Ding Liren (Chinese: 丁立人; born 24 October 1992) is a chess grandmaster from China and the reigning World Chess Champion. He is a three-time Chinese Chess Champion. He was the winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the finals and winning the 2019 Sinquefield Cup.[2][3] Ding is the first Chinese player ever to play in a Candidates Tournament and pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE world rankings.[4] In July 2016, with a Blitz rating of 2875, he was the highest-rated Blitz player in the world.[5] In July 2023, Ding became the No. 1 ranked Rapid player, with a rating of 2830.[6]
Ding Liren 丁立人 | |
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Country | China |
Born | Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China | 24 October 1992
Title | Grandmaster (2009)[1] |
World Champion | 2023–present |
FIDE rating | 2728 (November 2024) |
Peak rating | 2816 (November 2018) |
Ranking | No. 23 (November 2024) |
Peak ranking | No. 2 (November 2021) |
Ding Liren | |||||||||||||
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Chinese | 丁立人 | ||||||||||||
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Ding was undefeated in classical chess from August 2017 to November 2018, recording 29 victories and 71 draws. This 100-game unbeaten streak was the longest in top-level chess history,[7] until Magnus Carlsen surpassed it in 2019.[8] Ding ended up being the runner up of Chess World Cups in 2017 and 2019 consecutively and came second in the Candidates Tournament in 2022: this qualified him for the World Chess Championship 2023 against Ian Nepomniachtchi, as Carlsen declined to defend his title. Ding won, making him World Chess Champion, by defeating Nepomniachtchi 2½ to 1½ in the rapid tie breaks after their 7–7 tie in classical chess.
Early life and education
editDing was born in Wenzhou, China, and started learning chess when he was four years old.[9] He attended Wenzhou Zhouyuan Elementary School,[10][11] and is a graduate of Zhejiang Wenzhou High School[12] and Peking University Law School.[13][14]
Chess career
editDing is a three-time Chinese Chess Champion (2009,[15] 2011,[16] 2012[17]) and has represented China at all four Chess Olympiads from 2012 to 2018, winning team gold medals in 2014 and 2018, and individual bronze and gold medals in 2014 and 2018, respectively. He also won team gold and individual silver at the World Team Championships in 2015.[18]
2015
editIn August, he became the first Chinese player after Wang Yue to break into the top 10 of the FIDE world rankings.[19]
2016
editIn July, with a Blitz rating of 2875, Ding was the highest-rated Blitz player in the world.[5]
2017
editAfter becoming the runner up of the Chess World cup in September 2017, he became the first Chinese player to qualify for a Candidates Tournament,[20] the penultimate stage in the World Championship.
2018
editAt the Candidates Tournament 2018, Ding placed 4th with 1 win and 13 draws, the only candidate without a loss at the event.
In September, Ding became the first Chinese player to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE world rankings, and in November he reached a rating of 2816, the joint-tenth highest rating in history. This brought him to ranked 4th in the world for that month.[21]
2019
editIn August, Ding tied first in the Sinquefield Cup with a score of 6½/11 (+2−0=9) with a performance rating of 2845. He won the tournament after beating Magnus Carlsen in the playoffs, drawing both games in the rapid portion and winning 2−0 in the blitz portion.[22]
In October of the same year, Ding qualified for the 2020–21 Candidates Tournament by finishing 2nd place in the World Cup for the second time in a row. He lost to Teimour Radjabov in the finals after drawing the classical games (+1−1=2), the rapid tiebreaks (+0−0=4), before losing 2−0 in the blitz tiebreaks.[23]
Along with Magnus Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Levon Aronian, he was a 2019 Grand Chess Tour finalist. Ding went on to win the Grand Chess Tour final,[24] beating Aronian in the semi-finals and Vachier-Lagrave in the finals.
