[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":169},["ShallowReactive",2],{"bot-mingde":3},{"id":4,"aboutLong":5,"age":6,"botId":7,"country":8,"countryCode":9,"dataHash":10,"dateModified":11,"elo":12,"extension":13,"faq":14,"favoriteQuote":24,"gender":25,"hello":26,"introduction":27,"isTrophy":28,"liveDate":29,"luckyCharm":30,"meta":31,"name":32,"occupation":33,"openingAxes":34,"openingsAnalysis":36,"playstyle":37,"playstyleSummary":41,"ratingHistory":42,"shortName":136,"similar":137,"stem":166,"trophyQuirk":36,"trophyUnlock":36,"whoShouldPlay":167,"__hash__":168},"bots/bots/mingde.json","Hou Mingde, known around the board as Old Hou, is a 70-year-old craftsman from Chengdu, China, who has spent more than fifty years in a small courtyard workshop gluing thin bamboo strips onto the backs of mahjong tiles. He learned the trade from his uncle and took it over in his thirties, working the same low wooden bench ever since. Chess for him is a casual pastime rather than a study; at an estimated 1168 Elo he plays at the level of a club-room hobbyist who knows the basic shape of development and king safety but has never sat down with an openings book. He treats each position the way he treats a tray of tiles, patient and unhurried, lining things up before committing the glue. Expect slow, deliberate moves, simple trades, and a long quiet middlegame where Old Hou tries to plane the position down to something he can finish cleanly.","70","mingde","China","cn","8ac36394fd84157411a188fdbaa3f0dbcd710edee360b60044ca2e00e8834849","2026-07-06",1168,"json",[15,18,21],{"question":16,"answer":17},"What rating is Old Hou?","Old Hou is rated approximately 1168 Elo. That places him in the casual club-player band, comfortable with basic opening principles and king safety but shaky in complex middlegames and prone to slips in the endgame.",{"question":19,"answer":20},"What opening does Old Hou play?","Old Hou has no fixed repertoire on file. He plays casually and chooses his setup move by move, without committing to any particular mainline theory.",{"question":22,"answer":23},"Is Old Hou a fair challenge for casual club players?","Yes, Old Hou is well matched to casual club players in the 1000 to 1300 range. He plays with enough push to keep the game lively, but his tendency to trade pieces down means the contest is decided in quiet positions where club-level technique and patience are tested fairly.","The glue dries when it dries. Hurrying it only ruins the seam.","male","Mm, sit, sit. The bench is clear, the glue is warm, tea is still hot. We will set the tiles down slow, one at a time, see what kind of board we build together. No hurry, friend. The glue dries when it dries.","Hou Mingde has spent more than fifty years in a small Chengdu courtyard workshop gluing thin strips of bamboo onto the backs of mahjong tiles. He learned the craft from his uncle, took it over in his thirties, and has worked the same low wooden bench ever since. He plays chess slowly, the way he glues tiles, and treats every position as a set he is patiently assembling.",false,"2026-05-08T00:00:00.000Z","A tiny worn-smooth bamboo offcut he keeps in his tunic pocket, the first scrap from his very first batch of tiles.",{},"Hou Mingde","Chengdu mahjong-tile bamboo-back gluer",{"solid_sharp":35,"unprepared_theoretical":35},0,null,{"defensive_aggressive":38,"simplifying_complicating":39,"category":40},0.9,-0.89,4,"Old Hou plays in an aggressive register for his level, looking to push forward rather than sit back, but he eases the tension quickly by trading pieces off whenever a swap is offered. He has no preference between solid and sharp structures and no fixed opening loyalty, choosing whatever feels comfortable on the day. The result is a pushy but simplifying style: he comes at the opponent, then planes the board down to a quiet endgame.",[43,46,49,52,55,58,61,63,66,69,72,74,77,80,83,86,89,91,94,97,100,103,106,109,112,115,118,121,124,127,130,133],{"rating":44,"msSinceEpoch":45},1176,1778281429330,{"rating":47,"msSinceEpoch":48},1169,1778288000603,{"rating":50,"msSinceEpoch":51},1181,1778345399948,{"rating":53,"msSinceEpoch":54},1185,1778345831833,{"rating":56,"msSinceEpoch":57},1182,1778346113596,{"rating":59,"msSinceEpoch":60},1175,1778380231458,{"rating":12,"msSinceEpoch":62},1778385501428,{"rating":64,"msSinceEpoch":65},1160,1778433330346,{"rating":67,"msSinceEpoch":68},1154,1778465461788,{"rating":70,"msSinceEpoch":71},1147,1778465599806,{"rating":70,"msSinceEpoch":73},1778634794547,{"rating":75,"msSinceEpoch":76},1137,1778642606068,{"rating":78,"msSinceEpoch":79},1134,1778649915446,{"rating":81,"msSinceEpoch":82},1127,1778697236806,{"rating":84,"msSinceEpoch":85},1119,1778800163120,{"rating":87,"msSinceEpoch":88},1117,1778814510848,{"rating":81,"msSinceEpoch":90},1778878689998,{"rating":92,"msSinceEpoch":93},1120,1778894761361,{"rating":95,"msSinceEpoch":96},1112,1778922424346,{"rating":98,"msSinceEpoch":99},1103,1778971001911,{"rating":101,"msSinceEpoch":102},1093,1779099402283,{"rating":104,"msSinceEpoch":105},1105,1779103066769,{"rating":107,"msSinceEpoch":108},1096,1779103577339,{"rating":110,"msSinceEpoch":111},1107,1779105203856,{"rating":113,"msSinceEpoch":114},1106,1779115635887,{"rating":116,"msSinceEpoch":117},1100,1779188380966,{"rating":119,"msSinceEpoch":120},1109,1779238515824,{"rating":122,"msSinceEpoch":123},1121,1779245149113,{"rating":125,"msSinceEpoch":126},1128,1779275204681,{"rating":128,"msSinceEpoch":129},1135,1779275274922,{"rating":131,"msSinceEpoch":132},1125,1779291735548,{"rating":134,"msSinceEpoch":135},1114,1779361475965,"Old Hou",{"sameStyle":138,"different":155},[139,143,149],{"botId":140,"name":141,"elo":142,"country":8,"countryCode":9,"category":40},"maose","Lu Maosen",1143,{"botId":144,"name":145,"elo":146,"country":147,"countryCode":148,"category":40},"vilap","Jordi Vilaplana",1194,"Spain","es",{"botId":150,"name":151,"elo":152,"country":153,"countryCode":154,"category":40},"park","Park Ji-eun",1212,"South Korea","kr",[156,161],{"botId":157,"name":158,"elo":159,"country":8,"countryCode":9,"category":160},"baiwx","Bai Wenxin",1173,5,{"botId":162,"name":163,"elo":164,"country":8,"countryCode":9,"category":165},"fang","Yulan Fang",1163,3,"bots/mingde","Players rated roughly 1000 to 1300 will find Old Hou a natural sparring partner at their own level. His aggressive lean punishes overly passive defenders, while his habit of trading pieces off rewards players who can squeeze small advantages out of simplified endings. Anyone working on conversion technique, endgame patience, or learning how to absorb early pressure without panicking will get useful practice from a game against him.","rtamXcNfmP5ltCRjTa6IPMbx-thyqiNmbdf5FyNemtk",1784753894754]