GM Ding Liren is the new World Chess Champion after winning against GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the fourth rapid game at the FIDE World Chess Championship for the year 2023.
After 14 tense classical games, the result was a draw of 7-7 (8 draws and 3 wins for both players), so everything came down to a rapid match of 4 rapid games in which Ding, after three draws, managed to get a full point and win the match with a score of 2.5 to 1.5.
The reign of GM Magnus Carlsen has ended, and for the first time since 2013. the crown goes to someone else – in this case Ding, the 17th World Chess Champion.
Ding Liren – The Road to the World Chess Crown
GM Ding Liren is a Chinese chess grandmaster and the highest-ranked Chinese player in history. His journey to the World Chess Crown was not easy.
After Sergey Karjakin was disqualified from the 2022 Candidates Tournament, Ding was the highest-ranked player on the list who had not yet qualified.
Due to the pandemic, Ding could not travel to tournaments outside of China and therefore did not meet the minimum qualification requirements (a certain number of games played in the previous period). To make it possible for him to play in the tournament, the Chinese Chess Association quickly organized three different rating tournaments to qualify him for the 2022 Candidates.
At the Candidates Tournament itself, he won second place, where he “recovered” after a slow start and finished the tournament with 4 wins, 8 draws, and 2 losses. Since the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi (the winner of the 2022 Candidates Tournament) Ding’s second place in the Candidates Tournament qualified him to play against Nepomniachtchi at the 2023 World Chess Championship.
About the match
The FIDE World Chess Championship between grandmasters Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi took place from April 7 to May 1, 2023, in Astana, Kazakhstan. The match consisted of 14 classical games and 4 rapid games in the tiebreak. The time control for classical games was 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes until the end of the game, with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61.
According to the championship rules, the first player to reach 7.5 points out of 14 games wins the match, but since the result was a draw, an additional 4 rapid games were played, and thus the winner was decided in the tiebreak with a score of 2.5-1.5 for Ding.
Ding Liren’s victory in the World Chess Championship highlights the importance of psychological preparation in chess, especially in such a high-stakes competition. His resilience and determination, demonstrated by his ability to come back from being down a point three times, were crucial in maintaining his focus and composure throughout the match. Ding’s success serves as an inspiration to aspiring chess players worldwide.
