Ding Liren: The Resilient New World Chess Champion
On April 30th, 2023, Ding Liren became the new World Chess Champion, defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi (Nepo) in a grueling 18-game match in Astana, Kazakhstan. Many had counted Ding out after he struggled in the early games, but his fighting spirit shone through, ultimately leading him to victory.
What made Ding Liren a world champion? In a word, resilience. Throughout the match, he never gave up, even when things looked bleak. In the first game, Ding managed to secure a draw despite feeling unwell. In the second game, Nepo won in style with the black pieces, and many were already counting Ding out. But in the fourth game, Ding played a fantastic positional game, showing off his skill and determination.
The match was extremely close, with Nepo taking an early lead and Ding struggling to catch up. By the start of Game 12, Nepo was leading with a one-point advantage, 6 to 5. In the following game, Ding managed to complicate the game and ultimately win, showing off his fighting spirit and resilience once again.
He was facing an objectively losing position, with Black having a winning advantage. If Nepo had won this game, he would have taken a two-point lead with only two more games to go, likely securing his victory. But Ding refused to give up. He complicated the position as much as possible, even if it was unfavorable for him.
In this position (reached after 27 moves), the move 27...Nf3! forks White’s rooks on e1 and g1. But Nepo had to assess the wild position occurring after 28 Qc6. All the complications lead to winning positions for Black with correct play. You can find a detailed analysis of this position here: https://youtu.be/gXJYllzaw7U
The move 27…Nf3 would have probably made Nepo the 2023 World Chess Champion. Chess is tough, isn’t it?
But Nepo played 27…Rag8 instead and in the end, Ding managed to win the game, securing a tie going into the final 2 classic games of the match.
In rapid playoff (consisting of 4 rapid games), the first 3 games were hard fought draws. In the 4th game, Ding had a little over a minute in the following position:
Black is a pawn up, but his king is a bit more exposed. For instance, after the king moves (it is being checked) to g8, Qd5+ will continue chasing the king.
Instead, Ding played the brave …Rg6!? pinning the rook:
Ding kept the game going this way and managed to convert his extra pawn, thus becoming the new World Chess Champion!
In the end, it was Ding's resilience that made him the world champion. He never gave up, even when things looked bleak. He always found a way to fight back, even when facing a losing position. And in the end, it was this fighting spirit that led him to victory.
Ding Liren's victory is a testament to the power of resilience. In chess, as in life, there will be times when things don't go our way. We may feel like giving up, like there's no way to win. But it's important to remember that there's always a way to fight back, to find a way to turn the game around. And if we can stay resilient, like Ding Liren did, we can achieve greatness.
If you're interested in learning more about this exciting match, be sure to check out my video on the topic: https://youtu.be/gXJYllzaw7U. In the video, I provide more insights about and variations about some critical moments of the match. Thanks for reading!
