On the morning of May 20, the "Exciting Hangzhou" 2023 National Youth Xiangqi Championship was officially opened at Hangzhou Qi-Yuan (Zhili) Chess Hall. Nearly a hundred young Xiangqi masters from across the country gathered in Hangzhou to participate in this four-day "College Entrance Exam" of Xiangqi.

In order to further foster the atmosphere and enthusiasm for the Hangzhou Asian Games, and to test the functionality of the venue, the operation of the event, and the organising capabilities, the National Youth Xiangqi Championship is one of the "Exciting Hangzhou" series of events, and it is held at Hangzhou Qi-Yuan (Zhili) Chess Hall, the venue for board and card games for the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The National Youth Xiangqi Championship is able to showcase the strength of young Xiangqi players, promote the advancement of athletes' skill levels, and help them reach higher-level competition platforms. This is why the National Youth Xiangqi Championship is known as the "College Entrance Exam" of Xiangqi.

From this year's competition on, the champions and runners-up in the men's and women's groups will be eligible to apply for the title of "Master of Sports" (previously, only the champions of each group were eligible to apply).

The Hong Kong Chinese Chess Association and the Macao Chinese Chess Association are participating in teams for the first time, while the host, Hangzhou Branch of China Qi-Yuan, has sent a representative team consisting of 25 male and female Xiangqi players to participate in the competition.

In the first round of matches, which ended at noon on that day, popular players such as Yin Sheng (Zhejiang), Du Chenhao (Hangzhou), Zhang Xuanjie (Hangzhou), and Chen Liyuan (Hangzhou, female) all kicked off a good start.

In the next days, all players will compete in a seven-round round-robin tournament within four days, and eventually, the champions of the men's and women's groups will be selected.