The 35-year-old from southern Vietnam's Vinh Long Province carried the black pieces in the final, which began at noon Hanoi time. His opponent, 20-year-old Yin Sheng, opened aggressively with a double-cannon attack that pinned down Lai's rook and horse.
At one point the Chinese player even sacrificed a cannon to grab both elephants, a daring strike that put the Vietnamese champion under heavy pressure. The game tilted in Yin’s favor, but one careless miscalculation in the middlegame cost him a horse. Lai pounced instantly, capturing the piece and unraveling his rival's defense.
From there, the balance shifted. Though he later lost a cannon, Lai traded it for a key advisor, weakening Yin's fortress. In the endgame, Lai pushed pawns across the river and coordinated them with his rook and cannon to mount a relentless assault. Yin, running short of material, watched as his defenses collapsed piece by piece. After nearly two hours of play, the young Chinese star extended his hand in resignation.
The victory carried enormous symbolic weight. Since the world championship was first staged in 1990, China had won all 18 editions of the men's individual standard event, regarded as the pinnacle of xiangqi.
Vietnam twice reached the final: Nguyen Thanh Bao in 2009 and Lai himself in 2023, but both times fell short. This time, Lai secured Vietnam's long-awaited breakthrough, rewarded on the spot with a bonus of VND1 billion ($39,000) from former federation president Nguyen Huu Luan, who attended the match in China.
Lai's triumph comes at a moment of transition in Chinese xiangqi. Several of the nation's legendary champions, including Wang Tianyi, Zheng Weitong, Zhao Xinxin, Wang Yang, Hong Zhi, Xu Chao and Xie Jing, have been banned for life over match-fixing, with some serving prison terms. Their absence opened the door for younger talents such as Yin Sheng and 17-year-old Meng Fanrui to represent China on the world stage.
The 2025 World Xiangqi Championship brought together 51 players from around the world for nine rounds of Swiss-system play.
