- A Chinese-chess champion lost his title after being accused of showing "extremely bad character."
- Yan Chenglong, 48, was accused of defecating in a hotel bathtub after winning a national tournament.
A Chinese-chess champion lost his crown after being accused of showing "extremely bad character" by pooping in a hotel bathtub as he celebrated his title.
Yan Chenglong, 48, won the national Chinese-chess amateur competition final on December 17, according to China's state-controlled Global Times newspaper.
It came with prize money of 100,000 yuan, or nearly $14,000, per the outlet.
(The sport is not quite the same as Western chess, and is also known by its Chinese name, Xiangqi.)
But after checking out of his hotel the next day, an employee reported that they had found excrement in Yan's bathtub.
The claim fueled rumors that he had cheated in the tournament by using anal beads equipped with wireless transmitters to send and receive information to a computer on what moves to make.
(Anal beads also featured in a Western chess scandal around a year ago.)
The Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) said in a statement that it was "currently impossible to prove that Yan engaged in cheating via 'anal beads,'" but did say that the pooping part was right.
"Yan consumed alcohol with others in his room on the night of the 17th, and then he defecated in the bathtub of the room he was staying in on the 18th, in an act that damaged hotel property, violated public order and good morals, had a negative impact on the competition and the event of Xiangqi, and was of extremely bad character," the association said, per The Guardian.
The CXA stripped Yan of his title, revoked his prize money, and banned him from playing for a year, the Global Times reported.
Yan has since denied the allegations, claiming that he suffered from diarrhea after drinking alcohol and couldn't make it to the toilet in time, the Global Times reported, citing another Chinese outlet, Shangyou News.
It is not the first time the world of chess has been rocked by such allegations.
Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann was also accused of using anal beads to cheat after he beat Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in September 2022.
In an interview with the broadcaster Piers Morgan following the accusations, Niemann "categorically" denied using the sex toy to cheat.
Niemann and Carlsen eventually settled a $100 million lawsuit over the claims.
The Chinese Xiangqi Association did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Business Insider.