For decades, Toronto’s Xiangqi players have been moving out from the downtown area, many of them leaving the City of Toronto altogether. Many of the area’s best players now live in Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Orillia and elsewhere.
Now Xiangqi in the Greater Toronto Area has come of age.
On the first two days of the Thanksgiving weekend, October 11 and 12, more than ten teams from across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond will compete in our first ever “Inter-City Xiangqi Team Championships.”
The tournament will coincide with the creation of a new Markham Xiangqi Association. It will take place at New Kennedy Square in Markham, near Kennedy Road and Highway 7 – our home base for events and casual play.
The teams will each play five matches over the two days. Each team has four members, two of which will play in each round. The teams that have been formed include:
- The Markham Mongkok – this team will include Toronto champion Mark Wang WeiQiang 王伟强
- Montreal – with the city’s three top players; Montreal sent a delegation to the TXA’s twenty fifth anniversary in 2013
- Orillia – led by TXA Director, Gary Li 李国良
- Willow Springs Winery in Stouffville – formed by the winery’s manager, TXA Director Sheridan Huang 黃振發
- The Scarborough Seniors Chess Club, co-organizer of this and many other events
- A team of Toronto’s best Vietnamese players
- The Toronto Cathay Lions Club in Markham, formed by TXA Director Tony Hung 孔德華
- Mississauga, formed by TXA Director Bowen Leung 梁耀鴻
- A team representing the Macau Club (Toronto), formed by TXA Director Andy Chan 陳晃祐
- A team representing Whitby and Owen Sound
- North York, led by 2010 Toronto champion Lin ShiXiong 林世雄
If you already love Xiangqi or you want to learn, come to New Kennedy Square and root for your team!