2020−2021
editIn March 2020, Ding played in the 2020–21 Candidates Tournament. He had a poor start, winning one game, losing three, and drawing three in the first half of the tournament before it was suspended. He finished in 5th place after the tournament was resumed in April 2021, with a score of 7/14 (+4–4=6) and a performance rating of 2768.[25]
2022–2023
editAfter Sergey Karjakin was disqualified from the Candidates Tournament 2022, Ding was the highest player on the ratings list who was not already qualified.[26] Ding had been unable to travel to tournaments outside China during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was thus short of the minimum games requirement for qualification,[27][28] but the Chinese Chess Association organized three different rated events at short notice to allow him to qualify.[29]
At the Candidates Tournament, Ding recovered from a slow start and finished with 8/14 (+4−2=8), achieving second place at the tournament's end on July 5. Later the same month the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen declined to defend his title against the Candidates winner, Ian Nepomniachtchi. Therefore, Ding's second-place spot qualified him to play Nepomniachtchi in the World Chess Championship 2023.[30]
In January 2023, Ding appeared at the Tata Steel tournament, defeating Gukesh D in the first round, but then he eventually lost to R Praggnanandhaa, Richárd Rapport and Anish Giri and finished in 11th place with 5½/13 (+1−3=10).[31] This result dropped his rating below 2800, leaving only Magnus Carlsen to retain a rating above 2800.
World Champion (2023–present)
editRating | Classical games | Points | Rapid games | Total | |||||||||||||||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||||
Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | 2795 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 7 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 8½ |
Ding Liren (CHN) | 2788 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 7 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 9½ |
In April 2023, Ding and Nepomniachtchi began the World Championship match with a back-and-forth classical portion that ended tied 7–7. Ding then defeated Nepomniachtchi in rapid tiebreaks, winning the fourth game as black.[32] Ding became the first Chinese player to hold the title of World Chess Champion.
In May, Ding participated in the GCT Superbet Chess Classic Romania, finishing in 8th with a score of 4/9 (+1−2=6).[33] Following this, Ding took a nine-month break from tournaments, citing a struggle with depression.[34][35]
2024
editDing ended the break in January 2024, placing ninth at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 with a score of 6/13 (+2−3=8).[36]
In March, Ding played in the rapid time control (45+10) Grenke Chess Classic. He finished in 5th place out of 6 players, after scoring 4/10 (+0−2=8) in the double round-robin, coming second in a 4th-place tiebreaker with Vincent Keymer and Daniel Fridman (+1−2=1), and then beating Fridman 1½−½ for 5th place.[37]
In May−June, Ding played in Norway Chess, placing last out of 6 players with a score of 7/30. The tournament was a double round-robin in classical chess, with an Armageddon playoff after each classical draw. A classical win counted for three points, a classical draw and Armageddon win counted for one-and-a-half points, a classical draw and Armageddon loss counted for one point, and a classical loss counted for zero points. Ding scored no wins, four losses, and six draws in the classical games.[38] He won 2 out of 6 Armageddon games, against R Praggnanandhaa and Hikaru Nakamura.
