Chinese chess champion Yan Chenglong’s championship credentials were revoked due to allegations that he pooped in a hotel bathtub during celebrations. These charges have also given rise to allegations of cheating.
At 48 years old, Yan Chenglong won the esteemed title of “Xiangqi King.” He won the national tournament organized by the Chinese Xiangqi Association on December 17, 2023. However, his moment quickly soured when reports emerged of an incident during his celebration.
On December 25, Yan lost his championship when he pooped in a hotel bathtub during his victory party. Since then, this has given rise to allegations that he used anal beads with wireless transmitters to communicate and receive information from a computer about what moves to make during the tournament.
The CXA said on Monday that Yan was found to be “disrupting public order” and exhibiting “extremely bad character.” Therefore, his title was revoked and prize money was seized.
According to The Guardian, the CXA said: “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”
According to the Global Times, Yan was stripped of his title. His prize money was taken away, and he was barred from competition for a year by the CXA.
Afterwards, Yan refuted the accusations. He said that he had diarrhea after drinking and was unable to go to the bathroom in time.
This is not the first time for something like this to happen since chess players have been accused of cheating before. A lawsuit was filed in 2022 when Hans Niemann was accused of cheating in a match against Magnus Carlsen.
Vladimir Kramnik accused Hikaru of cheating in November 2023, which sparked a heated controversy. Hikaru responded by calling the accusations “garbage” and went on an incredible winning streak to establish his innocence.