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Chinese chess was engulfed in turmoil earlier this week when a national champion was stripped of his title following unsavory allegations involving cheating in the sport.
Xiangqi is the official title of what is known as Chinese chess. It is the most popular board game in China, and it dates all the way back to the first century B.C., according to some historians. The creators of the game probably did not prepare for what the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) had to deal with on Monday.
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A man moves his piece on the board of a Chinese chess game inside the park of the Small Goose Pagoda in Xian. (Ryan Pyle/Corbis via Getty Images)
The organization announced it was stripping Yan Chenglong of his title of "Xiangqi King" over cheating allegations and "extremely bad character," according to the Agence France-Press (AFP).
Officials addressed the 48-year-old champion’s behavior in the post-game celebrations.
"Yan consumed alcohol with others in his room on the night of the 17th, and then he defecated in the bathtub of the room he was staying in on the 18th, in an act that damaged hotel property, violated public order and good morals, had a negative impact on the competition and the event of Xiangqi, and was of extremely bad character," the CXA said in a statement.
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The organization then had to address allegations that Yan was cheating during the tournament with the use of anal beads. The AFP reported rumors, which spread across the Chinese social media site Weibo, of Yan using anal beads with wireless transmitters to help him in the contests.
"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 organization said.
Students play Chinese chess during a school competition in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China on April 29, 2016. (REUTERS/Stringer)
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The CXA suspended Yan for a year and stripped him of his prize money. It is unclear how much money he was awarded.
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