By beating Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in the world chess championship this Sunday, April 30 in Astana, Ding Liren became the first Chinese to win the supreme title.
If Chinese players have dominated women’s competitions since the 1990s, China has never won the title of world champion, which can be claimed by men and women. With this victory, Ding Liren succeeds Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, who refused to defend the crown he had held since 2013.
The Chinese Grand Master and the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi were tied after the 14 long games started in early April (three wins, eight draws, three losses). This Sunday, the two competitors engaged in a fierce fight, which will be remembered more for the scenario and the multiple twists than for the precision of the blows.
Born in Wenzhou in 1992, Ding Liren won second place in the Under-10 World Championship in 2003. He really revealed himself by becoming China’s youngest chess champion in 2009. He then became the highest ranked Chinese player in history, and the first to participate in the Candidates tournament, the winner of which became the challenger to the reigning world champion, in 2018 then 2020. From 2018, he became the 5th player in the world rankings, even climbing to second place in 2021.
stop shot
But the Covid-19 pandemic, which lasts in China, puts a brutal halt to its trajectory. In 2022, Ding Liren does not obtain a visa to participate in the qualifying competitions for the Candidates tournament and does not participate in almost any competition on the official circuit between June 2021 and April 2022. The disqualification of Russian Sergei Karjakin from any competition organized by the federation Chess International because of his position in favor of the war in Ukraine, however, frees up a place for the highest ranked unqualified player: Ding Liren.
His participation in the Candidates tournament in April 2022 is therefore shrouded in mystery. After a loss in the first match against Nepomniachtchi, Ding made up for it and snatched second place in the tournament on the last day. The position miraculously becomes qualifying for the world championship when Magnus Carlsen, five-time reigning winner, decides to give up his crown, tired of the format of the competition. Facing “Nepo” in Astana, Ding runs after the score. Led three times, he returned to the heights by winning the 12th round, at the end of a game where his opponent repeatedly had a decisive advantage, but did not find the right shots to conclude.
The date of the next world championship is not known. The Candidates tournament, which will designate the challenger of the Chinese Grand Master, will take place in April 2024.
(With AFP)