13-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Grandmaster Ding Liren and Kao, 15, play ‘super-crazy' chess game on Hong Kong tram
Hong Kong teenager Jamison Kao managed to draw a 'super-crazy' chess game with mainland Chinese grandmaster and former world champion Ding Liren at the weekend – but the city's No 1 still said he was a 'bit disappointed'.
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Ding was visiting for Sunday's Harrow Hong Kong Scholastic Open Chess Tournament, which featured more than 100 schools.
And on Saturday, Ding took part in a 'simul event', in which he took on 12 players including Kao simultaneously, while riding a tram through the city.
Kao, 15, is a candidate master, having reached a rating of 2,200 or higher from the game's world governing body, the FIDE – a stepping stone towards higher titles such as international master and grandmaster.
'I never really expected to draw with him before I started,' Kao said. 'I thought there would be a decent fight but in the end I would lose.
Ding Liren at the Harrow Hong Kong Scholastic Open Chess Tournament on Sunday. Photo: Sun Yeung
'As the game progressed from a super-crazy position into the middle game, to a stable advantage for me, I was no longer wondering if I could draw, but rather how I could win.
