Zhou Jianchao’s Historic 158-Game Unbeaten Streak Comes To An End

GM Zhou Jianchao‘s extraordinary unbeaten run ended last weekend after 158 classical games. The Chinese-born grandmaster has made it to the history books by achieving the longest known run of consecutive classical games without losing.

The 38-year-old, who has represented the U.S. since 2024, had succeeded in avoiding a loss for almost a year. But this month, his run finally came to an end when he lost to GM Francesco Sonis in round four of the Connecticut Classical, held February 6-8. Sonis eventually won the tournament, but perhaps a greater achievement was ending Zhou’s incredible streak.

Zhou had played 158 classical games without a defeat across 26 tournaments since his last loss, against 2176-rated Andrew Lewis Titus in the Annual Chicago Open, on May 23, 2025. That’s three games more than GM Bogdan Lalic’s 155-game unbeaten run in 2010-2011.

“I didn’t know how many games I had played without losing. Mentality is very important. If I had thought about this, it would have affected my performance, and I would have lost a long time ago,” Zhou told Chess.com.

It’s a remarkable feat by the grandmaster, as playing so many games without losing is exceptionally rare, even for the strongest players. “Getting to 100+ classical games without losing is incredible, getting close to 160 is historical objectively,” chess statistician Stefano Ferraro told Chess.com.

Getting to 100+ classical games without losing is incredible, getting close to 160 is historical objectively.
—Stefano Ferraro, chess statistician

Ferraro has been tracking over-the-board streaks and closely following Zhou. He pointed out how the Chinese-born grandmaster has been facing mostly weaker opposition in smaller state open events in the U.S. “But he also plays a lot of young, underrated players, so to get this record is still incredibly impressive.”

Taking the level of opposition into account, GM Magnus Carlsen‘s legendary 125-game unbeaten streak from 2018 to 2020 is widely considered the record. During the run, he faced an average rating of 2745, or the equivalent of facing today’s top-15 players in every game.

“Of course, it would be unfair to compare his [Zhou’s] streak to Magnus’ 125-game streak because of the difference in the level of opposition,” the chess statistician noted. Zhou agreed saying: “Carlsen is still obviously better. His opponents were much stronger and his performance was better.”

Zhou faced a rating average of 2298, considerably below his own rating of 2581. The grandmaster won 106 games, drew 52, and scored 132/158 points (83.5 percent). Zhou’s streak did not include any major events, but Ferraro argued it may actually surpass some other famous streaks, such as Lalic’s 155-game run.

“Zhou gained close to 20 points and kept his rating close to 2600, which is impressive playing so many lower-rated players,” Ferraro said, adding: “2300s nowadays are not easy opponents even for GMs, especially if they are young.”

His opponents include notable players, including 26 games against grandmasters. He won 10 of these games that included wins against GMs Mahel Boyer, Praveen Balakrishnan, Brewington Hardaway, Emilio Cordova, and Robby Kevlishvili. He also scored a draw against his only higher-rated opponent, current world number-22, GM Awonder Liang.

His game against the young Frenchman Boyer was a wild one:

And with black, here’s how he finished off GM Jesse Kraai in just 23 moves.

With a peak rating as high as 2669 since 2010, Zhou is not exactly the average grandmaster. That same year he played for China at the 2010 Chess Olympiad and reached his highest-ever ranking, 67th in the world. He was only 17 when he became China’s 21st grandmaster. 

After moving to Medford, Massachusetts (north of Boston), in 2024, he has now become the 19th highest-ranked player in the U.S. He calls it a more relaxed environment and can now compete in more tournaments than in China.

Zhou had two explanations for his 158-game run, telling Chess.com: “I prepare thoroughly for each game’s opening and have excellent emotional control. The outcome doesn’t affect me much,” he said. 

I prepare thoroughly for each game’s opening and have excellent emotional control. The outcome doesn’t affect me much.
—Zhou Jianchao

When facing danger, he often chose pragmatism over ambition. He said: “I tend to deliberately simplify the game when the situation is very risky. Of course, the downside is that it can sometimes lead to a draw.”

He also explained that the streak survived some close calls. “Last Christmas, in the North American Open, I almost lost because I didn’t pay attention to check the tactics and didn’t see a small detail,” Zhou revealed. “Sometimes when the situation isn’t favorable for me, my opponent doesn’t play their best. That is also a very important factor.”

In September last year, Chess.com covered GM Vadim Zvjaginsev‘s unbeaten run of 95 games, a streak that has now been extended to 105 games. However, the rating of the Russian grandmaster has actually dropped during his run, as is the case with many other players facing considerably weaker opposition.

Updated list of ongoing streaks (including Zhou’s):

Among other notable players currently on a run is GM Daniil Dubov (76 games), but the former world rapid champion has dropped 37 points during this period. Others with shorter streaks include GMs Javokhir Sindarov on 37 games, Wei Yi on 32 games, and Hikaru Nakamura on 29 games.

Now the question is, Can anyone reach or surpass Zhou’s 158-game streak?