The Confucius Institute at Saint Joseph University of Beirut, in cooperation with the Lebanese Xiang Qi Federation, held the First Confucius Institute Xiang Qi (Chinese Chess) Championship on October 7, 2023, at the Humanities Campus of Saint Joseph of Beirut.

Dr. Nisrine Abdel Nour Lattouf, the Director of the Institute, along with staff of the Institute, H.E. Qian Minjian, the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon, Mr. Zhang Yajin the Cultural Attache and a crowd of Lebanese and Chinese families and fans attended the championship.

53 players, representing the Al Assifa Jal el Dib Club, the Lebanese Army Team, the Sanabel Beirut Club, the Beirut Sports Projects Club, the Al-Ahli Saida Club, the Al-Iman Aramoun School, the Saint Georges School of Bsalim, the Arab-Chinese Association for Cooperation and Development, and several Chinese residents in Lebanon participated in the championship.

The players were split into 2 categories:General – open 6 rounds and beginners – all ages 6 rounds.
Round duration: 10 minutes and 3 seconds.

After the tiebreak, the Colonel Oussama Jawhar announced the final results of the championship, and the awards, medals, and trophies were distributed to the winners by Mr. Qian Minjian, Dr. Nisrine Abdel Nour Lattouf, and the retired Brigadier General Elias Abou Jaoude.

In addition, all prizes were given, courtesy of the Confucius Institute, to the top five players in the General – Open Championship and the top four players in the Beginners – All Ages Championship. Participation certificates were also handed out to all players.

A thank-you speech was delivered by the retired Brigadier General Elias Abou Jaoude, the President of the Lebanese Federation of Xiang Qi (Chinese Chess), in which he expressed his gratitude to the Confucius Institute and Saint Joseph University for organizing and supporting this championship and for the valuable prizes awarded to the participants.

The results were as follows:

he General – Open Category:

Ranked 1^st Han Xiangdong ; 2^nd Ahmad Najjar ; 3^rd Amine Korkomaz ; 4^th Marwan Sharbel  & 5^th Colonel Oussama Jawhar .

The Beginners – All Ages Category:

Ranked 1^st Moslem Nasrallah ; 2^nd Ossama Chaar, 3^rd Angelo Maroun, 4^th Joe Abou Jaoude & 5^th Elaria Alam

Ms. Serene Daoud received the Gold Medal for Best Female Player in the General – Open Championship.

Ms. Elaria Alam received the Gold Medal for Best Female Player in the Beginners – All Ages Championship.

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