WIM Yunshan Li

My name is Yunshan Li, I am a 23 years old Woman International Master with a current FIDE rating of 2237 and CFC rating of 2411, ranking top 2 among Canadian female players. After completing a HBA in Anthropology at the University of Toronto, I am currently pursuing a MA in Social Sciences at the University of Chicago.

我叫李芸杉，是一名23岁的女子国际大师，目前FIDE国际等级分为2237，CFC等级分为2411，在加拿大女棋手中排名第二。在多伦多大学完成人类学学士学位后，我目前在芝加哥大学攻读社会科学硕士学位。

I started playing chess when I was 4 and have been playing seriously ever since. I played as a professional chess player in the Sichuan province team between 2016-2021 and played in the Chinese League(Division A) and other top tournaments. After I came to Canada to study in 2021, I played for Team Canada and the Varsity team in multiple tournaments. Coming to the US, I am looking forward to playing in more tournaments and opens.

Some of my achievements:
2025.07 Representing Canada participated in 2025 Women’s World Cup
2025.05 Continental Women’s Chess Championships of the Americas (6th Place)
2025.04 Canadian Women’s Closed (1st place)
2024.12 GTCL (Greater Toronto Chess League) Cup (1st Place)
2024.09 Representing Canada participated in 2024 Chess Olympiad
2024.04 Canadian Women Zonal (3rd place)
2023.05 Chinese Chess Team Championship (Women) （1 st Place）
2023.02 GTCL (Greater Toronto Chess League) Team Championship (1st Place)
2023, 2024, 2025 Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship (Top International Team)
2022.02 Canadian University Chess Championship (2nd Place)
2019.11 “Lichengzhi” Chinese Chess National Team Youth Online Match (1st place)
2019.04 "Guotai Cup" The 2nd Belt and Road Chess Open (Female 2nd Place)
2018.01 World Youth Mind Sports Fair (Chess) (U18 Girl) (1st Place)
2012.11 National Youth Chess Championship (U10 Girl) (1st Place)
2010.10 World Youth Chess Championship (U8 Girl) (1st Place)

我从四岁开始下棋，此后便一直以职业棋手的方式训练。2016至2021年间，我作为职业棋手效力于四川省队，参加了中国甲级联赛及其他顶级赛事。2021年来加拿大留学后，我代表加拿大国家队及多伦多大学校队参加了多项比赛。如今来到美国，期待能参加更多赛事。

以下是我的一些成绩：
2025.07 代表加拿大参加2025年女子世界杯
2025.05 美洲女子国际象棋锦标赛（第6名）
2025.04 加拿大女子封闭赛（冠军）
2024.12 大多伦多国际象棋联赛（冠军）
2024.09 代表加拿大参加2024年奥林匹克团体赛
2024.04 加拿大女子分区赛（季军）
2023.05 中国国际象棋团体锦标赛（女子组）（冠军）
2023.02 大多伦多国际象棋团体锦标赛（冠军）
2023, 2024, 2025泛美大学生国际象棋锦标赛（最佳国际队）
2022.02 加拿大大学国际象棋锦标赛（亚军）
2019.11 “李成智”中国国际象棋国家青年队线上对抗赛（冠军）
2019.04 “国台杯”第二届“一带一路”国际象棋公开赛（女子组亚军）
2018.01 世界青少年智力运动会（国际象棋）U18女子组（冠军）
2012.11 全国青少年国际象棋锦标赛U10女子组（冠军）
2010.10 世界青少年国际象棋锦标赛U8女子组（冠军）

I have been working as a coach since 2022. I have experience in both individual and group coaching.

Some student achievements:
Coached a student to increase 400 points of FIDE rating in 1 year, and later won 2024 North American Youth Championship 2nd place and Pan-American youth chess championship 3rd place;
Coached a student to win Pan-American Youth Championships 3rd place in 1 year;
Coached a student to win 3rd place in the North American Youth Chess Championships in 6 months;
Coached a student to win 4th place in Ontario Youth Chess Championship and 1st place in Canadian Junior Scholarship Championship.

自2022年起，我一直从事教练工作，拥有一对一及班课教学经验。

部分学员成就：
指导学员一年内FIDE等级分提升400分，后获2024年北美青少年锦标赛亚军及泛美青少年国际象棋锦标赛季军；
指导学员一年内夺得泛美青年锦标赛季军；
指导学员半年内夺得北美青年国际象棋锦标赛季军；
指导学员获得安大略省青年国际象棋锦标赛第四名及加拿大青少年奖学金锦标赛冠军。

I am a solid and strategic player, particularly strong in positional understanding and endgame theory. I excel at finding creative plans and hidden opportunities in seemingly plain positions, and I have a distinctive perspective on pawn structures and piece coordination. Even in worse endgame positions, I often manage to defend successfully and turn them into draws or even wins.

I have played the Queen’s Gambit throughout my entire career and have a deep understanding of it. With Black against 1.e4, I regularly play the Taimanov, Caro–Kann, and Berlin, each of which I have studied and played for years. Against 1.d4, I play the Slav and Queen’s Gambit Accepted, and have a strong record. I also have a good understanding of countering 1.c4 and 1.Nf3.

我是一名风格稳健的棋手，尤其擅长局面理解与残局理论。我善于在看似平淡的局面中寻找创造性的计划与隐藏的机会，对兵结构和子力位置有独到的见解。即使在劣势残局中，我也常常能顽强防守，化为和局甚至反败为胜。

我几乎整个棋手生涯都使用后翼弃兵开局，对其中的各种变化有深入的理解。执黑对 1.e4 时，我经常使用泰曼诺夫、卡罗康防御以及柏林防御等体系，并且每一种都研究和实战多年。面对 1.d4，我偏好使用斯拉夫防御与接受后翼弃兵，并保持了较高的胜率。同时，我对如何应对 1.c4 与 1.Nf3 的体系也有一套实用的武器。

I believe the most important thing in playing chess is interest; therefore, I hope to inspire students' passion for chess through my teaching. In practice, I emphasize learning from one's own games and mistakes. Thus, I will first review students' games and find what they should improve the most, and make individualized teaching plans based on their conditions. I also emphasize the importance of a solid theoretical foundation. Ideally, I will teach my students a whole system of middle game and endgame theory. Although it may not have an instant effect, this system will benefit students who have a long-term goal and want to have higher achievement in chess.

我认为下棋最重要的是兴趣，因此我希望通过我的教学来激发学生对国际象棋的热情。 在实际教学中，我强调从自己的对局和错误中学习。因此，我首先会复盘学生的对局，找出他们最应该改进的地方，并根据他们的情况制定个性化的教学计划。我还强调坚实的理论基础的重要性。因此在理想的情况下，我会教给学生一整套中局和残局理论体系。虽然可能不会有立竿见影的效果，但这个体系会让那些有长期目标，想在国际象棋上有更高成就的学生受益。