 His loss was notable in that both he and countryman Li Chao were forfeited from their respective playoff games for tardiness, as they were smoking outside the tournament hall and consequently arrived two minutes late for each player's second playoff game, warranting an automatic forfeiture by the FIDE regulations.In January 2010, he became China's first ever top 10 player on the FIDE rankings.From May 9–25, 2010, he participated in the final FIDE Grand Prix in Astrakhan, but failed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship 2012.