Grandmaster Ding Liren of China became world chess champion on Sunday by defeating Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi in the fast-paced tiebreaker in the final, which was played in Astana.
After 7-7 at the end of the regular season, everything would be decided this Sunday, with fast games and blitz on the schedule, with Ding surprising the opponent’s favoritism and succeeding Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.
In Kazakhstan’s capital, the showdown between Ding and ‘Nepo’ was one of the most balanced in history, with three wins for each side and eight draws in the 14 games played since the 9th, culminating in the inauguration of the first match. Chinese World Champion.
In women’s chess, China has been the dominant force in chess since the 1990s, with current world champion Ju Wenjun set to defend the title against compatriot Lei Tingjie in July. In total, China has had six world champions.
Carlsen, who was a five-time world champion and completely dominant for the past 10 years, won easily against Nepomniachtchi in December 2021 for his last title, but resigned in July 2022, leaving this final in Astana and the ordination of Ding, who already led China in the triumphs of the Olympic Games in modality, in 2014 and 2018.
Promisingly, Ding, 30 years old, two years younger than his opponent, had been mentioned for some time as a serious candidate to succeed Carlsen. Runner-up under-10 world champion in 2003, he was the youngest-ever absolute champion in China at the age of 17.
He was also the highest-rated Chinese in the international rankings – finishing second in 2021 – and the first to take part in the Candidates Tournament, which determines who will play against the title champion.
The covid-19 pandemic halted his upward trajectory and in 2022 he was unable to obtain a visa to travel to tournaments qualifying for the Candidates Tournament, almost not competing between June 2021 and April 2022.
He would only gain entry to the Candidates Tournament with the disqualification of Russian Serguei Karjakin, who publicly spoke out in favor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A vacancy opened up and Ding was ranked first on the unqualified list.
In April last year, Ding started losing to ‘Nepo’ but recovered well and finished second in the Candidates Tournament.
Once again, fortune would be on his side: with Carlsen’s resignation, that second place was worth the presence in this tournament for the world’s sceptre.
In Astana, Ding was always under pressure and three times he was behind. He equalized in the 12th game, which was followed by two draws.
In the rapids, he surprised again, since the Russian opponent is considered an excellent interpreter of this specialty.
Source: DN