In September, representing China as board one at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Ding failed to win a single game and as a result fell out of the FIDE top 20 rankings.[39][40] He finished with a score of 3½/8 (+0−1=7), with a rating performance of 2664.[41]
Results
edit- November 2003: U-10 World Youth Championship in Heraklio, joint 1st on 9½/11 points with Eltaj Safarli, 2nd on tiebreak[42]
- April 2004: Chinese Men's Team Championship in Jinan, scored 1/4
- November 2004: U-12 World Youth Championship in Heraklio, joint 1st on 9½/11 points with Zhao Nan, 2nd on tiebreak[43]
- July 2005: Chinese Individual Championship in Hefei
- April 2007: Zonal Tournament 3½ (China) in Dezhou, scored 6½/9
- July 2007: Chinese Men's Championship Individual Group B in Zhuhai, scored 7/10
- May 2008: Chinese Individual Championship in Beijing, scored 5½/11 finishing 6th
- June 2008: Men's Selective Tournament for Olympiad in Ningbo, scored 4/10
- July 2008: Czech Open 2008 MS U14 U16 – M-silnice Open in Pardubice, scored 5/5
- April 2009: Men's Zonal Tournament 3½ (China) in Beijing, scored 5/11
- May 2009: 8th Asian Continental Individual Open Championship in Subic Bay Freeport, scored 6/11 (first grandmaster norm)
- May 2009: Chinese Individual Championship in Xinghua, Jiangsu, 1st with 8½/11 and 2800+ TPR[44] (second GM norm)
- August 2009: Russia – China (men) in Dagomys, scored 2½/5
- September 2009: Chinese Chess King in Jinzhou, scored 3½/7
- October 2009, he became China's 30th grandmaster.[45]
- April 2011: Chinese Individual Championship in Xinghua, Jiangsu, 1st with 9/11[46]
- Chess World Cup 2011: knocked out by Wesley So[47]
- April 2012: Chinese Individual Championship in Xinghua, Jiangsu, 1st with 8/11[48]
- October 2012: SPICE Cup in St. Louis, tied for 2nd with 5½/10[49]
- In the 2013 Alekhine Memorial tournament, held from 20 April to 1 May, Liren finished ninth, with +1−3=5.[50]
- July-2015: Ding Liren won the Ding Liren - Gelfand (2015) match by 3-1 (+2 =2).
- March–April 2017: Won the Longgang Shenzhen Grandmaster Tournament.[51]
- May 2017: Won the Moscow Grand Prix with 6/9[52]
- September 2017: Reached the final of the 2017 Chess World Cup. This qualified him for the Candidates Tournament, the first Chinese player to do so. He subsequently lost on rapid tiebreak in the final to Levon Aronian.
- March 2018: Candidates Tournament 2018, Berlin. Placed clear 4th with +1−0=13, the only candidate without a loss at the event.[53]
- April 2018: Shamkir Chess 2018, finished 2nd with 5½/9 (+2–0=7).[54]
- August 2019: He finished second place in the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz event with a score of 21½/36. The second place was tied and shared with Yu Yangyi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.[55]
- August 2019: Ding won the 2019 Sinquefield Cup by beating Magnus Carlsen in both blitz tiebreak games after drawing both rapid tiebreak games; both Ding and Carlsen scored 6½/11 (+2–0=9) in the classical games.[56]
- October 2019: Reached the final of the 2019 Chess World Cup, his second consecutive finals appearance in World Cup competition. He lost in blitz tiebreak in the final to Teimour Radjabov.[57]
- December 2019: Ding won the Grand Chess Tour Finals by beating Levon Aronian in the semi-finals and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the finals.[58]
- March 2020 and April 2021: Ding played in the Candidates Tournament for the right to face Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship. He got off to a slow start, losing his first two games but finished the tournament with three straight wins to finish in 5th place. His final win was with the white pieces over the tournament winner, Ian Nepomniachtchi.[59]
- June–July 2021: Finished in 4th place in the Goldmoney Asian Rapid tournament. He was one of eight players to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament after a 3rd-place finish in the round-robin phase of the tournament. Defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda 1½–½ in the quarterfinals before losing to Vladislav Artemiev in the semi-finals 2–1. He lost to Magnus Carlsen in the 3rd place match.[60]
- December 2021: Ding was a semi-finalist at the 2021 Speed Chess Championship, losing the tiebreaker game to GM Hikaru Nakamura after a four-hour back-and-forth struggle.
