Published: Aug 11, 2025, 16:29 IST | Updated: Aug 11, 2025, 16:29 IST
Former Chinese chess prodigy Li Haoyu has been banned for 6 months by FIDE after a shocking drop of over 400 ELO points in just one year: including 13 consecutive losses. The reason? Sandbagging; deliberately underperforming to manipulate ratings or tournament matchups.
Li, once rated 2372, plummeted to 1979 between August 2023 and August 2024. His suspicious losses to lower-rated players triggered an investigation by the Chinese Chess Association itself, leading to a formal complaint to FIDE. The FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission ultimately found him guilty of violating Article 11.7(e)(ii) of the Code of Ethics.