Seattle — A chess team from China is going pawn-to-pawn with counterparts from the United States this week in a series of games both sides hope will open doors to better relations.
"One in five people in the world are Chinese, and yet it's a country the United States has had very awkward relations with for 60 years at least," Yasser Seirawan, the top-rated American player, said Tuesday. "We can get to know each other a lot better."
The event was arranged by the Seattle Chess Foundation, which played host to the U.S. championships last fall. It features the top six players from each country, plus two top women and two top juniors, in 10 games daily through the week except Saturday.
For China, the ancient game banned during the "Cultural Revolution" in the 1960s and '70s has become a point of national pride. With three players having better ratings than Seirawan, plus the bonus of having Xie Jun, the women's world champion on their side, the Chinese team is favored to win.
"The Chinese people are very proud of the Chinese team," said Wang Yunxiang, China's ambassador in San Francisco. "They are not very keen about strength sports, but chess is a brain sport."
Jun has been named one of the 10 best athletes in her country a commendation typically reserved for table tennis and badminton players, divers and gymnasts.
"This is a friendly event, but we're a very proud team, so we want to win, and we want to win very badly," U.S. player Gregory Kaidanov said. "For them, it's politically probably a very important match. You know how they consider the USA."
Gov. Gary Locke, whose parents are Chinese immigrants, has wagered smoked salmon against the Chinese ambassador's Peking duck in favor of the Americans.
This year's event will be followed by at least three more annual matches, alternating between the two countries.
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