The Xiangqi clubs of New York and Toronto have been squaring off in team competitions for more than 20 years. As a result, a special friendship exists between the players in these two cities.
In each match, three to five players from each city play two or three rounds – depending on how much time is available. The first match was organized by the New York Chinese Chess Association (NYCCA) and the Toronto Xiangqi Association (TXA) and held in New York in 1983. It was then agreed that the match would be alternate between cities every two years.
In 1985, the series was expanded to include New York’s United East Chinese Chess Club (UECCC). Both New York teams visited Toronto that year, and after that, the UECCC became Toronto’s principle opponent. The TXA dominated during these early years, thanks to players such as Steve Wong, Peter Sung, and Stephen Fung.
The series stopped after 1991, but was resumed after the UECCC was reorganized as the United East Athletic Association and visited Toronto in 1996. Then the newly established New York North America Xiangqi Association (NYNAXA) held a special challenge match in New York in 1997, and visited Toronto in 1998. After that, the New York teams won every match. Their top players: Mou HaiQin, Ji ZhongQi, WeiXuan Gao, and Tam Bond were too much to handle.
New York – Toronto Xiangqi Challenge Games Results
No | Year | Location | Champion | 1st Runner Up |
1 | 1983 | New York | NYCCA | TXA |
23 | 1985 | TorontoToronto | TXATXA | NYCCAUECCC |
4 | 1987 | New York | TXA | UECCC |
5 | 1989 | Toronto | UECCCTXA | |
6 | 1991 | New York | TXA | UECCC |
7 | 1996 | Toronto | UEAA | TXA |
8 | 1997 | New York | NYNAXA | TXA |
9 | 1998 | Toronto | NYNAXA | TXA |
10/11 | 2000 | New York/New York | UEAA/NYNAXA | TXA/TXA |
12 | 2002 | Toronto | NYNAXA | TXA |
13 | 2004 | New York | UEAA | TXA |