Nie was the national hero in the 1980s and was awarded the "Qisheng" by the National Sporting Committee in 1988 for his outstanding contribution to go.

Full name: Nie Weiping

Date of birth: August 17, 1952

Place of birth: Hebei Province

Events: Go

Nie Weiping is a professional go player. Go is a board game that originated in China and is played by two people using black and white stones. As one of the best go players since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Nie is now the vice-president of China's Go Association and a technical adviser of China's Go Academy.

Career

Nie started learning go at the age of 9 and won the Beijing Children’s Championship one year later.

Nie claimed titles in the National Go Championships five times: 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981.

He became famous after winning the China-Japan Supermatches. He beat several famous players in the process and was widely regarded as one of the strongest players in the world during the 1980s. The period from 1975 to 1979 was called by China's go circle as "Nie Weiping Time."

In the 1980s, Nie became a household name in China. From national leaders to civilians, everyone was interested in his game. Students from Peking and Tsinghua universities even marched to celebrate his victory in the China-Japan Supermatches. Nie was the national hero at that time and was awarded the "Qisheng" by the National Sporting Committee in 1988 for his outstanding contribution to go.

Major titles

Tianyuan 1991, 1992

CCTV Cup 1993, 1997

National Go Individual 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983

New Sports Cup 1979 - 1983, 1988 - 1990

(China.org.cn September 11, 2009)