Chinese chess champion forfeits victory over ‘bad behavior’ after tournament but denies cheating

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A champion of the board game Xiangqi, also known as Chinese chess, has had to forfeit his title because of “bad behavior” after winning a tournament, but has denied allegations online and in Chinese state media that he used a sex toy to cheat.

Yan Chenglong, a 48-year-old amateur from China’s central Henan province, was victorious at the finals of the Chess King tournament in the island province of Hainan on December 17, winning 100,000 yuan (about $13,988), according to state-run tabloid Global Times.

He had to forfeit the prize money, along with his victory, following an investigation by the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) into “bad behavior” at his hotel after the tournament, the group said in a statement Monday.

The association said Yan had defecated in the bathtub of his hotel and vandalized furniture in his room after a few drinks. It said Yan had “violated public order and good morals,” and he would be suspended from all Xiangqi tournaments for a year.

In the aftermath of the tournament, allegations swirled on China’s tightly controlled social media that Yan may have cheated using a vibrating sex toy to communicate with others, an accusation that multiple Chinese state media outlets then covered.

But Yan has forcefully denied those allegations.

In an interview with state-run magazine China Newsweek, Yan said he lodged a protest against the association’s decision to penalize him for the hotel incident. He also vowed to take legal action against what he called “slanderous comments” made by online bloggers.

In its statement announcing that Yan had