The Chinese National Chess Championship is the annual round-robin that determines China’s national champion. The 2026 edition was held in Shenzhen in April, with a 12-player field competing across 11 rounds at classical time control.
Chinese chess has been a major force at the elite level since the early 2010s. Ding Liren became the seventeenth world chess champion in 2023, China’s first male world champion. Hou Yifan has held the women’s title four times. Wei Yi has been in the world top-twenty for a decade. The depth of Chinese elite chess — five or six grandmasters consistently rated 2700+ — is matched only by India, the United States, and the loose grouping of former Soviet states.
The National Championship has been won variously by Ding Liren, Wei Yi, Yu Yangyi, Bu Xiangzhi, Wang Hao, and recent emerging players. It is one of the strongest national championships in the world; a typical field includes 4-5 players rated 2700+, making it stronger than many European national championships.
Sponsorship by various Chinese tech and finance groups has expanded the prize fund significantly since 2018; the 2026 edition’s ¥800,000 prize fund is comparable to many European and American national championships.
The Chinese Chess Association also runs a parallel Women’s National Championship in the same window. For final standings and the Chinese Chess Association’s broader event calendar, see the right column.