Who will be crowned Asia’s best draughts player in Xintai?
The Xintai Open is an annual international draughts tournament held in Xintai, China. It has been held since 2019 as a single tournament featuring Open, Women’s, Boys’ Under-14, and Girls’ Under-14 divisions. It was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is considered a tournament with a large prize fund.
Starting in 2024, results from the “Xintai Open” will count toward the World Cup. The top draughts player in Asia, based on results from the “Xintai Open” and Xingqiu Cup stages in 2026, will be awarded an additional spot at the 2027 World Championship in Wageningen.
A Brief History: During the Western Han Dynasty, Dongpingyang County (东平阳县) was established in this area. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was incorporated into Nancheng County (南城县). During the Three Kingdoms period, when these lands became part of the Kingdom of Wei, Dongpingyang County was reestablished. During the Western Jin dynasty, it was renamed Xintai (新泰县).
During the Northern Wei dynasty, there were two neighboring counties with the identical name Xintai: one was located in the territory of present-day Xintai City and was under the jurisdiction of Dongtaishan Commandery (东泰山郡) in Beixuzhou (北徐州), while the other was located in the territory of present-day Pingyi and Mengyin counties and was under the jurisdiction of Dong’an Commandery (东安郡) in Nancheng (南青州). During the Sui Dynasty, the Xintai located in Beixuzhou was initially subordinate to Juzhou (莒州), and when that prefecture was dissolved in 606, it became part of Yizhou (沂州); the Xintai in Nanqing was renamed Dong’an (东安县) in 584 and became Yishui County in 596. During the Tang Dynasty, in 622, Ju Prefecture was reestablished, incorporating Xintai and Yishui counties; however, it was dissolved in 634, and Xintai County once again became part of Yi Prefecture.
Now that we’ve reviewed this history, let’s follow the results of the World Cup.