its suburban lines and intercity
railroads. The thought never occurred to me that I should be concerned
until, after returning to the States, I read an article in our daily
paper (Washington Post) that Londoners were/are afraid of using their
Metro. A photo accompanying the article, showing a section of a Metro
train in London with but a single soul, is a far cry from the crowded
Metro in Paris.
7) London seems to be less popular a destination than Paris. Booking
our flight about 5 weeks ahead on United Airlines, we were unable to
book direct Washington-Paris flights, only Washington-Frankfurt-Paris on
the outgoing segment and Paris-London-Washington on the returning
segment. But, on the day we were to return to Washington, we were told,
while we were at the deGaulle airport in Paris, that the
London-Washington flight was cancelled!! We were rerouted
Paris-Munich-Washington, though we were never told why the
London-Washington flight was cancelled.
David Li
|