Who is Kong Xiangrui?
In a tweet on X, FIDE announced the Team of China for the Chess Olympiad 2026:
When the team was announced I knew about 4 of the 5 players - they are all well known GMs. But what about Kong Xiangrui? Who is he? He is going to make his Chess Olympiad debut. Born in 2009, Kong Xiangrui (Elo: 2549) is just 17 years old!
In May 2026, he finished in second place in the Chinese Chess Championship. He had entered the final round tied for first place with Xu Xiangyu, but he drew his game against Lou Yiping while Xu won against Li Di. With a 2604 performance rating, he earned his first Grandmaster norm.
In June 2026, he tied for first place with Xiao Tong, Zhamsaran Tsydypov, and Savva Vetokhin in the Asian Individual Chess Championship, but had the best tiebreak score and won the championship. He was awarded the Grandmaster title for this achievement and was selected for the Chinese national team for the 46th Chess Olympiad.
