Welcome

Come on and join author Melissa Bradley as she sets off on her latest adventure...

WARNING

If you are not 18, please exit stage left. While there is normally nothing naughty here, I do write and review erotica so there are links to spicy stuff and the occasional heated excerpt.

Friday, April 27, 2012

X Is For Xie Jun

It's Friday and it's X day. No not Triple X Day, although...Ahem. I'll just save those thoughts for my next salacious tale. ;D Okay, mind out of the smut bag and back to the challenge.

My X is for Xie Jun, chess grandmaster. She learned to play xiangqi or Chinese chess at age 6 and by 10 was the girl's champion of Beijing. When the government learned of Jun's facility for xiangqi, they encouraged her to take up the international game of chess. In spite of her lack of real training opportunities, by age 14 she was the Chinese girls' champion and in 1988 tied for the fourth at the women's world junior championships.

In 1991, Xie became only the second chess grandmaster from China. That same year she defeated 13 time world champion Maya Chiburdanidze of Georgia. Jun was just 20 years old. She went on to reign as world champion until 1996, but became champion once more in 1999 and defended that title successfully until 2001.

Xie Jun's popularity amongst her countrymen has contributed to the popularity of chess throughout China and the rest of Asia. She remained in the top three of female chess players throughout her international career. Today, she holds a doctorate in psychology and works with athletes as well as chess players.

Fun Facts

In 2004, Xie was tapped by FIDE, the international governing body of chess, to be an International Arbiter. Th requirements for this awarded title are very stringent and she is only one of a handful of women to have been awarded this title.

I appreciate the visit today and hope you enjoyed learning about Xie Jun. To visit the other brilliant A to Z challengers, please click here.

20 comments:

  1. Hey! I'm back from some travel and starting my big catch-up! Great choice for a tricky letter, and I've heard of her so hooray for me too! I'll be playing comment catch-up in the next few days! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! I was wondering where you'd gotten to, my friend. I'm so happy you're back and hope that you had a lot fun and relaxed while you were gone. And yay that you know Xie. I'm a dunderhead when it comes to chess.

      Delete
  2. I'm an avid chess player. My history knowledge goes back to the Spassky-Fischer era. Now I have someone else to read about! Thanks for this, Melissa! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! Color me very impressed. I know next to nothing about the game and its history, but have always admired the strategizing ability of those who play.

      Delete
  3. Chess is a mental game so the psychology degree makes sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. Psychology and chess essentially are ways of figuring people out.

      Delete
  4. my country also has a world champions in female chess! Alisa Maric is the most famous one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That rocks, Dezz! I will certainly have to read up on her and her fellow Serbian champs. Thanks for sharing. :)

      Delete
  5. Hello, Melissa! Xie Jun sounds amazing! I have no idea how to play chess. My husband tried teaching me but I kept playing it like checkers, LoL.

    Have a lovely weekend and happy A to Z!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Laura! I haven't a clue about chess, either. And I like you, I keep trying to play it like checkers. My friend gave up on me. :)

      Thank you! I hope you have a terrific weekend as well and good luck with the final leg of the challenge.

      Delete
  6. Another fascinating woman. I'm totally clueless about chess so I'm even more impressed by her skill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny you should say that you are clueless about chess, I am a complete blank on the game and keep comparing it to checkers, much to the frustration of my friend, an avid player. I'm happy you enjoyed reading about Xie. :)

      Delete
  7. Hi, Melissa - as you have noticed, I've been MIA during the entire A to Z Challenge, but all for a good cause. I'll backtrack and check out your posts next month when I have time to breathe.

    Enjoyed today's incredible woman. What a great theme for this challenge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Julia!! It's so awesome to hear from you. I hope everything is all good and I look forward to hearing more about what you've been up to.

      And take your time, my posts will still be here. Nothing on the Net ever dies. LOL I'm really happy you like my theme. I wanted to give a nod to women to we don't always hear about.

      Delete
  8. I know all the great male chess players (Kasparov, Karpov, Bobby Fischer) but I never heard of Xie Jun. Awesome woman!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't she, Maynard? I'm very happy you enjoyed reading about her.

      Delete
  9. Good for her... did you hear the Radiolab podcast about chess recently? It was one of the best I'd heard in a while. I highly recommend checking it out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I had not heard the podcast. Thanks for sharing it with me. I'll have to go and check it out. I am almost clueless when it comes to chess.

      Delete
  10. Wow, impressive! I love your theme~
    Thanks for visiting me...
    You can email me for art ideas...
    What are looking for? Online classes are cool!
    You can log in and do them at your leisure :D
    ATB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ella! I will definitely be emailing you for some art ideas. I really want to get back into other creative endeavors. I think maybe it will help my writing as well.

      Delete

I love, love comments, so please leave your thoughts. I may not always be able to answer directly, but please know that what you say is very important to me.