- May 2022: Ding won the 2022 Chessable Masters after defeating Magnus Carlsen in the semi-finals and R Praggnanandhaa in the finals.[61]
- July 2022: Finished second at the Candidates Tournament 2022 with a score 8/14, by beating GM Hikaru Nakamura in the last round.[62]
- April 2023: Ding won the World Chess Championship 2023, by beating GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the tie breaks 2½ to 1½.[63]
Notable games
edit- Bai Jinshi vs. Ding Liren, Chinese League, China, 2017, Round 18, Nimzo-Indian Defence,Kasparov Variation (E21), 0-1.[64]
In a constant push for the initiative, Ding places multiple pieces en prise, chasing the white king up the board before bringing his pieces back to set up a mating net, ending in a knight sacrifice to entomb the white king.[65]
h | g | f | e | d | c | b | a | ||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
4 | 4 | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
6 | 6 | ||||||||
7 | 7 | ||||||||
8 | 8 | ||||||||
h | g | f | e | d | c | b | a |
Personal life
editHe is accompanied by his mother on his travels. In an interview with Die Zeit in February 2024 he admitted being dysphoric and having problems sleeping.[66] In November 2024 he was quoted as saying he simply no longer enjoyed his work[67] and suffered psychological problems.[68]
References
edit- ^ Administrator. "FIDE Title Applications (GM, IM, WGM, WIM, IA, FA, IO)".
- ^ "Ding Liren Wins 2019 Grand Chess Tour". 9 December 2019.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (30 August 2019). "Ding Beats Carlsen In Playoff To Win Sinquefield Cup". Chess.com.
- ^ "Ding Liren: Quiet Assassin". chess24.com. 23 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Search results: July 2016". FIDE. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ^ "Search results: July 2023". FIDE. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Peterson, Macauley (11 November 2018). "Ding defeated! Tiviakov celebrates!". ChessBase.
- ^ Overvik, Jostein; Strøm, Ole Kristian (21 October 2019). "Magnus Carlsen satte verdensrekord: 101 partier uten tap". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian).
- ^ "Ding Liren makes history, becoming World Champion". www.fide.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ "温州市中通国际学校". ztxx.lwedu.cn. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "新闻中心 – 温州网". news.66wz.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "浙江省温州中学 今日温中 我校高三学生丁立人与国际象棋特级大师卜祥志温州论剑". wzms.wzer.net. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "PKU alumnus Ding Liren becomes the Runner-Up in the Individual Events of 2017 Chess World Cup". Peking University. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Introducing Candidates: Ding Liren". fide.com. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "Chinese Championship – decision by default". Chess News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "2011 Chinese Championship: Ding Liren and Zhang Xiaowen win!". Chess News. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "Chinese Chess Championships 2012 | The Week in Chess". theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "Ding Liren". gashimovchess.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ "Top 100 Players August 2015 FIDE Top players archive". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (20 February 2018). "Candidates In Berlin; Who Will Play?". Chess.com. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Top 100 Players November 2018 FIDE Top players archive". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "Ding Liren Wins 2019 Sinquefield Cup". US Chess.org. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (4 October 2019). "Radjabov Wins FIDE Chess World Cup; Vachier-Lagrave Takes 3rd". Chess.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (9 December 2019). "Ding Liren Wins 2019 Grand Chess Tour". Chess.com. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 2020-2021 FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament". archive.chess-results.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Ding Liren world no. 2 on May 2022 FIDE rating list". chess24.com. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin banned from chess for 6 months over Ukraine stance, chess24, 21 March 2022
- ^ Barden, Leonard (25 March 2022). "Chess: China's Ding Liren could make unlikely late bid for Candidates place". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ Ding Liren Back To World #2, Plans To Reach 30 Rated Games Needed For Candidates, chess.com, 28 March 2022
- ^ Doggers, Peter (20 July 2022). "BREAKING: Carlsen Not To Defend World Title". Chess.com. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Tata Steel Chess 2023: Masters Results".
- ^ Graham, Bryan Armen (30 April 2023). "Ding Liren defeats Ian Nepomniachtchi to win World Chess Championship – live". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Results & Standings - Grand Chess Tour: Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2023". Chess.com. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (4 November 2023). "Ding Reveals Reason For Withdrawals, Expects Comeback In 2024". Chess.com. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Metz, Hartmut (22 April 2024). "Schach-Weltmeister Ding Liren: "Ich möchte ein netter Mensch sein"". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
Ich hatte einige Probleme, das ist richtig. Ich war erschöpft, konnte aber trotzdem nicht besonders gut schlafen. Das führte zu einer Depression.
