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Chess
Why does China have 2 teams at the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad?
Most top ranked teams always have one participant representative but with China, they have another team that has gained entry at this years competition
A file photo of the Chinese team (source-chess.com)
The FIDE Online Chess Olympiad has begun recently with avid chess lovers from all across the world tuning in to watch matches online. India is the favourites to top Pool B given the strength of the team coupled with the experience of certain individuals. India began its campaign with a 6-0 victory over Egypt, a 3-3 draw with France and a 4-2 victory against Sweden.
Something that was quite peculiar and which was noticed by a lot of people was the presence of two Chinese teams in the tournament.
China and Shenzhen China are the two representatives of the host nation this year and are both entered into different Pools in the tournament. The reason behind this is quite straightforward from the perspective of the host country.
There are certain sponsors of the event from the city of Shenzhen that is the geographical link between Hong Kong and Mainland China. As a result, there was a request put forward to allow a separate Shenzhen Chinese team to take part in the tournament.
They entered a second team for the 2nd division qualifications held earlier last week and managed to qualify for the first division as being one of the top 15 teams. This resulted in China competing in Pool A while Shenzhen China was placed in Pool B alongside India.
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