The First World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) shall take place at China National Convention Center (CNCC) from 3 October to 18 October 2008. This will be the first big event to be held at CNCC after the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. CNCC Hotel, immediately adjacent to the Convention Center, is the official hotel for players and officials.

Sponsored by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), WMSG is an international multi-events games with the purpose to popularizing the sports and widening the influence of mind sports like bridge, chess, go, draughts and xiangqi.

In order to strengthen the Olympic family, the president of the International Mind Sports Games first proposed the idea of holding Mind Sports Olympic Games after the founding of IMSA in April, 2005. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) supported this idea and hoped to firstly host a worldwide mind sports games to complement the vacancy that there was no international multi-events games for mind sports. Therefore, the 1st World Mind Sports Games was born.

The 1st WMSG is a multi-event game and for the first time in human history the five mind sports are integrated as one game. The five mind sports are: bridge, chess, go, draughts, and xiangqi, which have the longest history, the widest popularity and widest influence in the world. It is not only a creative pageant in the sport circle but also an abundant content and large scale exchange for the traditional culture of human being and wisdom.