Chinese chess champion who pooed in bathtub sues to reclaim title he lost

Chinese chess champion Yan Chenglong has started a lawsuit against the Chinese Xiangqi Association, which had his championship credentials stripped from him amid claims that wild celebrations saw him poop in a hotel bathtub.

A Chinese chess champion has sued the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) after he lost his champion title following accusations 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.

Chinese chess, called xiangqi in Chinese, is a traditional board game that remains popular, particularly among older people. Neighborhood residents play in parks and along sidewalks, often with small crowds gathered around to watch.

However, Yan was stripped of his title on Monday, December 25, after his victory celebration ended with him pooing in a hotel bathtub. 

Chinese Chess champion begins lawsuit to reclaim lost title

Yan hasn’t denied what happened but wrote in a civil complaint that he drank a moderate amount of beer to celebrate his win with other players and that some food had caused stomach problems and he couldn’t make it to the toilet in time.

Yan’s complaint included demands that the association apologize to him, restore his reputation in the media, and pay him 100,000 yuan ($14,000) in damages, Associated Press reports. He claims that the decision to strip him of his title resulted in mental distress.

It was mailed to a court in central China’s Henan province on Monday, January 8, according to a post on Yan’s social media account.

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The complaint came one week after a social media post by the Chinese Xiangqi Association that described the drinking and defecation. It said the investigation had found that Yan damaged hotel property, violated public order and good behavior, and negatively impacted the tournament.

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

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.