Chinese chess champion stripped of title after pooing in bathtub to celebrate win

Chinese chess champion Yan Chenglong has had his championship credentials stripped from him amid claims that wild celebrations saw him poop in a hotel bathtub, which has also sparked cheating rumors.

A Chinese chess champion lost his crown after being accused of showing “extremely bad character” by pooping in a hotel bathtub as he celebrated his title.

Yan Chenglong, 48, won the national Chinese chess and acquired the title of “Xiangqi King” at a national tournament hosted by the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) on December 17, 2023.

However, Yan was stripped of his title on Monday, December 25, after his victory celebration ended with him pooing in a hotel bathtub. This has since fueled rumors that he had cheated in the tournament by using anal beads equipped with wireless transmitters to send and receive information to a computer on what moves to make.

Chinese chess champion sparks cheating rumors after pooping in bathtub

The CXA announced on Monday that Yan would have his title revoked and prize money confiscated after had been caught “disrupting public order” and displaying “extremely bad character”. They wrote that it was “currently impossible to prove that Yan engaged in cheating via ‘anal beads,'” but did say that the pooping part was right.

“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 CXA said, per The Guardian.

“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 association said.

The CXA stripped Yan of his title, revoked his prize money, and banned him from playing for a year, the Global Times reported.

Yan has since denied the allegations, claiming that he suffered from diarrhea after drinking alcohol and couldn’t make it to the toilet in time, the Global Times reported, citing another Chinese outlet, Shangyou News.

This is not the first time a chess player has been accused of cheating. In 2022, Hans Niemann was accused of cheating in a match against Magnus Carlsen which resulted in a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, in November 2023, Vladimir Kramnik accused Hikaru of cheating, sparking plenty of debate, making Hikaru call the allegations “garbage” before going on a monster win streak to prove his innocence.