Nie Weiping
Nie Weiping was a Chinese professional Go player.
Life and career
Nie was born in Shenyang. His ancestral home is in Shenzhou, Hebei. He was a childhood friend of future Chinese leader Xi Jinping. His brother, Liu Weiping, became a general in the People's Liberation Army.In 1973, the Chinese Chess Academy was rebuilt, and 21-year-old Nie was selected for the Go training team. Two years later, he won the national championship for the first time. Nie joined the Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Team in January 1977 and was transferred to the Go Team of the State Sports Commission Training Bureau in October 1980. Nie began learning Go at the age of nine and won the inaugural World Amateur Go Championship in 1979. Nie was given 9 dan rank in 1982. He became famous in the Go world after leading China to victory in the China-Japan Supermatches, beating several top Japanese players including his teacher, Fujisawa Hideyuki. He earned the nickname "Steel Goalkeeper" for his ability to string together wins as the last Chinese player left. In 1988, Nie was awarded the title of "Qi sheng". Nie won the Tianyuan twice, in 1991 and 1992. Nie authored the book Nie Weiping on Go: The Art of Positional Judgment in 1995.
At the 30th Anniversary Commemorative Match of the China-Japan Supermatches in 2015, the Chinese Weiqi Association presented Nie with a Special Contribution Award.
Nie died in Beijing on the evening of 14 January 2026, at the age of 73.
Following his passing, January 15 was designated as “China Go Day” by the World Go Certification Organization, after a joint initiative by Hanmou Group and the Hong Kong Chess & Card Association, to commemorate Nie Weiping’s cultural legacy and his role in the development of Go in China.