The first "Shanghai Cup" Chess Masters Open Tournament opened today in Jiading Nanxiang. In the professional group's two rounds of matches, 32 top male and female players from the domestic chess scene engaged in fierce competition. In the Men's Group A, Miao Liming took the lead with two consecutive wins. In the Men's Group B, Cao Yanlei, Zhao Jincheng, Lü Qin, and Jiang Chuan all had one win and one draw. In the women's division, Chen Xinglin was the only player to achieve two consecutive wins.

In the first round of Men's Group A, Wang Yang, playing with the red pieces, faced Wang Kuo, the newly crowned champion of the National Championship. The opening developed into a double pawn game, with Wang Yang gaining an early advantage. In the mid-game, the black side's formation was poor, while the red side's pieces were flexible, and a pawn crossed the river on the seventh file, launching an offensive that put the black side in a difficult position. After 32 moves, the red side made a clever move with a 'fishing horse', securing a victory.

In the professional Men's Group B, the first round saw Hong Zhi, playing with the red pieces, defeating Zheng Weitong; this was the only decisive game in the round. In the opening, Hong Zhi's 'Immortal Finger Guide' faced the 'Bamboo Bottom Cannon'. Hong Zhi chose a relatively uncommon variation of Cannon 8 to 7, and the pieces were quickly exchanged, leading to a situation of double chariots and cannon versus double chariots and horse. The red side had an extra pawn, and held a slightly better position. After further fighting, the game reached an endgame where red had cannons, pawn, soldier, and bishop versus black's horse, two pawns, soldier, and elephant. Hong Zhi seized the opportunity and eventually won.

In the second round of Men's Group A, played in the afternoon, Wang Tianyi, playing with the red pieces, drew with Wang Yang. Wang Tianyi abandoned his usual 'Immortal Finger Guide' and flying bishop opening, choosing to open with a 'Forehead Cannon'. Wang Yang responded with a 'Screen Horse'. Both sides attacked and defended in an orderly manner, with the red side at one point sacrificing a pawn and a horse to mount a strong attack, but the black side remained unmoved, cleverly resolving the red side's offensive with a move of the horse to 6 to 4. The red side tried to break the deadlock, but the black side's defense was watertight, resulting in a draw.

In the second round of Men's Group B, Lü Qin, a five-time national chess champion and veteran player, playing with the red pieces, defeated Huang Zhufeng, a key player from the Zhejiang team, the National Games team champion. Lü Qin opened with the 'Immortal Finger Guide' against the 'Bamboo Bottom Cannon', gaining the initiative. In the middlegame, both sides attacked fiercely. Lü Qin made a clever move, sinking his chariot to the bottom in a move akin to 'fishing from the bottom of the sea,' which cleverly secured a victory over his opponent.

Jiang Chuan played with the red pieces against Hong Zhi, opening with the 5-8 cannon against Hong Zhi's three-step tiger. In the mid-game, Hong Zhi's over-aggressiveness led to the loss of an elephant and a pawn, putting him at a disadvantage. Jiang Chuan firmly controlled the game and reached an endgame of horse, cannon, and pawn versus horse, cannon, and pawn, proceeding step by step, ultimately achieving victory.

In the professional women's group, in the first round, Tang Dan, ranked number one in the national rating, playing with the red pieces, lost to Zhao Guanfang. Tang Dan opened with a classic opening, using the 'Immortal Finger Guide' to reinforce her bishop, while Zhao Guanfang responded with a 'Bamboo Bottom Cannon', leading to a relatively even game. Tang Dan launched an attack, sacrificing a piece, but Zhao Guanfang remained calm and composed, and eventually won due to having more pieces.

According to the rules, the men's professional group in the first "Shanghai Cup" will have 5 rounds of matches, with the top two from each group advancing to the championship round. The women's professional group will have a 7-round round-robin to determine the winner. The first prize for the men's professional group is 300,000 RMB, and for the women's professional group is 100,000 RMB.