Lian Xiao | Player Profile | PlayGo.gg

Three-time Chinese Tianyuan Champion

Biography

Lian Xiao (born April 8, 1994 in Dandong) is a Chinese 9-dan who turned pro in 2007 and was promoted to 9-dan in October 2017. Throughout the 2010s he was a fixture in the top tier of Chinese Go, ranking 5th in the Chinese Weiqi Association's official ratings as of January 2017.

His career signature is a remarkable three-peat at the Chinese Tianyuan, one of China's most prestigious domestic titles. He won the 31st edition in 2017 by sweeping Chen Yaoye 2-0, defended in 2018 against Xie Ke 2-1, and again in 2019 against Fan Yunruo 2-1, before finally losing the crown to Yang Dingxin in 2020. He also reached the semifinals of the 29th Samsung Cup (2024), where he fell to his close friend Dang Yifei.

His career win rate sits near 60% across nearly 800 official games (475–318 / 793 games on Go4Go, ~59.9%).

vs. Chen Yaoye, 31st Chinese Tianyuan Final

2017

Lian Xiao's breakthrough. He swept Chen Yaoye 2–0 to claim his first Tianyuan title, one of the most prestigious of China's domestic crowns, then defended it the next two years against Xie Ke and Fan Yunruo, completing a rare three-peat.

Chen Yaoye led for 134 moves, and Lian Xiao was down to 25% when he played K6 in the centre on move 134. Chen's natural-looking J9 on move 135 was the mistake, and Lian's winrate shot to 90%. The saving move was E8, which about one 9-dan player in ten would find.