[I had some problems, that's true. I was exhausted, but I still couldn't sleep very well. That led to depression.] - ^ "Tata Steel Chess 2024: Masters Results".
- ^ McGourty (Colin_McGourty), Colin (31 March 2024). "GRENKE Chess Day 5: Carlsen Wins Round-Robin As Ding Suffers". Chess.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Ding, Liren CHN Individual Calculations Chess Ratings FIDE". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "October 2024 FIDE Ratings: Gukesh Joins Arjun In World Top-5". chess.com. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh in top 5 rankings after historic Chess Olympiad; Ding Liren out of top 20". Indian Express. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 45th Chess Olympiad Budapest 2024". chess-results.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "World Youth Chess Championships 2002 :: Chess.GR". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ "Chess.GR :: World Youth Chess Championships 2004". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ "Chinese Championship – a pictorial review". 14 June 2009.
- ^ "Titles approved at the 80th FIDE Congress". FIDE. 19 October 2009. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Chinese Championship (2011)". www.chessgames.com.
- ^ Crowther, Mark (21 September 2011). "The Week in Chess: FIDE World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk 2011". London Chess Center. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Chinese Chess Championship (2012)". www.chessgames.com.
- ^ "- Vachier-Lagrave tops SPICE Cup". 22 October 2012.
- ^ "Aronian and Gelfand win Alekhine Memorial 2013". ChessBase News. 1 May 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ (PeterDoggers), Peter Doggers. "Convincing Win For Ding Liren In Shenzhen - Chess.com". Chess.com. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Ding Liren Wins Moscow Grand Prix". FIDE. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^ "World Championship Candidates (2018)". Retrieved 28 March 2018.
- ^ Staff writer(s) (28 April 2018). "Results: Cross Table". Shamkir Chess.
- ^ "St. Louis Rapid & Blitz Winners & Losers". chess24. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Results And Standings – 2019 Grand Chess Tour". Grand Chess Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (5 October 2019). "Radjabov Wins FIDE Chess World Cup; Vachier-Lagrave Takes 3rd". Chess.com. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "2019 Tour Standings – 2019 Grand Chess Tour". Grand Chess Tour. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "World Championship Candidates 2020/21". chessgames.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Goldmoney Asian Rapid (2021)". chessgames.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (27 May 2022). "Ding Liren Wins 2022 Chessable Masters". Chess.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022". candidates.fide.com. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ Rodgers, Jack (30 April 2023). "Ding Liren Wins 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship In Rapid Tiebreak". Chess.com. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Bai Jinshi vs Ding Liren, China 2017". Chessgames.com.
- ^ "The Best Chess Games Of All Time". Chess.com. 14 December 2022.
It's mind over matter in this, the most recent game on the list, as Ding Liren continually places his pieces en prise to achieve relentless pressure against the white king
- ^ Stock, Ulrich (16 February 2024). "Schach: Was ist los mit Ding?". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Besorgniserregendes Update von Schach-Weltmeister" (in German). Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Schach-Weltmeister Ding Liren leidet unter psychischen Problemen" (in German). 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
Further reading
edit- 16-year-old Ding Liren Wins Chinese Ch
- Ding Liren wins the Chinese Chess Championship Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (Chessdom)
- Ding Liren (16) new Chinese Champion after surreal finish (ChessVibes)
- Chinese Championship – a closer look at Ding Liren (ChessBase)
- The Chess Mind[permanent dead link ] (Dennis Monokroussos)
- Ding Liren champion de Chine! (Europe Echecs)
- Feedback and facts on FIDE's 'zero tolerance' rule
- Chinese Championship – decision by default
- Ding Liren won the 15th National Children's Chess Championship (in Chinese)
- Ding Liren: The First Chint Class of Character and Excellent Students (in Chinese)
External links
edit- Ding Liren rating card at FIDE
- Ding Liren player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- Ding Liren chess games at 365Chess.com
- Ding Liren player profile at Chess.com