Ding Liren's state of mind 2 days before the World championship match

23rd November, 10am

Ding Liren's interview with WGM Vivian Gu Xiaobing during a kids’ event where he took pictures and signed autographs for the youth members of Singapore’s National Training Program at the Equarius Hotel.

Ding Liren at the Equarius Hotel (credit - WGM Vivian Gu Xiaobing)

The actual interview in Mandarin (Chinese) by Vivian is here.

I translated the Mandarin Interview to English text

VG:It’s only two days until the competition in Singapore. How do you feel?

DL (laughing) : Why did you change the question?

DL: I am pretty calm now, and although there are two days till the start of the event, I now train as usual every day, prepare for the game, study the opponent's lines and my own openings. There have been various activities in the past two days. I also selected the tournament chair and checked out the lounge yesterday. There will be interviews and some press conferences today. The first game is getting closer and the atmosphere is getting more and more intense.

VG: Many people are concerned about your condition and state of mind. How do you feel about your situation now?

DL: I took a look at some of the games I played this year last night, and I really felt extremely embarrassed about the standard of play. I had inexplicably and ridiculously turned certain wins into draws and definitely did not play up to my desired level. I intend to look at some exciting games I played in the past to boost my confidence. Thus, I hope to be able to attain the peak level I used to produce for this match.

VG: We all hope that Ding Liren will be able to revert back to his past top form and would like to wish him all the best!

GM Kevin Goh (SCF CEO and Chair of the Local Organising Committee)'s X report on this event.