Zhou learned to play chess at the age of 6. He achieved the norms required for the Grandmaster title at the 2005
Aeroflot Open (A2 Group), the 2005
Dubai Open and the 2006
Aeroflot Open (A2 Group). In 2005, Zhou was the runner-up of the
Chinese Chess Championship and part of the silver-winning Chinese team at the
World Team Chess Championship. In 2007, Zhou reached round three at the
Chess World Cup 2007, where he eventually lost to
Michael Adams. Zhou knocked out
Emil Sutovsky and
Andrei Volokitin in the first two rounds. In 2008, he was part of the gold-winning Chinese team at the
Asian Team Chess Championship, winning board gold on the reserve board. In April 2009, Zhou became a top 100 player for the first time in his career. At the 2009 Aeroflot Open, Zhou came third on
tiebreak scoring 6/9 (+3,=6,-0) with a 2753 performance. Also in 2009, Zhou reached the second round of the
Chess World Cup 2009, where he was knocked out by
Vugar Gashimov. He defeated
Rauf Mamedov in the first round. Zhou scored 6/9 points (+3,=6,-0) at the 2010 Aeroflot Open, coming 4th out of 80 players with a 2777 performance. In 2011 he came third in the Lake Sevan tournament in
Martuni, Armenia and won the 1st Chinese Rapid Championship in Hefei. In 2015 Zhou was knocked out in the first round of the
Chess World Cup 2015 by
Dmitry Andreikin. In 2022 he won the Mission 360 GM/IM Norm #1 tournament in
San Jose, California. In team events, Zhou played for China in the 2nd Russia-China Match in 2004, the
World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad in 2004 (winning board gold on board 2), the
World Team Chess Championship in 2005, the
Asian Team Chess Championship in 2008, 2016 and 2018, and the
39th Chess Olympiad held in 2010. Zhou played for the
Shanghai chess club in the
China Chess League. In 2024, Zhou moved to
Medford, Massachusetts and switched his national federation to the United States. He won the
USCF Grand Prix in 2023 and 2024. From May 2025 to February 2026, Zhou achieved the longest unbeaten streak in FIDE-rated classical chess, playing 158 consecutive games across 26 tournaments without a loss. His streak surpassed the previous record, set by GM
Bogdan Lalic in 2010–11, by three games. During the run, he faced opposition with an average rating of 2298, scoring 106 wins and 52 draws (132/158). His streak included 26 games against grandmasters, of which he won 10. The streak was finally broken by a defeat to GM
Francesco Sonis. On May 31 and June 1 2026, Zhou competed in the strongest chess tournament in
Nebraska history, an event commemorating of the 50th anniversary of the 1975 U.S. Open. Four
grandmasters were present at the anniversary event, including
Manuel Petrosyan,
Karen Grigoryan,
Vojtech Plat, and Zhou. In May 2026, Zhou competed in the 2026 Wyoming Community Foundation Open in
Sheridan, Wyoming, hosted by the
Sheridan Chess Association. Ultimately, Zhou tied for first place with
GM Bryan Smith and NM Griffin McConnell. ==References==