Disgraced chess champion sues Chinese Xiangqi Association

The 2023 National Chinese Chess King Competition winner Yan Chenglong, who had his award and prize money revoked by the Chinese Xiangqi Association due to inappropriate behavior after the final, is suing the association, demanding an apology and seeking compensation of 100,000 yuan (US$13,988).

Yan revealed to guancha.cn that he had filed a civil complaint with a court in Yuzhou, in central China's Henan Province. His lawsuit requests include asking the Chinese Xiangqi Association to cease publishing reports or statements that infringe upon his reputation.

He is also demanding a public apology to eliminate the impact and restore his reputation. In addition, he is seeking compensation of 100,000 yuan for emotional distress and demanding that the Chinese Chess Association bear all legal costs associated with the lawsuit.

Yan, a registered athlete of central China's Henan Province, won the 2023 National Chinese Chess King Competition held in Lingshui, south China's Hainan Province, from December 15 to 17.

After the final, Yan drank with others in a hotel room on the night of December 17. On December 18, he defecated in the bathtub of his hotel room, damaging the hotel's property.

Some self-media accounts speculated that Yan cheated during the competition by using a smart bead hidden in his anus that could send and receive messages. He had defecated in the hotel bathtub to remove the "anal bead," they said.

The Chinese Xiangqi Association revoked his championship title and prize money and banned him from competition for a year on December 25, 2023, due to inappropriate behavior that had harmed the competition and sparked negative public opinion.

However, the association said there was no evidence to prove that the disgraced champion engaged in cheating using an "anal bead."

Yan said on his Weibo account on December 28 that on the evening of winning the championship, he experienced discomfort after drinking and subsequently suffered from diarrhea. In a state of desperation, he chose to use the nearest bathtub to relieve himself. Furthermore, he had to rush to the airport and was unable to clean the bathtub thoroughly in a timely manner.

Yan denied cheating in the game and believed it was the organizers of the competition who made this matter public in a WeChat group and caused the situation to escalate. Moreover, there were malicious individuals who intentionally spread rumors about "anal bead cheating," causing a serious violation of his privacy and reputation.